Southpinellas: Back on track for the FCAT

Back on track for the FCAT

After a 14-day break, there were a few bleary eyes among students, but mostly it was a smooth return.

By DONNA WINCHESTER

ST. PETERSBURG -- Eleven-year-old Craig Penalosa squirmed in his chair in Susan Pomeroy's classroom at Azalea Elementary School. He was thinking about the scooter and the remote-control car he had gotten for Christmas.

Caitlyn Beersdorf, 9, felt a little sleepy in Ron Motyka's classroom at Bay Point Elementary School. She had been staying up past her bedtime, and getting up early for school had been a struggle.

Blair Simons, 10, had the same problem. He had gotten up at 6:15 to be on time for Kim Lopez' class at Bay Vista Elementary School, after getting used to staying up past 11 p.m.

And in Margo VanBelleghem's classroom at Lakewood Elementary School, Dane Henwood's mind was in the treetops. The 10-year-old had spent the last two weeks visiting relatives in South Carolina where he had scaled new tree-climbing heights, his favorite pastime.

Amid yawns and their teachers' gentle reminders to concentrate, Pinellas County students returned to school last week after a 14-day holiday break. The transition was smooth for the most part.

Mrs. Pomeroy, who teaches the fourth- and fifth-grade STARS (Students Targeted for Achievement, Recognition and Success) program at Azalea, said it wasn't hard for her students to get back on track because they're used to a structured program.

"They know what to do when they come in the classroom in the morning," she said. "It was nothing new to them to get started right away."

She said she covered reading, writing and math questions and rewarded her students at the end of the day with a video about a World War II survivor.

She was glad they returned in mid-week.

"Everyone is used to staying up late, teachers included," she said. "It was nice coming back on a Wednesday with the weekend in sight.

At Bay Point, Mr. Motyka gave his fourth-graders a chance to share one funny thing that happened to them during their break before getting down to business.

He said his students had no difficulty getting back in the swing of things. He had given them an activity pack before the break to keep their focus on schoolwork. They were expected to read 20 to 25 minutes each day and record their work in a reading log, but he said most of them read more than that.

To keep his own academic focus, Mr. Motyka worked in his classroom, graded papers and took advantage of the opportunity to work ahead.

Kim Lopez, Heather Sapienza and Valerie Wostbrock, fourth-grade team teachers at Bay Vista, also sent work home with their students. Almost all of the students brought back their assignments, and only two in a class of 84 were absent on Wednesday.

"They were really good," Mrs. Wostbrock said. "But they're used to sleeping in and staying up late. On Wednesday, I just wasn't getting the hands up I usually get."

She asked how many of them had gone to bed early the night before. Many of them hadn't, but she said they warmed up as the day progressed.

Mrs. Sapienza said she picked up where she left off with her students so they wouldn't lose the momentum they've been building since the beginning of the school year.

Mrs. Lopez assigned homework the first day.

"The sooner you get them back into the routine, the better it is for them," she said.

At Lakewood, Ms. VanBelleghem said her children came back quiet and ready for structure.

"They seem to like routine," she said. "They also seemed very happy to see their friends."

She had given her students an optional assignment to do over the break. Not all of them did the extra-credit work, but many spent time reading.

Uppermost in the minds of all the fourth-grade teachers was the FCAT, scheduled for Feb. 21. They agreed that preparing their students for it is difficult enough without a 14-day break coming six weeks before the test.

"It's right around the corner," Ms. VanBelleghem said, adding that the assignment she gave her students, like so much of the work she gives them, was designed to help them get ready for it.

The Bay Vista teachers also geared their take-home assignment to the FCAT. Mrs. Lopez said the students were given either a narrative prompt, which asked them to write a story, or an expository prompt, which asked them to explain something, because those are the types of exercises they'll be asked to complete for the test.

"Students don't feel the pressure, but we do, she said.

Her students may not be worried about the test, but they are aware of its importance. Emily Miller, 9, said she practiced her writing over the break because she wants to be ready for February.

Another student, Cameron Cottrill, said he chose to write both the narrative essay and the expository essay for the extra practice.

"My writing grade was a little low," the 10-year-old said. "I needed to bring it up, so I decided to do both the exercises."