In Closing Anderson Elementary Students of the Month First grade trom lett to right: Jacara Tyson, Ashley Eady, Cathy Burkett A Message From Superintendent of Schools Mark Rains / .' "o. i Fifth grade from left to right: Dylan Buchanan, Thomas Bond, Tyson Hatch ' " *- " Concentration in Educational Leadership Master's Degree Programs: I Educational Leadership * Instructional Leadership * Exceptional Student Education * Reading * Instructional Design * Education Specialist - Educational Leadership -SANTLEO. N ',11 %ol licid -or %k 1 icl .'ll irC; 'It I11 Fourth grade from left to right: Latresha Yarrell, Brack Millard, Colby Cannon Saint Leo University is a proven leader in teacher education. . Tuesday, March 17th at 4 p.m. Trenton Center -. 334 NW 11th Avenue, Trenton Thursday, March 19th at 4 p.m. - Levy County School Board 480 Marshburn Drive, Bronson Pasture Managemei Invasive Weed Cont Workshop The public is invited to a tend a workshop sponso by the Levy County Exte sion Services, Dixie, Gilchrist & Levy Soil an Water Conservation Dis tricts, and the Levy Conu Forester. The workshop will be held on Saturday April 25 from 8:30 am til 12:30. Lunch will be pro ed. The location will be First District Communit Center on CR 349. The C munity Center is approx mately 8-9 miles off Hwy (towards Branford) dire on CR 349 on the left-han side of the road. Topic to be covered inch pasture management pri ciples, principles of wee control, identification at control of invasive exoti plants, identification and control of plants that ca poison livestock, as well field demonstrations of herbicide application equipment. A variety of reference material will b provided. The workshop is free of charge but attendance w be limited to 80. Pre-regi tration is required. Firs come, first served. To reg ter for the class contact: Leslie Vincino by phone: 352-486-2672, extension 3. Registration closes on Wednesday, April 22, at 4 p.m. LAKE CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION The Executive Board of the La City Community College Foun tioh will meet March 17, 2009 noon in the Lcake City Commu College Foundation Board Ro downtown Lake City. For more formation contact Mike Lee, ex utive director of the LCCC fou dation at 754-4392 or 754-443 SanrLo nevi amts w rrae clrad atoalo ehicoign nt, rol at- red en- d - 2: nty vid-: the: om- :i- ' Supt. Rains and Garry Durham (Director of Curriculum) prepare FCAT tests for delivery to schools. Our spring sports programs are off and running. At RRMS and DCHS, we have softball and baseball in full swing and weightlifting will begin this week at DCHS. I encourage you to attend a game and support our young people as they. display outstanding sportsmanship in all aspects of the' game. I believe athletic competit ion helps build character and poise that continue to help all of us in real life situa- tions. It seems that only a few months ago, the state legislature passed the budget for this'.year,'whichwas revised in Janu- ary The legislature went into special session, and on Janu- ary 11th provided a reduced amount to our current budget. Declining enrollment is a major factor in adding to this problem,, and will amount to an even larger cut in' our cur- rent local .budget. The cost of electricity, diesel fuel, insurance, and food con- tinue to increase. The legislature convened for regular ses- sion on March 3rd. We need your help in securing educa- tional funding for our children, You may do this by con- tacting our state legislators at www.myflorida.com. There will be.an Education Rally m Tallahassee on March 18th, sponsored by the Florida Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Also, you may go online to www.50thnomore.org and www.rmakeeducationapriority.org and sign petitions to stress the importance of public education. y 19 Beginning March 10th, our district will be administering ctly the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). This id is the state assessment test that measures the progress that students have made in meeting the requirements set forth in the Sunshine State Standards. Our schools continue to ude move up the scale toward academic excellence. in- .. ' d For your child to be at their best during FCAT testing nd (March 10 through NMarch 19), here are a few important sug- c gestions . n Be sure your child gets eight hours of rest each as night. Breakfast is very important. See that your child's clothes and school supplies are prepared and organized the night before the child be leaves for school the next day Do not schedule social events that will distract your child's attention during FCAT administration. Take time to explain to your children that FCAT is ill a state standards test that must be passed in order to get a s- standard diploma. Course offerings may be limited for stu- t dents scoring below a level 3 because remediation is re- gis- quired, Encourage your children to do their best on FCAT. More and more students are having success on FCAT and your child can also. , : Cell phones, Ipods and electronic games will not be 1:00 permitted on the person or in the classroom during the FCAT exam. Presence of cell phone or electronic devices invalidates,the testing process. The new Dixie District Schools website.will be live this week. The address is http://www.dixie.kl2.fl.us/. We wel- come your suggestions in making this a user friendly web- site for students, parents, and the community I will be in my satellite office (Building 6, Room 019) at Old Town Elementary School on March 16th, between the hours of 8:00-10:00 a.rim. I will also be at Casey's Cove Convenience ake Store on March 17th between the hours of 11:00 a.m. 12:00 ida- p.m. to meet with residents of Jena. at nity My location at Horseshoe will be the Crimson Crest on )OM, e in- March 20th between the hours of 11:00 a.m..- 12:00 p.m. My xec- goal is for these to be more convenient locations for our res- n- idents in the outlying areas to communicate with the Su- 33. perintendent of Schools. Mark A. Rains, Superintendent Dixie District Schools