Dear Families,

Last week’s beautiful spring weather set the perfect backdrop for an exciting and joy‑filled week on campus! 🌸🐾

We showered Mrs. Moncrief, our phenomenally talented Assistant Principal, with ALL the love for National Assistant Principal Week! 💐 One week is simply not enough time to celebrate the countless ways she pours her heart into our students, staff, and families. Her dedication, leadership, and unwavering support make our school a stronger, happier place every single day - and we are beyond grateful to get to work alongside her.

On Thursday, we kicked off testing season with an energetic Pep Rally that had our campus buzzing! The fun began with a wacky race starring some crazy special visitors, followed by a student vs. visitors dance‑off (turns out our Lions have some serious moves!). Our visitors then taught everyone a brand‑new cheer - “Many Lions! One Pride!” - which echoed proudly throughout the covered court.

One of the highlights was when Sensei Ballash reminded Deshi Short that she has been preparing all year and had nothing to worry about - she was ready to BEAT THE TESTS! Deshi stayed focused and went on to master the STAR, FAST, 5th Grade Science, and Specials tests… and we know our students are just as ready!

Friday brought even more celebration as we honored students who demonstrated 100% growth on their i‑Ready Reading or Math Diagnostics with an epic GLOW PARTY!  The music was pumping, the lights were glowing, and our students danced, sang, and rocked out to celebrate their hard work and accomplishments.

And we can’t forget Friday night’s PTA Spring Festival - what an incredible evening of friends, food, and fun! PTA truly went all out with pizza, sno‑cones, popcorn, drinks, donuts (seriously… did you try the donuts?! 🍩), inflatable obstacle courses, a DJ, cupcake walks, balloon artists, tattoos, amazing raffle baskets, and the Book Fair. Thank you to our PTA and volunteers for creating such a memorable night for our Pride community!

As we move into the coming weeks, please be sure to check the IMPORTANT DATES and review the Testing Calendar, as there are many exciting events ahead that you won’t want to miss.

We also need your help ensuring students arrive on time. Cars may begin entering at 7:05 a.m., and students may enter the gates at 7:10 a.m. Taking advantage of this window helps students start their day calm and ready (and between 7:20–7:30 a.m., there is almost never a line of cars!)

Finally, we hope to see you this Friday, April 17, at Twistee Treat for our April Spirit Night. End your week with a sweet treat and some Pride spirit! 🍦❤️

Yo-ho-ho and onward we go!

Mrs. Meyer and Mrs. Moncrief

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This is the time of year when families often share input or preferences regarding classroom placement for the upcoming school year. With a school community of approximately 900 students, we are unable to honor requests for specific teachers.

Please know that our team is very thoughtful and intentional during the placement process. We carefully consider each student’s individual needs and do take parent input into account when determining the best possible placement. We invite you to use the link provided to share information about your child’s learning style, strengths, areas of need, interests, or any other details that may be helpful to us during this process.

While we cannot accommodate requests for specific teachers, we are committed to creating balanced, supportive classroom environments where every student can thrive.

Thank you for your partnership, understanding, and trust as we work together to ensure a successful school year for your child. We truly appreciate your support.

The State Board of Education requires every Florida school district under F.S. 1003.42(o), 1003.46, and our school board policy 2147 to provide instruction about human trafficking, mental health, water safety, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), reproductive health and disease prevention education (7th-9th grade), and substance use and abuse. Aligned to our goals for fostering a safe and nurturing learning environment, this requirement ensures positive support for our students' social, emotional, and physical health.

Schools will provide parent notification prior to beginning instruction on these topics. Parents have the right to opt-out of reproductive health and disease prevention education, as well as human trafficking education. If you have questions related to this content, please contact Mrs. Meyer.

The attached document provides an overview for each of the required instructional components and the grade level(s) they are taught 

PARENT LETTER HEALTH EDUCATION 

We need volunteers to help in the cafeteria during lunch on a daily basis between 10:00 and 1:30. Ideally, we would like to have recurring volunteers, but any time you can help would be greatly appreciated! The role involves monitoring student behavior, assisting students with opening food items, escorting students to the bathroom or health clinic, helping with spills, etc... Please click on the link below to sign up!

LUNCHROOM HELPER

Explore everything related to HCPS and your students via the HCPS, Focus, and Canvas apps! Get informed, stay connected, and receive the latest updates. Download these essential apps today from the App Store or Google Play to enhance your experience.

HCPS—App Store: https://aptg.co/6nZQyH | Google Play: https://aptg.co/sG8Xg3
Focus—App Store: http://bit.ly/3IPcgCH | Google Play: http://bit.ly/4lJJamJ
Canvas—App Store: http://bit.ly/3IQ8ngL | Google Play: http://bit.ly/45ndbTr

Focus will sync parent accounts from Focus to Canvas within 24 hours of creation. Parents will use the same email to login to Canvas but must set a password before logging in the first time. To set a Canvas password, please access the Canvas Reset Password page.

About Us

Email: Pride.Elementary@hcps.net
Website: hillsboroughschools.org/pride
Location: 10310 Lion's Den Drive, Tampa, FL, USA
Phone: 813-558-5400
Facebook: facebook.com/PrideElem