Anna Maria Elementary welcomes students, parents

The first day of school is Thursday, Aug. 10.

BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com

HOLMES BEACH - Anna Maria

Elementary School Principal

Michael Masiello and staff have been busily preparing to greet 208 students on Thursday, Aug. 10, the first day of school.

A new parent meet-and-greet is scheduled on the first day of school at 8:40 a.m. in the auditorium. New this year is a remodeled media center, an added Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) class, new units of study in the Guy Harvey Program and eight new staff members.

The Guy Harvey program will have new content, Masiello said.

“This year we will have four new units of study in grades K-5 focusing on marine science content. The lessons will tie into the English language arts, mathematical thinking and reasoning standards, science and engineering practices and art,” he said.

The lessons will focus on:

• Quarter 1: Virtual field trip to Raja Ampat, Indonesia to observe the coral reef habitat and the characteristics of living things;

• Quarter 2: Negative impacts of human behavior on Earth’s natural resources;

• Quarter 3: Schooling - Safety in numbers (animal adaptations); and

• Quarter 4: Electroreception (animal adaptations).

Eight new staff members join the school this year: Erin Bobo, VPK teacher; Krista Czajkowski, VPK aide; Rachel Frantz, Kindergarten teacher; Katrina Thomas, secondgrade teacher; Sandy Angstadt, third-grade teacher; Regina Fallgren, gifted teacher; Yu-Lin Hsiao, ESE teacher; and Julie Miller, speech/language pathologist.

School hours are 8:25 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Students should be in class by 8:25 a.m. or they will be considered tardy. Early drop-off is not allowed prior to 7:55 a.m., when students may enter the school. Students may eat breakfast at school at no cost.

Additional online resources for parents are:

• Food and Nutrition Information, Payment, Accounts: https://www. manateeschools.net/domain/1150

• Students who qualify for school busing must register each school year: https://www.manateeschools.net/ registertoride

• Student supply lists can be viewed on the school website: https://www. manateeschools.net/annamaria