Saratoga Connection

October 16, 2025

Principals’ Corner

On Monday and Wednesday, our team spent time engaged in learning to best support our students.  On Monday, our team considered strategies for creating culturally responsive learning environments which connects to our inclusion work.  We also reflected on how to incorporate cultural responsiveness into our daily practice through a learner-centered environment.  One of the ways you might see this in your child’s classroom is through an organized, flexible, and accessible classroom environment.  For example, your child’s classroom is an organized space and there are locations for independent, small group and large group learning.  

On Wednesday, our team dug into the ways we can make learning more accessible to students based on their English Language Development proficiency.  We learned about different strategies to implement and spent time collaboratively planning to apply a new strategy to an upcoming lesson.     

Be the Change, 

Abby Ragan           Abby Lower                       Jordan Perry

Principal                 Assistant Principal            Assistant Principal 

Hate Speech and Racial Slurs

At the October PTA meeting, Abby Ragan, principal will be discussing the recent community notifications about hate speech and racial slurs at Saratoga.  Ms. Ragan will provide context to the notifications, discuss how Saratoga staff are responding, and how families can support Saratoga being a safe and inclusive community for each student.  Please join the PTA meeting on October 28 at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria to learn more. 

Veterans Day

We will be featuring Saratoga military connected family members on the school - wide morning news on November 5, 6, 7, and 10.  If you are interested in being featured on the news, please email Terry Vasquez at tlvasquez@fcps.edu by October 17.  Each service member will be asked to share the following information: 

• Name 
• Branch
• Years of Service 
• What is one thing you love about being in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, or Space Force?

All recordings will take place from 8:50 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. from October 20 - October 31.  

We invite our military connected families to complete the template (see the URL below) to the Saratoga Connection with a family friendly picture and turn it in to be displayed on our Veteran Wall.  Your child may get a template from their homeroom teacher too.  All templates are to be turned in to your child’s teacher by October 31.  Please know that completed templates will not be returned.  Please do not include original pictures.

https://bit.ly/SESVeteranTemplate

We are looking forward to honoring Saratoga connected Veterans.  We will be hosting Doughnuts with Dependents on November 7 from 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.  All military connected families are invited to join us for doughnuts with their Saratoga student(s).  A parade will follow on at 9:30 AM for any veteran who is interested in participating.

It's time to start creating your Reflections masterpiece!

Saratoga PTA is hosting the Reflections program, which provides opportunities for recognition and access to the arts which boosts student confidence and success in the arts and in life.Each year, hundreds of thousands of students in pre-K through grade 12 create original works of art in response to a student-created theme, "I belong"

Students can submit one entry in six different categories. Entry forms and rules are available online or in the school office & library. Saratoga Student entries are due November 12.

Visit www.saratogapta.org or email saratogaespta@gmail.com for rules and more info about creating an entry.