2025-2026 School Year Information
- Jennifer Mathews
- 6 days ago
- 11 min read
Updated: 48 minutes ago
Mommy Sharks, Daddy Sharks, Grandma and Grandpa Sharks, and all the other Sharks that love our students…
We're so excited for the 2025-2026 school year and all the wonderful ways we know God will move in our community. He's been so faithful to us, and we can't wait to see how he moves in our hearts and minds in the upcoming school year. We know he has wonderful plans for his glory and our good!
This update will contain important information that will help you acclimate to the new school year at Summit Christian School. Below you'll find information about:
School Day Times - NEW Late Start Mondays (before care available)!
Communications Update
Uniforms (including a few new additions!)
Collab Lab News
Click on individual items from the list to jump to that section below.
Welcome Back from the Head of School
I hope you’re having a wonderful summer—resting, recharging, and spending meaningful time with your extended Shark families. While this season away from the classroom brings a welcome change of pace, know that we’ve missed your children and the joyful energy your families bring to our campus.
Behind the scenes, we’ve been busily preparing for the new school year, and we’re eager to welcome you back in August! Our hearts are full of anticipation for all God has in store.
This year, our school-wide theme is “Jesus: True and Better.” We’ll focus on the beautiful truth that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of every story, every promise, and every longing found in Scripture. The heroes of our faith were only shadows pointing to our Glorious King. Jesus is the True and Better Adam, Abraham, Moses, David… the One in whom all things hold together. As a school, we’ll seek to keep our eyes fixed on Him, just as Hebrews 12:2 urges us: “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.”
I can’t wait to see or meet each one of you in the coming weeks and months. Whether you're returning or joining us for the first time, I want you to know this: you are deeply loved—by your school faculty and staff, by your Shark community, and most of all, by Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Jennifer Mathews
Head of School
***NEW Late Start Mondays***
On Mondays only, school will begin at 9:00. The doors will open at 8:50, and students must be in their classrooms by 9:00 am to be considered on time. Before care will be available from 7:15-8:50 am.
Tuesday - Friday Schedule
School will start at 8:00. The doors will open at 7:50 after staff devotions are complete, and parents may again escort their children to the classrooms. Students must be in their classrooms by 8:00 am to be considered on time.
Shark Summit (M, T, Th, F)
We will begin each day with a school-wide “Shark Summit” in the courtyard. Teachers will take attendance, then transition their students to the courtyard at 5 minutes after the hour (8:05 or 9:05) for a school-wide morning meeting. Parents are invited to attend our daily Shark Summit where we will say the Pledge of Allegiance, recite our honor code, year verse, and pray to start the day.
After the Summit, students will be dismissed to recess. Elementary morning recess will run from 8:10 - 8:30/9:10 - 9:30. Middle School morning recess will be from 8:10 - 8:20/9:10 - 9:20. Parents are welcome to stay for morning recess, then return to their cars from the play areas or courtyard. We ask that parents not return to the classroom buildings unless they have a meeting with a faculty member or business in the main office.
Chapel (W)
Families are always invited to chapel. We meet weekly on Wednesdays at 8:05 and are typically finished by 8:45, often earlier.
Dismissal
Dismissal will be at 3pm each day. Students must be picked up by 3:10, or parents will be charged an aftercare drop-in fee. All regular pick-up must go through the car line. Parents may not walk up to pick up their children. Please ensure whoever comes through the car line has your family’s tag (tags will be passed out at Back to School Night) or is listed as an approved pick-up person in your FACTS Family Portal. Friends and family members picking up students without the carline tag will have to wait until the carline is finished and come into the main office and present their ID before a student will be released to them.
Back to School Night will be on August 8th from 5 -- 7:30 pm. All parents who attend Back to School Night will earn one parent service hour (must sign in that evening in the gym for credit). Here’s the evening’s tentative schedule:
4:50 Doors open
5:00 Entire Summit Community (kids, too!) meets in the Sanctuary. After teacher introduction, teachers and elementary students will be dismissed to the gym for
play time. No snacks will be provided or supervised by the teachers.
6:00 Pick up elementary students from the classrooms, meet the teachers and drop off supplies, then go to the gym for important school information and sign-up
stations; middle school students pick up class schedule in gym immediately after the large group session, then visit classrooms. Don't forget to sign up for parent
service hour credit in the gym!
6:30 Food trucks, yard games, fellowship and fun
7:30 Evening Ends
Supply Lists
You can find supply lists for all grades here.
Communications Update
Communications at Summit has been streamlined to two sources: the School Status Communication App and your FACTS Family Portal. All communication from the school will be pushed out through the School Status Connect App, and we ask that you communicate with staff through the app as well. The vast majority of announcements will be pushed out at 3:30pm each day in order to minimize the amount of notifications you receive.
Please allow 24 business hours for our staff to reply to your inquiries. We encourage all staff to set "office hours" and aim to work within that time frame in order to support a healthy work-life balance.
FACTS Family Portal: FACTS Family Portal: Your hub for all school year sign-ups!
Looking to get everything set for the new school year? The FACTS Family Portal is your go-to spot for all sign-ups! From meal plans and extended care to early K4/K5 pickup, Cultivate or SOAR, field trip permissions, athletics registration, and technology agreements, you can take care of it all in one place. Log in today to make sure your family is ready for a smooth start!
School Uniforms
All uniforms must be purchased from Sallee Promotions. No exceptions will be made for uniforms purchased elsewhere. Be sure to review the Family Handbook before making any purchases!
New this year:
A heavier fleece jacket for cooler days.
A fun sweatshirt in multiple styles. If you don't see them on the website yet, it's because Sallee is working on it. Hold tight! We encourage you to make your uniform order right away, and go back to the website later for any of the "extras".
Spirit Wear for Fridays!
2025-2026 Chapel Shirt for Wednesdays and Fridays.
Sallee:
Address: 8771 College Pkwy Suite 103, Fort Myers, FL 33919
Phone: (239) 691-6736
Please note that Sallee is currently operating on an online ordering basis only. While full in-store inventory will be available in the coming months, polos will be available in-store for sizing and trying on.
As the school year approaches, turnaround times may be slower, so we highly recommend placing your orders as early as possible to ensure timely delivery.
They offer two delivery options:
Ship to home for a small fee
Ship to school for free (we'll call you when they arrive)
The following images include all allowed uniforms. (Note: the yellow and white polos are no longer part of the approved dress code and may not be worn to school).
✨ Thank you for helping us keep our students looking sharp and in uniform!
Lunch Program Update
Our goal is to provide our families with healthy and affordable meal options in the 2025-2026 school year. Lunch will cost $6.
Lunches will include things like:
Main dish: grilled bbq chicken, baked ziti, chicken alfredo
Side: brown rice, mashed potatoes, whole-grain noodles
Vegetables: corn, green beans, broccoli
Fruit: pineapple, peaches, watermelon, mandarin oranges
Milk: low-fat and fat-free milk
Students qualifying for free or reduced lunch according to federal lunch program guidelines will receive free or reduced-priced lunch. Please contact Mr. Pronti for more information (lpronti@summitswfl.org). Note that the applications will be kept in-house and used for internal calculation purposes; we are not participating in the federal free meal program this year.
For recurring daily meal purchases, please complete the Meal Plan Enrollment form in your FACTS Family Portal under Web Forms. Payment plan participants will receive a 5% discount for the year, as long as the plan remains in effect and meals are prepaid monthly.
Learn how to order meals a la carte here.
SUFS Update
Thank you to those who have approved your child’s enrollment at Summit Christian School in your family’s EMA SUFS Portal. If you have not yet done so, we need your SUFS Award ID number. From there, we can enroll you in our SUFS program. You will then receive an email guiding you to log into your account and approve your child’s enrollment at SCS so that we can receive funding as soon as possible. Timely attention to this allows us to serve you better.
Once you have enrolled your child, you will not need to do anything until September. Quarterly, when SUFS notifies you, you will need to log into your SUFS EMA account and confirm your child’s continued enrollment at Summit so that we can receive payment for that time period.
Kindergarten Update (K4 and K5)
Both K4 and K5 will have a half day option this year for semester 1. After Christmas, all K5 students will transition to full-day kindergarten to prepare them for first grade.
Families wishing to use this half-day option must complete the form in the FACTS Family Portal.
We're excited for a great year of student learning!
Mrs. Fuller (K4) and Ms. Foster (K5)
Now Offering On-Campus Speech Services!
We are pleased to offer speech articulation services on campus through our very own Speech-
Language Pathologist, Mrs. Jordan. These services support students in developing clear and confident communication skills in a familiar and convenient setting.
Pricing:
Initial Speech Articulation Screening: free
Speech Articulation Evaluation: $150
Ongoing Services:
• 1 session/week (30 minutes): $1,500 annually or $136/month
• 2 sessions/week (30 minutes each): $2,500 annually or $227/month
✨ Students enrolled in Cultivate Levels 1–5 may receive these services at no additional cost.
Submit your Speech Articulation Screening Request in the FACTS Family Portal under Web Forms.
For those with an outside speech therapist currently serving your child at Summit, no changes are necessary. Moving forward, all new services must be provided by Mrs. Jordan, unless they are being paid for by private insurance.
About Mrs. Jordan, M.S., CCC-SLP
Mrs. Jordan has a Master’s of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP). This credential is awarded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and indicates that the speech-language pathologist has met rigorous academic and professional standards, including:
Completing a graduate degree from an accredited program
Completing a supervised clinical fellowship
Passing the national Praxis exam in speech-language pathology
Mrs. Jordan is also licensed in the state of Florida through the Department of Health.
Student Services Update
Hi all — Ms. Lily here! As our Student Services Coordinator, I’ll continue supporting our school by overseeing attendance and discipline systems, working closely with teachers to foster a God-honoring and productive learning environment.
One of our key priorities this year is student attendance. Being present consistently plays a big role in academic growth and overall success. Last school year, our attendance rate was 92%, and while we’re proud of that, our goal for the 2025–2026 school year is to reach at least 95%. Let’s work together to make daily attendance a top priority!
Cultivating Kindness and Character
Mrs. Velderman will continue to support our Cultivate students in a school counseling role as we continue our mission to help every child flourish academically, socially, and spiritually. She will visit classrooms throughout the week to share practical, Christ-centered lessons that help students grow in emotional awareness, navigate friendships, and make God-honoring decisions. She will also offer small support groups for students experiencing loss or family changes, as well as provide specialized support for neurodivergent students who may benefit from additional help with academic strategies or social skills. Mrs. Velderman will also be available to provide individual support for students navigating personal challenges and will work closely with parents and teachers to help each student succeed.
Mrs. Velderman has a Master’s in School Counseling, an ADHD coaching certificate, and is currently studying for the Exceptional Student Education exam for Florida state certification.
Last year, we read 1,732 books! We're so excited to continue to grow in our love of reading in the 2025-2026 school year. As we like to say, "Everyone's a reader! Some just haven't found the
right book yet." We'll keep looking for that "right book" for each student to drive a love of reading!
Technology Philosophy
In a time when many American children are growing up spending much of their childhood looking at screens, we desire to take a careful approach to technology use within our school.
Our aim is that rather than consume technology, Summit Christian School’s students will use technology to create real products for a real audience in a variety of ways, including:
To Communicate with Excellence;
For Engineering and Problem Solving; and
To Express Creativity.
While we desire to use technology primarily for creation, not consumption, we will also integrate technology purposefully into our educational practices, including assessments, to enhance learning experiences and promote academic growth. However, we will not rely on adaptive instructional tools that generate content for students. Instead, Summit’s teachers will use their expertise and take the lead in designing and delivering instruction, while also being responsive and flexible to meet the diverse needs of our students. We will prioritize purposeful and intentional teaching strategies that may utilize technology when it is the best available tool.
You can read more about our approach to technology use in our Family Handbook.
We're also excited to move to a 1:1 device model for grades 5-8. Students will be assigned a Chromebook to be used at school and will learn to responsibly care for their devices. Parents of students in grades 5-8 must complete the 1:1 Chromebook Agreement in the FACTS Family Portal prior to their child being issued a device.
STEM Update
Mr. V. has a lot of great things planned for STEM class this year! He has put together a STEM wishlist that we wanted to share with you in the hope that we can work together to continue to build a great STEM program for our Sharks!
Mrs. Sanchez is Completing a Principal Internship
Mrs. Sanchez is finishing her second master's degree at Liberty University, where she is studying Educational Leadership. As part of her licensure program, she will complete an internship with us this school year. She has been a huge help to us this summer with all the administrative duties around the school like textbook ordering, curriculum mapping, and collaborating in educational philosophy discussions and professional development planning. Over the school year, she will lead one of our CTs (teacher Collaborative Team meetings), and you'll see her more and more at the Shark Summit, giving chapel talks, and stepping into leadership opportunities as they arise over the year.
2025 - 2026 Faculty and Staff
Westminster Presbyterian Update
You're Invited to Westminster PCA!
Hello Summit Christian families!
My name is Gage Jordan, and I serve as the Pastor of Families and Outreach here at Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCA)—right around the corner from Summit Christian School. If you don’t currently have a church home, we’d love to welcome your family to worship with us!
Here’s what a typical Sunday looks like at Westminster:
Sunday School for all ages at 9:00 AM
Worship Service at 10:30 AM
Nursery available during the service for ages 4 and under
We also have a thriving small group ministry where families can connect, grow in their faith, and build lasting relationships.
Coming up soon is our Vacation Bible School (VBS)—and we’d love for your children to join us!
July 14–18 | 9:00 AM – Noon
This year’s theme is “Wonder Junction: Marvel at Jesus and Live for His Glory”—a week of exciting Bible stories, music, crafts, and fun designed to help kids know and follow Jesus. Register here.
And starting September 7, we’re launching a new opportunity during our Sunday service:
Children’s Worship for K through 2nd Grade.
During the sermon, kids will be dismissed for a special time of age-appropriate Bible teaching and fun, giving parents the chance to fully engage while knowing their children are learning about Jesus in a meaningful and engaging way.
We’d love the opportunity to meet you and walk alongside your family in your faith journey. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions—we hope to see you soon!
Warmly,
Pastor Gage Jordan
Pastor of Families and Outreach
Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCA)
