Dear Families,
As Principal of Dunlap Grade School, I am eager to begin the 2013-2014 school year and welcome our staff and students back for another wonderful year of learning. Our mission at DGS is to develop lifelong learners and we have plans in place to do just that.
Ongoing Communication
My personal goal is to maintain open communication with the families of DGS. You will be able to access https://dunlapgradeschool.edublogs.org/, follow us on twitter @dgsroyals, and like us at www.facebook.com/DunlapGrade for information regarding special events and news related to DGS. You may also view the DGS webpage at http://www.dunlapcusd.net/dgs/. You may also email me at mellis@dunlapcusd.net. My door is open and I welcome you to stop by and introduce yourself.
Accomplishments
The summer has been a busy time for DGS. The office, teachers, and support staff have been busy making sure DGS is ready for the first day of school. A list of our accomplishments includes:
- Creation of student recognition programming
- Hiring of 3 teachers, music teacher, literacy aide, and classroom aides
- Meeting of the Building Leadership team to begin to formulate vision and goals for the year
- Professional Development in the areas of creativity, innovation, professional learning communities, social/emotional learning, math and reading.
- Deep cleaning of all classrooms, common areas, and building façade
- Painting of five classrooms
- New landscaping
Faculty Spotlight
The staff at DGS is filled with educated and enthusiastic individuals that are working collaboratively to ensure the best possible educational environment for your children. Our team this year consists of:
Mandy Ellis, Principal
Lisa Kamin, Secretary
Connie Miller, Office Assistant
Britney Barackman, Kindergarten
Amy Douglas, Kindergarten
John Weaver, Classroom Aide
Courtney Erikson, First Grade
Jennifer Donavan, First Grade
Stefanie Pitzer, Second Grade
Kelsie Zarko, Second Grade
Michelle Graber, Classroom Aide
Jamie Flinn, Speech Pathologist
Natalie Lanser, Third Grade
Samantha Mahrt, Third Grade
Jennie Hatch, Student Aide
Kristen Bishop, Student Aide
Dan Eckert, Fourth Grade
Teresa (Marquis) Jarrick, Fourth Grade
Susan Piper, Fifth Grade
Rachel Wooden, Fifth Grade
Nicole Baier, Special Education
Sara Nauman, Special Education
Danyell Alger, World Language
Kelly Bailey, Counselor
Lisa Sell, Literacy Aide
Karen Conlon, School Psycologist
Alyssa Cabrera, School Social Worker
Dave Combs, Physical Education
Steve Wright, Art
Joshua Anderson, Music
Tina Holloway, Band
Chris Adams-Wenger, Orchestra
Amy Berg, Technology
Michelle Mueckler, Librarian
George Horrie, Custodian
Nancy Riekena, Night Custodian
Renee Kuykendall, Head Cook
Jean Deckard, Cafeteria
Important Back to School Dates
Dunlap Grade has several important events coming up. You will be able to view these events on our school website and will receive updates regarding additional upcoming events in the Parent Bulletin that will be sent weekly.
- August 12, 2013: Bus and Class lists will be posted by 4pm on PowerSchool. All new families are also receiving PowerSchool login information. If you need additional support accessing PowerSchool, please contact the office.
- August 13, 2013: Kindergarten Back to School Night at 5:30 pm. Kindergarten students and their families are invited to meet their teachers, learn about DGS from me, and tour a bus and the cafeteria.
- August 15, 2013: 1st-5th Grade Back to School Night 6:30-7:30pm. Students and parents are invited to bring their supplies to their classrooms, meet their teachers, and meet with Parent’s Club leadership members in an Open House format.
- August 16, 2013: First Day of School. School will be a full day and students will dismiss at 2:45pm
- August 27, 2013: Picture Day
- August 29, 2013: Fall Fundraiser Kick-Off Assembly at 1:45 pm
- September 2, 2013: No School– Labor Day
School Hours
We will once again follow an early dismissal schedule every Wednesday throughout the school year this year. This time allows our teacher’s to work collaboratively as Professional Learning Communities with the ultimate goal of improving teaching and learning for all students. You can find more information about Professional Learning Communities on our district website at www.dunlapcusd.net.
School / Level
|
Total Minutes
|
|
2013-14 School Schedule
|
M, T, Th, F
|
Wednesday
|
Start Time
|
End Time
|
Start Time
|
End Time
|
Elementary School
|
7 hours
|
7:39
|
2:45
|
7:39
|
2:15
|
Middle School
|
7 hours
|
8:24
|
3:30
|
8:24
|
3:00
|
High School
|
7 hours, 6 minutes
|
8:18
|
3:30
|
8:18
|
3:00
|
HS Zero Hour
|
49 minutes
|
7:24
|
8:13
|
7:24
|
8:13
|
Birthday and Classroom Party Treat Guidelines
Foods that come from home for sharing among children for birthday treats or classroom celebrations must be either whole fruits or vegetables or commercially prepared foods in individually sealed packaging that do not contain nuts. This is necessary for both health and safety so we can then read the label to see the ingredients for children with allergies and special nutritional needs. Any items not individually sealed, that contain nuts or baked goods from home or from a bakery will be sent home.
Transportation
- Class Lists and Bus Route information will be posted in Powerschool by the end of the business day on August 12th. Information regarding bus stops and times will be available at that time. Powerschool information was sent home in registration packets in May. If you need assistance with Powerschool Login information, please contact the office.
- Please reserve bus transportation changes only for child care situations or emergencies. Transportation changes will not be issued for play dates or social reasons.
- Morning Procedures will include bus drop-off in the rear of the building. Students arriving to the school by car should be dropped off in the front of the building. All students will report to the gym upon arrival to school.
- All student absences must be reported to the office by 8:00 am. You may call the office at 243-7772 or email the office to report an absence by clicking on the ‘email an absence’ link at the top of the DGS homepage. Please notify the office if you need to pick up your child during the school day due to an appointment.
Student Code of Conduct
The Student Code of Conduct will be distributed to each student during the first few days of school and reviewed by the classroom teacher during the first few weeks of school. Parents will need to sign off stating they’ve read and understand the policies in the handbook and code of conduct. You will receive this information from your child’s classroom teacher.
Visitors
We welcome parents as volunteers in our building. A new security system was installed this summer. All visitors to the school will be required to buzz in at the front entrance of the building and sign in at the office. There are visitor’s badges on the sign-in table that we ask all visitors to wear while in the building. In order to maintain the integrity of the learning environment, we do not allow unannounced visits to classrooms during the instructional day. All classroom visits must be approved by the classroom teacher and/or the building principal ahead of time. This allows us to minimize disruptions to the instruction taking place in our classrooms.
School Calendar
The Dunlap School District has developed a school calendar that will allow parents to access all district events in one central location. www.dunlap323.tandemcal.com will allow families to view and subscribe to calendar updates and filter events for individual or multiple schools in the district. An additional PDF calendar will be available on the DGS website under the Parents tab. In addition, monthly calendars will be on the back of the lunch menus each month.
Parent’s Club
Dunlap Grade School has a proud history of parental support and involvement. I encourage you to stop by the Parent’s Club informational area in the cafeteria during Open House to get more information on how you can get involved. We have opportunities available for all parents that you can do at school or from home.
Next Steps
We have a lot of exciting initiatives and continued implementation of quality educational programming at Dunlap Grade this year.
- Implementation of Math in Focus curriculum at all levels
- World Language (Spanish) instruction at the K-1 Levels
- Second Step, a social-emotional learning curriculum, implementation at all levels
- Creation of Common Formative Assessments to drive instruction
- Development of 21st Century Learning strategies utilizing new technologies
- Continued use of Professional Learning Communities
- Monitoring school goals on the School Data Center and in classroom data centers and student data binders
Parents, teachers, support staff, and administration all have an important role to encourage and empower our children to become active learners that will excel in a global society. It is my sincere desire to provide expanded opportunities for our students to acquire the skills to become productive citizens in a vastly changing society. Through a close and collegial partnership with everyone associated with Dunlap Grade School, I am confident we can make our school an even better place for our students to learn and grow.
Respectfully,
Mandy Ellis
Dunlap Grade School Principal