Illinois State Board of Education Academic Excellence Award

I am pleased to share the news that Dunlap Grade School recently received the 2010 Illinois State Board of Education Academic Excellence Award. This recognition is reserved for only the highest performing schools in the state. Dunlap Grade School was one of only 459 schools to receive this award. This is our 4th consecutive year being recognized. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement! You can read more about this special recognition and view a complete listing of schools receiving this award at http://www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu/ .

Drama Club!

Drama Club is off to a wonderful start at Dunlap Grade School this year!  Drama Club is a program offered through the Peoria Park District and it teaches kids how to communicate, act, perform and be confident in front of an audience.  Miss Negley is in charge of the program at our school.  This is 3rd year teaching drama and her 5th as a second grade teacher at DGS! 

This is a 20 week program.  This first 10 weeks will be spent practicing dramatic and communication skills.  The second 10 weeks will be spent applying the skills we have learned into auditioning and presenting a play! 

We had over 60 kids who were interested in participating in this program!  Due to the large numbers we were only able to take 36 students from 4th and 5th grade.  Our first meeting was in September and we got to work straight away coming up with what Drama Club should look like for the year.  As a group we came up with the following:

Ground Rules
1. Be Dramatic
2. Participate
3. Be Safe
4. Be Responsible
5. Be Encouraging
6. Treat others the way you would want to be treated by being nice, respectful and understanding

Mission Statement
We, the Drama Stars, will have fun and be dramatic so we can learn how to act, build sets, memorize lines and work on a team.  We will do this by obeying the rules, listening and being energetic!

I was super impressed with what the students were able to come up and how they have all been working hard to meet our mission and follow our rules.  Please check out some pictures from our first few weeks of practice and we hope you can join us for the Spring Performance! (Stay Tuned for details coming at the beginning of 2011!!)

Drama Queens and Drama Kings

Go Eagles!

The first and fourth grade students were treated to a special presentation from Wildlife Prairie State Park on Friday, Oct. 8.  The students were able to see up close and learn about Bald Eagles, Great Horned Owls, and Barn Owls.  Below is a slide show of pictures taken during the program.  Thank you to Joe Hand and Wildlife Prairie State Park for bringing this experience to DGS!

Box Tops Video

Check out this customized Box Tops video I made for our school.  It’s a fun, inspiring way to celebrate all the good your clipping (and clicking) did last year – and how we can do even more this year. 

 http://www.boxtops4education.com/share/makeadifference/Default.aspx?vid=76

Please share this video with your friends and family!  Each person who views our school’s video before November 15th can enter for a chance to win 5,000 Bonus Box Tops!  Another simple way to make a big difference.

Thanks,

Jackie Ripper

Camp Wokanda

Mrs. Lanser and Mrs. Ketcham’s third grade classes attended a field trip to Camp Wokanda for the storytelling and music festival on Friday, Sept. 24.  The students enjoyed learning about various musical instruments like the jaw harp and dulcimer, as well as, listening to stories about haunted houses and sun babies.  Definitely a trip worth “telling” about!

A special thank you goes out to our Parents’ Club for covering the cost of the trip.  Below is a slide show of some of the pictures taken on the trip.

DGS Students Reach Fundraising Goal!

Thank you to all the DGS parents, students, and staff who participated in the Fall Fundraiser!  This year, our goal was $24,000 in sales.  Right now, BEFORE online sales have been received, we have a total of $23,768.50, with seventy-seven percent of the student body participating. Way to go everyone!  Once online sales are totaled and we reach our goal,  the ENTIRE school will qualify to have a Games2U event party.  Details and dates will be announced soon!  Thank you again for everyone’s involvement in making this a successful fundraiser!

Please mark your calendars for the delivery date of Wednesday, Oct. 20.  Additional information on the pick-up times will be posted in an upcoming Parent Bulletin.

DGS will receive approximately 45% of the total sales in cash profit.  The money has tentatively been set aside to purchase a sound system to enhance our drama and music programs.  Additionally, the GSC is considering the purchase of picnic tables and benches for school and community use.   A special thank you goes out to Deanna Shively for all of her extra work making this year’s fall fundraiser our most successful ever!

Explore More Day

Explore More Day is a special day at DGS where students participate in activities that normally do not happen at school.  The purpose of Explore More Day is to engage students in new and unique learning experiences.  There were twenty-two different sessions planned for this special day.  Some of this year’s favorite sessions included horseback riding, robotics, archery, scuba diving, golf, and much, much more.  The staff at DGS would like to sincerely thank all of the volunteers and presenters that made this day possible.  We are interested in your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.  We welcome your comments and will use them to guide our planning for the next Explore More Day.

Peoria Journal Star Article & Pictures 

Dunlap Grade Parent Blog ~New~

Welcome to the Dunlap Grade Parent Blog. This blog is to be used to enhance two-way communication between school and home. We, at Dunlap Grade School, believe effective communication is essential in promoting the success of all students. By inviting constructive conversation, we feel we can better meet the needs of all students at Dunlap Grade School.

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