IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

June 17  5th Grade Fun in the Sun

June 17  2nd Grade End of Year activities

June 18  Last student day for half day PreK and RECC students only

June 18  5th Grade Promotion: Guests arrive at 9:00am/Ceremony begins at 9:15am

June 18  Kindergarten End of Year activity  2:00-3:00pm

June 18  3rd Grade End of year activity

June 19  School closes 3 hours early (12:20pm)

June 20  School closes 3 hours early (12:20pm)

June 21 All medication in the Health Room must be picked up by 12:20pm

June 21  Last student day Grades K-5: School closes at 12:20pm

 

Aug 29  TVMS Orientation for incoming 6th grade students  1:15-2:15pm

Aug 29  TVMS Wolfpack Rally  2:15-3:15pm

Aug 29  RECC and PreK Back to School Night  5:00pm

Aug 29  Kindergarten Back to School Night  6:00pm

Aug 30  RECC and PreK Open House  10:00-11:00am

Aug 30  Grades K-5 Open House  2:00-3:00pm

 

Sept  2  Schools & Offices closed- Labor Day

Sept  3  School begins for Grades K-5

Sept  5  School begins for RECC and PreK

Sept 12 TVMS Back to School Night  6:00pm

Sept 16 DLES Back to School Night- Grades 1 and 2

Sept 18 DLES Back to School Night –Grades 3,4 and 5

 

MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATION

Dear Families,

 

We are all very excited that summer vacation is coming soon. In fact, we only have 5 days remaining.

 

Dine and Dance was a huge success.  The dancing, eating, and face painting was fun for all.  Thank you to the staff for joining in the fun and planning this amazing event.  This week the fifth grade students participated in Simulated Congressional Hearings. The students’ speeches were impressive!  Thank you parents for supporting your students by practicing with them at home and coming to hear them in action testifying in front of judges. 

 

Please come to DLES on Tuesday, June 18th or Thursday, June 20th to register for kindergarten.  We need students registered to place them in kindergarten classes.  We will also have a Spanish interpreter available to assist with registration.

 

Have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Balter and Mrs. Madden

 

MESSAGE FROM KATHY SCHMID, SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST

Dear Ducketts Lane Community,

It is with very mixed feelings that I am writing to let you know that I will be retiring at the end of this school year.  While I am looking forward to the more relaxed pace that retirement will bring, I will dearly miss the students, families and staff of DLES.  It has been a great honor and privilege to work alongside such wonderful students and their families.  I have loved watching our students progress and flourish over the years!  I am so thankful to have worked in such a supportive community and appreciate all your efforts, dedication, and kindness.  I wish you and your children the very best for the future!

 

ARE YOU MOVING?

Please let us know as soon as possible if your child will not be attending Ducketts Lane next year.  If your family is moving within the DLES attendance area, please bring your new residency documents into the front office so we can update your child’s records.  If you are moving to another Howard County area, another MD school district or out of state, notify the front office.  It is important that we have an enrollment number that is accurate.  Enrollment affects the number of teachers assigned to our school. Call us at 410-313-5050 or stop in between the hours of 8:00am- 3:00pm during the summer.

 

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION   2019-20

The time to register your child is NOW!  Registration for new students or students entering public school kindergarten in fall 2019 has begun in all HCPSS schools. Children entering kindergarten in the fall of 2019 must be 5 years of age on or before September 1, 2019.  Children entering first grade in the fall of 2019 must be 6 years old on or before September 1, 2019.  For details about registration and enrollment, visit www.hcpss.org/enroll/.  If you have any questions or would like to schedule a registration appointment, please call the DLES front office at 410-313-5050. 

 

PTA NEWS

Dear Ducketts Lane Families,

 

I have had the pleasure of serving as President of the Ducketts Lane PTA for the last two years. During that time, the PTA held many successful community building events such as the glow party, movie nights, and book bingo, funded several cultural arts events, hosted an international night and celebrated our teachers during teacher appreciation week.  Not only did we hold these events, we also advocated for the interests of the students here at DLES both with the school administration and county. 

 

The success of the PTA over the past two years would not be possible without the amazing PTA executive board, a very supportive administrative team, dedicated teachers, enthusiastic volunteers and all of the parents at Ducketts Lane who supported our activities. 

 

I will miss my time as President and I know the success of the PTA will continue under our next President, Bethany Lightcap. Thank you all for your support and I hope you have a wonderful summer!

 

Best,

Chris Lawrence

                                                                         

YEARBOOK ORDERS 

Yearbooks will be sent home on Monday, June 17th with all students who have paid for them and all 5th graders.  We only have 20 books left and orders will be filled on a first paid, first served basis.  The ONLINE payment option is no longer available.

 

You may send the completed Yearbook envelope to the front office with a checkpayable to Strawbridge for the amount of $10.00. Please do not make the check payable to DLES.  Please do not place an order for your 5th gradestudent.  Our fundraising efforts and a donation from the PTA will cover the cost of a yearbook for each 5th grade student!  Any questions, contact Mrs. Forman in the Front Office.

 

THE 5th GRADE PROMOTION CEREMONY will be held on Tuesday, June 18th at 9:15am.  Arrival time for guests is 9:00am.  Due to space limitations, each fifth grade student is permitted to have two guests.  Seating is extremely limited.  There will be seating in the cafeteria and mini auditorium. School-aged siblings may not attend. Please do not bring strollers to this event. Thank you for understanding. Light refreshments will be served after the ceremony. We encourage students to dress to impress!

 

KINDERGARTEN END OF YEAR CELEBRATION

Parents are invited to join us in their child's classroom from 2:00-3:00 pm on Tuesday, June 18th to celebrate all we have accomplished this school year! 

 

HEALTH ROOM NEWS

Medication must be picked up by an adult from the health room no later than dismissal (12:20pm) on Friday, June 21st.  The health room is open each school day from 8:00am-3:30pm.  Please contact the health room at 410-313-1739 if you are unable to pick up the medication during that time frame.  If your child is attending summer school, it is the parents' responsibility to deliver the medication to summer school.  Any unclaimed medication will be disposed of after dismissal on Friday, June 21st.  

 

SUMMER READING ACTIVITY

As the school year comes to a close, we would like to share a summer reading initiative new to DLES this year.  In your child’s folder, you will find summer reading post cards. As students read books over the summer that they enjoy, please encourage them to write the title and why they liked it on one of the post cards.  There will be a drop box located at DLES in the front entryway this summer. Please drop the postcards off at your convenience so the staff can hang the suggestions around the school for the opening of the 2019-2020 school year. There will also be extra blank postcards available at the same location.

 

Please visit the Elkridge Library this summer as all HCPSS students have a library account in place. The students have been creating a list of books in their classrooms they would like to check out and read this summer!  Enjoy your summer reading and please share your favorite selections with us and the other students at DLES.

 

MEDIA CENTER INFORMATION

All DLES library books are due now!  We are still missing 57 books.  For books that are lost or damaged, we accept cash or check payable to DLES for the replacement cost indicated on the overdue notices.  Any questions-email Cathy_Hastings@hcpss.org.

 

CAPSTONE eBOOKS - free access for summer!

Dear Families:  We’re excited to announce a great resource for reading this summer: Capstone Interactive eBooks! This summer, Capstone is providing free access to thousands of ebooks that can be read from school, home, or on-the-go. These eBooks can be used with a laptop or desktop computer or an iPad. Best of all, Capstone Interactive eBooks provide critical supports like text-highlighting and read-aloud audio, recorded by professional voice-over artists. Plus, the easy navigation makes it inviting for your student to find their Capstone favorites: like the spunky Katie Woo, stunning photography from PebblePlus books, and thrilling reads like Library of Doom from Michael Dahl.  And you can feel comfortable knowing your student is exploring an ad-free website bursting with resources to help them read this summer!

All students have free access to Capstone eBooks through August 31, 2019.

Access thousands of books right now by going to MyCapstoneLibrary.com (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.and entering:

Username: capstonesummer
Password: interactive19

 

PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM   2019-20

Enroll now for our half day Pre-K program at DLES for the 2019-20 school year.  The Pre-K program is a high-quality, early childhood instructional program designed to support early learning and school readiness. It aims to provide experiences that foster children’s academic, social, emotional and physical development. The Maryland State Department of Education requires that the Pre-K program be made available to students who meet priority criteria.  Parents of children who will be 4 by September 1, 2019 may contact the DLES front office for an application package. All application information will be kept confidential and reviewed only by school staff. The school will review applications and supporting documentation and then invite students to enroll according to the criteria described above.

 

HCPSS SUMMER MEAL PROGRAM

The Howard County Public School System is pleased to announce its participation in the 2019 Summer Food Service Program. Summer meals will be provided to all children ages 18 years and under without charge. Acceptance and participation requirements for the Program are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Parents or guardians do not need to apply to get free summer meals for their children. They can simply bring their child to the safe summer meal site(s). There will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.

Please see the attached flyer for the list of sites and times in which meals will be available.  

If you have additional questions, please check the FAQ sheet below.

 

 

THOMAS VIADUCT MIDDLE SCHOOL

TVMS has scheduled several important dates in August and September:
Aug 29       Rising 6th grade & New 7/8th grade Student Orientation      1:15-2:15 pm

Aug 29       Wolf Pack Rally for students & families in all grades                2:15-3:15 pm

Sept 12      Back to School Night - all grades                                                      6:00 pm

 

SOLVED!  After School Transportation/Childcare and Year-Round Camps - Wow!  TheOkinawan Karate Dojo, business partner of Ducketts Lane, will be providing after school transportation (and more!) at their new facility on 4900 Waterloo Rd in Ellicott City  (Rte 103/Montgomery Rd)!  Ready for the 2019-20 school year and fully-licensed by Howard County and MD State, the Okinawan Karate Dojo has your solution!  Services include: transportation from school after dismissal to the

dojo, homework assistance, game and snack time, recreational activity (traditional karate, tumbling, etc!), a Fitness Ninja Obstacle Course, and so much more!  For information on this and their 9-weeks of summer Fitness Ninja Camp...visitOKDkarate.com or call (443) 574-8999.

 

COMMUNITY NEWS AND PROGRAMS

Please visit the Community News and Programs page at

http://www.hcpss.org/community-news-and-programs/ for announcements of upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations.