Important Dates 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 9  Form Filling Day (with interpreters) – to complete Family File and Lunch forms Sept 11 Form Filling Day (with interpreters) - to complete Family File and Lunch forms 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 DLES Families,      It’s hard to believe, but the summer is winding down quickly and another school year is right around the corner.  Don’t forget that school begins on Tuesday, September 3rd!      We will host our annual Open House today, Friday, August 30th at 2:00 PM for Kindergarten through 5th grades and 10:00 AM for our preschool/prek students.  As in years past, classroom teachers sent a post card home to students with their homeroom teacher assignments (AM/PM).  We hope to see all of our families at Open House today.      Our school building looks great and the teachers are working hard to prepare their classrooms.  We have also had the pleasure of meeting some of our new students and their families and look forward to talking with more of you in the coming weeks.  We have a few new staff members to welcome to our DLES family.  Many of these new staff members are due to a few new programs this year.  We have increased by four classroom teachers for Title 1 and four additional staff members for our ALS Regional Program.  Below is a list of our newest DLES staff members: Psychologist – Alyson Mitchel Math Interventionist – Kathleen Marino Math Support Teacher – Kristen Mangus Reading Support Teacher – Joanna Kasada General Music / Band – Maggie Mellott Art – Betsy Morningstar Technology – Sarah Melvin Special Ed Para – Kristen Healey Special Ed para – Shirin Kapur Special Ed Para – Kim Wrisk Paice PreSchool Para – Emily Peterson Student Assistant – Jennifer Tennant Student Assistant – Annie Pitts RECC Student Assistant – Tyra Lowery Hispanic Achievement Liaison – Elcy Seminara             Back to School Nights are just around the corner so mark your calendars.  Back to School Night for Grades 1 and 2 is scheduled for Monday, September 16th beginning at 6:30 PM.  Our GT Back to School Night will be held on Wednesday, September 18th beginning at 6:00 PM followed by Back to School Night for Grades 3-5 at 6:30 PM.      If you know of new families that have moved into the neighborhood, please encourage them to call the school office to arrange an appointment to register their children.     We are looking forward to our best year ever at Ducketts Lane!  We are so fortunate to serve as your administrative team. Best regards, Mrs. Balter, Principal Mrs. Madden, Assistant Principal   FREE Breakfast   Family File It is time to update your child's emergency contact information in HCPSS Connect! This is the most important step as we prepare for the start of the 2018-2019 school year.  Your Family file needs to be updated every school year.  Families that update and complete their Family File will be able to view teacher assignments for the upcoming school year beginning August 29, 2018. In addition, having this information is critical to us as soon as the first day of school. HCPSS uses Family File for parents/guardians to complete emergency information. Parents/guardians must verify and/or update information for each child, and can do so by logging in to HCPSS Connect and selecting the Family File tab and then clicking on Family File. Once logged in, parents/guardians will be asked to provide or update the following information: Student information Parent/guardian contact Emergency contacts Medical information Arrival/dismissal procedures Media release (photo approval) Data confidentiality PTA/PTSA directory Changes of address may not be made through Family File. If you have recently moved, please contact DLES at 410-313-5050 as soon as possible as we need to update your address in our files as well. Parents who have forgotten their login credentials for Family File may click the “Forgot Password” link on the sign in page. If you need additional assistance, please call DLES at 410-313-5050. Please complete the Family File through HCPSS Connect!   DLES PTA You can join the 19-20 PTA right now. Use this link DLES PTA Membership Form   Summer Cleaning - Gently used Board Games needed Have you been doing any summer cleaning? We are looking for gently used board games to replenish our indoor recess games. Any donations would be appreciated!