DUCKETTS LANE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
OWL OBSERVER
October 16, 2019
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
Oct 18 School closed- Professional Work Day for Staff
Oct 19 Long Reach HS Homecoming Parade
Oct 21 Flu vaccine clinic
Oct 21 Ledo’s Pizza Spirit Night 4:00-8:00pm
Oct 25 4th grade field trip to Historic St. Mary’s City
Oct 30 5th grade field trip to Washington DC
Oct 30 PTA sponsored Game Night 7:00-8:30pm
Oct 31 Fall Fun Day- Parade begins promptly at 9:45am
Nov 1 End of 1st marking period
Nov 1 DLES Dismissal at 12:20pm-Professional Work Day-no half day PreK/RECC
Nov 5 Picture re-take day
Nov 5 Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night 4:00-8:00pm
Nov 8 2nd Grade field trip to the Howard County Conservancy
Nov 9 Pancake Breakfast 9:00-11:00am
Nov 11 Report cards issued
Nov 13 Math Night Grades 2-5 5:00-6:00pm
Nov 15 PTA International Night 6:30-8:00pm
Nov 18-22 American Education Week
Nov 20 1st grade field trip to Robinson Nature Center
Nov 21 Kindergarten field trip to Elkridge Library
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATION
Dear Families,
We will be holding a “Fall Fun Day” on Thursday, October 31st. The day will begin with a school-wide Halloween parade at 9:45am in the bus loop parking lot. We invite everyone to the parade so that you can get those great photographs. There are a very limited number of parking spaces so we encourage families that live close by to walk! Teachers will work through their team parents/room parents to plan the menus for a healthy snack. Students will also participate in our monthly Hoot Club PBIS celebration recognizing caring, achieving, ready to learn, everyday behaviors.
As you design/buy your child’s costume, we ask that you avoid any blood, gore, or other inappropriate and/or violent imagery. Props that come with costumes that are play weapons are not allowed in school. This includes but is not limited to: swords, guns, knives, pitchforks, etc. Students should be able to slip their costumes on in a matter of minutes by themselves (you may want to assist your child by practicing this at home). Students should bring their costumes in a bag labeled with their name the day of or sooner. Please don’t send your child to school in their costume. If you have a Halloween costume from previous years and would like to donate it to the school for students who do not have a costume, please label it “donation” and it will be put to good use.
Beginning this school year, you will see changes to the Learning Behaviors section of the HCPSS report card. These changes are in alignment with the updated Elementary Grading and Reporting Policy. Please use this link to learn more about Policy 8010.
Learning Behaviors are learned actions that enable students to access learning and interact with others productively in the community. These behaviors are developed in and outside of school. Additionally, Learning Behaviors help with understanding and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and making responsible decisions that are essential life skills. The learning behaviors also complement the curriculum content taught in the elementary grades and are a natural part of learning about oneself while interacting with others. These new learning behaviors were collaboratively developed with teachers, administrators, curriculum staff, and parent advisory committees.
Please use this link to learn more about the Learning Behaviors. Use this link for information in Spanish.
You can access a web-based version of the Student and Parent Handbook here. The handbook contains information on everything from student support services and family involvement to student responsibilities to HCPSS policies.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Balter and Mrs. Madden
Update your child's emergency contact information in HCPSS Connect!
Your Family file needs to be updated every school year.
This information must be completed before your child can go on a field trip!
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 important information.
Parents who have forgotten their login credentials for Family File may click the “Forgot Password” link on the sign in page.
PTA NEWS
It’s Game Night at DLES!
Let the games begin! Come join us October 30th at 7:00 pm for some family fun! We will provide board games, cards, puzzles and some yummy snacks! Feel free to bring your own family favorite games to share.
International Night at Ducketts Lane ES!
You are cordially invited to come see, taste, and experience our world!
Join us for International Night at Ducketts Lane ES on November 15th at 6:30pm! We are looking for families to volunteer, join the fun, and share their culture with our community! Let’s all come together to celebrate our community’s diversity through art, food, traditional dress, displays, artifacts, flags, and stage performances from some of the many countries and cultures represented at DLES. If your family would like to represent your country of origin or culture, please RSVP for a table or performance slot.
To RSVP, contact the International Night Committee at DLESInternationalNight@gmail.com, OR return a participant form to school in your student’s folder, OR visit our SignUp Genius HERE by Friday, November 8th.
Title 1 Tidbits
Have you heard of the Howard County MultiService Center ?
Their mission: To ENRICH the lives of residents in our community by offering ready ACCESS to human services and SUPPORTS for becoming self-sufficient. Below is more information including their address, hours and services they offer.
The MultiService Center
9900 Washington Blvd, Suite I
Laurel, MD 20723
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8:30am – 4:30pm
Wednesday: 10:00am – 6:00pm
Walk-ins are welcomed. Appointments can also be made in the office or by calling our main number.
Main: 410-313-0220 (voice/relay)
Fax: 410-313-0235
Bus Service: Purple Bus Route (1-800-270-9553)
If you need this information in an alternate format or need assistance, please email us at mscinfo@howardcountymd.gov.
Services are provided by staff members who are caring, knowledgeable about the resources within our community, and skilled at navigating the system of local services.
We offer the following services:
LONG REACH HS HOMECOMING PARADE VIEWING PARTY October 19, 2019
Families and staff of our feeder schools are invited to the first annual Homecoming Parade Viewing (and marching) Party this weekend!
Each feeder school is invited to set up a pop up at 8:00am in our front parking lot, perhaps with food or poster making supplies for families, while we prep for the parade. The Lightning Cheerleaders will come over and teach all the future lightning students “The Lightning Ruble” cheer. We will have some bling and some noisemakers available.
When the parade is ready to depart at 9:00am, families will go up to the curb in front of the school to watch the whole parade go by. While the parade is going through the neighborhood, the adults will help get the students assembled about a block down Tamar Drive, where the parade exits the neighborhood. Right before the parade turns onto Tamar Drive, about two blocks from the LRHS parking lot (and the end of the parade), we will pause the parade, make room for the future lightning students to join in, and they will march behind the band with their signs and cheers to the end of the parade. Parents can take pictures or march right along if they want!
As the parade ends (approx.. 9:45am), the band will peel off and create an arc in front of the school, near the pop ups, and perform their exciting Dance Show music. Families can enjoy the music, and have photo opportunities with Zeus, our mascot, football players, and cheerleaders. We will be holding a paid pancake breakfast that families are welcome to join after the parade!
HEALTH ROOM NEWS
The Flu Clinic is coming to DLES on Monday, October 21st.
CANDY FOR THE COURAGEOUS
Donate your extra wrapped Halloween candy to our military troops worldwide!
Please bring any extra unopened Halloween candy to school in a ziplock bag between November 1-5, 2019. We will be giving the candy to the USO at BWI airport so that they can give it to our troops before they travel overseas. Feel free to also write letters/cards to the troops, which will be given to our Military.
5th GRADE JOE CORBI’S FUNDRAISER
Delivery/Pick Up: Monday, Nov. 25th during Parent Teacher Conferences
(Just in time for the HOLIDAYS!) All profits will be utilized to purchase class t-shirts and yearbooks for all 5th grade students and to help decrease the cost of our field trip to Philadelphia. Your help is greatly appreciated!
HC DrugFree Updates for Parents/Guardians
Free Parenting Classes for Parents/Guardians of 9-14 Year Olds: HC DrugFree and the Howard County State's Attorney's Office, partnering with the Howard County Public School System and the Howard County Health Department, will once again provide the evidence-based series Guiding Good Choices for parents to gain skills and knowledge to reduce the risk that their children will use drugs. This 4-week series will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, October 22, 29 and November 5, 12 at Wilde Lake Middle School in Columbia. Parents are expected to attend all 4 sessions. To register, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GGCOct2019 or see attached flier. Free workbook included. If you have questions, email Joan Webb Scornaienchi, HC DrugFree’s Executive Director at Admin@hcdrugfree.org or call 443-325-0040.
Drive-thru EpiPen, Medication and More Collection: Howard County's next convenient drive-thru collection for over-the-counter and prescription medication and “sharps” (needles, syringes and EpiPens) will be held on Saturday, October 26 between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. in the Wilde Lake Village Center parking lot near the Swim Center and The UPS Store. HC DrugFree and the Howard County Police urge you to clean out your medicine cabinets. Teams, clubs, students, PTAs/PTSAs, families, scouts, etc. are welcome to volunteer at the event and receive community service hours. Please visit HC DrugFree’s website at www.hcdrugfree.org and go to the Events/Drug Take Back Day page for more information about medication disposal, or let us know you plan to volunteer by emailing Admin@hcdrugfree.org or calling 443-325-0040.
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.