It's hard to believe that November has flown past, and it was definitely a busy month at DES! It is my pleasure to share all the wonderful activities and events that have made DES a great place to learn!
 

We began our month with a focus on the election. Our students in grades 3-5 participated in a mock election organized by our Social Studies Committee. Patriotic decorations surrounded the voting booths and voter registration tables managed by our parent volunteers. Students received a sticker after voting so that they could proudly support being a contributing US citizen!
 

Our students further shared their patriotic spirit with the celebration of Veteran's Day. Students involved with the local scouting organizations wore their uniforms to school and proudly represented their troops by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance over the morning broadcast. At lunch, students in uniform received a small token of appreciate from our area scout masters.
 

Two grade levels participated in enriching field trips this month. Fifth grade students participated in the fine arts trip to the High Museum of Art. The trip is arranged by the arts department and is one of the highlights of the school year. Our kindergarten students celebrated their Community Helper Day with an onsite field trip from the police, local firefighters, the canine unit, the Marines, and other community heroes. The students had a great time crawling through the cars and getting an up close and personal experience.
 

Other enriching opportunities included the DeKalb County Elementary Honor Chorus Festival which is an event where chorus students get together to sing several songs culminating in a group performance. Only two boys and two girls are selected from each school. The students who participated this year were Emily Cota, Abby Sim, Hunter Olive and Ritesh Manugula.
 

Also, Kathy Forte, parent volunteer, has worked hard to get our organic gardening program off the ground. The first harvest was this month, and our parent volunteers gathered children at recess to reap the benefits of their work. Students eagerly ran to the table to have a taste of lettuce from their garden!
 

The DES teachers have been enriching their skills as well through professional development opportunities. Mr. Unger and Mrs. Mattison attended the Technology Conference to acquire the latest and greatest technology advancements for schools. Mrs. Reynolds attended the Physical Education Conference in Savannah where she also accepted a Jump Rope for Heart award for DES. Our first grade teachers visited a local area school to observe master teachers and gain new insights for teaching our Fountas and Pinnell reading program. 
 

Other highlights of the month include our staff kickball game where the teachers of students in grades 3-5 demonstrated that they are the rulers of the kickball field! We appreciate all the parents and students who came out to support their teachers!

Our PTO has also been quite busy! Thank you to Robert Apple for organizing the All Pro Dads event. This month we had a record breaking 104 participants! Thanks to Tommy McNeese for hosting a productive and fun Grounds Day. Thanks to Julie Cole for setting up a beautiful refreshment table for our Dunwoody Cluster Parent Council meeting. Finally, a BIG thank you to the PTO for serving a delicious Thanksgiving Feast to the DES staff members!

Thank you to all our volunteers, parents, teachers and great students for making DES the best!