Welcome back to school and into December! We got back into the swing of things this week enjoying our Walk to School day on Wednesday! We had a great turnout and Ms. Young's Kindergarten class won the Golden Sneaker Award with 71% of the class participating. On Friday, a group of our WDES students along with parent volunteers and Mr. Stallworth joined the live broadcast for 11Alive's Annual Canned Food Drive. Our students had the rare opportunity to be a part of the noon show located at Turner Field. Thank you to all the families who donated cans for Atlanta's hungry!

Just another friendly reminder that we have an over abundance of coats, sweaters, and other outerwear in our Lost and Found located right next to our Media Center. If your child is missing an article of clothing, please have them check Lost and Found! We will donate items that have been here for two weeks on December 15.

See you around school,

Amy LeVasseur & Amanda Rountree

PTO Co-Presidents

amylevasseur@gmail.com

akrtree@gmail.com

Tiger Fund Challenge Update

The latest results are in.... In 1st place with 79% of families participating is Ms. Bass' 2nd grade class; Ms. Shelton's Kindergarten class is in 2nd place with 76% participation; and Ms. Panullo's 1st Grade class is in third place with 75%. The winning classroom will receive a free party at the Sandy Springs Funhouse!

Thank you to all the wonderful families who have donated to the Tiger Fund! Your donations help fund so many wonderful and important programs for our children at DES. We appreciate all the donations that have come in so far but we have only collected $38,000 of our $60,000 goal. Without these funds we are unable to fund programs like Teacher Appreciation, STEM Curriculum, Cultural Arts, Drug Awareness, Field Day, Visiting Authors and many more!

The deadline for the Challenge has been extended to December 13 so there is still time to contribute and make your donation count! You may drop your donation marked Tiger Fund in the PTO Mailbox in the lobby or donate online HERE.

School Directories Have Arrived

The school directories arrived just before Thanksgiving Break. Those who ordered a copy during Registration were sent home with their child's TIP. If you would like to purchase one, there is a limited amount available through the School Store. The cost is $5 each.

Congratulations to our Cover Contest winners:

Overall winner: Abigail Watts

Kindergarten: Edward Kim

First grade: Abhinav Daddi

Second grade: Maya Tabachinkoff

Third grade: Sishnukeshav Balamurali

Fourth grade: Stehanie Orr

Fifth grade: Jack Arant

We will be creating a book of all of the eligible entries and that will be kept in the browsing area in the Media Center. Thank you to all entrants for being part of the contest!

Upcoming Events

Ali's Cookies Spirit Day

Ali's Cookies Spirit Day is TODAY! Head on into Ali's today and order your holiday cookies or specialty cookie cakes. All orders placed today for upcoming parties and holiday gatherings will count towards our Spirit Day, so spread the word! Remember, a portion of the profits for today will go directly back to DES!

Holiday Party Information

Parents: All holiday parties will be held on Friday, December 20 from 1:15-2pm. There is a limit to the number of parents per classroom so please check with your room parents and/or teacher if you wish to be a part of this celebration. We ask that all parent volunteers park their cars at Georgia Perimeter College for this event. Thanks!

Some notes about the parties:

Parties begin no earlier than 1:15pm. Parents will be admitted to the classrooms no earlier than 1:00pm to set-up. Parties must end at 2:00pm so that students can be ready for dismissal. Visitors are asked to leave the campus by 2:15pm so that we can provide a safe, orderly dismissal process for our students.
Parent helpers/room parents/volunteers should be limited to 4 adults per classroom. More than 4 parents per classroom gets to be too crowded for our students.
Outdoor activities are fine, but space can not be guaranteed. No water related activities.
Parking is available at GA Perimeter College. Please avoid parking in the bus lanes (along the curb). Our buses arrive on campus by 1:30pm and need space to drive/park.
Carts will be available on the curb closest to the flagpole for those who wish to drop off items curbside prior to parking at Perimeter College.

PCMS Informational Coffees

Peachtree Charter Middle School invites all parents of 5th graders to our upcoming informational coffees to learn more about PCMS and what you need to know to prepare your rising 6th grader for middle school.

The informational coffees will be held in the PCMS Media Center on Tuesday, January 14, at 9:00am, and Sunday, February 2, at 2:00pm. The informational sessions will last 1 hour and will be followed by a school tour.

You will receive information about the summer bridge program offered to 6th graders to help with the transition to PCMS, typical 6th grade schedules, band/orchestra/choral offerings, daily PE, and the accelerated math program.

You will also have the opportunity to ask questions of the school's principal and teachers.

Additionally, PCMS Spirit Wear will be available for purchase following the coffees in the school store on January 14 from 10:00-11:00am and on February 2 from 3:00-4:00pm. Cash or check only.

Tours of PCMS are offered to parents by appointment if you are not able to
attend one of the coffees.

Get Involved

DES Lunch Bunch Needs You!

Lunch Bunch is a group of volunteers who help out in the cafeteria during lunch. It's a great way to see your child at their lunchtime! Lunch Bunch volunteers help children with their lunch needs (opening containers and cleaning up small messes etc.). Come and meet your child's classmates and see what your child actually eats for lunch!

This is a great volunteer opportunity for those who have preschool children and those who have an irregular work schedule because you can choose what days and shifts you work! There is a choice of 3 shifts, either 10:30- 11:45am, 11am-12:30pm or 11:45am-1pm.

Please email Rosemary Gorham (rosemary_gorham@hotmail.com) or Jennifer Fenmore (jenniferfenmore@yahoo.com) if you are able to help!

School Clubs

Calling all Snow Bunnies and Shredders!

Join us on the 10th DES trip to Cataloochee on Saturday, December 14th!

The trip is open to ALL DES Families. Students in Grades PreK-3rd may attend with a parent. PreK-3rd snow bunnies and shredders will take a lesson at the slopes. Fourth and fifth grade students may attend without a parent chaperone. The trip cost is $99 and includes gear rental, lift ticket, and transportation to/from North Carolina. Please contact Mrs. Mattison if you have any questions. For registration and payments please go to www.southernschoolofsnowsports.com.

See you on the slopes!

Jenn Mattison

Jennifer_S_Mattison@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us

www.lovingwhatido.org

The Jungle Book, Kids!

Do you have a 3rd, 4th or 5th grade student who loves to sing, dance and act?! If so, they need to join our fabulous cast for "The Jungle Book, Kids!" We have Mowgli, Baloo, King Louie and many more great parts to hand out to our talented kids. Information letters went home in the TIP before Thanksgiving. If you need another letter, please check out the information carosel as you enter the building or email Mrs. Miller:

(yvonne_m_miller@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us).

IMPORTANT!! The deadline for applications is Thursday, December 19, 2013. We cannot accept late forms after this date!!

Recognition

Walk to School Results

Ms. Young's kindergarten class wins the Golden Sneaker with 71% participation!

Other grade winners:

Pre-K: Ms. Morris 15%

Kindergarten 2nd place: Ms. Price 42%

First Grade: Ms. St. John 39%

Second Grade: Ms. Bass 57%

Third Grade: Ms. Hollis 38%

Fourth Grade: Ms. Thornton 40%

Fifth Grade: Ms. Soucy 31%

Canned Food Drive Results

In October, Dunwoody Elementary School sponsored a canned food drive. The goal of the school was to collect 10,000 non-perishable food items. Although no one actually counted to 10,000, we know the school did collect over 700 pounds of food, which is estimated to feed at least 500 families. The food was donated to the Atlanta Food Bank and the 11Alive Can-A-Thon. Mrs. Elaine Mach's second grade class researched the increase in poverty of Georgia families over the past ten years and did skits as news anchors to report their findings. Their presentations were featured on the 11Alive News.

Mrs. Mach's second grade class. Donna Lowry from Channel 11 is on the left; teacher, Elaine Mach, is on the right.

5th grade patrols at Dunwoody Elementary School: Jillian Hall (left), Micah Whynter (right)

Time to Nominate for LifeChanger of the Year

National Life Group is pleased to reward those school district employees who exemplify excellence, positive influence and leadership through our LifeChanger of the Year program.

Nominations are now open for our 2013 - 2014 LifeChanger of the Year program. Ten honorees will be recognized annually and awarded with a personal cash prize and school donation. The nomination period will close on January 31, 2014. LifeChanger winners will be announced in the Spring of 2014.

Nomination Procedures

Anyone, including school employees and administrators, may nominate educators and employees for the LifeChanger of the Year award. Students also are welcome to make nominations, but need to have support from a teacher or administrator. A selection committee from National Life Group will review the nominees and determine the top 10 winners based on our set criteria.

Eligibility

All K-12 education professionals and school district employees are eligible to participate. Nominees must be full-time educators, teachers, principals, or any member of the school's staff who makes a positive difference in the lives of students. The LifeChanger of the Year will be awarded without regard to race, gender, religion, age, national origin or disability.

Selection Criteria

Each award winner will be selected based on the following criteria:

A proven ability to make a beneficial difference in the lives of students
An ability to positively add to the development of the school's atmosphere
A leader in his or her activities at the school and/or district level
A proven record of excellent performance at the professional level
A commitment to producing a nurturing atmosphere

https://www.nationallifegroup.com/publicsite/views/NominationForm.aspx

Tiger Talk Information

How to Send an Announcement Using Tiger Talk

Tiger Talk is the weekly e-newsletter of the Dunwoody Elementary School PTO. Every Sunday, we publish information that is pertinent to the students and parents of DES.

The submission deadline for each issue is 10pm on Tuesday.

All announcements must be brief and sent in writing as an email to Dunwoody.TigerTalk@gmail.com. Announcements will run for two weeks prior to the event or as applicable. If you have any questions about Tiger Talk, please contact the editors at Dunwoody.TigerTalk@gmail.com.

Our school's Facebook page and Twitter account will be used to promote upcoming school events and communications. We will also allow comments from our DES community but through daily monitoring we will remove anything that is not appropriate.

Quick Links

DES School Website

PTO Website

Facebook Page

DeKalb Schools Calendar

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