January 10, 2016
DES News
IN THIS ISSUE
ANNOUNCEMENTS
From our Principal
From the PTO Co-Presidents
PCMS Informational Coffees for Rising 6th Grade Parents
NEW TWITTER ADDRESS
SCHOOL CLUBS
Coding Club at Dunwoody Elementary
Girls on the Run Registration
UPCOMING EVENTS
Chick-fil-A Spirit Night - Tuesday, January 12
All Pro Dad - Friday, January 15
GET INVOLVED
Lunch Bunch Volunteers
School Store Volunteers Needed
RECOGNITION
DES Spelling Bee Winner
DES Employees of the Year
Calendar At a Glance
This Week
Tuesday, January 12, 7am - School Council Meeting
Tuesday, January 12, 5-8pm - Chick-fil-A Spirit Night
Friday, January 15, 6:45am - All Pro Dad Breakfast
Friday, January 15, 8-10am - PTO Executive Committee Meeting
 
Next Week
Monday, January 18 - NO SCHOOL
Thursday, January 21- 5:30-6pm - PTO General Membership Meeting
Thursday, January 21- 6-8pm - Prospective Parent Night


ANNOUNCEMENTS

From our Principal

Greetings!
  
Happy New Year!  We are finally waking up to temperatures below freezing.  Please make sure your children are dressed for the weather, and make sure that you label all clothing items with your child's first and last names.  We make every effort to return any labeled items from Lost and Found prior to charity donation.

Our next Principal's Coffee will be Wednesday, January 27 at 7:45am. Representatives from the district office will present information to help you better understand last year's student report for Georgia Milestones, an accountability assessment given to students in grades 3, 4, and 5.  We will also plan to end the morning with information from our gifted liaison, Nancy Obenschain, regarding the eligibility process for students in grades 1, 3, 5.  Our meeting will be longer than usual due to having two speakers.

We have had a productive first semester at DES.  I thank you for your support as we continually seek to improve our school culture and our instructional program.  Some of the highlights are as follows:
  • Implementation of an explicit vocabulary instructional program schoolwide
  • Teacher professional development regarding writing instruction along with the addition of a writing benchmark for grades 3-5 (Write Score)
  • Facilitation of a typing program for students in grades 3-5
  • Continued training of teachers in grades K and 1 for Orton Gillingham.  We trained 6 additional teachers this year
  • Baseline scores for Georgia Milestones were better than expected and comparable to the surrounding schools
  • Acquiring a partnership with Georgia State University's College of Education to accept a majority of student interns.  We will host approximately 7 interns this semester with the expectation to take more in 2016-2017.  Georgia State will in turn offer professional development and support as needed.  Student interns are expected to support instruction through small group work under the supervision of the teacher
  • Celebration of the one year anniversary of STEM certification - focus on nature trail curriculum and interactive journal writing in Science.  We also added a hydroponics program and a computer lab teacher/curriculum
  • Addition of computer coding which is taught on a weekly/daily basis
  • Improved traffic flow for morning carpool and the addition of a second crossing guard for the lower entrance
  • Facility improvements include a finished playground project, audio/visual upgrades in the cafeteria, and benches on the playground
It has already been a busy year, and we continue to analyze and evaluate all our programs for their effectiveness.  We have limited time in the day with your children, and we want to make sure that every minute counts.  Thank you for your support and encouragement of our teachers who daily strive to provide the best education possible for your children.
 
Jennifer Sanders
From the PTO Co-Presidents

The PTO has received an overwhelming response from the DES staff and bus drivers for the holiday gift we were able to give them. Thank you to all families that paid their Annual Dues! Each staff member and bus driver enjoyed a cash gift just prior to winter break. We wanted the DES Community to know that they have sent us a huge message of gratitude and appreciation. We would also like to thank our Staff Appreciation Chairs, Kim Rivera and Terica Harleaux, for organizing the distribution of funds, no small feat!
  
The PTO General Membership Meeting and Nominating Committee Election is on Thursday, January 21, at 5:30pm in the cafeteria. We are preparing for the 2016-2017 school year by voting, and electing, our 2015-2016 Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is charged with putting together the slate of PTO Executive Committee officers for next year. If you are interested in serving on the Nominating Committee, please contact Jennifer Fenmore, for additional information. Nominations can also be taken from the floor on Thursday evening. Please join us on January 21st as we elect those individuals.
  
Our Prospective Parent Night is on Thursday, January 21, at 6pm, immediately following our PTO General Membership meeting. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to get to know our school. Please spread the word about all the wonderful things that are happening at Dunwoody Elementary, and send your friends and neighbors to Prospective Parent Night.

We look forward to seeing you this Tuesday night at our Chick-fil-A spirit night.

PCMS Informational Coffees for Rising 6th Grade Parents

Peachtree Charter Middle School invites all parents of 5th graders to our informational coffee 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 Media Center on January 19, at 9:00am and in the cafeteria on Sunday, January 31, 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.

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

B. Scott Heptinstall
Principal, PCMS
 New Twitter Address
Please make sure to follow DES on Twitter @des180_sanders for any school updates or last minute notifications.

SCHOOL CLUBS

Coding Club at Dunwoody Elementary

Dunwoody Elementary School is pleased to announce that it will be starting a coding club sponsored by Mr. Hughes. 
 
Applications can be found outside Mr. Hughes's room, #2-342 (the Mac Lab).  Applications are due by January 11. Announcements will be made to the students via WDES throughout this week to remind them to fill out an application, if they so desire. 

This club is for 3rd - 5th graders. It will meet in the mornings from 7:10 - 7:50am. 3rd Grade will meet Monday morning, 4th grade will meet Tuesday morning and 5th grade will meet Wednesday morning. Club meetings will begin the week of January 25th

Requirements for consideration to join the club: 
Students must be in academic standing without any academic concerns(they must have an A/B average and will not be attending any tutoring sessions as given by homeroom teachers), and the students must not be involved in any other morning activities (such as band or WDES). 

Membership will be determined by a lottery style drawing. 

Remember, applications are due by January 11
Thank you, 

Mr. Hughes
Girls on the Run Registration

Girls on the Run will begin spring registration, using a lottery system, on January 14.  See our website for details about the new registration process: http://girlsontherunatlanta.org/get-involved/register-your-girl/. 

GOTR meets twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday beginning February 8 and ending the week of April 25 at Dunwoody Elementary. The GOTR program is for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade girls. 

Girls on the Run is a transformational physical activity based positive youth development program for girls. We teach life skills through dynamic interactive lessons and running games. The program culminates with the girls being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5K running event. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness. The fee is $170 for the 12-week season, and partial scholarships are available during online registration on a sliding scale fee starting at $25.

To register, see our website:
  
Coach Young
DES Site Coordinator

UPCOMING EVENTS


Spirit Night
Tuesday, January 12, 5-8pm

   Please join us Tuesday, January 12, from 5pm-8pm at Chick-fil-A Perimeter Pointe for Spirit Night! 
  
DES gets credit for all sales from our school community, dine-in or drive-through, anytime between 5pm and 8pm
  
Please be sure to mention "DES" at the time of purchase. 
  
Stop by the 'ice dream' table to visit with the 4th grade teachers who will be serving. 
  
Thank you Chick-fil-A of Perimeter Pointe for your support of DES!

Chick-fil-A Perimeter Pointe   
      
DES Dads, please come to our All Pro Dad Breakfast this month.
  
Friday, January 15
6:45 to 7:45am
Please arrive for breakfast in the cafeteria (6:45 - 7:15am)
Program will begin in the media center at 7:20.
This month's topic is "Making Good Choices"

 "All Pro Dad is a simple idea with a profound impact. It's a one-
hour monthly breakfast held before school where fathers and their
children meet with other dads and kids in the school cafeteria.
During this time, we will discuss a wide range of family topics,
spend time together, create fun memories, and leave equipped
with resources to strengthen your relationship with your child."

 The program is fun and free! All you need to do is attend, and if you want to purchase breakfast, you may do so in the cafeteria by using your child's "My School Bucks" account, cash or check ($1.65 adults, $1.20 children). If you do not have a "My School Bucks" account, please register for one at  www.myschoolbucks.com� before the meeting.
  
To help with keeping the parking lot and carpool drop off running smoothly, please park at GA Perimeter College and walk over to school.

 Please visit our chapter website for dates and more information. Copy and paste the following web address:
http://www.allprodad.com/2657 or contact Chris Wilburn at:

GET INVOLVED

Lunch Bunch Volunteers

 
The new signup genius for Lunch Bunch 2016 has been posted.
 
Please consider volunteering for 2nd semester. We love seeing our parent volunteers helping out around DES!!!

 
Thank you,

Erika Cuttino and Andrea Perez

School Store Volunteers Needed

The School Store needs volunteers for Tuesday & Thursday mornings from 7:10-7:40am. This is a great opportunity to get to know the staff and many of the kids before the work day even begins. The success of our school store is entirely dependent on volunteers and works best for everyone when we have two volunteers at each shift. Please consider signing up for one of the shifts at the following signup genius link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0949acad22a13-school
 
Please contact Kim-Lee Yarberry or Dana Coulter if you have any questions.

Kim-Lee Yarberry
Dana Coulter

RECOGNITION

DES Spelling Bee Winner

DES held a Spellng Bee on Thursday, December 17, 2015. We were pleased to have 18 participants from the 4th and 5th grade.

For the second year in a row our winner was Dhruv Advani, 5th grade, Ms. Soucy's homeroom. Dhruv will go on to represent DES in the District Spelling Bee in February.

Our runner up was Ayati Shrivastave, 5th grade, Mr. Leftwich's homeroom.

Congratulations to all on a job well done!
Employees of the Year

Kelly Nettles, Special Education Teacher, will represent Dunwoody Elementary as the 2016 - 2017 Teacher of the Year, and Michael Thomas, Special Education Paraprofessional, will serve as the Educational Support Person of the Year.  Congratulations to both of these excellent educators who are well-deserving of the honor!  DeKalb County School District will recognize these employees at a formal dinner this year.

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 [email protected]. 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 [email protected].

  
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