On November 21st, the DASD will be offering Parent/Teacher Conferences. All DCA conferences will be held via Zoom. These conferences are an opportunity to have meaningful discussions about your child's progress and growth. The teachers will provide insights into your child's learning experience, address any questions or concerns you may have, and celebrate their achievements.

If your student is in 6th-8th grade, please note that these will be student-led conferences with the entire team of middle school teachers. You can find more information below!

Conferences will be held from 8:00 am - 3:30 pm and then 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm on November 21st. Additional conference times for ninth grade families are also available on November 20th.

Conferences are on a first-come, first served basis. Please sign up today!

We encourage you to sign up and take advantage of this valuable connection with your child's teachers. Together, we can ensure your child's continued success and well-being. We look forward to meeting with you virtually and working collaboratively to support your child's educational journey.

Fondly,

Dr. Kecia Nesmith, Principal and Curriculum Supervisor

Dr. Kristie Burk, Coordinator for Online & Blended Learning

• 11/6 - BASC-3 Screening for all full-time students in Gr. 6-9
  

• 11/7 - No School - Election Day - Staff Development

• 11/10 - Report cards posted in Infinite Campus

• 11/13 - World Kindness Day

• 11/14 - Overcoming Adversity with Philadelphia Eagles Sydney Brown @ 6pm at DHSW

• 11/20 - Asynchronous Day/Week 12 work due at noon - EARLY DISMISSAL

• 11/21 - Family Conferences via Zoom from 8:00 am - 3:30pm and 6 pm - 8pm - NO SCHOOL

• 11/22-24 - No School for Thanksgiving break

• 11/27 - A Night with the Lenape Community event at 6:00 pm via Zoom

• 11/28 - Supporting Refugee Students and Families at 3:45 pm via Zoom

Because of Thanksgiving break, Week 12 will start on Monday, November 13th and end on Monday, November 20th. All Week 12 work will be due by noon.

Please encourage your students to get Week 12 work done early and then they get a week of vacation!

There will be no required middle school Zooms on Monday, November 20th due to the early dismissal. Students will still have asynchronous work to complete and teachers will still provide office hours.

This year, 6th-8th grade students will be conducting student-led parent/teacher conferences. They will work with their teachers all month on the process. This approach fosters a sense of responsibility and ownership of their learning journey, as students actively showcase their achievements, set goals, and discuss areas for improvement. These conferences empower students to become more self-aware, confident, and accountable for their education, making them active participants in their own learning process.

When you sign up for conferences for your middle school student, you will select ONE conference time. All of your students' core teachers will be in the Zoom.

Ms. Goeske will be out for several weeks, so Health 7 will be covered by Mr. Frinzi. Mr. Frinzi currently teaches Health 6, PE 6, PE 7, Health 8 and PE 8 in the DCA. He also teaches full-time at Downingtown West.

On November 6th, we will be administering the BASC-3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BASC-3 BESS) to all of our full-time students in grades 6-9 during advisory. This screener is designed to be administered to students ranging from preschool through high school and offers a reliable, quick, and systematic way to determine behavioral and emotional strengths and weaknesses of children and adolescents.

Report cards will be posted to Infinite Campus on November 10th.

The Downingtown Cyber Academy's report cards are separate from the building's report cards in Infinite Campus. (Don't worry, at the end of the year, all the grades/courses for high school students will be combined onto one transcript.)

To view your child's report cards in Infinite Campus, login and click on documents. You can toggle between the building and the DCA on this screen if your student is part-time cyber.

Click on report card to view the student's Marking Period 1 grades.

To celebrate World Kindness Day on November 13th, we are encouraging our DCA students to participate in one of two ways:

1. Students can choose someone in their life and make them a card, baked good, email, text, or craft to let them know how much they appreciate them.
2. We are doing a Thanksgiving collection at Central for the homeless families we have in the DASD. Students can drop off any of the following in the green box in the lobby of Central Administration on Monday, November 13th. (They’re welcome to come before or after if the 13th doesn’t work for them!!). Suggestions include:

Everyday needs:

• Reuseable grocery bags
• Tea, coffee, and hot coco mix
• (Just add water) cake mix, cookie mix, and pancake mix
• Canned proteins like tuna, chicken, salmon
• Canned pasta w/ sauce (like spaghetti o's)
• Peanut butter
• Jelly
• Healthy boxed cereal
• Granola/breakfast bars
• Oatmeal
• Canned fruits and vegetables
• Hearty soups
• Crackers
• Rice
• Hygiene items (soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, lotion)
• Gift cards

Holiday specific needs:

• Free turkey or ham coupons
• Stuffing
• Gravy
• Cranberry sauce
• Canned potatoes
• Canned turkey/chicken
• Canned vegetables
• Apple sauce
• (Just add water) bread or corn muffin mix

The Downingtown Area School District (DASD) is honored to host Philadelphia Eagles Safety Sydney Brown for an enlightening session on homelessness awareness as part of Homelessness Awareness Week.

The event will take place on November 14th at 6:00 PM in the Downingtown High School West Auditorium. Sydney Brown's life story is a testament to the incredible resilience and determination that can emerge from challenging circumstances. Hailing from London, Ontario, Sydney, alongside his twin brother Chase and younger sister, grappled with financial hardships that seemed to preclude the possibility of ever taking vacations. However, their family's fortunes took a distressing turn when their mother, Rachel Brown, fell ill, lost her job, and subsequently lost their family home. Faced with adversity, the Brown family found themselves in a homeless shelter. Despite their limited means, Sydney and Chase discovered their love for football, a sport that would become the driving force in their lives. While the allure of ice hockey, Canada's beloved national sport, remained financially elusive, the brothers wholeheartedly embraced football as their newfound passion. Their unwavering commitment to football eventually led them to Florida, where they enrolled at Saint Stephen's Episcopal School in Bradenton. With the invaluable support of a host family, they had the opportunity to continue their education and pursue their athletic dreams. Sydney's journey, from homelessness to becoming the Philadelphia Eagles' third-round draft pick, serves as a remarkable testament to his resilience and unwavering determination.

During the event, Sydney will share his story of overcoming adversity and achieving success against all odds. He will engage with the audience, answering questions and providing valuable insights into his journey. At the conclusion of the session, attendees had the unique opportunity to meet Sydney, take photographs, and have memorabilia signed.

$20 per person to have an item signed and photograph.

In line with this commitment, the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at DASD will be hosting "A Night with the Lenape Community" on November 27th at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. The event will feature Adam DePaul, a respected member of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, who also holds the positions of Story keeper and Coordinator of the Rising Nation River Journey. DePaul is a co-curator of the Lenape Cultural Center in Easton, PA, and the exhibit "Existing Artistry, Enduring Presence: The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania" at Temple University.

Register Here: https://downingtown-area-school-district.ticketleap.com/a-night-with-the-lenape-community/details

The Downingtown Area School District (DASD) is excited to announce a special virtual event featuring celebrated author Moustafa Bayoumi. This online training session, titled "Supporting Refugee Students and Families," is scheduled for November 28th at 3:45 PM during the Cultural Equity Task Force (CETF) meeting.

Moustafa Bayoumi is a distinguished author known for his highly acclaimed work How Does It Feel To Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America (Penguin). This groundbreaking book has received prestigious awards such as the American Book Award and the Arab American Book Award for Non-Fiction. An accomplished journalist, Bayoumi also serves as a columnist for The Guardian, with his writing featured in prominent publications like The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Nation, CNN, The London Review of Books, The National, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Progressive, and many others. His essay "Disco Inferno" was even included in the collection Best Music Writing of 2006 (Da Capo). Bayoumi has garnered attention from media outlets worldwide, including The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Sun-Times, CNN, FOX News, Book TV, National Public Radio, and more.

Register Here: https://downingtown-area-school-district.ticketleap.com/supporting-refugee-students-and-families/details

DCA scholars, it is time to vote for your 23-24 school year student council members! Please view their election videos and vote by Wednesday, November 8th by 3:30pm. It doesn't matter if you are a part-time or full-time DCA student; you are strongly encouraged to vote either way. Thank you to everyone running!

A local community group is seeking two individuals to plan and execute games and activities for a small group of special needs young adults. Meetings occur every Thursday 3-5pm in Downingtown. Minimum commitment is two meetings/month. Must be willing to plan activities independently and be comfortable engaging with young adults of all abilities. A fun and rewarding opportunity! Email maryfetterman5@gmail.com for more information.

Tel Hai Retirement Community in Honey Brook needs servers! The minimum age is 15, they offer $12.50-$13.50/hour, flexible schedules and free meals during your shift. Contact www.telhai.org/careers to apply!

Ashbridge Senior Living is hiring part-time servers and dishwashers 3:30-7:30 p.m. and weekends. They hire at 14 with working papers! Apply in person at 971 E. Lancaster Avenue. Visit www.ashbridgemanor.com for more information.

All DCA students are considered students in their home buildings even if they are full-time DCA. Please check your child's school below for upcoming events and activities in which they can participate!

If your K-5 student took the Aimsweb Plus assessment this Fall, the report is NOW AVAILABLE in the Infinite Campus Backpack. Please take a moment to review your child's progress.

• A BVA field trip to the Zoo! Stay tuned for more information!
• Parent/Caretaker -Teacher Conferences - November 20-21. Look for communication from your child's BVA teacher.
• Smart Futures Career Readiness Artifacts in Canvas. Students will soon have a course in Canvas to link them to the DASD Class Link and Smart Futures application to access activities that must be completed for career readiness. More information to come!

Please visit our DCA website at dc.dasd.org for more information.

Backpack Resources

Email: cyberacademy@dasd.org
Website: dc.dasd.org
Location: 540 Trestle Place, Downingtown, PA, USA
Phone: 610-269-8460
Facebook: http://facebook.com/dca
Twitter: @dasd_dca