We hope you enjoy our newsletter! It provides information about important dates and events happening around school throughout the year. Updates will occur at the start of each month. The newsletter will be emailed out and available on our website and social media. If you have suggestions for things we can add, please feel free to email Mrs. Meyer at meyera@okaloosaschools.com .

To access staff contacts, handbooks and more, visit our website at https://www2.okaloosaschools.com/o/destines

Dear DES Families and Community,

Happy Holidays to all! I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving break full of family, food and fun. We had a great November at Destin Elementary. The 1st graders did an awesome job with their Veterans Day performance led by Ms. Hayes! Their enthusiasm and patriotism was felt by all! There were so many field trips- Marianna Caverns, the Heritage museum, and the USS Alabama Battleship. These are experiences that enhance our students educational experience and bring opportunities to see things they otherwise may not get to! Thank you to our teachers for planning and organizing these trips and to our parent chaperones! Our Thanksgiving lunches with families are always organized chaos and we love it! Thank you to all who helped make it happen, our amazing kitchen staff for cooking delicious meals, our cafeteria crew for helping take care of everyone and cleaning up and our families that were able to come make it a special day!

We had our first "Macy's Balloon Parade" hosted by our 1st graders! It was a terrific way to start off our holiday celebrations and we loved seeing the creativity of the balloons!

The 1st semester of the school year is coming to a close. We have our FAST progress monitoring testing for 3rd and 4th grade and our iReady 2nd diagnostic testing for kindergarten, 1st and 2nd graders this month. Please do your best to not schedule appointments for your kids on their testing dates. Have them at school on time, well fed and with a positive attitude! We want to set them up for success! We have our annual Jingle Jog with PE on Dec. 10th along with our first ever gingerbread house building competition for our 4th graders after school that day! Thank you to Tiffany Castricone and her team at the American Institute of Architects for bringing this opportunity to our 4th grade students! This is only available to 4th grade students, however, anyone may come by to see what creative designs they build after school! Our kindergarteners will be presenting a Christmas musical performance for their families and there are many class parties planned, too!

As we begin December there is excitement surrounding all of the holidays. The joy of this season is infectious and our kiddos are buzzing with anticipation for the festivities ahead. With the excitement comes the challenge of keeping our little ones focused on their studies and behavior during this busy time. We need to work together to remind the kids of the value of maintaining their grades and good behavior amidst the holiday cheer. It is also important to remember to try to keep on a routine and schedule that supports the learning environment as much as possible. You can help by celebrating their efforts and achievements, no matter how small. Positive reinforcement can go a long way in keeping them engaged and focused. Balance fun and responsibilities. It is important to enjoy the holiday cheer and festivities, but remind them that school needs to stay a priority. By keeping the lines of communication open, we can help our kiddos finish the first semester strong and be ready to embrace the new year with enthusiasm and success!

I wish you all a joyful holiday season!

Warmest regards- Mrs. Meyer

Our DES Chorus singers will be performing at the City of Destin Tree Lighting this Thursday at the Destin Community Center from 6:00-8:00 pm! This is an outdoor event for families with a visit from Santa and entertainment. Donations of non-perishable food items will be collected for families in need! Come join us if you can! :)

This month in Resiliency Education our schools are focused is Responsibility. Responsibility

means showing you can be trusted with what is expected of you.

Everyone has things they are responsible for every day. Your child may have homework to do,

certain chores at home, or clubs and teams they have made a commitment to.

Research shows spending a lot of time focused on the past can cause depression and that anxiety

comes when we spend too much time worrying about the future. Encourage your child to take a

moment to think about what they are personally responsible for today, you may both be surprised

at how great you feel and how much you can accomplish.

The questions below are intended to help you and your child facilitate a conversation about

Responsibly.

ASK A KID:

• What are some chores that you are responsible for at your house?

• What chores are your siblings and parents responsible for?

• Do you always do your chores without being asked? What happens if you do not do what you

are responsible for around the house?

ASK A GROWN UP:

• Share what responsibilities you had when you were a kid still living at home. How were those

chores different than what kids today are responsible for?

• Explain what responsibilities you have now as an adult - work related responsibilities, family

related responsibilities, etc. Also explain what happens if you are not trusted to do what is

expected of you as an adult

We are excited to continue our tradition with PE classes hosting our annual Jingle Jog! Families are invited to join your children during their regular PE time on Tuesday, December 10th to get moving together! Feel free to dress up in your favorite holiday gear. Entry tickets will be sent home with students for parents to enter at the track gate. If you need extra tickets, please let your child's teacher know. If you do not have a ticket the day of the event, you will need to sign in through the front office before entering the track area. There will be no sign-outs allowed from the track. It is discouraged, however, if you wish to sign your child out from school on this day, you will need to do so through the front office. Thank you for your cooperation as we strive to host a family fun event while keeping our students safe.- MAKE UP DAY WILL BE DECEMBER 12!

Our first ever Gingerbread House Building Competition sponsored by the American Institute of Architects! This was an opportunity presented to our 4th graders this year. The judging will take place on Tuesday, December 10th from 5:00-5:45. There will be a gallery walk to see the creations from 5:45-6:00 with an awards ceremony to follow! Stay tuned for pictures of all the incredible builds!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A48A4AA23A1FFC34-53036822-december#/ SIGN UP GENIUS FOR DECEMBER LIBRARY HELP

Our theme for the 24-25 school year is "Live Your Excellence" with an emphasis of doing our very best in all that we do, every day!

December 10th- Dress up in your festive Christmas wear for the Jingle Jog!

December 20th- Pajama Day!

Visit Squad Locker for your DES apparel! All items can be individually ordered and shipped right to your house! We hope you like it!

You may find bus routes by visiting https://www2.okaloosaschools.com/page/bus-routes. Find the closest stop to your house for your transportation needs. Remember that buses may run a little earlier or later during the first few weeks of school while everyone adjusts to new schedules!

To register for Bus Bulletin, please visit Bus Bulletin Registration. Parents will need their student's school name and bus number to complete the registration process.

Key Features of Bus Bulletin:

• Cost-Free Service: There is no charge for this service.
• Easy Registration: The registration process is quick and straightforward.
• Multiple Notification Options: Choose to receive updates via text messages, phone calls, and emails.
• Privacy Protection: All contact information is stored securely and will not be shared or sold.

By utilizing Bus Bulletin, parents and guardians can stay informed and ensure their students’ safe and timely transportation to and from school.

We are excited and proud to announce that we will be able to continue to provide our students with physical education, music and art classes this school year!

Have you ever wanted to thank a special teacher for the impact they've made on your life? Here's your chance!

HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital and the Okaloosa County School District have partnered to celebrate the Okaloosa County School District's dedicated educators! Students, Families, and staff members are encouraged to share their stories about a particular teacher's inspiring actions, supportive words, creative lessons, or just their overall positive impact. Each month of the 2024-2025 school year, one nominated teacher will win $250 from HCA Florida Healthcare and be highlighted on social media.

Nominate the teacher who impacted you by clicking the link below or visit OkaloosaSchools.com, click on "Parents/Students" and select "Thank a Teacher."

https://forms.gle/vp84LbWTaPp4jjin6

@hcafloridahealthcare HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital

If you are able, please consider being a PTO sponsor to support Destin Elementary School this year! Thank you to all of our local business partners that help us every year by providing funds to enhance our school and the educational experience for all of our kids!

Our Lost and Found is filling up fast! Parents are free to look through the bins right inside the school. Check in through the front office. Items will be donated at the end of the quarters.

Please consider filling out the application whether you think you qualify or not. There are many benefits beside saving money on meals that can come with filling out the application! Thank you :)

Club registrations with information about age requirements, cost and dates/times will be sent home a few weeks after school begins!

We are still in need of a sponsor/coach for Lego Club and the Drone Club!

Multicultural Club- after school

Drama Kids - After school on Thursdays

Violin - After school on Wed and Fri

Remarkable Arts- After school on Thursdays

Music Club- during the school day, students rotate

Good News Club (all grades)- after school

Library Club (4th grade only) - during school hours

HOPE Squad (4th grade only)- during school hours, students chosen by peers

Safety Patrol (4th grade only)- during school hours

Junior Deputy (4th grade only)- during school hours

Destin Ambassadors (all grades, students chosen by admin)- during school hours

We are thrilled to showcase our school expansion! This will be the new front office which will be located on Beach Dr! To the left of the front office, you can see the new multipurpose building with the classroom additions behind that!

Below is the view of the new, 2-story, 30 classroom addition that will house our 3rd-5th grade classes! There will be more parking and an additional car line for pick up to help with traffic on the main roads!

December

9- 4th Grade FAST testing

10- 3rd Grade FAST testing

10- Jingle Jog

10-Gingerbread House competition 5:00 pm

11- 4th Grade FAST testing

12- 3rd Grade FAST testing

12-PTO, media center 7:45

13- Tiana’s Lunchbox Food Truck

13- Classroom Christmas Door Decorating contest

13-Donatelli/Taylor Christmas Party-12:30-2:30 parents invited

17-Kindergarten Christmas Concert

18- VE Christmas Class party- 12:00pm

20- End of the Second Quarter/Semester

20- 4th Grade Christmas Breakfast in Cafeteria 8:45-10am

23-31 Christmas Holiday

January

1-3 Christmas Holiday

6- Teacher workday

7- District Professional Learning

8- Classes resume for students

9-Class pictures

10-Class pictures

14- Emerald Coast Music Alliance performances during specials times for all grade levels

16-PTO, 7:45 in the media center

20- Holiday No School

24-31 BOOK FAIR in the media center

24-31 Literacy Week Activities (Schedule to come)

27-100th day of School

28-101 Day of school dress up day for THIRD GRADE

31-Stanley’s Street Treats - Food Truck

February

3 - 1st Grade Field Trip 10:30-1:00 (Mattie Kelly Arts Center - Pete the Cat)

4 - Safety Matters-Third Grade

5- KG Field Trip ECSC 9:30-12:30–Schillinger, Howell, Huffman, Ellis

6- KG Field Trip ECSC 9:30-12:30–Deslauriers, Pisarchuk, Luallen

6- Safety Matters- First Grade

7- KG Field Trip ECSC 9:30-12:30–Nelson, Turner, Burns,

7-Safety Matter- Second Grade

10-Safety Matters- Kindergarten

11-3rd Grade Field Trip-Gulf Breeze Zoo 9:00-2:00

12 - Safety Matters-Fourth Grade

13- PTO, 7:45 media center

17- Holiday No School

18-26 Fun Run Events

28-Safety Matters

28-Rican Vegan Food Truck- winner of Best on the Coast

March

3-Safety Matters

4 -Safety Matters

5-Safety Matters

5-4th grade Walk to Destin Water Users (8:30-11:30am)

6-Safety Matters

7- 2nd, 3rd, 4th Mixer

12- Link Up! Music field trip with 3rd and 4th

13- PTO, 7:45 media center

13 - End of the third quarter

14-21 Spring Break

24- Teacher Workday

April

2- 4th Grade Field Trip to ECSC 9:00-12:30- Ray, Brown, Buckley

3- 4th Grade Field Trip to ECSC 9:00-12:30- Cox, Patterson, Anderson

4- 4th Grade Field Trip to ECSC 9:00-12:30- Church, Ketler, Mathews

9-Spring pictures

10-PTO, 7:45 media center

15-3rd grade Buccaneer Pirate Ship field trip 9:00-11:30: Donatelli, Taylor, Schmidt, Olson

16-3rd grade Buccaneer Pirate Ship field trip 9:00-11:30 Litka, Henry, Douglas

17-3rd grade Buccaneer Pirate Ship field trip 9:00-11:30: Bitler, Williams, Higgs

29- 4th Biophilia- Ray, Brown, Buckley, Cox, Patterson, L. Anderson

30- 4th Biophilia- Church, Mathews, Ketler

May

8-PTO, 7:45 media center

12–KG Field Trip Gulfarium–Deslauriers, Huffman, Pisarchuk, Turner, Burns

12- 4th Biophilia - Ray, Brown, Buckley, Cox, Patterson, L. Anderson

13–KG Field Trip Gulfarium–Nelson, Schillinger, Howell, Luallen, Ellis

13- 4th Biophilia- Church, Mathews, Ketler

13- 3rd Grade Field Trip to Skating Rink: Donatelli, Taylor, Olson, Schmidt, Bitler

14- 3rd Grade Field Trip to Skating Rink: Litka, Henry, Higgs, Douglas, Williams

14- 4th Grade Field Trip to Blue Wahoos Game (P.E. Organized)

23- 4th Grade Graduation at DUMC

26- Memorial Day No School

29 -Last Day of school

30 - Teacher Workday

June

2-Teacher Workday

3-Teacher Workday

School gates opens at 8:00, classrooms open at 8:15.

Students may purchase breakfast in the cafeteria before class if they choose.

School starts at 8:25. All students should be in their classroom no later than this or they will be marked tardy.

Please make every effort to be on time. Instruction starts at 8:25 and it is uncomfortable for students to enter late and try to catch up on what they missed :)

No visitors will be allowed on campus unless they sign in through the front office.

Drop off- Students may ride the bus, come by car or walk/ride bikes to school. Walkers and bike riders have 3 gates they may enter. One is on Beach Drive at the back of the school (we call this yellow gate), one to the left of the front office (we call this the kindergarten gate) and one to the right of the front of the school by the kindergarten playground ( we call this the black gate).

Car riders will come through the car line on Kelly St. Please have your students ready to exit the car when you pull up to the drop off point so we can keep things flowing smoothly!

DO NOT drop off students across the street and have them cross traffic or walk in front of the car line to come to school. Any student crossing a street should use the crosswalks! I understand the car line can get long, however, this causes a very dangerous situation and we want our kids to be safe- thank you.

You may park at the Catholic Church on Beach Drive and walk your student to the yellow gate if you don't want to wait in the car line. Please do not park in the yards/driveways of people who live around the school. We want to be respectful of their property.

Breakfast and lunch are able to be purchased each day. The menu can be viewed by clicking the following link. Keep in mind that there are times the menu changes without notice.

https://okaloosaschools.nutrislice.com/menus-eula

You may access the application for free and reduced lunches with the link below. We encourage everyone to fill out the form whether you think you will qualify or not. :) It helps our school by having more people fill out the form!

https://www2.myschoolapps.com/

Breakfast and Lunch Prices are listed below.

You can add money to your child's account online by creating an account at https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/getmain?requestAction=home

We welcome parents to come eat lunch with your kids any day of the week! Due to limited seating in the cafeteria, we ask that you eat outdoors only at any of our picnic tables or benches around campus. You may bring lunch in to eat with your child or buy lunch in the cafeteria. We do not accept deliveries for lunch such as fast food drop offs or Door Dash orders. Calling classrooms for students to pick up their lunch disrupts instruction and causes much confusion and traffic in the front office. When you come to eat with your child, you may only take your child with you. Please do not invite friends to join you. This is for everyone's safety. Sign in through the front office when visiting, please :)

*Side note about lunch- Students are allowed to purchase ice cream, chips and other treats at lunch as long as there is money in their account, unless you contact the cafeteria and tell them otherwise. When students buy these extra treats, most of the time that is all they eat. The rest of the lunch goes in the trash. We want parents to be aware. If you would like to limit what your child buys, please write a note to the cafeteria or call to talk to them. :)

Early Checkouts: If you need to check your child out early for any reason, please come to the front office to sign them out. We ask that you come no later than 2:15 for early checkouts. Dismissal time gets very hectic in the front office and we need that time to handle transportation changes and make sure kids get to their correct locations to get home.

If your child is needing to change the way they go home, you MUST write a note that includes your child's full name, teacher's name, the date and the way you want them to go home. Please sign the note and send it to school with your child. Their teacher will get it to the office for you.

Dismissal - Dismissal begins at 2:55 and students are released in waves.

ALL students will be given a tag that is placed on their backpacks. They will be assigned a tag number.

Any parents picking up in car line must have a matching car tag to their students backpack tag. You will be sent to the front office to get your child if you do not have your car tag at pickup.

Kindergartener walkers will be picked up at the kindergarten gate to the left of the front office. Parents of kindergarten walkers only will be required to show their matching tag. Older students may go home as walkers/bike riders without a parent meeting them.

Kindergarteners are walked to their appropriate places for dismissal.

***If you plan to volunteer at school this year, including attending field trips with your student, you must have a current volunteer application on file. You can access this application at the following link: https://apps.raptortech.com/Apply/OTYyOmVuLVVT

When filling out the application, if you choose Coach, Overnight Chaperone, or Mentor options, they require fingerprinting and it's a longer process. You do not need to be fingerprinted to volunteer in the school setting only. If you do not hear back about your application within a week, contact us to check on it for you :)

Destin Elementary School is proud to participate in a campaign to help the Ronald McDonald House. They use the funds from recycling pop tops of aluminum cans to help pay their electricity bills! It is an easy, free way that we can help this very special organization! Our very own Coley Schillinger was blessed to be helped by the Ronald McDonald house when her precious baby girl, Madi, was born at just 25 weeks, weighing 1 1/2 pounds. They provided her and her husband a place to stay, 3 meals a day and emotional support all for free so they could focus on their miracle baby! We are excited to report that momma and baby are doing great!

Please collect these tops throughout the year and send them into school with your child or bring them to the lobby of the front office and place them in the container.

Thank you for helping us support a very special organization that helps families every day!

If you complete your application to substitute, you can provide tutoring to students before, during or after school hours and get paid for your time! You can make your own hours and choose your preferred grade level/subject. $15/hour. Contact the front office for more information!