The Scoop!

May 3rd: PTO Spring Event - Camp Kougar! | 5-7pm @ DES

May 6th - 10th: Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week!

May 6th-8th: Kindergarten Screening

May 7th & 9th: Kindergarten Field Trip Dates

May 13th: 3rd Grade Music Concerts | 5:30 & 6:30pm

May 14th & 20th: 3rd Grade Field Trip Dates

May 16th: Casey's Pizza 'Party' at 2:15pm! (NEW DATE!)

May 16th: 3rd Grade Visits KVIS

May 17th: Field Day (Make Up Day 5/21)

May 20th: PTO Kona Ice Day!

May 22nd: Kindy 500 (Parade at 10am, Event at 1pm) (Make Up Day 5/23)

May 23rd: Last Day of School!

May 24th: Teacher Work Day

We are so close.

Can you feel it? It's palpable.

For some students it's the giddiness and glee as they bound with excitement of what summer brings. For others, it is marked with tears of sadness as they process moving on from the teacher they so early loved. For a few their tension and anxiety of not being here, where they know they are well-loved, well-fed, well-cared-for, manifests in anger and the attempting to 'burn bridges' on their way out, all because they don't have the skill-set to say farewell in an appropriate manner.

You, teacher...You, staff member...are cherished by our students. Whether they show it appropriately or even visibly, they are watching you. Watching how you speak with them, celebrate the end of the school year with them, and even watching how you finish this tough, arduous, race we call the school year.

Finish well. Love well. Because YOU are dearly loved!

The Cat is Out of the Bag! Casey's (yes, the gas station) has awarded a $50,000 GRANT to DeMotte Elementary School! The grant was authored by our very own (incredible) Media Center leader Mrs. Amanda Wright! There will be some MAJOR upgrades/renovations to our library space beginning this summer and we are so excited!

As a way to celebrate with the entire school, Casey's (known for their cheesy pizza -- no relation to my cheesy jokes) will be bringing roughly 100 pizzas (3 per classroom) on Thursday May 16th. The original date was scheduled for Wednesday May 15th (in last week's Scoop), but due to a logistical issue on Casey's end, we needed to reschedule to May 16th.

To celebrate, you may decide to host a small class party that day, but we will not be able to bring in volunteers, beyond our staff and PTO parents. Casey's representatives will be in the building, presenting a check, distributing pizzas, and taking some snapshots for publicity purposes. We are so excited for this opportunity! To show off our love and commitment to Reading, the PTO will also be distributing a book to every student on this day as a part of the celebration!

Make sure to mark your calendars with the updated day! THURSDAY MAY 16, 2024 @ 2:15pm!

Thank you to EVERYONE for helping during this 'testing season'! I appreciate your assistance and cooperation as our 3rd graders rocked the ILEARN test these past couple weeks!

Just a reminder that all NWEA testing should be completed by Wednesday May 15th!

As Jump Start registration forms are returned, please bring them to the office or put them in Mrs. Ortyl's mailbox. I will be sending an email out next week to classroom teachers asking for help (via Class Dojo) to get those not yet returned forms back in ASAP!

Next week begins Kindergarten Screening. You will be seeing our future Kindergarten students (The Class of 2037!) and their families during the afternoons of Monday, May 6th and Tuesday May 7th as well as the morning of Wednesday, May 8th. We will be using Room 31 and the Music Room for parent presentations and the Title I Room in the Kindergarten hallway for screenings. Families coming to DES for screening will use Door #1 and wait in the vestibule area. They will be escorted by a staff member. Should you see anyone that looks out of place that week, please help direct them or ask for assistance from Admin!

A reminder that next Friday, May 10th is the last Friday for grade-level collaboration.

A few statistics for the month of April:

1. Parent phone calls made - 42

2. Parent emails sent - 19

3. Number of KVSC students “on the list” - 81

4. School visits (KVSC) - 30

5. Home visits - 3

6. Project Attend Meetings - 11

7. KVHS attendance - April 90.89% (March - 91.01%)

8. KVMS attendance - April 92.82% (March - 92.90%)

9. KVIS attendance - April 94.45% (March - 94.37%)

10. DES attendance - April 94.16% (March - 94.17%)

11. WES attendance - April 94.63% (March - 94.51%)

REMINDER: LVIS360 Update

Educators applying for initial licenses or renewals in the next few months should log in to the updated LVIS360 system soon to link their LVIS legacy licensure data to their LVIS360 account. The new system requires users to create an Access Indiana account prior to accessing LVIS360. The Office of Educator Licensing recommends getting acquainted with the new login process and linking your new LVIS360 login to your legacy account now before the busy season for licensing starts in May. Administrators, please encourage your teachers to log in soon. Access the user portal here. Submit questions here.

NEW: May PD with IDOE

New May PD with IDOE sessions began this week, on May 1, with the 2024 Summer of Learning Preview led by IDOE’s Office of Digital Learning and the 2024 Summer Conference Coordinators. View a full list of May sessions here. To register for workshops, or view on demand sessions, create a free Learning Lab account by visiting the LINK Portal or the Indiana Learning Lab directly and use your school email address to log in. Contact IDOE’s Office of Digital Learning with any questions.

NEW: Early Literacy Endorsement 80 Hours of Professional Development Requirement

Additional information related to how educators who hold a PK-6 or Special Education license can obtain the 80 hours of professional development required to add the Early Literacy Endorsement can be found here. Please contact IDOE'S Literacy Center with any questions.

Thank you to all of our teachers and staff! We hope you feel loved and appreciated daily, but even more so as we take time next week in attempt to find ways to express our love and gratitude!