Dutch Fork Elementary
Academy of Environmental Sciences - Week of May 9 -
DFES Beliefs
- We believe all people deserve to feel safe, valued, and loved.
- We believe all children are naturally curious about the world around them.
- We believe learning is a social process.
- We believe inquiry fosters an environment of noticing and questioning.
- We believe in learning from multiple perspectives.
- We believe in learning from authentic primary and secondary sources.
- We believe in encouraging learners to take risks.
- We believe reflection should lead to change and growth.
- We believe reflection should lead to social action.
- We believe our actions should be aligned with our beliefs.
DFES Academic Goals 2015-2016
- By the conclusion of the 2015-2016 school year 65% of 2nd-5th graders will have met or exceeded their spring MAP reading growth goals.
- By the conclusion of the 2015-2016 school year homeroom teachers will have received a minimum of 10 hours of environmental sciences professional development to build teacher capacity and and to support magnet theme integration.
We celebrate and appreciate all DFES mothers!
Good bye... (Not So) magic carpet
We are super excited to share DFES is set to receive new flooring this summer. The carpet from all classrooms (minus kindergarten) will be removed. The new flooring will be the same as what we currently have in our hallways and corridors.
I am meeting with the folks from Bonitz Flooring tomorrow to review flooring designs and colors. Further details to come. We appreciate the support of our CFO and school board for making this happen.
Curricular Conversations with Heidi Mills
Our goal is to support one another in crafting as well as implementing solid units of study within and across grade levels. Please talk with your grade levels and bring one unit you implemented this year and one you hope to develop this year summer.
We are going to work with everyone to compile a rough draft chart that represents our collective vision of school-wide units of study, across the year, at a glance. We are hoping it will help us see possibilities for making connections across units of study using broad concepts such as cycles, systems, change and so on. We are also believe it will help us think about possible collaborations vertically.
We invite non-homeroom teachers to join if interested. Let us know by tomorrow and we can work on coverage if needed. Professional development will be held in the cafeteria Tuesday at 3:15.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016, 08:15 AM
Sally Somerall's Space
Cape Fear Center For Inquiry Visitor
Cape Fear Center for Inquiry (GFCI) is located in Wilmington, North Carolina. Cape Fear is a sister school with CFI in Richland District Two.
The principal from Cape Fear was in attendance for our presentation at the Inquiry Matters spring conference in April and has decided to pay our school a visit on Tuesday along with Heidi.
We look forward to hosting our new found colleague and are excited about learning with and from our peers at Cape Fear Center for Inquiry.
National School Nurse Day
We have been blessed to have a remarkable school nurse in Linda Miller. We honor her for the tremendous value she adds to those small and tall here at DFES.
Linda successfully underwent surgery last week. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she recovers. Please join us in letting Linda know how much she is appreciated!
SC PASS Testing
Fourth and fifth graders across the state will test this week. SC PASS Science will be administered Wednesday, May 11. SC PASS Social Studies will be administered Thursday, May 12. Please refer to the schedule previously sent by S. Beckman.
School Improvement Council Meeting
Wednesday, May 11, 2016, 06:00 PM
DFES Conference room
4th Grade Musical Performance
Thursday, May 12, 2016, 06:00 PM
DFES Mini Theater
Richland Recycles Day
Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade recycling reps will attend this event with Cindy Sommers on Friday, May 13th. Captains will spend the day learning more about reducing, reusing, recycling, composting, conserving energy, and keeping land/water clean. We anticipate they will be inspired to take further action that will improve our school community, our local community, and our global community.
D5 Dance Marathon
Saturday, May 14, 2016, 10:00 AM
Seven Oaks Park, Leisure Lane, Columbia, SC, United States
We develop students who care about the world we live in and express critical thinking through natural curiosity and wonder.
Email: jscott@lexrich5.org
Website: www.lexrich5.org/dutchfork/cfm
Location: 7900 Broad River Road, Irmo, SC, United States
Phone: 803-476-3901
Twitter: @dfes_principal