DECEMBER 8, 2024
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DECEMBER 8, 2024
Hello, Donald Families!
Hopefully the cold and rainy weather this weekend gave everyone an opportunity to stay warm, cozy, and relaxed this weekend. We are expected to still have chilly weather throughout the week, so please remember to label student jackets and cold-weather apparel with their first and last name. Be aware that all students go outside for 30 minutes of recess daily, and most typically have an additional 15 minute outdoor time during the day as long as the weather is within LISD Weather Guidelines. Students are required to go out with the class, so please send your children wearing clothing appropriate for the weather.
Our Holiday Dress theme for tomorrow is "Holiday Arcade", so it's a great day to pull out your video game-themed shirts, sweaters, and shoes. This will be a great way to help us stay POWERED ON for learning over the next 10 days before break!
Heather Shorter
Principal
STEM Academy @ Donald Elementary
DECEMBER 2024
12 CHOIR AND DRUMMING CONCERT @ 6:30PM
19 HOLIDAY PARTIES
20 DISTINGUISHED DOLPHIN AWARDS @ 8:00AM
20 EARLY RELEASE @ 11:45AM
23 WINTER BREAK BEGINS
JANUARY 2025
7 SECOND SEMESTER BEGINS
14 LISD STEM INTEREST MEETING
20 NO SCHOOL
23-30 LITTLE LIGHTHOUSE
30 STEM NIGHT
HOLIDAY COUNTDOWN TO WINTER BREAK
GRATITUDE
This month, our guidance lessons are centered around cultivating an attitude of gratitude—not just during November or at Thanksgiving, but throughout the entire year. We’ve been discussing the many things we are thankful for and how we can express gratitude, whether through saying “thank you” or performing acts of kindness for those around us. It has been heartwarming to hear about the numerous acts of gratitude and kindness across campus.
To further support this initiative, we’ve shared a video with students to provide additional ideas for practicing gratitude at home. You can view the video here: Gratitude For Kids - How To Develop The Attitude Of Gratitude
Additionally, you can preview this month’s Second Step lesson, which is being taught in your child’s classroom, by clicking the link here: Lesson 8 English.
Lastly, it’s not too late to participate in supporting our LISD Adopt-An-Angel program. You can help by providing gifts for students who are still in need of adoption or by donating to the program. More information is available below!
Mrs. Ramsey
ADOPT AN ANGEL IN LISD
DONATIONS STILL NEEDED!
LISD is hosting a district-wide Angel Tree once again this year, and there are many Angels needing a generous family to adopt them!
CLICK HERE to see the instructions for selecting an Angel from the LISD Angel Tree. Gifts labeled with the Angel Tree code can be dropped off in the Donald Office or they can be delivered to the LISD Next Steps center at 1303 S State Hwy 121 Suite 100, Lewisville, Texas 75067 by Friday, December 6. Donald, and the entire LISD community, thank you for any support you may be able to provide to our angels this year!
THANK YOU TO THE DONALD PTA
Thanks to the the generous donations from your family throughout the year, the Donald PTA was able to adopt all Angel Tree students listed for Donald Elementary! You can read more about this Program and Community Support in the weekly newsletter from the Donald PTA!
DOLPHINS & JAGS TEAM UP FOR KIDS
DONATIONS DUE BY DECEMBER 18!
The Donald Student Council is partnering with Flower Mound High School students in the Future Medical Leaders Club to collect new, unopened toys to donate to the Lewisville Medical Center in Lewisville and the Children’s Health Medical Center in Dallas. These toys will be used by the staff and volunteers at Children’s to brighten the spirits of children who are spending all or part of the holiday season in the hospital.
Toys must be new and unopened for health reasons, but they do not need to be over-the-top! Some small treats that would brighten the day of a child might be Play-Doh, Fidget Toys, marker or crayons, coloring books, keychains, stuffed animals, or other things. 1 DOLLAR TREE GIFT FROM EACH STUDENT WOULD ALLOW US TO DONATE OVER 500 ITEMS!
We appreciate any contribution you are able to make to help this group support local kids!
LEGO BUILD TO GIVE CAMPAIGN
#BuildToGive
LEGO is kicking off 2024 The Build to Give campaign! This year, LEGO challenges people to build hearts using LEGO bricks and then share a picture of their creation in a social media post with the hashtag #buildtogive. For every picture posted with the hashtag, the LEGO Group will donate one LEGO® set to charity! For more information, visit https://www.lego.com/en-us/build-to-give. We encourage all our Donald families to use their creative building skills to join this mission throughout the months of November and December!
FMHS CHEER PARENT'S NIGHT OUT
FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE @ BLUEBONNET
Bluebonnet Elementary hosts Friday Nite Live most every Friday during the school year. They would love to have your children come out and enjoy the various activities they plan each week and give the parents a “night off” to have some adult time. Students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade are welcome to attend and the cost is only $20.00 per student for the entire evening! (Concessions are available at an additional cost). Friday Nite Live is open from 7:00-10:30 p.m. and there is an officer on duty the entire time the students are present. They have music, gym games, and various relays/races/crafts, etc. With Christmas just around the corner, this is a great place to drop off your kids for a few hours, so parents can do some shopping without little eyes watching them.
This Friday, December 6th, they are featuring, "Wear your favorite Christmas shirt", 5-on-5 Flag Football (bring your team), Jingle Bell Toss, Sack Races, Snowball Fight, and a Bounce House! Below is their December flyer for reference. It's really a great time and the kids who currently attend love it!
If you would like to see more of what they do, visit their Facebook page at:
We would love to have you volunteer in our classrooms and at extracurricular events! To get started, JOIN the Donald PTA, and then complete your yearly VOLY Background Check. All volunteers must have a current VOLY Background Check, so if it has been a while since you completed this process, check in with the Donald Office Staff to see if you're approved!
GET VOLY-APPROVED TODAY!
Lewisville ISD's volunteer site, VOLY, is up and ready for the new school year. If you plan to volunteer on campus, act as a field trip chaperone, or support our campus at any point in the 24-25 school year, please either create a VOLY account or renew your account from last year. LISD's VOLY site is Lewisvilleisd.voly.org. There is also a VOLY app that can be found in the app store on your phone.
Remember that our VOLY site allows for the site to be translated to your family's home language. Look for the language drop down button at the top of the page.
Questions? Reach out to Partnerships@Lisd.net and they will be happy to assist you!
SUPPORT THE WOOT WOOT WAGON
The Woot Woot Wagon is going around once again in December to bring treats to the Donald Staff right before Winter break! If you would like to sign-up to donate something, please click on the link here. Items can be dropped off in the Donald Office on or before 9AM Monday, December 17! If you have any questions, please reach out to Erryn Harvey at harveye@lisd.net. Thank you so much for your support!
RECOGNIZE A STAFF MEMBER
SEND A NOTE THROUGH LISD COMMUNICATIONS
The LISD Recognize SomeONE program gives our staff and community members the opportunity to highlight the exceptional work the do. If a Donald staff member has made an impact on your student or family this week, please take a moment to Recognize SomeONE and let them know how much they mean! Teachers will receive a printed copy of your message from LISD Communications to display outside their classroom door.
CELEBRATE SOMEONE WITH A GIFT TO THE LIBRARY
Celebrate your favorite Dolphin's birthday, accomplishment, or special occasion with a personalized donation to the Donald Library! Parents, family, and community members can now donate a book from our wish list, or you can choose to donate a book of your choice. When you select a book to donate, you will also be able to personalize a permanent book plate inside the front cover of the book with a custom message for your honoree. All books will be shipped to our school, processed, and ready to be added the shelves directly from the vendor. To make sure the person you are celebrating sees your gift, the honoree will get to be the first person to check the book out! We will announce all books donated, and occasions celebrated, each month on our announcements, too. Visit https://www.btsb.com/sosl/donaldsesstemacademy/ to celebrate someone!
ADD YOUR MEMORIES TO THE DONALD YEARBOOK
1. Go to https://studio.balfour.com/imageshare/ to visit the Donald Yearbook upload website
2. Enter project number #508585
3. Leave the upload code blank
4. Agree to the Terms & Conditions and start uploading!
*The system only lets you upload 10 photos at a time!
If you download the Balfour Image Share app, it saves your name and email each time so you don’t have to reenter that information!