The Weekly Update #4

We'd like to thank everyone that participated in Teacher Appreciation Week. The staff loved the kindness shown by our students, parents, and PTO in all of the many different ways, from kind notes to sweet treats.

On a personal note, I'd like to thank the Jackson staff for being such an awesome group of people to work with every day. I know the effort that the staff puts into each school day, and I love seeing how the students learn and mature each year while under their care. They also have a pretty great sense of humor, as they showed off earlier this week.

Jackson Families,

One of the most important tasks we have each spring and summer is preparing class rosters for the upcoming school year. Rosters will not be finalized and released to families until August 8, 2025, but we are already working now on early drafts. This is a multi-tiered process that includes most of our certified staff members: current classroom teachers, related arts teachers, interventionists (reading specialist and ExL teachers), school counselor, assistant principal, and principal.

It is always our goal to create rosters that are fairly balanced between the teachers at each grade level so that students can be provided with the best education possible each year. We plan for each room to have a mix of student abilities academically. In this way, the teachers can create instructional groups to meet all student needs. We also take into account the social and behavioral dimensions of each classroom. This can be hard to predict as relationships change and students often mature so rapidly over the summer, plus new students join us at Jackson each year.

To this end, if there is anything in the social or behavioral dimensions for your student that you would like to draw to my attention, please contact me prior to Friday, June 6th. The most reliable method of contact is by email at smarshall@duneland.k12.in.us. In most cases, we are likely already aware of peer conflicts or students whose friendship interferes with focusing in class. However, there have been times that there are conflicts in neighborhoods or on sports teams that we did not know about. This could also include sharing any other type of information that you think we need to know when making roster decisions.

Because we are talking about class rosters, it is worth sharing the most frequently asked questions I receive each year. The answers to each question overlap.

Q: Can I request a certain teacher for my child?

A: We do not make any promises to honor requests. We know all of our teachers are excellent. We place students where we believe they will be best served each year.

Q: Do you place younger siblings with the same teachers the older sibling had?

A: Not necessarily. We place students where we believe they will be best served each year. Being a school with only three sections per grade level, students naturally have a greater chance of following in their sibling's footsteps than they might in a school with five sections per grade level.

I hope everyone has a fantastic end to the school year. Class rosters for 25-26 will be released on Skyward on Friday, August 8.

Respectfully,

Sam Marshall, Principal

This summer, K-4 playground renovations and replacements are slated at Bailly, Brummitt, Jackson, and Liberty Elementary Schools. The equipment at Yost Elementary was recently updated as part of new construction at that school site. The playground equipment at the other four elementary schools is dated and has to be refurbished regularly to meet safety standards. The equipment is well past its intended lifespan and in need of a refresh. The design of the four playgrounds will look to mirror the new playground at Yost. Below are renderings of the replacement playground at Jackson.

Registration for the 2025-2026 school year is now open! If you haven’t already, please log into your Skyward Parent Access to complete your registration. We are aiming to have all registrations completed by the last day of school, May 29, 2025.

Need help or more details? Visit our registration website for all the info you need, including tips for using Skyward Parent Access.

Duneland 2025-2026 Registration

During school hours you can also contact your child’s school for help and support if needed. We appreciate you taking the time to get this completed!

Jackson 2nd and 3rd Grade Families,

If your child participated in the March 2025 IREAD individual score reports are now loaded into the Skyward Family Access for you to view.

• To locate your student’s report, please log-in to Skyward Family Access and navigate to the Portfolio section.

• Under Portfolio, locate and select the “IREAD Spring 2025” file.

For information regarding how to interpret your child’s scores, please see the last page of your testing information - a detailed outline of IREAD is presented there. If you need help or have additional questions please feel free to reach out to the principal or classroom teacher.

An email with additional detail for 2nd and 3rd grade was also sent out earlier this week.

Beginning in June, DSC will begin migrating to ParentSquare. All communication to parents, staff and students will utilize this platform only beginning on July 1, 2025. If you have not signed up yet, please get the App (iOS or Android) or sign in via the Invite that was sent to your school-related email address. Check out the Parents—Getting Started Video or this Quick Guide

Students have the opportunity to be recognized for displaying the positive behaviors our staff teaches them each day. Recognition comes in the form of Caught Being Awesome tickets. The following students received tickets this week:

Per the Indiana Department of Education, students should be in attendance for at least 94% of the school year. This means students should be absent for 10 or fewer days across the entire year. See below for our progress toward that goal.

Congratulations to 4th grade for having our best attendance percentage this week! As a reward, the grade level earned an extra recess period.

We'd like to highlight the 134 students who had perfect attendance in the month of April.

If you need details about the attendance policy, please see the below graphic or refer to the student handbook.

Dear DSC Elementary Families,

To ensure that all students, staff, and families have a way to report safety concerns anonymously, DSC administration has introduced a "K-4 Anonymous Safety Reporting Form."

This form is designed for individuals who wish to remain anonymous or for students who want to report something but are unsure of how to proceed. Parents are encouraged to continue reaching out to the school directly via email or phone for any concerns.

Please keep in mind that this initiative was created to keep communication channels open and provide students with a safe way to report incidents while maintaining their privacy. If you have any questions or safety concerns, don't hesitate to contact your building principal.

Submissions are not reviewed in real time. As a result, all emergencies should be reported to local law enforcement by calling 911.

We are working with students to help them learn what is expected of them in the various settings they encounter during their school day. We are focused on three big ideas: we want students to be safe, be respectful, and be responsible.

We know the power of partnering with our families and caregivers. We encourage you to speak with your child about the expectations in the "Everywhere" column, as this language will become a daily part of your child's experience at Jackson. We welcome support in helping students see the importance of these behaviors not just in school but in every other context of their lives.

Spirit wear items are available for purchase throughout the school year. Families may order at a time that suits them; the store will remain open all school year.

Kindergarten students will attend related arts with their classroom group. In grades 1-4, students are attending related arts with a mix of students from the other classrooms. The groups they attend are named after universities in Indiana: Ball State, Indiana State, IU, and Purdue. If you ask your child their group, then the below schedules will help you know which related arts class they have each day.

Each day is assigned a color (Maroon, Gold, White, Black). That color corresponds with a particular spot in the rotation. All classes rotate in the same direction: music moves to art, art moves to PE, PE moves to media, media moves to music.

The "Something to Smile About" Scholarship aims to support Duneland students aged 10-18 who need braces but face financial challenges in obtaining them.

Initiated through the collaboration of a local family and orthodontist, this scholarship provides an opportunity for parents or guardians to ensure their child receives professional orthodontic care, ultimately enhancing their confidence and promoting a positive self-image through a healthy smile.

General Eligibility Requirements:

• Your child is between 10 and 18 years old.

• Your total family income is 200% of the poverty level or less.

• Your child receives regular dental care and has good oral hygiene.

• Your child is not currently in orthodontic treatment or in between phases of treatment.

• Your child has not received previous orthodontic treatment.

• The family contribution is $500.

Downloadable Something to Smile About Application

To make an appointment please call 219-763-8112. Let NorthShore know you are a Duneland School student or staff member and that you would like to make an appointment at the Duneland School Clinic located at the old CMS.

The school meals program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Duneland School Corporation will process free or reduced-price meal benefit applications for those students who apply and are approved. Those students not qualifying for free or reduced-price meals will be charged the paid meal price for breakfast and/or lunch.

Meal prices for the 2024-2025 school year are available on the DSC Child Nutrition website.

The DSC Child Nutrition Department utilizes NutriSlice as its menus program. This app is available for iPhone and Android through your mobile app store. Parents can also access the full website for Duneland Schools on a computer via this NutriSlice link.

This app will allow parents and students to view the menus as well as the nutritional info for each menu item at any of the Duneland Schools. This program will be developed further incorporating images of the actual food items being served at each of the Duneland schools.

Duneland School Corporation offers MyPaymentsPlus, a state-of-the-art online service that provides you the convenience and information you need to manage your student's meal account. This system speeds up serving lines in the cafeteria, eliminates the need to send physical payments to school or worry about lost or forgotten lunch money and ensures that your child will receive a nutritious meal.

At no cost, MyPaymentsPlus allows any family to: Create a FREE, secured account to manage all your student’s accounts, check your student's current account balance, and create settings to receive email notifications when the account reaches a low balance.

Also, at no cost, MyPaymentsPlus allows any family to make a prepayment into your student's meal account using a check, credit card, or debit card at MyPaymentsPlus or by calling 1-866-441-9125. Funds deposited through MyPaymentsPlus are usually available for student use within a matter of minutes. Create settings to automatically replenish your student's account when it reaches a low balance.

The Duneland School Corporation encourages all parents (even if you do not prepay for your student's meal account) to create an account at no cost. To create a new account, follow the on-screen directions and register your student using their Student ID number. Student ID numbers can be obtained by contacting customer support at: 1-877-237-0946.