Yost Weekly Update: August 11, 2023

Yost will celebrate Halloween on Thursday, October 31. Please note the requests regarding costumes, the information about class parties, and the Halloween parade families are invited to below:

Halloween Costumes:

1. The costume must not excessively distract from the educational environment
   
2. The costume must be school appropriate; no blood, gore, weapons/props, or costume make-up
3. Students must be able to change into their costumes with limited adult assistance
4. Students must be able to use the bathroom without assistance while wearing the costume

Halloween Class Parties:

Each grade level will host Halloween parties. A few requests, please don't send candy and/or food treats for your student to deliver to other children. Teachers may request specific donations for the party, but please don't have your student give treats to others.

Halloween Parade:

At 8:00, students will line the south sidewalk in front of the building. Families are invited to participate in a car parade and view student costumes. Please enter through the southwest most entrance (car pick-up/drop-off) and proceed north all the way around the building in a clockwise motion driving by students to view their costumes. Cars will exit the same way they entered. Similar to class parties, do not throw candy from vehicles.

Yost is looking for staff to work in an instructional aide capacity. If interested, please visit the DSC website for more information.

https://www.duneland.k12.in.us/administration/employment-opportunities

Nurse Chrissy will be leaving us at the end of October. If you know of any Registered Nurses that may be interested, please direct them to the HR site above.

Scheduling for parent teacher conferences begins next week. Please use the directions below to schedule a meeting in Skyward.

It's Scholastic Book Fair time! November 5th during Parent/Teacher Conferences (10:30-7:30) come experience the limitless possibilities with your kids. Every purchase benefits our school library.

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/yost

The 2024 Yost Christmas for Kids Request link has been published on Class Dojo. If your preschool aged or Yost student is in need of winter items this year, please fill out one request form for EACH child. Responses are DUE Friday, October 25th. An amazon wish list will be created and tags will be distributed throughout the community to support our families in the coming weeks. This program runs 100% on donations from our wonderful community and we thank you for your support each year. Please EMAIL Mrs. Nay at cnay@duneland.k12.in.us if you have any questions.

The Town of Porter has shared some advance notice of a road closure of Wagner Road at the I-94 bridge north of Yost on or shortly after Monday, November 4 lasting approximately 3-4 weeks. Waverly Road will reopen on December 1 so the detours will be east to Waverly and west to Beam and/or Howe Road.

Yost Title I Annual Meeting - If you were unable to join us at the PTO meeting, you can view the presentation slides through this link. To enter your child in a drawing for FREE books, complete the google form to acknowledge Title I information was shared with you. Click this link or scan the QR code!

Donation Requests:

During our upcoming Nov 5TH Teacher/Parent Conference, the PTO will be providing a meal for our staff and could use help with drinks and chips donations. Please send in any donations with a note for staff lounge.

For those families that volunteered, the student directory is attached.

Please refer to the video for updated traffic patterns.

https://youtu.be/sVQEas2ZlOA

Yost is committed to supporting and honoring those men and women that currently serve and have served in our military.

10/24 & 10/25 Fall Break (no school)

11/5 eLearning Day (campus closed) & Parent/Teacher Conferences

11/25 Yost Family Math Night

11/25 & 11/26 Body Safety Dunebrook presentations

11/27-11/29 Thanksgiving vacation (no school)

12/20 End of Semester 1

12/23-1/6 Winter Recess (no school)

1/7 Second Semester begins

The first step to maximizing academic growth throughout the year is getting to school as much as possible. This year, we have a goal of a 95% attendance rate for the year. We will celebrate class winners and share our school attendance rate for the week.

In an effort to improve attendance which directly positively impacts student growth and achievement along with adhering to the new state law regarding attendance, Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 282, Duneland School Corporation has developed a new Attendance Policy.

A few important changes:

• Parent/Guardian Verified Absence: This is a new category of student attendance. It is used when an absence does not meet the criteria to be considered "Excused" or "Unexcused." There will only be four (4) Parent/Guardian Verified absences allowed a semester. Additional absences called in by a parent or guardian not meeting the definition of "Excused" will be considered "Unexcused."
• Parents only have one (1) week to verify an absence or provide documentation for an "Excused" absence.
• A student who is absent from school for five (5) days within a ten (10) week period without the absences considered "Excused" will be deemed a student in need of truancy prevention.

1. Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school.
2. Chronic absence appears to have doubled by the end of the 2021-22 school year. We estimate that it now affects nearly one out of three students (or 16 million vs. 8 million students in the 2018-19 school year).
3. Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of third grade or be held back.
4. By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.
5. Research shows that missing 10 percent of the school, or about 18 days in most school districts, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. Chronic absence is considered two days a month.
6. When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances of graduating.
7. The most important thing to track is not just how many are missing school without an excuse but how many are missing so many days in excused and unexcused absences that academics are off track.
8. Missing one (1) day of school every two (2) weeks, adds up to almost a year and half of school from kindergarten to senior in high school.

Yost Attendance- 95.03%

Kindergarten- Mrs. Johnson 98.41%

1- Mrs. Papineau 95.83%

2- Mrs. Street 95.24%

3- Mr. Dodds 98.67%

4- Ms. Taylor 98.21%

Once again, Hurst Orthodontics, PC will collect Halloween candy in our schools to be donated to a non-profit organization called Supporters of the Military (SOM). For the last 22 years, the candy has been shipped to US soldiers serving both domestic and abroad. This year, many Indiana veterans will also enjoy the candy. Many of the candy recipients have been Indiana National Guard members, as well as members of the US Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines.

Last year Hurst Orthodontics, PC, with the help of local schools, other community organizations and the public collected a total of 632 pounds of candy for the troops.

Candy donation boxes will be placed in each school beginning on Tuesday, October 29 - November 7. Donations from the public are welcome. Letters and cards for the troops from the students would be very welcome as well.

The Duneland School Corporation will participate in a scheduled eLearning day on Tuesday, Nov. 5 and will follow eLearning Guidelines for a scheduled Online eLearning day for K-12 students - PLANNED ASYNCHRONOUS.

Teachers will be available during office hours for questions regarding eLearning assignments. All schools will communicate teacher availability for office hours.

Parent-Teacher conferences this year for grades K-4 will also be hosted on Nov. 5.

What: 2024 Duneland Fall Tennis Camp for 5th thru 8th graders; Skills

Clinic for 2nd thru 4th graders

Who: 5th thru 8th Grade on 10/21 and 10/22;

2nd thru 4th Grade on 10/28

When: 5:00-6:30 pm for all ages

Where: Chesterton High School Tennis Complex

Cost: $60 for 5th-8th graders (3 hours total)

$30 for 2nd-4th graders (1 1/2 hour)

Bring: Water bottles and tennis rackets

Register at Sites.google.com/view/dunelandtennis

Information regarding sign-ups for boys and girls basketball is below.

Below is information regarding Ready, Set, Kindergarten. The program is hosted at Yost as well as the other elementary schools.

Below is information regarding the universal screener for dyslexia. This link connects you to information from the IDOE. As required by state law, all kindergarten, first, and second graders were screened for learning characteristics of dyslexia this year. Your child's results will be shared through the mCLASS Home Connect report. School staff will be contacting parents/ guardians of students who were identified as at risk or at some risk for characteristics of dyslexia to schedule a meeting

Learn more about the Duneland Early Learning Classes at the the HUB. Click on the image below to enroll.

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.

Below are lists for student success.

Information regarding student bus transportation for the 2024-2025 school year is available on DSC website under the Transportation Department.

TRACK STUDENT'S BUS WITH MYSTOP APP- The Duneland School Corporation Department of Transportation has now made My Stop available to our families.

My Stop is a web-based application which will allow parents to access live bus GPS information using a smartphone, tablet, or computer and securely view the current location of your child’s bus on routes. The system also provides the bus’s estimated time of arrival at your child’s bus stop.

Please read the attached letter to parents for more information on how to use My Stop to track your child's bus.

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.

Email: jhuwig@duneland.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.duneland.k12.in.us/Domain/12
Location: 100 West Beam Street, Porter, IN, USA
Phone: 219.983.3640