Greetings families. Last Friday we resumed a beloved DFES tradition...Fall Festival. This was the first time we held this event since 2019. Based on feedback from our Fox Cubs and parents/guardians there were many great and positive memories collected by those of us in attendance.

Speaking of memories, the star of the evening (a piglet) somehow managed to escape and elude us for a brief moment (which seemed like an eternity) prior to the moment that everyone was waiting for. Thankfully the piglet was safely secured without harm.

Over the course of this week, kids have asked, "what was it like to kiss a pig?" I jokingly replied, "It was one of the sweetest kisses of my life." as I knew that would get a range of responses.

We are grateful for the leadership of our PTO in the planning and execution of the fall festival. Additional thanks extend to the many DFES faculty/staff members and parent volunteers who contributed in significant ways that made this occasion a success.

Oct. 14th - Teacher Workday, No students/office is open

Oct. 17th – Student Holiday, School Closed

Oct. 18th-20th – 2nd Grade COGAT Testing

Oct. 21st – High Five Friday – RC deputies on site

Oct. 21st - Pink Out Day (see info. below)

Oct. 24th – D5 Board Meeting at CATE Center 6pm

Oct. 26th – Early Release at 11:40am (Wednesday)

Oct. 27th- Makeup day for Fall Pictures

Oct. 28th - Report Cards go home

Nov. 2 - Second Cup with Principal Scott 7:30am

Nov. 8th - Election Day, School Closed

Nov. 10th - Magnet Fair CATE Center 5pm - 7pm

Nov. 11th - Magnet Fair Window Open

Nov. 14th D5 Board Meeting, CATE Center 6pm - 8pm

Nov. 15th - Spirit Night @ Moe's 5pm - 8pm

Nov. 21st Skate Night @ Sport Skate USA 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Nov. 23-25 - Thanksgiving Break, School Closed

Friday, October 21st will be HIGH FIVE FRIDAY! Richland County Deputies will be on campus during morning arrival greeting students and giving high fives as they arrive to school.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. On Friday, October 21st. Students and staff are asked to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Let's see how much pink we can wear!

DFES FOX CUBS SUPPORT BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.

"We are thankful for the generous support of our recent food drive at DFES. This is just a portion of what we were able to provide for our D5 food pantries. Our family is helping so many other families, and we are grateful for YOU!"

I am often asked why an absence is indicated when a student has attended school every day.

The answer, for the purposes of elementary school students, is that the Office of Civil Rights has determined that a student is absent if he/she is not physically on campus or is not participating in an instruction-related activity off campus for at least 50% of the school day. The start time used at DFES is 7:50 am, if your child is on time, to the end of the school day, a timeframe of 410 minutes, as calculated by the student database. It may be helpful to note that even Early Release days and those last days of school have a midpoint!

A student who leaves school before attending 50% of the day and does not come back will be coded according to the reason for leaving. In all of the following examples, the student is considered Absent for the day which is reflected on report cards and attendance records.

DFES Online Absence Form

Sharon Clemens, Registrar/Attendance Clerk - saclemen@lexrich5.org

Hello!

One of my responsibilities as your school counselor is coordinating our “Essential Eight” program. We use this program to promote making positive choices and demonstrating The DFES Fox Cub Way - Being Ready, Being Respectful, and Being Responsible. Our school focuses on one character theme each month as part of this program, and each homeroom receives a book for their classroom library related to the theme. This month we are sharing books with families and each student received a copy of one of the following books:

4K and 5K: Llama, Llama - Mess, Mess, Mess by Anna Dewdney

1st and 2nd grades: Splat the Cat and the Late Library Book by Rob Scotton/Cari Meister

3rd, 4th and 5th grades: The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry

Here are some ideas to spark family conversations about the importance of being ready, respectful, and responsible. We encourage you to talk with your child about these questions and revisit them throughout the month of October.

1. What can our family do to help you to be ready to learn at school?

2. How do you show respect as a friend? as a classmate? with family members?

3. Tell about a time you made a responsible choice.

You can vary the above questions using the monthly theme words for the 2022-23 school year:

October - Ready and Responsible

November - Respect

December - Gratitude and Generosity

January - Growth Mindset

February - Friendship

March - Self Awareness and Self Control

April - Cooperation

May - Optimism

We would like to thank you for your continued support and collaboration in keeping our fox cubs healthy.

As a reminder, please update the school nurse with any immunization records, change of health conditions or status. Please send in DHEC immunization records given to you by your pediatrician to ensure students have received all doses of recommended/required immunizations.

Submit your records to the DFES Health Office by emailing it to your school nurse or by sending in a copy to the DFES Health Office.

Thank you!

Nurse Mitchell

TEL. # 803-476-3906

FAX # 803-476-3920

email: mmitchell@lexrich5.org

In order to keep everyone safe, we ask that you utilize the car line instead of dropping students off in the church parking lot. We also ask that you have your student exit your car from the door closest to the building and not have them walk in front or behind your car to get into the building.

Thank you to everyone that participated in our Coupon Book Fundraiser. We appreciate all of your help and support during this Fall Fundraiser!

We can not express enough our appreciation & gratitude to all that volunteered, donated & attended the Fall Festival! It was a great turnout and fun was had by all! Our DFES Family came together to have a little fun and watch Mr. Scott kiss the pig! Some of us even got to chase the pig! We truly had a squeal of a good time!! THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THAT PARTICIPATED! We are looking forward to the next event!

Spirit Nights will be held the 3rd Tuesday of every month from 5pm - 8pm. Below is the schedule for each month.

Oct 18- Freddy's

Nov 15th - Moe's

Dec 13th - CiCi's Pizza

Jan 17th - Texas Roadhouse

Feb 21st- Freddy's

March 21st- Moe's

April 18th- Chick-fil-a (Ballentine)

"Proud to be a Title I School"

7900 Broad River Rd.

Irmo, SC 29063