Principal Weekly Update to Families

Dear Disney Families,

Tonight is Trunk-or -Treat at King of Kings from 5:30-6:30.

Next week is Red Ribbon Week so we have dress up days! Here is the schedule:

Monday - Wear Halloween shirts, socks, accessories

Tuesday - Monsters vs. Zombies: wear white if you are Team Mummy and green if you are Team Monster

Wednesday - Wear RED for our pep rally!

Thursday - School appropriate costumes! Halloween Parade & Parties. - The parade will be outside at 2:00, and the parties will be from 2:30-3:20. Students will wear their costumes to school that day. Only parents who have signed up to work the party will be allowed in the school, so please check with your child's classroom teacher to see if help is needed. More information is attached to the newsletter.

Friday - Dia de los Muertos: wear orange and yellow, flower crowns, and sugar skulls

Upcoming Events:

• November 3rd - Disney 5K for DDRC

• November 4th - 5:00-8:00 - Runza Night

• November 5th - Election Day - No School for Students

• November 27th - December 1 - No School for Students

Dr. Cindy Scharff

Disney Principal

Every year the Millard Public Schools Foundation has an annual staff campaign. This year 97% of Disney staff contributed to the campaign. We donate because we believe in the MPS Foundation mission. The MPS Foundation ensures we can keep enhancing academic innovations, supporting teachers and students and helping Millard families in need long into the future.

The Millard Public School District has utilized strategic planning since the 1989-1990 school year as the mechanism for school improvement. Strategic planning allows our district to refine our systems, evaluate our critical issues, and positively impact achievement and engagement across all 35 schools in Millard.

On Thursday, a team of teachers, parents, and administrators met to analysis Disney data and identify critical issues, create a draft mission statement, and create site plan strategies.

The draft mission statement is:

Walt Disney Elementary, a diverse school devoted to each child, guarantees all students will achieve personal and academic excellence by providing high-quality educational experiences that foster integrity, develop character, and empower students to succeed in a global society.

The finalized strategies are:

1.) We will evaluate and refine our systems to support the needs of all students and improve academic achievement and growth.

2.) We will celebrate Disney’s commitment to diversity and engage with the community to boost enrollment, retain talent, and create more opportunities for everyone.

3.)We will refine and enhance our systems to support the social, emotional, and behavioral needs for students to achieve personal excellence.

Over the next 6 months Action Teams will be meeting to conduct research and plan how to best put these strategies into action.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

During the month of October our classroom counseling lessons in grades K-5 will focus on skills of resiliency, coping and how to get help for oneself and/or a friend if needed. These lessons are intended to educate students on feelings of stress, worry, sadness, how to cope with such feelings and how to ask for help if needed.

Students will identify coping strategies and trusted adults at school and outside of school to whom they can go for help. Any student who has difficulty identifying coping strategies and/or adults who can help will receive a follow up visit with the school counselor to determine if any additional steps are necessary.

Please talk with your child about these feelings, and reinforce appropriate coping strategies such as talking with a trusted adult, exercising, positive self-talk or doing an activity they enjoy. Modeling appropriate reactions to stress and feelings of sadness in your own life and then talking with your child about how you handle it in a healthy way can also help to empower your child to make healthy choices.

Please contact Denise Caniglia at dlcaniglia@mpsomaha.org with any questions. Thank you for your continued partnership in helping to ensure your child has a successful school year!

During this unprecedented time, our district believes it is even more critical to provide this information to students, parents, staff and community members. It is our priority to ensure all students have timely, responsive and effective social and emotional support throughout the 2024-2025 school year.

For more information about the signs of depression and suicide in this current environment click here:

Anxiety and Depression in Children.

Sincerely,

Denise Caniglia

School Counselor

Walt Disney Elementary

402-715-2354

STAFF QUALIFICATIONS

The Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) gives parents the right to acquire information about the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teachers. Upon request Millard Public Schools Schools will give parents the following information about their child’s classroom teacher:

1. Whether the teacher has met State qualifications and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.

1. Whether the teacher is teaching under an emergency or provisional teaching certificate.

1. The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher. You may also get information about other graduate certification or degrees held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.

We will also, upon request, tell parents whether their child is being provided services by a paraprofessional and, if so, the qualifications of the paraprofessional. The request for information should be made to an administrator in your child’s school building. The information will be provided to you in a timely manner.

Finally, Millard Public Schools will give timely notice if your child has been assigned, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks, by a teacher who does not meet the requirements of the Act.

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community:

Thank you for your continued support of the students and staff here at school. I want to share an important area where we need your help as we embark on the 2024-25 school year.

Chronic absence has become a national crisis. Data show chronic absence nearly doubled by the end of the 2021-22 school year. It now affects nearly one out of three students. Chronic absence is typically defined as missing 10% of the school year - or just two days each month - for any reason. Regardless of why your student may miss, studies indicate students who are chronically absent from school often read below grade level and struggle to understand math concepts. To tackle this challenge, all hands are needed. We have set an average daily attendance goal of 95% for this school year. As we look at data from this past year, we had numerous days where we fell significantly short of that 95%. We know we can do better with your help and a renewed emphasis on our part.

Things to Consider:

● Absences: Please communicate all absences, each day, to the front office to avoid unexcused absences when possible.

● Appointments: Please attempt to make appointments early or late in the day to reduce missed classroom time. Remember to bring a note from the provider to the main office so it can be logged in the attendance record.

● Plan Around School Breaks: In education, every minute matters. Please make every effort to plan vacations, trips, and student absences around school breaks.

● Role Model the Importance of Education: Students learn about the importance of being on time and accountable at school, work, and other obligations by watching the adults in their lives. This is

an essential life skill we can all teach them together.

● Monitor How Sick Is Too Sick: It will always be important to keep children home when they are not feeling well, but we hope we can cut down on the amount of school missed for other reasons. Reminder: If your student has

accrued fifteen (15) medical parent excused (MPE) days of school, we will notify you that subsequent MPE days

will require medical documentation in order to be marked as excused.

● Tardiness: Please ensure your student is getting to school on time so they can begin the day in a productive manner. School starts promptly at 8:30 AM.

Addressing chronic absenteeism and tardiness is a team approach. Our school attendance team, which includes Rye McIntosh, elementary school social worker and Meagan Basye, early childhood community counselor, this year will identify attendance and tardy concerns and provide information and resources directly to families to improve student attendance.

Together, we can get back to an average daily attendance rate of 95% or higher, which helps individual and overall student achievement. Please help us achieve this critical goal. If you have any questions about your child’s absences or you want to brainstorm some strategies with me, please do not hesitate to contact me. Hopefully we can count you in towards working together to show that every school day matters.

Walt Disney Elementary School

Admin Intern: Mr. Tony Gentile

Secretary: Mrs. Kindalynn Mascarello

Website: https://disney.mpsomaha.org/
Address: 5717 S. 112th Street Omaha, NE. 68137
Phone: (402) 715-2350
Facebook: facebook.com/Disneydolphins
Twitter: @DisneyDolphins

Walt Disney Elementary, a diverse school devoted to each child, guarantees all students a world-class education through challenging, engaging, and innovative learning experiences. We will ensure students demonstrate academic excellence and social and emotional skills necessary for personal success in a global society.

Dr. John Schwartz, Superintendent

President - Stacy Jolley

Vice President - Mike Kennedy

Secretary - Linda Poole

Treasurer - Amanda McGill Johnson

Board Member - Mike Pate

Board Member - Lisa Schoenberger