DRES FAMILY MESSAGE

Hello DRES Family,

October is Bully Prevention and Awareness Month. Since we were tracked out for most of October, DRES is discussing Bully Prevention during the month of November. We are kicking it off with a Spirit Week.

Monday- "Let's Tip our HATS to Bullying Prevention & Awareness"- Wear your favorite hat to show your support for bully prevention and awareness.

Tuesday- No School/ Teacher Workday- Go Vote!

Wednesday- "Take a Walk In Someone Else's SHOES" - Wear 2 different Socks or Shoes to show compassion and empathy for someone else's situation.

Thursday- "TEAM Up Against Bullying"- Wear your favorite team's colors and/or attire to show we can all work as a team to stop bullying.

Friday- "Treating Others with Respect is no SWEAT" - Wear your favorite sweats/workout clothes to show we can all work out our differences.

We will have our DRES Community Meet Up this Saturday, November 9 from 11am-12pm.

Come and join us at the Durant Nature Park Playground at 11am for an hour of playtime! This is a way for students to interact with each other outside of school! Invite a classmate to meet you at the playground!!

When: November 9th at 11AM

Where: Durant Nature Preserve
8305 Camp Durant Rd
Raleigh, NC 27614

We look forward to seeing you! In case of poor weather, there will be a message on DOJO regarding any change of dates or times!

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Principal Sanchez

At Durant Road Elementary School, our vision is to cultivate a community where every child achieves academic excellence and social emotional growth in a safe, supportive, and equitable environment.

At Durant Road Elementary we value diversity, creativity, and equity. In fostering strong, trusting relationships, we cultivate empathy and family partnerships to create a nurturing and supportive environment where every child grows – academically, socially, and emotionally.

11/5/24- No School- Go Vote!

11/7/24- National Children's Theater Performances during the school day

11/8/24- Kindergarten Field Trip to Durant Nature Park

11/9/24- Durant Community Meet Up 11am-12pm- Durant Nature Park

11/11/24- No School- Veterans' Day

11/13/24- World Kindness Day

11/18/24- Quarter 2 Interims Go Home This Week

11/18-11/22/24- Bookfair

11/20/24- 1st Grade Morehead Planetarium In House Field Trip

11/20 & 21/24- 4th Grade In House Field Trip- Piedmont Center

11/21/24- Chorus Concert- Broadway Beat at DRES- 7pm

11/27-11/29/24- No School- Thanksgiving Break

12/9/24- School Improvement Team Meeting 3:45-4:45pm

12/11/24- 2nd Grade Field Trip- Science Is Fun- In House

12/17/24- Chorus Walk to DRMS for Chorus Dress Rehearsal @ 3:30pm

12/18/24- Chorus Concert- At Durant Road Middle School- 6:30pm

12/20/24- Last Day of Quarter 2

12/21/24-1/26/25- Winter Break/Track Out

1/27/25- First Day of Quarter 3

2/3/25- Quarter 2 Report Cards Go Home

2/24/25- Quarter 3 Interims Go Home This Week

3/28/25- Last Day of Quarter 3

3/29-4/21/25- No School- Spring Break/Track Out

4/22/25- First Day of Quarter 4

4/28/25- Quarter 3 Report Cards Go Home

5/19/25- Quarter 4 Interims Go Home This Week

5/26/25- No School- Memorial Day

5/30/25- DRES Family Night At Mudcats- Chorus Singing National Anthem

6/19/25- No School- Juneteenth

6/26/25- Last Day of Quarter 4

6/27 & 6/28/25- EOG Retests

Parents and other relatives are allowed to come eat lunch with students. Please keep a few important things in mind.

1. If a family member is coming to eat lunch with your child that is not a parent, please call the school to let us know that you are giving permission for that person to eat lunch with your child(ren).
2. Students must inform the staff member in charge of their classroom that they are going to eat lunch with their family member.
3. No other student is allowed to join for lunch, other than yours.
4. Family members are not allowed to bring lunch for other children, only yours. You never know of others allergies, dietary restrictions, etc.
5. There are multiple tall tables in the hallway to have lunch with your child. If you do not feel comfortable having lunch out there, please ask the staff members watching your child's class which table is available for you to sit at with your child. We have classes coming in and out frequently.

Thank you for following these rules and expectations to ensure the safety of our students.

If you missed the PTA meeting last Monday, here is the Title 1 Presentation that Ms. Sanchez shared.

DRES is a Universal Free Breakfast School meaning any DRES student can get breakfast each morning at school for FREE. Breakfast is served from 8:00am-8:30am. Students pick up their breakfasts and take it back to the classroom to eat.

Lunch Costs:

Full Price- $3.50 per day

Reduced Price- $0.40 per day

Snacks are available for purchase.

Students in 1st-5th grade have a 25 minute lunch period. Kindergarteners have a 30 minute lunch period.

Want to try to qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch? Sign up at the link below or stop by the school to fill out a paper copy that we can submit for you.

https://www.myschoolapps.com/

You are invited to fill out an application to see if you qualify for free or reduced price meals for your child. This needs to be redone every year. Please apply using this link: https://www.myschoolapps.com/

If you would prefer a paper copy, these are available at the school.

At DRES, we follow the WCPSS Bully Prevention expectations. We have no room for bullying at DRES. We teach our students to be safe, own their learning, act responsibly, and be respectful at all times. If your child experiences bullying please reach out to a school representative so we are aware and can take immediate action. Start by informing the teacher of the situation. The teacher will then analyze the situation and determine if they are able to address the situation. If not, they will seek assistance from the counselors or school administration to put an end to the bullying situation.

Just remember- Bullying is unwanted aggressive behavior that perceives an imbalance of power and is repeated.

One of the main forms of bullying that we see actually happens in the care of the parents outside of school that causes major disruptions to the learning environment. This is cyberbullying. We spent many, many hours and days last school year dealing with cyberbullying that happened outside of school, yet had a negative impact on the school environment. If you provide your child with a cell phone or access to a device, please be responsible to monitor what they are doing on their device. They actually could be causing the bullying, participating in the bullying, or be the target of bullying, none of which are healthy for them. Many apps used for this are: Snapchat, Instagram, Kik, and TikTok. Elementary school aged children are not yet old enough to have these accounts, yet many of them do. The age limit is in place to give time for young children's brains to develop so they can make more appropriate decisions.

Here is an article that may be useful to help with Cyberbullying.

https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it

Help us to help your children to be in a bully free and respectful environment at school!

• You are doing awesome!! Thank you for having your tags and leaving them up throughout your entire time in the carpool lane in the afternoons!!
• If your child needs assistance getting into or out of the car, please put your flashers on and a staff member will come to help.
• Please do not park and walk your child across because you do not want to wait in the carpool line. This actually slows the line down for others doing the right thing.
• If you need to buckle your child in their seats, please make sure your 4-way blinkers are on and slowly pull down to the orange cab/carpool waiting zone to take care of buckling.
• Have your child practice buckling themselves on the weekends and evenings.
• Review your child's carpool number with them by having them recognize the number when shown to them, being able to say their carpool number, and recognizing the number when you say it.
• Remember that if you are having someone else pick up your child through carpool, give them the actual tag, or they will need to go into the school to sign them out. We will not put your child in a car if the carpool tag is not visible. This is for their safety as we would never want to give your child to someone that isn't supposed to have them!

• AM- Please walk your child around to the front entrance in the mornings.
• AM and PM- Parents are not allowed to be walking around the back of the school to the modulars without checking into the front office first.
• PM- Walker parents are not allowed on campus until 2:55pm and should go straight to the pick up locations.
• K-3 students will get dismissed from the end of the Kindergarten hallway, but must first be signed out by parent.
• 4-5 students will get dismissed from the pavilion area and must be signed out first.
• If 4th or 5th graders have permission to walk home alone, they must first check out with the staff member at the pavillion.

• Your child needs to be in school for us to teach them.
• Missing more than 10 days of school is excessive and tends to lead to students being behind academically.
• Send a note to the teacher within 2 days of an absence, in order for it to be considered for excused. The note can be written, in email, or through Dojo.
• Excused attendance reasons: Injury/Illness (sick, medical, dental appointments), Religious observation, Death in Immediate Family member, Educational Opportunities that are specifically designed for educational reasons and approved in advance (Not family vacations), Military Deployment Activities

Ideas to help at home with the morning routine.

1. Go to bed on time.
2. Lay clothes at night.
3. Develop a back up plan for getting to school in case of an emergency or no bus.
4. Set an alarm and teach your child a morning routine to help get them prepared for school. Making a visual or written checklist to hang on the mirror in the bathroom is helpful for building independent reminders.

Please view the 24-25 DRES Parent Student Handbook here:

https://www.wcpss.net/Page/22935

Be sure to read this and refer to it throughout the school year. It is located on our school website in the Parents section.

Check out the new Cell Phone expectations which were added in this school year.

Be sure you are connected to your child(ren)'s teacher on ClassDojo so you can stay informed on classwide and individual communications. We need to be able to have direct communication with a parent or guardian for every student in case of an emergency, and because ongoing communication between school and home will provide the best support for your child's success.

Do you have a School Messenger account so you don't miss important texts and emails from Wake County Public Schools and Durant Road Elementary?

Read more at this link: https://www.wcpss.net/schoolmessenger