The Weekly Update #4

Mrs. Jimenez-Perez and her husband welcomed their first child, Emma, this past weekend. Congratulations to the happy family! Everyone is doing well.

While Mrs. JP is home, Mrs. Robbins will be her substitute. Mrs. Robbins previously filled Mrs. Rekitzke's maternity leave in the 23-24 school year.

Congratulations are also due to Miss Pierce, who is now Mrs. Neal after her marriage earlier this school year. Most students already know her by her new name. Her email has recently officially changed to eneal@duneland.k12.in.us.

As the weather turns colder, we wanted to remind everyone of how recess expectations change. Per the handbook, our rule is that as long as the feels like/real feel temperature is 10 degrees or higher we go outside. We do make exceptions for wet weather and for icy conditions to try to prevent accidental injuries.

If students want to play in the snow, they need five things:

1. Snow boots

2. Snow pants

3. Winter jacket

4. Gloves or mittens

5. Winter hat

Students must be able to put on and take off these clothes without assistance. Students are not allowed to throw snowballs at each other, climb any snow piles from plow trucks, or intentionally run to slide on icy patches.

If students do not want to play in the snow (which is generally the majority of students), they are still welcome to play in areas where the snow has been cleared, like the blacktop. To do this, they only need a winter jacket to stay warm.

There will be no school for all Duneland School students on November 27-29 to observe the Thanksgiving holiday. Classes will resume on Monday, December 2.

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.

Per the Indiana Department of Education, students should be in attendance for at least 94% of the school year. Given that we have 180 school days per year, this asks students to be absent for 10 or fewer days across the entire year. See below for our progress toward that goal.

Congratulations to the 2nd 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 109 students that had perfect attendance last month. Great job!

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

We are looking for a qualified candidate to fill an open position at Jackson Elementary: exceptional learning aide. The position is listed on the corporation website; click the button below for more information. If you know someone that meets the qualifications, please encourage them to apply.

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.

This year, we are experimenting with our related arts schedule. 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. We think this is a great way for students to get to know others at school, which builds a stronger sense of community. 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.

Welcome to our 2024 Winter Baseball Camp!

The Holiday Baseball Camp consists of 3 days of baseball activities for $50.

DECEMBER 26-27-28

• Grades 3-5 11am-12:30PM
• Grades 6-8 1:00 – 2:30 PM
  • Day One = Defense (IF, OF, P/C Drills)
  • Day Two= Offense (Tee Work, Soft Toss, Short Toss, Batting Practice, and our most important TWO STRIKE APPROACH**)
  • Day Three = FUN! TROJAN OBSTACLE COURSE and the World Series Wiffle Ball Tourney

  
  

  Link to Sign Up:

  https://forms.gle/ooCiW3hWxBjERhVu7

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.

We are excited to be hosting a Ready, Set, Kindergarten class at Jackson. The Jackson class will meet 11:30am-1:30pm on Fridays in the high ability classroom. See below for more information on registration.

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

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 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.

Contact the Duneland School Corporation IT department via one of these methods:

1. Open a IncidentIQ ticket by sending an email to: helpdesk@duneland.k12.in.us
   
2. Log into IncidentIQ and submit a request duneland.incidentIQ.com

Families without internet due to financial hardship have access to programs from two local providers.

Comcast Internet Essentials:

• Families that qualify for public assistance programs such as the National School Lunch Program, Housing Assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, SSI and other programs may also qualify for the Internet Essentials program from Comcast.

• This program offers internet at a low cost per month.

• Additional options and services are also available

• More information is available at this Comcast link

Frontier Lifeline Program:

• Families that qualify for public assistance programs such as the National School Lunch Program, Housing Assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, SSI and other programs may also qualify for the Lifeline Program from Frontier.

• More information is available at this Frontier link