The Weekly Update #4

ONLINE ENROLLMENT is NOW OPEN for incoming Duneland Kindergarten students for the 2025-2026 school year. Families are asked to complete online enrollment prior to attending Kindergarten Round-Up on Thursday, February 27, 2025. To get started please visit: DSC Kindergarten Enrollment 2025-2026

On Tuesday, we held an assembly to honor the students and staff nominated for Distinctively Duneland awards this past month.

Pictured above are the winners of the Engage award. Back row (L to R): Kayley Link, Lincoln Prow, Averie Urban, Clay Woudema, Brooklynn King, and Will Twila. In the front row (L to R): Frankie Brown, Tanner Blythe, Sawyer Woudema, and Charlotte Hargarten. Not pictured: Olivia Depew and Maddie Lusk.

Pictured above are the winners of the Empower award. In the back row (L to R): Callen Nagel, Alaric Zorick, Gavin Johnson, Lucien Gilger, Naomi Harris, and Faith Harris. In the front row (L to R): Owen Oldham, Ruby Henrichs, Hunter Nailleux, Quinn Shaw, and Ainslee Shaw.

Pictured above are the remaining winners of the Empower award (L to R): Scarlet Boatright and Grayson Byrd.

Pictured above are Mrs. Dilbeck and Mrs. Mueller, winners of the Inspire award. Congratulations!

The Duneland School Corporation believes in celebrating the outstanding teachers and employees that make up this district. Each year, DSC conducts the Teacher and Employee of the Year Recognition Program with the mission of inspiring and celebrating those in the education industry. Nominations will open on January 31, 2025 for the following categories:

• Elementary Teacher- Grades PreK-6
• Secondary Teacher- Grades 7-12
• Employee of the Year- Classified Staff Employee

Students, former students, parents, colleagues, administrators, or members of the community may nominate DSC teachers, which includes Counselors, Instructional Coaches, Media Specialists, and Athletic Trainers, and/or classified employees. There is no limit to the number of employees a person may nominate. Please complete a separate form for each nomination.

A selection committee made up of DSC administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community members will narrow the nominations and interview the final nominees before selecting a winner for each category. Winners will be announced at the May 5, 2025 School Board meeting.

Nomination forms can be completed online or printed. Printed forms should be returned by mail to: DSC Teacher/Employee of the Year, Attn: Amanda Hicks, 601 W. Morgan Ave., Chesterton, IN 46304

Nominations will be opened on Friday, January 31, 2025 and must be received by 3:30 pm on Friday, February 28, 2025 to be considered.

Eligibility requirements and selection information can be found on the following pages.

• Eligibility Requirements
• Selection Process & Recognition

Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of media and technology, has recognized Jackson Elementary as a Common Sense School and its school media specialist, Linda Eleftheri, as a Common Sense Educator.

Jackson Elementary has demonstrated its commitment to taking a whole-community approach to preparing its students to think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate while preparing them for the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying. With the right support, kids can take ownership of their digital lives, engage with real issues, and change their communities for the better. The recognition acknowledges our school's commitment to creating a culture of digital citizenship.

"We applaud the faculty and staff of Jackson Elementary for embracing digital citizenship as an important part of their students' education," said Merve Lapus, vice president of education outreach and national partnerships at Common Sense Education. Jackson Elementary deserves high praise for giving its students the foundational skills they need to compete and succeed in the 21st-century workplace and participate ethically in society at large."

Jackson Elementary has been using Common Sense Education's innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with researchers from Project Zero, led by Howard Gardner at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and are grounded in the real issues students and teachers face. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, media balance, managing online relationships, and media literacy. The free K–12 curriculum is used in classrooms across all 50 states, in more than 80,000 schools by more than 1,00,000 educators.

"We're honored to be recognized as a Common Sense School," said Sam Marshall, Jackson Elementary principal. "By preparing our students to use technology safely and responsibly, we are providing them an opportunity to build lifelong habits to help them succeed in a tech-driven world."

Students have the opportunity to be recognized for displaying the positive behaviors our staff teaches them each day. Recognition comes in the form of Caught Being Awesome tickets. The following students received tickets this week:

AUTHOR VISIT TO JACKSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2025

ALL GRADE LEVELS WILL PARTICIPATE IN A PRESENTATION TAILORED TO SPECIFIC LEVELS.

Students who wish to have a book autographed will need to bring their book to school before the author visits. The book will be signed and returned to the student the day after the author visits. The school will not be selling books and no books will be provided by the author.

A form will be provided to help track books that you would like the author to sign.

Please plan ahead if you wish to have a book signed as our author will be visiting ALL 5 DUNELAND SCHOOLS. Local supplies as well as online sources could run short if you wait until April to purchase a book. All students will participate in an author study before she arrives.

PTO has once again agreed to sponsor our author visit. Thank you to our PTO for this wonderful opportunity for our students.

Mrs. Eleftheri

Jackson Library Media Specialist

leleftheri@duneland.k12.in.us

In keeping with our Core Values, Duneland School Corporation is committed to fostering partnerships to improve the quality of life in our community. One of our most important partnerships is with our families. As we strive to continue to build upon and strengthen our family partnerships, DSC is applying for renewal from the Indiana Department of Education as an IDOE “Family Friendly Schools” corporation. In doing so, we will continue to “focus on addressing students' academic, physical, emotional, and social needs while providing the needed resources and fostering the active involvement of their families through schools and the community.” (Indiana Department of Education Family Friendly Schools Handbook)

Please help us as we continue to support our students and community by completing the IDOE online survey.

Your ongoing support in educating the children of our community is greatly appreciated!

SURVEY LINKS AND INSTRUCTIONS:

Survey Links:

• 2025-2026 Family Friendly Survey Questions for Families

• 2025-2026 Family Friendly Survey Questions for Families-Spanish

School Name: choose your school from the drop-down list

School Corporation: 6470 Duneland School Corporation

School Liaison Name: MICHELLE PALKO

School Liaison email: mpalko@duneland.k12.in.us

School Codes for your convenience:

6928 - Bailly Elementary School

6819 - Brummitt Elementary School

6817 - Jackson Elementary School

6823 - Liberty Elementary School

6941 - Newton Yost Elementary School

6821 - Liberty Intermediate School

6927 - Westchester Intermediate School

6925 - Chesterton Senior High School

6926- Northwest Indiana Online School (Trojan Virtual Academy)

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 4th 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 119 students who had perfect attendance in the month of December.

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

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.

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.

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. 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.

Do you want to earn money but still be home with your family?

Does the cost of childcare hinder your plans to work?

Does your child participate in the many afterschool opportunities?

Would you like to spend quality time with your kids during spring, summer and winter breaks?

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