Parent Communication

Dear Van Duyn Families,

As we move into the heart of the school year, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for the support, enthusiasm, and dedication you continue to show our school community. It’s been a busy time of learning, growth, and connection, and we are so proud of the progress our students are making every day.

This month, we’ve focused on fostering a positive and inclusive environment where every child feels valued. Whether it’s through classroom activities, school-wide events, or partnerships with families, we are committed to creating a place where students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Thank you for your continued involvement in your child’s education. Together, we’re making a difference in their lives!

Sincerely,

Principal Thomas

C.H.A.M.P.S.: Courageous Hardworking Accountable Motivated Persistent Safe

Van Duyn is an inclusive learning environment where everyone is respected, empowered, encouraged, and supported to thrive and succeed as responsible global citizens while being held to a standard of excellence in academic achievement and personal character

We are an inclusive community that believes all students can learn.

Van Duyn held their first student council election this year! Fourth and Fifth graders voted for 12 students who will represent them on student council. Candidates spent the last few weeks creating campaign posters and videos, encouraging their fellow students to vote for them. The voting happened on Tuesday Nov 26th. We are proud to announce this years Student Council members are:

In Ms. Newton's Class: Kennedy M and Kamyrn B.

In Ms. Markland's Class: Jade M and LaMarrah M

In Ms. Huynh- Boyle's Class: Tr'Veyah C and Jayden L.

In Ms. Dewey's Class: Aries F and Jazmine P

In Mrs. Marquis Class: Bella F and Brielle R

In Ms. Grady's Class: Makayla H, Tamia M and Lineka H (This class had a 3 way tie)

Congratulations to all of the representatives! Everyone who was involved did a fantastic job!

In the month of December, we will be working on our Families and Communities Domain in CKLA. We will also learn about holidays around the world. In Math, we will begin our Shapes unit.

Our kids are off to a great start learning their letter sounds as well as forming letters correctly in reading. Please be sure that your child is holding their pencil using a tripod grip. In English Language Arts we are working on identifying letter names and sounds. Students are practicing reading words by sounding words out. We are learning “Tricky Words”. These are words students cannot sound out they just have to know them by sight. In Math, we are learning how to compare objects by length, weight, and capacity. Your child will learn how to use a balance scale. Your child will also learn how to compare sets of objects up to 10 and determine which set is. more or less. In Social Studies we are focusing on Celebrating Myself and Others. Within this unit we will be exploring the similarities and unique differences of cultures in America. Please make sure to check your child's red folder daily for important information.

😊 Ms. Fagan, Ms. King, Ms. Allen, and Ms. Bridges

1st grade will be finishing adding and subtracting within 10. We will be finishing our unit what is air, we will start to learning about culture. We will also be working on forming complete sentences and answering questions about stories.

😊 Ms. Glover, Ms. Acevedo, Ms. Peneston and Ms. Floyd

In the upcoming weeks 2nd grade will be working on a new math module that will cover adding and subtracting within 200 and working with word problems. In ELA Skills and Writing we are continuing to read short stories and answer reading comprehension questions. Lastly, we are in the middle of our science unit, focusing on solids and liquids.

Student Shoutout:

Santana L. in Mrs. Tzetzis’ class! She is a ray of sunshine. She is sweet, kind and caring. She is always willing to go above and beyond. She is willing to help her peers and teachers whenever they need it.

Oakley M. in Ms. Garcia and Mrs. Napolitano’s class! She is a hard-worker, and never gives up! She is always ready to participate and will ask questions when something is confusing. She is also a good remodel to others in the class.

😊Ms. Garcia, Ms. Napolitano, and Ms. Tzetzis

This December we are starting a new unit in humanities. We will be exploring migration, communities and cultures. In math, we are exploring rounding numbers and working on measurements. Please continue to practice multiplication fluency at home so that our students are more confident in their multiplication facts

😊Ms. DelaCruz, Ms. Kendall, and Ms. Perez

Humanities - This unit focuses on allowing students to explore the geography of NY, develop more

advanced map reading skills and become familiar with the traditional stories and ways of life of the Haudenosaunee. Students will explore how the Haudenosaunee traditionally used natural resources and lived harmoniously with nature. Students will also explore the

Haudenosaunee system of government and how they preserved their history.

Math - Students is working to find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Students are also illustrating and explaining the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

Science - Students are engaging through experiments and readings to map out earth services.

😊Ms. Huynh-Boyle, Ms. Newton, Ms. Markland, and Mr. Montgomery

Math:

In math this month we will be increasing our knowledge of division, working on making connections between mental strategies for dividing multi-digit divisors and dividends with both whole numbers and decimals. We will be building on to the foundational principles taught in fourth grade of single digit division, working toward dividing three- and four- digit dividends by two-digit divisors with both whole numbers and decimals using the standard algorithm (long division) for division. I have taught the kiddos a song to help remember the steps of long division and they love singing it! Ask them to share it with you at home! If you have any questions or need ideas to help support your CHAMP at home please feel free to reach out! Have a Vantastic December!

-Mrs. Marquis

Humanities:

We are very excited to begin our new social studies Inquiry: Rights and Responsibilities.

Over the course of each Inquiry, students work toward addressing a big, overarching question called an Inquiry Question. The Inquiry Question that will guide students forward in this Inquiry is: How can we contribute to a healthy democracy? In order to explore this big Inquiry Question, students will be answering a series of smaller questions (called Essential Questions) along the way. These include:

• Who holds power in our government and why?

• How does federalism balance the needs for consistency and flexibility across this diverse country?

• How do our rights and freedoms impact the health of American democracy?

• What does it take to be an engaged citizen?

We are excited to dive into this Humanities unit together! As always please make sure your child is reading each night for 20 minutes. Thank you for your support!

Ms. Dewey

Writing:

We are working on writing literary essays currently which include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. We just finished the Panyee Football Club literary essay. We are now on Bend 2 which consists of the same exercises and strategies which will strengthen their ability to create a CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning). In this unit we will be reading three stories named “Everything will be okay”, “Spaghetti”, or “The Rice and Beans Chronicles of Isaiah”. The children will choose their favorite from that list then write another literary essay on that story. Within class there will be a whole group instruction as well as small group instruction where they will refine their skills and get more personalized instruction and strengthen their skills. Thank you for all you do! Please reach out anytime you need anything via TalkingPoints.

December Dates to Remember:

Thursday December 5th: Field trip to see the Nutcracker and go ice skating at Clinton Square

😊Ms. Dewey, Mrs. Marquis, Ms. Grady and Mr. Simmons

School attendance builds a strong foundation for learning that helps students succeed in the future. It's difficult to make up for too many absences with homework or take-home assignments.

Each month we put all the names of the families that have 95% or better attendance into our attendance raffle. In October, Kalenna D. was the winner of our $25 raffle gift card!

Each month we also do a class attendance contest. Daily we track classroom attendance, and the classes that have 95% or better get a token on our attendance matters board. At the end of the month, the classes with the most tokens win!

October's winners - Ms. King and Ms. Markland's class

November's winners - Ms. Bratt and Ms.DelaCruz

• Dec 4th - Picture Day Retake
• Dec 6th - Half Day!
• Dec 9-13th - Candy Grams - Look out for informational flyer coming soon
• Dec 16-20th - Spirit Week
• Dec 17th-19th - Holiday Shop
• Dec 18th - Winter Ball (Kids need 75 dojos to attend)
• Dec 19th - Holiday Giveaway

• Dec 23rd-Jan 3rd- NO SCHOOL

• PFO meetings are once a month
• Next Meeting is on December 16th

Please enter at door 3 (by the playground)

• All Champ family members are welcome to join PFO.
• PFO is having a Holiday Gift Shop for students to purchase holiday gifts. This will take place from Dec 17th-19th

Contact information:

Van Duyn PFO President Monique Hill

Email: vanduynpfo@gmail.com

Phone: 315-435-5406

ARRIVAL:

• Doors open at 9:05am.
• At 9:15am Door 2 will close and all students must go through Door 1. All late students who arrive between 9:15am-9:30am will enter Door 1 and be signed in.

DISMISSAL:

• Dismissal starts at 3:35pm.
• Parents picking up children in K-5 may pick up their child outside Door 1. Parents picking up a PreK student may pick up their child at Door 3. (By the Playground).
• We do not dismiss between 3:15pm and 3:35pm. If you need to sign your child out before that, please call the main office and let them know.

Before school arrival time is 7:45am. Students cannot enter before school after 8:35am. They will have to wait until the start of the school day if arrive after 8:35am. After school dismissal time is 5:20pm. Student pick up for afterschool will be at door 1. There is no after school on Fridays and for the month of November there will be NO after school on the 17th of December.

Website: https://www.syracusecityschools.com/vanduyn
Location: 401 Loomis Ave Syracuse NY 13207
Phone: (315)435-4660
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanduynchamps

Principal: Amanda Thomas

Vice Principal: Nicole Heath

Dean of Students: Zakia Richardson

Social Worker: Molly Phelps

Guidance Counselor: Sharon Boatwright

Board of Education Officers

Tamica Barnett-President

Twiggy Billue-Commissioner of Education

Nyatwa Bullock-Commissioner of Education

Karen Cordano-Commissioner of Education

Mary Habib-Commissioner of Education

Gwendolyn Raeford-Commissioner of Education

Ranette Releford-Commissioner of Education

Administrative Staff

Anthony Q. Davis, Superintendent

Pamela Odom, Deputy Superintendent

Britt Britton, Chief Academic Officer

Rob DiFlorio, Chief Operations Officer

Timothy Moon, Chief Accountability Officer

Laura Kelley, ED.D., Chief of Student Support Services

Scott Persampieri, Chief Human Resources Officer

Michael Puntschenko, Chief Financial Officer

Monique Wright-Williams, Chief of Staff

Katie Moulton, Assistant Superintendent