This Week at Jackson
August 5th
Friday, September 29th
Pictures from This Week
Construction Phase 2 Ending and Phase 3 Beginning
We are excited to announce that Phase 2 of our construction is ending. Over the weekend, our custodians will begin moving our 1st grade classrooms from their temporary locations back to their permanent homes in their newly renovated rooms. On Monday (10/2), all 1st grade students should report to the same location they have throughout this school year so that no one gets lost or mixed up. By the end of the day, the teachers will introduce them to their rooms. Schedules may be different from the ordinary for 1st grade students for a few days while we complete the move and everyone adjusts to the new room locations.
With Phase 2 ending, we will be displacing our 2nd grade classrooms to allow demolition to begin for Phase 3. This move will not impact students until the week of October 9th.
DSC Busing & School Start Time Planning Team Fall 2023
In the Spring of 2020, the Duneland School Corporation (DSC) developed a Strategic Plan that has provided the focus and alignment for the district over the past four years by taking stock of what we do well, where we need to improve, and how we will build for the future. Two areas identified for potential improvement were:
Analyze and implement potential route time efficiencies to minimize overall student transportation time
Evaluate school schedules and staffing allocations to maximize student performance
In the fall of 2024, DSC will close Chesterton Middle School and welcome 5-8th grade students to the Liberty and Westchester campuses. With this move, there is an opportunity to make adjustments to bus schedules and school start times that will decrease the amount of time students spend on buses and waiting for buses to pick-up both before and after school. The school corporation will form a team of school board members, administrators, teachers, and parents to examine the different options and make a recommendation to the School Board in December 2023 for possible implementation in the 2024-25 school year.
The team will consist of the following:
Assistant Superintendent, Robert McDermott - Facilitator
School Board Members (2)
Administration (8) - Director of Teaching & Learning, Director of Exceptional Learning, Director of Transportation, CHS athletic director or assistant athletic director, three DSC building administrators and a representative from St. Pat’s.
Teachers with DSC students (3) - (1) elementary, (1), intermediate/middle, (1) high school
Parents (20) - (10) elementary, (6) intermediate/middle, (4) high school
Community Members (1) - Representative from Duneland Chamber of Commerce
The team will meet 3-4 times in October/November with the goal of making a recommendation at the December 4th School Board Meeting.
If you are interested in being a member of the Busing & School Start Time Planning Team, please contact Amanda Hicks, DSC Executive Assistant to the Superintendent, at 219-983-3605 or ahicks@duneland.k12.in.us by Friday, October 13, 2023. Due to the possibility of there being more interest than spots available on the team, not everyone expressing interest will have the opportunity to serve. Team members will be notified the week of October 30th with confirmation of meeting dates and times.
Upcoming: Red Ribbon Spirit Week, Oct 16-20
Upcoming: Halloween Festivities, Oct 31st
This is the time of year that many families start looking for Halloween costumes for their children. Students will have an opportunity to wear costumes for part of the day on Tuesday, October 31st.
As you head to the stores (or search on the Internet from the comfort of the couch), please keep the following guidelines in mind:
Halloween Costumes:
- The costume must not distract from the educational environment
- The costume must be school appropriate; no blood, gore, weapons/props, or costume make-up
- Students must be able to change into their costumes without adult assistance; students should not wear their costumes to school, as there is too much risk it will be damaged throughout the course of the regular school day
- Students must be able to use the bathroom without assistance while wearing the costume
Halloween Parade/Parties:
After lunches are over, students will be allowed time to change into their costumes for the Halloween parade. We will be giving the students the opportunity to show off their costumes to all the other kids in the school. Outside of the parade, festivities will vary by grade-level.
Each grade-level is in charge of how they would like their Halloween festivities to go. Each classroom teacher will determine if they need parent volunteers to help, how many volunteers that might be, and when the volunteers should be at the school. Each classroom will be turning in a list of their selected volunteers into the office; parents not on the list will not be allowed to visit the classrooms during the parade or parties.
Because party days can be chaotic, we are asking that all parents selected as volunteers make sure they have visited the building before October 31 to have their IDs scanned into the system. We ask that parent volunteers remain in the classrooms to which they are assigned. We also ask that parent volunteers leave all siblings not currently enrolled at Jackson Elementary at home when volunteering in the rooms. Siblings are welcome to visit on any day at lunch.
Reminder: Standards-Based Grading in Q1
We are already seeing the benefits of standards-based grading in terms of the specific feedback teachers are able to provide to students about their learning. That said, we know this shift is a large paradigm shift for students, staff, and parents. Our experience has taught us that students are the first to adapt to major changes in their lives; it can take us, as adults, much longer to get used to the changes.
The great majority of us grew up experiencing only traditional grading using the A-F scale. If you think about it, many of our teachers, even those without many years experience, are likely bringing at least two decades experience--including their time in the K-12 education system, their college degree, and their years as a teacher--with traditional grading. The same is true for most of our parents: it is likely the only system of grading we have ever known.
To help us all become more comfortable with standards-based grading, we are sharing the following documents that show, in greater detail, what it means to use standards-based grading at each grade level.
Friday Story with Mr. Marshall
We read Llama Destroys the World written by Jonathan Stutzman and illustrated by Heather Fox. Mrs. Rekitzke's class joined us as our live studio audience and led the school in singing "Onward, Trojans," while the rest of the school joined virtually from their classrooms.
Reminder: New Behavioral Expectations for Students
Our rules are: be safe, be respectful, and be responsible. A copy of our rules and how they apply in different school contexts is below. Because it is designed to be printed on 11x17 paper, the font is very small in this format.
eLearning Information
There are two types of eLearning days: planned, asynchronous eLearning days (11/7/23 and 5/7/24) and unplanned, synchronous eLearning days. Should we have to close schools due to an emergency or inclement weather, we would be having a synchronous eLearning day. The graphics below provide more information about how this works.
PTO Calendar
Lunch Menu
Related Arts Rotation
With the exception of the first four days of school, our students rotate through their related arts classes every two days. The below charts will help you to know what is happening with your child each day.
DSC 2023-2024 Calendar
CHS Athletic Tickets
Duneland Transportation
Information regarding student bus transportation for the 2023-2024 school year is available on DSC website under the Transportation Department.
Track Student's Bus with MyStop App
The DSC Transportation has My Stop available for our families.
My Stop is a web-based application which allows 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.
Child Nutrition: 2023-2024 School Meals
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 2023-2024 school year will be available on the DSC Child Nutrition website beginning Tuesday, August 15, 2023.
MyPayment Plus for School Meals
Need to add money to your students school meal account on MyPaymentsPlus? Click on the image below to access
Duneland Community Opportunities
The goal of the Duneland School Corporation district school newsletters is to inform students, parents and the school community about school-related information.
This year, the Duneland Schools will share information that pertains to opportunities our students may be interested in outside of school on a special page on our website. These available opportunities are offered by not-for-profit partnerships and organizations within our school district boundaries and local communities. Follow this link to Community Opportunities.