Owl Observer News

Greetings Ducketts Lane Friends and Families,

We have had a great week, but we certainly missed our students yesterday. We are excited to welcome our students back this morning.

This newsletter has a lot of great information on ways that you can continue to be engaged and play an active role in supporting our students learning.

NEWS FROM OUR PE DEPARTMENT

We hope everyone had a great month and has gotten a chance to discuss with your student some of the great things they have been learning in Physical Education. During the month of October our PreK-1st graders were working very hard to learn Locomotor Skills as we are exploring movement and direction during various activities.

Our 2-5 graders have been working hard performing activities to help promote fitness concepts and gain a better understanding of our Health Related Fitness Components (Muscular Strength, Muscular Endurance, Aerobic Fitness, Flexibility). We encourage you to talk to your students to have them discuss and show you the variety of skills and concepts they have been working on in P.E.

In the coming month we will be progressing our learning to our Striking with Feet Unit. This will include such things as dribbling, passing, and kicking a ball with their feet!

We sincerely appreciate your continued support and partnership. Your involvement is invaluable, and we look forward to continuing this journey together.

Thank you from the P.E. Department

Mr. Anderson & Mr. Abramson

#WEAREDUCKETTS

This is a friendly reminder that next Tuesday, November 5th, we will have no school due to elections being held.

Proudly partnering with you,

Mrs. Caroland, Mrs. Van Osdel, and Mrs. Yerashunas

Take a moment to see all of the amazing options available to show your Ducketts Lane spirit and pride.

Click here to see all the options and deals!

Friday, November 1st- SPIRIT DAY-Comfy Cozy Wear

Tuesday, November 5th- Schools Closed for Students

Friday, November 8th- Report Cards Issued

Friday, November 15th- PTA Family Game Night 6:30

Monday, November 25th- Students Dismiss at 12:15pm & No AM/PM Preschool classes

Monday, November 25th- In-Person Parent/Teacher Conferences

Tuesday November 26th- Students Dismiss at 12:15pm & No AM/PM Preschool classes

Tuesday, November 26th- Virtual Parent/Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, November 27-Schools Closed for Students

Thursday, November 28th-Schools Closed

Friday, November 29th- Schools Closed

Individual student picture makeup and retakes will be on Thursday, November 7, 2024. If your student was absent on September 19, 2024 or not enrolled at DLES as of September 19. 2024, we will be taking a picture of your student on November 7, 2024. Students who purchased a package of photos and would like a retake must bring the purchased package of photos back to DLES and their picture will be retaken on November 7, 2024. Please contact the DLES front office with any questions.

Greetings to ALL Our Parents, staff, families, and stakeholders. Please join us via Google Meet for a Family and Community Engagement Team meeting. We will continue to discuss our focus for the 2024 - 2025 school year and our upcoming Grade Level Family Nights. We need your input to help us plan what our families would find useful at home for us to work together to build a stronger learning environment at Ducketts Lane Elementary School.

The Family and Community Engagement Team is composed of DLES staff across all grade levels and includes Related Arts and Student Support Services staff as well. The GOAL of the team is to:

• Help create positive home-school connections

• Increase family involvement

• Maintain effective communications with families

• Plan family events and programs

Please consider joining us VIRTUALLY to become a part of our Family and Community Engagement Team. Let us know your interest and availability by filling out this Google Survey. We welcome your VOICE as part of the TEAM!

Vocabulary learning is all about the words we need to know to both understand what we hear and read, and to communicate clearly and with precision. Educators often consider four types of vocabulary:

• Listening vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to understand what we hear.
• Speaking vocabulary consists of the words we use when we speak.
• Reading vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to understand what we read.
• Writing vocabulary consists of the words we use in writing.

Vocabulary plays an important part in learning to read. Beginning readers must use the words they hear orally to make sense of the words they see in print. Kids who hear more words spoken at home learn more words and enter school with better vocabularies. This larger vocabulary pays off exponentially as a child progresses through school.

Consider, for example, what happens when a beginning reader comes to the word dig in a book. As she begins to figure out the sounds represented by the letters d, i, g, the reader recognizes that the sounds make up a very familiar word that she has heard and said many times. It is harder for a beginning reader to figure out words that are not already part of their speaking (oral) vocabulary.

Vocabulary is key to reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. As children learn to read more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of new words that are not part of their oral vocabulary.

The scientific research on vocabulary instruction reveals that most vocabulary is learned indirectly and that some vocabulary must be taught directly. Thus, research supports using a combination of both indirect and direct approaches.

Indirect vocabulary learning

Children learn the meanings of most words indirectly, through everyday experiences with oral and written language.

Children learn word meanings indirectly in three ways:

• They engage daily in oral language
• They listen to adults read to them
• They read extensively on their own

Direct vocabulary learning

Although a great deal of vocabulary is learned indirectly, some vocabulary should be taught directly.

Direct instruction helps students learn difficult words, such as words that represent complex concepts that are not part of the students’ everyday experiences. Direct instruction of vocabulary relevant to a given text leads to better reading comprehension.

Direct instruction includes:

• Providing students with instruction in specific words that are important to students’ content learning or understanding of a particular text
• Teaching students more general word-learning strategies that they can apply to a variety of words, such as analyzing parts of words (e.g., root words)

Information comes from the following website.

As we reach the end of the first quarter of the school year we know that students may begin feeling stress from increased academic expectations along with a mix of other things they may encounter. School counselors and teachers work to teach and practice many coping skills with students of all ages to help them deal with these challenges as they arise.

What is a coping skill?

A coping skill is anything we can do in the moment of a stressor to help us regulate our emotions and feel less stressed. These skills help us get through stressful situations with a little more ease.

There are a variety of different coping skills that can be used and typically fall under one of these categories:

1. Self Soothing - this can also be seen as relaxation. It is what you do to help yourself calm down. It can be journaling, deep breathing, stretching, and the list can go on. The key to this coping strategy is that you are soothing yourself and embracing the feeling of stress and finding a way to subside it.
   
   

2. Distraction- this is when you distract yourself so you forget about the stressor (even if temporarily). Some examples are exercising or moving your body, cleaning your work space, drawing, thinking of something that makes you happy or you are looking forward to, and so on. Oftentimes, this coping strategy has to do with something physical that draws attention off of the stressor itself.
   
   

3. Emotional Regulation- this coping skill is hard to master but one that is very important, especially in children. This allows you to express your feelings in a safe way and allows you to feel your emotions and channel them. Some examples are journaling what you are feeling, drawling how you are feeling, talking your feelings out, etc.
   
   

4. Mindfulness- This helps yourself focus on the present instead of stressing and worrying about the future. This could be meditation, controlled breathing, 5-4-3-2-1 technique, and even sensory play.

We will continue to highlight these strategies and more in a proactive manner so that students learn what works for them (and, importantly, what does not) so they can be better prepared to tackle challenges as they arise each day. Practicing these strategies at home can enhance their impact on your student at school.

As we wrap up Quarter 1 this week, we will share with you our student data in terms of Office Disciplinary Referrals (ODRs) and Incident Reports (IRs) in response to violations to our Student Code of Conduct. Our School Improvement Plan focus for our discipline data is to reduce the overall number of Incident Reports for all students.

Quarter 1 Office Disciplinary Referrals (ODR) = Level 3-5 Response

• 5 dispositions (dispositions are defined as a behavioral incident)

• 3 students - this reflects that some students may have had more than one ODR

• 80% of the dispositions were classified as Attack on Student/Staff

• Consequences assigned include In School Intervention (ISI), In School Suspension (ISS), Out of School Suspension (OSS), and Loss of Privilege

Quarter 1 Incident Reports (IR) = Level 1-3 Response

• 47 dispositions - Data reflects students in Kindergarten through 5th Grade

• Top violations were Attack on Student/Staff (29) and Disrespect/Disruption (12)

• Locations of majority of violations were Playground/Blacktop and Classroom

• Dispositions by the Day of the Week

• Monday = 14

• Tuesday = 11

• Wednesday = 6

• Thursday = 5

• Friday = 11

• Most difficult time of day is 12:00PM - 2:00PM, in total 25 dispositions

• Incident Reports are not filed within a student’s permanent record

We will continue our work around our Student Code of Conduct as we begin Quarter 2.

DLES is planning its first Talent Show! Students who sign up will get to share their skills with our school community in an evening performance.

Right now, we are looking to see how many students/groups would be interested in performing and how many people would attend the performance. If your student wants to perform, please fill out the form! DLES Talent Show Interest Survey

Please note: this is NOT a registration or sign-up form. We will send out a sign-up later in the school year.

Free Bikes 4 Kidz (FB4K) is a non-profit organization geared toward helping all kids ride into a happier, healthier childhood by providing FREE bikes and new helmets to those most in need. The public donates gently used bikes, FB4K organizes scores of volunteers to clean and refurbish them, and then gives them away to children referred to them by schools, churches, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. In Maryland FB4K conducts an annual campaign during which they collect bikes until October, refurbish them in ten weeks, and give them away at 6725 Business Parkway, Elkridge by the holidays.

If you would be interested in receiving a FREE used bike and new Helmet and can pick a bike up at 6725 Business Parkway in Elkridge, on December 14 please fill out this FB4K Interest Form and FB4K will contact you with further instructions on how to sign up for a FREE bike.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Annie Chairs, DLES Family Involvement Contact at annemarie_chairs@hcpss.org or 410-313-5050.

Not a member yet? Join the DLES PTA today at https://duckettspta.givebacks.com/store! When you become a member you are supporting the students and teachers at DLES and the nation. Each voice makes the PTA louder when advocating for what they need.

Charleston Wrap Fundraiser: Our Fall fundraiser is in full swing, but it’s ending soon- on November 8, 2024! We need your help to make it a success!

Join the fun and register online at https://www.registercw.com/ using our Organization ID: 26189. Every purchase not only brings fantastic products but also supports our amazing community. Thank you for your support; it means the world to us!

Family Game Night: Game On!
Gather the family and join us for an evening of laughter and friendly competition at our Family Game Night!
When: Friday, November 15, 2024
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Where: DLES Cafeteria

Bring your favorite games to share, and let’s make some unforgettable memories together! Can’t wait to see you there!

If so, consider applying for our Learning Together Program! The Learning Together Program (LTP) enables all young children to play with each other, develop long-term friendships, and benefit from a diverse and stimulating environment. A limited number of openings are available for children without disabilities. Children are selected based upon screening information given on the application form and space availability. Participation in the Learning Together Program requires a monthly fee, and families are required to provide their own transportation daily.

If interested, please download and complete the 3-Year-Old LTP Application. You can also get a copy of the application at the DLES front office.

We strive to be a school that actively partners with our students, staff, families, and surrounding community members. We welcome your feedback.

Please click on the Feedback Form to share your thoughts with how we can make DLES the best for everyone.

• Principal, Mrs. Caroland Molly_Caroland@hcpss.org

• Assistant Principal, Mrs. Van Osdel Amy_Van_Osdel@hcpss.org

• Leadership Intern, Mrs. Yerashunas Brianna_Yerashunas@hcpss.org

• Principal Secretary, Mrs. Canter Teresa_Canter@hcpss.org

• Registration Support, Secretary Ms. Lynette Carmen_Lynette@hcpss.org

• Attendance, Synergy and Family File Support, Secretary Mrs. Forman Julie_Forman@hcpss.org

• Counselor Mr. Leisawitz Alexander_Leisawitz@hcpss.org