The Weekly Update #4

Jackson Families,

It's been great welcoming so many students into the building this week. We look forward to seeing everyone again for the first full five-day week of school!

Next week, our teachers will begin to layer in more academic review and instruction into the school day on top of the introductory activities meant to create community and to teach procedures and behaviors.

Kindergarten parents, if this is your first child in school, please know that this next week can be an adjustment for our youngest students, especially if your child is coming from a half-day preschool setting. The day is much longer than the child may be used to, so your child may say things like "I don't want to go to school." We know based on experience that comments like this are related to the adjustments their bodies are making in getting used to the new schedule.

If you think of how you'd feel if your work hours suddenly doubled while also being asked to learn how to do things at your job that you have not done before, it will be easier to keep in perspective the scale of change this is for them in their first year at school. The change can feel even bigger for students that did not attend pre-school. Although it is a change that all of us went through in our own lives growing up, it is different to experience it on the parent side. To support your child, we recommend remaining positive in your conversations about school and ensuring they are getting enough sleep at night and enough to eat in the mornings before school.

Respectfully,

Sam Marshall

Principal

Last week, we shared our arrival and dismissal procedures with you. We appreciate your help in following them to make everything work efficiently and safely. Here are a few reminders:

Doors open at 7:10am. School begins at 7:30am. Please visit the office to sign in any student arriving after this time.

We dismiss buses to their routes at 2:25pm, then begin car line dismissal.

Here are some tips to keep arrival moving efficiently while keeping students safe. Students should

• Be able to unbuckle seat restraints without adults leaving the vehicle.

• Be able to open passenger doors without adults leaving the vehicle.

• Exit the vehicle from the passenger side directly onto the curb rather than walking around the vehicle from the driver side.

Adults should not walk students to the doors. We also remind cars to not cut-off buses at any time.

Car Tags

If you have a car tag from the past, please reuse it to limit waste. If you do not have one and your child will be a regular in the car line, they will be available in the office from Mrs. Murphy. If you call the main line at 219-983-3680, she can place one in your child's backpack.

Car tags can hang from a rearview mirror or can be mounted on the back of the visor and flipped down. Some choose to hold them in their hand. Whichever way you choose, please make sure we can see the name on it.

Even if you think we have memorized your vehicle, please help us by using the car tag every day. With window tints, the angle of the car line, and weather, we can often see the tag before we can see the driver.

As with morning arrival, students should

• Enter the vehicle on the passenger side.

• Be able to open the door and enter the vehicle without adult assistance.

If your student cannot buckle without assistance, please plan to pull forward past the end of the line before getting out of the vehicle so that we can keep the line moving.

A new law is now in effect in the state of Indiana regarding the use of personal, wireless communication devices (such as cell phones or smartwatches). We ask your assistance with this. Per the elementary handbook (see button below), students are to have any devices of this type turned off and secured in either their cubby or locker during the instructional day.

Per IC 20-26-5-40.7 - The use of wireless communication devices, including but not limited to cellular telephones, tablet computers, laptop computers, gaming devices, smartwatches, etc. is strictly prohibited during academic class periods unless explicitly authorized by the teacher for educational purposes.

Students are permitted to use a wireless communication device in the event of a health or safety emergency or to manage health care as specifically defined in the student’s Individualized Health Plan (IHP), Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and/or Section 504 Plan.

A wireless communication device is defined by Indiana law as any portable wireless device that has the capability to provide voice, messaging, or other data communication between two (2) or more parties.

There is a revised Attendance Policy that we wanted to draw to your attention. Details are below.

Per the Indiana Department of Education, students should be in attendance for at least 94% of the school year. We would like to increase the number of students at Jackson that meet this goal, as we believe it is in the student's best interest to be present for the academic instruction our staff provides.

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.

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.

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

The DEF Welcome Back Luau includes entertainment, dinner, and a cash bar. Help us welcome our new teachers to Duneland! Click the image below.