DuneNews

DAILY SCHOOL SCHEDULES

The following opening and closing times have been established for each building for the 2024-2025 school year:

Elementary (K-4) 7:30 a.m. – 2:20 p.m.

High School (9-12) 8:10 a.m. – 3:10 p.m.

Intermediate/Middle (5-8) 8:50 a.m. – 3:50 p.m.

The Duneland School Corporation hosted a ribbon cutting event at the new Newton Yost Elementary on Monday, August 5 officially opening the entire building for the 2024-2025 school year.

INSPIRE | ENGAGE | EMPOWER

The district hosted their annual Opening Day Welcome Back event for teachers and support staff this morning at CHS. Everyone was greeted back for the school year by our students with signs and cheers of welcome, a light breakfast, and a encouraging message from the superintendent and the school board president. Other highlights of Opening Day included a game of Duneland Family Feud between Liberty and Westchester campuses and a welcome to Duneland presentation of our new teachers and support staff.

Teachers and support staff serving the Corporation for 20, 25, 30, 35 and 45 years were honored at the event. Honored but not pictured for 45 years of service is Barb Johnson Myers.

Above, DSC 35 Yr. Service Award: Honored for 35 years of Service at Duneland School Corporation’s Welcome Back Opening Day Celebration on Monday was, left to right, Rich Gross and Cathy Roles.

Above, DSC 30 Yr. Service Award: Honored for 30 years of Service at Duneland School Corporation’s Welcome Back Opening Day Celebration on Monday was, left to right, Diane Siford and Nino Cammarata. Absent from photo is Deb Tarkane.

Above, DSC 25 Yr. Service Awards: Honored for 25 years of Service at Duneland School Corporation’s Welcome Back Opening Day Celebration on Monday were, front row, left to right, Brooke Sutter, Julia Rutherford Cardinale, Cindy Steinbeck, Mary Branham, Kristin Borrelli, Jamie Anselm, and Kirsten Reed. Back row, Ruth Nidelchoff, Anne Long, Ryan Levan, Kim Connelly and Tim Ray. Absent from photo is Kristin Coburn.

Above, DSC 20 Yr. Service Awards: Honored for 20 years of Service at Duneland School Corporation’s Welcome Back Opening Day Celebration on Monday were front, left to right, Michelle Wasz, Nick Bamber, Lei Sensibaugh, Connie Crowley, Traci Snider and Barb Melcher. Back row, Vince Arizzi. Absent from photo is Melissa Bergner, Christine Good, Cindy Lowther, Mike Okeley, Anne Stark and Leslie Tarnowski.

INSTRUCTIONAL FEES

Following the passage of legislation on textbooks/curriculum materials in 2023, Duneland no longer collects textbook and instructional supply fees for the upcoming school year. Instead, funding for these items come from state reimbursement and local school funds. This includes textbook, software, and hardware costs as well as other items required for educating our students

ITEMS FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

DSC now provides Items for Student Success documents to answer your questions and offer recommendations so that families can prepare for the first days of school. Please check out the links to information below for your student’s needs:

K-4 Items for Student Success
5-6 Items for Student Success
7-8 Items for Student Success

The Duneland School Corporation is committed to communicating with students and their families.

Families have the opportunity during the registration process to choose from a variety of methods, including phone, email and text (SMS) messages, to receive non-emergency communications from the district and schools. Be sure to check out the available options and choose what is right for you and your family.

What is a Non-Emergency Communication?

NON-EMERGENCY communications include Principal/district newsletters, reminders (e.g. field trip, picture day, testing), school functions/events, delayed start/school closings.

Keep this in mind...

UNSUBSCRIBING from a communication will unsubscribe from ALL Duneland School non-emergency communications no matter the delivery method. Families may change their communication preferences at anytime by logging into the Skyward Parent Portal.

Not receiving school communications?

The district and schools send out weekly communications. Parents that are not receiving weekly communications should contact their respective school Main Office or email Bridget Martinson at bmartinson@duneland.k12.in.us

Back-to-School Open Houses are hosted at each child’s respective school building. Families may use this opportunity to visit the student's classroom, learn important information about the upcoming school year, and meet the student’s teacher. Look for information closer to each event from the respective buildings for details.

ELEMENTARY GRADES K-4
(at respective buildings)
Tuesday, August, 13, 2024
4:00-6:00 p.m.

CHESTERTON HIGH SCHOOL 9-12
2125 S 11th Street, Chesterton, IN 46304
Thursday, August 15, 2024
6:00-7:30 p.m.

NORTHWEST INDIANA ONLINE SCHOOL K-12
(All students must complete annual onboarding to complete enrollment in the online school option) - Location: 651 Morgan Avenue; Door 4 (Former Chesterton Middle School Music Entrance).

Tuesday, August 13, 2024 - 9:00-10:30 a.m. - Returning Families Onboarding Session
Tuesday, August 13, 2024 - 5:00-6:30 p.m. - Returning Families Onboarding Session

Information regarding school pictures will come from each of the respective schools.

• Liberty Middle - August 24
• Westchester Middle - August 24
• Chesterton High - August 29 & 30 (Order before Picture Day to receive free shipping to the school)
• NWI Online School - September 3
• Liberty Intermediate - September 5
• Westchester Intermediate - September 5
• Bailly Elementary - September 19
• Brummitt Elementary - September 11
• Liberty Elementary - September 12
• Jackson Elementary - September 26
• Yost Elementary - October 2
  
• Early Learning Preschool - October 8 (Day 1) and October 9 (Day 2)

Spring 2024 ILEARN reports are now available. Student score reports for English, Math, and Social Studies for grades 3-8 are now available in the Skyward Parent Portal.

Here is how you can find the reports.

1. Log on to Skyward - Skyward Link

2. Select “Portfolio” from the menu options on the right

3. Click on files that begin with “23-24 ILEARN” to see reports for each subject.

If you have not had a chance we might also recommend checking out the NWEA reports from last spring as well. Our teams will be using the results of these assessments to determine goals and plans for improvement with students as we head into the upcoming school year. We look forward to continuing to partner with you to support your child’s success.

Science (grades 4 and 6) and Biology (grades 8 and 9) reports will be released later this fall.

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.

DSC Health Services and 2024-2025 School Immunization Requirements

Information regarding student bus transportation for the 2024-2025 school year is available on DSC website under the Transportation Department.

Transportation is continuing to work on live routing, so bus routes and bus stop times are subject to change as they make necessary adjustments. Please check your Skyward Parent Portal this evening after 7 p.m., for finalized bus routes and bus stop times for your student.

The DSC Transportation has MyStop 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.

Many parents inquire about their student's class placement for the new school year. Schedules for students in grades 9-12 and class assignments/schedules for grades K-8 will be available on Friday, August 9. This information can be found in your Skyward Parent Portal.

In the Fall of 2023, a strategic planning team was formed to review and update the current four-year strategic plan into a five-year plan that will be used to guide the Corporation from 2024-2028. The new Strategic Plan will guide DSC for the next five years in the areas of Student Achievement, Safety & Operations, People & Culture, and Finance & Facilities.

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.

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. Summer hours are in effect through August 8. School year clinic hours begin on Monday, August 12.

Did you know that Duneland Schools has an online Spirit Wear Stores where you can buy your Duneland all school spirit wear? Check out our Spirit Wear Store platform at: https://dunelandschoolsopenstores.itemorder.com/shop/home/

Email: bmartinson@duneland.k12.in.us

Website: www.duneland.k12.in.us
Location: 601 West Morgan Avenue, Chesterton, IN, USA
Phone: 219-983-3600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dunelandschools/
Twitter: @dunelandk12