Owl Observer News

Greetings Ducketts Lane Friends and Families,

Thank you for helping us have another wonderful week here at DLES. The newsletter has a lot of important information for how to best support your child's needs and how to better be connected within our school community.

You will be able to view your child's report card later today, and we wanted to remind you of the resource that HCPSS has provided to help you better understand the new report card. Please click here to learn more about our report cards.

Proudly serving 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 8th- Report Cards Issued

Friday, November 8th-Parents Sign up for a Conference

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

Friday, November 22nd- Coffee & Conversation at 9:00am

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

Parents will have the opportunity to choose from topics to discuss in small groups with staff and other parents. Additionally , there will be time for open Questions & Answers. Lite refreshments will be provided.

For planning purposed please RSVP if you plan to attend by scanning the OR code below.

During the 2nd Quarter, all of the Band, Orchestra and Chorus students will perform their Winter Concerts. Students are expected to wear the following concert attire:

• Plain white shirt (no writing or big pictures)

• Black pants or skirt

• Black shoes

It is recommended that families start planning to get concert clothes for their musician to wear for the concert.

If families are unable to get what their child needs for the concert, please contact one of the music teachers for assistance.

Mrs. McKay (Band & Orchestra) amanda_mckay@hcpss.org

Ms. Abrams (4th Chorus) hana_abrams@hcpss.org

Ms. Eng (5th Chorus) taylor_eng@hcpss.org

If you have any concert clothes (shirt, pants/skirt, shoes) that no longer fit your child, please consider donating them to the DLES Concert Closet for another student to wear.

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!

DLES Families and Community Members can now access affordable fresh produce at the Roving Radish Mobile Market happening once a week on Wednesdays. Their Mobile market will be located beside the school building on the main road starting form this upcoming Wednesday the 13th from 2:30 pm to 4:30pm. Roving Radish's goal is "dedicated to promoting healthy farm to table eating habits to our community, while creating sustainable markets for our local and regional farms." Many local farmers are part of this initiative as it has been hosted by Howard county government and now an official partnership with HCPSS has begun. We are excited to have easy access to healthy and fresh produce right here at our school!

Extracted from":https://rovingradish.com/pages/about-us

When: Nov, 26

Time: During Related Arts

We are happy to announce our “Fall Fun Run Event!” Each grade will have a “Run” during their Related Arts time.

You are cordially invited to run with or cheer our kiddos on as we celebrate another fantastic school year here at DLES! We will be sending out more info in the weeks to come!

Singing songs is one fun way to help our memory. Here are a couple of fun songs to play and sing along with that may help with remembering some of our math skills.

Click here to listen to a song to help skip count by 2s and a little multiplication thrown in at the end.

Click here to listen to a song to remember the rules of the commutative property.

Click here to listen to a song of our basic facts for addition.

Click here to listen to a multiplication mash up to help with skip counting to remember your facts.

As you prepare for your students' first report cards to be sent home, you and/or your students may have some feelings, either positive or negative, about the grades they received. Report cards are a tool to understand where a student is at the end of the quarter, but they can also be used as a tool to set intentions and goals for the quarter ahead.

One of the roles of the School Counselor is to help students with goal setting and mindset in order to be successful in school. However, since it isn't feasible for us to meet with every student at the end of every quarter to set goals, we thought we would provide you with some questions to guide a discussion between you and your student about their report card.

• Start by taking a look at all of the grades. Were there any surprises on the report card?

• If there were some happy surprises, what were they? Why did they surprise you? Why did you expect the grade to be different?

• What did you do to earn this grade? How can your recreate this result for next quarter, in this subject and other subjects?

• If there were some disappointing surprises, what were they? Why did they surprise you? Why did you expect the grade to be different?

• If your learning behaviors for that subject were a 2 or a 3, what can you change to bring it up to a 1 next quarter? Our learning behaviors have a direct impact on our academic outcomes.

• If your learning behaviors were a 1 for that subject...

• Did you tell a teacher or parent that you didn't understand something?

• What are strategies you can use next quarter if you are confused?

• Was there anything going on in your life beyond school that might have affected your learning?

• Based on these reflections, what are your goals for next quarter? What steps do I need to take to achieve these goals?

As always, if you think your child could use some support with their learning behaviors, accessing coping strategies in the face of frustration or disappointment, or simply have big feelings about their grades, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mr. L or Mrs. Barron and we are happy to collaborate with you to support your student(s)!

With the start of a new quarter, we will focus our attention on student behavior. Similar to learning a new skill in reading or math, behavior is taught. Now that we have taken a deep dive into our Student Code of Conduct and have a better understanding of this framework for discipline, we will now focus our attention on different student behaviors that present during the school day that may also be occurring at home. This week we will review some behavior basics and continue to build our school/home partnership to create the most consistency in our response and to promote desired behavioral outcomes both at home and school.

Behavior is anything a person does. When analyzing behaviors to determine the function of the behaviors, we look at the ABCs.

• A - Antecedent (what happens directly before the behavior)

• B - Behavior (a measurable description of what the behavior looks like)

• C - Consequence (what happens directly after the behavior)

Some Proactive Strategies to Promote Positive Behavior:

• Set clear expectations and boundaries

• Give specific directions, use visual supports if needed

• Offer choices (making sure that both choices are acceptable)

• Give praise for expected responses

• Use “First___ Then ____” language or “When ____ Then____”

• Prep children for when a change is coming

• Schedule breaks, recognizing when a break is needed

• Make use of fidgets or stress balls

Next week, we will highlight some de-escalation strategies to use when students may be exhibiting strong feelings leading to agitation. We will explain the very effective Help/Prompt/Wait Strategies. Most importantly, when responding to behavior it’s important to use a friendly tone of voice, be respectful, and promote the dignity of a child.

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!

Staff Conference Dinner:

Conferences are coming up, which means it’s time to treat our amazing staff to dinner! The DLES PTA will be setting up a build-your-own salad and baked potato bar! We can’t make this event a success without your help- please use the link below to see what items are needed and consider signing up to send in a donation. All non-perishable items can be dropped off at the school anytime before Monday, November 25th. If you are donating a perishable item please drop them off ON Monday, November 25th by 9:00 am. Please label all donations PTA. Thank you so much for your support!

https://bit.ly/DLESstaffdinner24

Coal Fire Spirit Night:

Join us for a spirit night at Coal Fire on Monday, November 18th. Bring in the flyer or show it on your phone so 20% of all generated sales will go directly to the DLES PTA.

Winter Vendor and Craft Fair:

The DLES PTA is hosting our annual Winter Vendor and Craft Fair on Saturday, December 14th from 12-3 pm. If you own a business you would like to promote or have handmade crafts to sell, sign up to be a vendor by filling out the form below. Vendor registration is $25. Student vendors are also encouraged.

https://forms.gle/iCm49pZnTBVQk7U19

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.

MakingChange Hosts Financial Wellness Events:

HCAR Homebuyer Education Workshop

November 4th and 11th, 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Purchasing a home is one of the biggest purchases you will make in your lifetime and MakingChange wants to make sure that you are prepared! Do you have a plan? Do you understand your credit and how lenders assess it? Do you know the loan process? Do you know the pros and cons of working with a realtor? Are you knowledgeable of the types of insurance associated with being a homeowner?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, join this upcoming HUD-approved curriculum homebuyer education class.

During this 6-hour workshop, you will learn:

• How much you can afford
• How lenders qualify you for a mortgage loan.
• About the loan process
• What it means to work with a Real Estate Agent
• About a home inspection and why you need to have one
• About the different types of homeowner’s insurance

Visit the MakingChange Web Site to explore the event and register!

The Toys for Tots registration link is now live and ready to accept applicants!

Please use this sign-up link for Toys For Tots to register your child to receive a toy this year from the Howard County Toys for Tots Holiday Campaign.

Families being submitted must be Howard County residents.***

Submission via this online portal does not necessarily constitute approval. You will be contacted if there are any questions. Toys for Tots is thrilled to support children up

to 14yrs old.

Please print email Approval Confirmation, which will help guide you through the lines faster during distribution.

If you have any questions or need help filling out the form please contact Annie Chairs at annemarie_chairs@hcpss.org or 410-313-5050.

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