We hope you enjoy our newsletter! It provides information about important dates and events happening around school throughout the year. Updates will occur at the start of each month. The newsletter will be emailed out and available on our website and social media. If you have suggestions for things we can add, please feel free to email Mrs. Meyer at meyera@okaloosaschools.com .

To access staff contacts, handbooks and more, visit our website at https://www2.okaloosaschools.com/o/destines

September 2024

Dear DES Families and Community,

August flew by and the school year is in full swing! What an amazing start to the school year we've had! We continue to focus on EXCELLENCE as we move into September. Excellence in academics, social/emotional growth and character! Our August group of "Dolphins of the Month" were announced and chosen for going above and beyond with our school wide expectations of being 'Safe, Respectful, Responsible and Ready to Learn'. In September we begin our character education program that will be presented through PE classes. September's focus will be on Perseverance! Dolphins of the month for September will be chosen for excellent displays of perseverance. There is a link for parent resources below in this newsletter!

School pictures were this past week and the kids looked adorable!!! You received a paper with a QR code for your photos. If you scan this and make an account, you will receive a notice when your pictures are ready and you can order right from that account! Students will still recieve a proof to bring home but this is a convenient option to order your pictures :)!

Beginning Tuesday, September 3, we welcome families to come on campus to eat lunch with your students in any of our outside areas. Please sign in through the front office and meet your student at the cafeteria. Only your child may leave the cafeteria to eat lunch with you and we ask that you bring them back to the cafeteria to meet their class at the end of lunch time.

Our Cookie Dough fundraiser has begun. Packets came home with your kids on Friday and the fundraiser goes throughout the month. These funds help us purchase programs and materials to support engagement and learning as well as campus upgrades to our classrooms and student areas. We are blessed to have such a supportive community and we thank you in advance for your help!

The Destin Elementary Fab 4 PE coaches welcome families to join your kids on the football field during their PE time on September 20th for a Family Football Friday. The PE events are a fun way to get to know the PE/music/art teachers and have fun being fit with your kiddos!

Our 2024 Fall Festival is planned for October 18! We hope you can join us for this fun filled community night on our football field.

Many of our after school activities are beginning including the Good News Club, The Art Club, Violin, Drama Kids and the Multi-cultural club. Information will be sent home with your kids as they begin.

The flu shot clinic will be on October 1st. Forms will come home a couple of weeks before if you would like to sign up for your child to receive a free flu shot at school. We will be there to give hugs and support for all kids who participate!

As always, we are looking for people who have time to substitute, volunteer or be a tutor! If you are interested in how to apply for any of these, please email Mrs. Meyer and we can get you signed up. We are also in need of a sponsor for the Lego Club and the Drone Team after school. These both meet weekly after school. If this is something you may be interested in, please email Mrs. Meyer for more information!

Destin Elementary thanks everyone who supports us in so many ways. We still have 26 classrooms that need be to be 'adopted' if you can help! Our school is truly a community school and we could not be as successful without the support of our families and community. Thank you for being part of our village!

Warm regards,

Amy Meyer
Principal, Destin Elementary School

Our theme for the 24-25 school year is "Live Your Excellence" with an emphasis of doing our very best in all that we do, every day!

Safe, Respectful, Responsible, Ready to Learn

For more resources you can access at home, visit https://www.buildresiliency.org/

September 6 Wear Orange for Leukemia awareness

September 10 Wear Yellow for HOPE day (be kind to everyone!)

September 11 Wear your Red, White and Blue to honor America

Visit Squad Locker for your DES apparel! All items can be individually ordered and shipped right to your house! We hope you like it!

Show off your art work by designing a cover for our 24-25 DES yearbook! Our theme this year is LIVE YOUR EXCELLENCE. Your design should be centered around this theme. The Destin Middle School art department will vote and decide on the winning cover! Details below!

You may find bus routes by visiting https://www2.okaloosaschools.com/page/bus-routes. Find the closest stop to your house for your transportation needs. Remember that buses may run a little earlier or later during the first few weeks of school while everyone adjusts to new schedules!

To register for Bus Bulletin, please visit Bus Bulletin Registration. Parents will need their student's school name and bus number to complete the registration process.

Key Features of Bus Bulletin:

• Cost-Free Service: There is no charge for this service.
• Easy Registration: The registration process is quick and straightforward.
• Multiple Notification Options: Choose to receive updates via text messages, phone calls, and emails.
• Privacy Protection: All contact information is stored securely and will not be shared or sold.

By utilizing Bus Bulletin, parents and guardians can stay informed and ensure their students’ safe and timely transportation to and from school.

We are excited and proud to announce that we will be able to continue to provide our students with physical education, music and art classes this school year!

We are still in need of 26 classrooms to be adopted if you can help!

Have you ever wanted to thank a special teacher for the impact they've made on your life? Here's your chance!

HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital and the Okaloosa County School District have partnered to celebrate the Okaloosa County School District's dedicated educators! Students, Families, and staff members are encouraged to share their stories about a particular teacher's inspiring actions, supportive words, creative lessons, or just their overall positive impact. Each month of the 2024-2025 school year, one nominated teacher will win $250 from HCA Florida Healthcare and be highlighted on social media.

Nominate the teacher who impacted you by clicking the link below or visit OkaloosaSchools.com, click on "Parents/Students" and select "Thank a Teacher."

https://forms.gle/vp84LbWTaPp4jjin6

@hcafloridahealthcare HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital

If you are able, please consider being a PTO sponsor to support Destin Elementary School this year! Thank you to all of our local business partners that help us every year by providing funds to enhance our school and the educational experience for all of our kids!

School gates opens at 8:00, classrooms open at 8:15.

Students may purchase breakfast in the cafeteria before class if they choose.

School starts at 8:25. All students should be in their classroom no later than this or they will be marked tardy.

Please make every effort to be on time. Instruction starts at 8:25 and it is uncomfortable for students to enter late and try to catch up on what they missed :)

No visitors will be allowed on campus unless they sign in through the front office.

Drop off- Students may ride the bus, come by car or walk/ride bikes to school. Walkers and bike riders have 3 gates they may enter. One is on Beach Drive at the back of the school (we call this yellow gate), one to the left of the front office (we call this the kindergarten gate) and one to the right of the front of the school by the kindergarten playground ( we call this the black gate).

Car riders will come through the car line on Kelly St. Please have your students ready to exit the car when you pull up to the drop off point so we can keep things flowing smoothly!

DO NOT drop off students across the street and have them cross traffic or walk in front of the car line to come to school. Any student crossing a street should use the crosswalks! I understand the car line can get long, however, this causes a very dangerous situation and we want our kids to be safe- thank you.

You may park at the Catholic Church on Beach Drive and walk your student to the yellow gate if you don't want to wait in the car line. Please do not park in the yards/driveways of people who live around the school. We want to be respectful of their property.

Breakfast and lunch are able to be purchased each day. The menu can be viewed by clicking the following link. Keep in mind that there are times the menu changes without notice.

https://okaloosaschools.nutrislice.com/menus-eula

You may access the application for free and reduced lunches with the link below. We encourage everyone to fill out the form whether you think you will qualify or not. :) It helps our school by having more people fill out the form!

https://www2.myschoolapps.com/

Breakfast and Lunch Prices are listed below.

You can add money to your child's account online by creating an account at https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/getmain?requestAction=home

We welcome parents to come eat lunch with your kids any day of the week! Due to limited seating in the cafeteria, we ask that you eat outdoors only at any of our picnic tables or benches around campus. You may bring lunch in to eat with your child or buy lunch in the cafeteria. We do not accept deliveries for lunch such as fast food drop offs or Door Dash orders. Calling classrooms for students to pick up their lunch disrupts instruction and causes much confusion and traffic in the front office. When you come to eat with your child, you may only take your child with you. Please do not invite friends to join you. This is for everyone's safety. Sign in through the front office when visiting, please :)

*Side note about lunch- Students are allowed to purchase ice cream, chips and other treats at lunch as long as there is money in their account, unless you contact the cafeteria and tell them otherwise. When students buy these extra treats, most of the time that is all they eat. The rest of the lunch goes in the trash. We want parents to be aware. If you would like to limit what your child buys, please write a note to the cafeteria or call to talk to them. :)

Early Checkouts: If you need to check your child out early for any reason, please come to the front office to sign them out. We ask that you come no later than 2:15 for early checkouts. Dismissal time gets very hectic in the front office and we need that time to handle transportation changes and make sure kids get to their correct locations to get home.

If your child is needing to change the way they go home, you MUST write a note that includes your child's full name, teacher's name, the date and the way you want them to go home. Please sign the note and send it to school with your child. Their teacher will get it to the office for you.

Dismissal - Please be patient for the first couple of weeks of school! Dismissal begins at 2:55 and students are released in waves.

ALL students will be given a tag that is placed on their backpacks. They will be assigned a tag number.

Any parents picking up in car line must have a matching car tag to their students backpack tag. You will be sent to the front office to get your child if you do not have your car tag at pickup.

Kindergartener walkers will be picked up at the kindergarten gate to the left of the front office. Parents of kindergarten walkers only will be required to show their matching tag. Older students may go home as walkers/bike riders without a parent meeting them.

Kindergarteners are walked to their appropriate places for dismissal.

***If you plan to volunteer at school this year, including attending field trips with your student, you must have a current volunteer application on file. You can access this application at the following link: https://apps.raptortech.com/Apply/OTYyOmVuLVVT

When filling out the application, if you choose Coach, Overnight Chaperone, or Mentor options, they require fingerprinting and it's a longer process. You do not need to be fingerprinted to volunteer in the school setting only. If you do not hear back about your application within a week, contact us to check on it for you :)

Please consider filling out the application whether you think you qualify or not. There are many benefits beside saving money on meals that can come with filling out the application! Thank you :)

Club registrations with information about age requirements, cost and dates/times will be sent home a few weeks after school begins!

Multicultural Club- after school

Lego Club- after school

Drama Kids - After school on Thursdays

Violin - After school on Wed and Fri

Remarkable Arts- After school on Thursdays

Music Club- during the school day, students rotate

Good News Club (all grades)- after school

Library Club (4th grade only) - during school hours

HOPE Squad (4th grade only)- during school hours, students chosen by peers

Safety Patrol (4th grade only)- during school hours

Junior Deputy (4th grade only)- during school hours

Destin Ambassadors (all grades, students chosen by admin)- during school hours

We are thrilled to showcase our school expansion! This will be the new front office which will be located on Beach Dr! To the left of the front office, you can see the new multipurpose building with the classroom additions behind that!

Below is the view of the new, 2-story, 30 classroom addition that will house our 3rd-5th grade classes! There will be more parking and an additional car line for pick up to help with traffic on the main roads!

September

2- Labor Day Holiday

12-PTO 7:45, media center

18 - SAC Meeting

20- Family Football Friday, PE times

October

1- Flu shot Clinic

4-KG Field Trip to MKAC

11- End of First Quarter

11 - PTO 7:45, media center

14- Teacher workday- student holiday

15 - 1st Grade field trip - walk to fire station

16 - 1st Grade field trip - walk to fire station

18 - Fall Festival

21- KG Field trip Pumpkin Patch–Turner, Burns

22- 50th Day of School

23- KG Field trip Pumpkin Patch–Nelson, Schillinger, Howell

24- 4 2nd grade classes to Nixon Farms

24- KG Field trip Pumpkin Patch–Deslauriers, Pisarchuk

25- 6 2nd grade classes to Nixon Farms

25-KG Field trip Pumpkin Patch–Huffman, Luallen

November

8-Veterans Day Performance -1st grade

11- Holiday No School

12 - 1st Grade field trip - Heritage Museum

13 - 1st Grade field trip - Heritage Museum

14 - PTO 7:45, media center

19 - 4th Field trip to Marianna Caverns

25-29 Thanksgiving

December

10- Jingle Jog

12-PTO 7:45, media center

17-Kindergarten Christmas Concert

20- End of the Second Quarter/Semester

23-31 Christmas Holiday

January

1-3 Christmas Holiday

6- Teacher workday - student holiday

7- District Professional Learning - student holiday

20- Holiday No School

27-100th day of School

29- 4th Grade Field Trip to ECSC 9:00-12:30- Ray, Brown, Buckley

30- 4th Grade Field Trip to ECSC 9:00-12:30- Cox, Patterson, Anderson

31- 4th Grade Field Trip to ECSC 9:00-12:30- Church, Ketler, Mathews

February

3 - 1st Grade Field Trip 10:30-1:00 (Mattie Kelly Arts Center - Pete the Cat)

4 - Child Safety Matters

5- KG Field Trip ECSC 9:30-12:30–Schillinger, Howell, Huffman

6- KG Field Trip ECSC 9:30-12:30–Deslauriers, Pisarchuk, Luallen

7- KG Field Trip ECSC 9:30-12:30–Nelson, Turner, Burns

6-Child Safety Matters

7-Child Safety Matters

10-Child Safety Matters

12- iReady training

12 - Child Safety Matters

13- PTO 7:45, media center

17- Holiday No School

18-26 Fun Run Events

28-Child Safety Matters

March

3-Child Safety Matters

4 -Child Safety Matters

5-ChildnSafety Matters

6-Child Safety Matters

Link Up! Music field trip with 3rd and 4th

13- PTO, 7:45, media center

13 - End of the third quarter

14-21 Spring Break

24- Teacher Workday

April

10-PTO

15-3rd grade pirate ship field trip

16-3rd grade pirate ship field trip

17-3rd grade pirate ship field trip

29- 4th Biophilia- Ray, Brown, Buckley, Cox, Patterson, L. Anderson

30- 4th Biophilia- Church, Mathews, Ketler

May

8-PTO

12–KG Field Trip Gulfarium–Deslauriers, Huffman, Pisarchuk, Burns, Turner

12- 4th Biophilia - Ray, Brown, Buckley, Cox, Patterson, L. Anderson

13–KG Field Trip Gulfarium–Nelson, Schillinger, Howell, Luallen

13- 4th Biophilia- Church, Mathews, Ketler

15-3rd grade skating rink

16-3rd grade skating rink

17-3rd grade skating rink

26- Memorial Day No School

29 -Last Day of school

30 - Teacher Workday

June

2-Teacher Workday

3-Teacher Workday

Destin Elementary School is proud to participate in a campaign to help the Ronald McDonald House. They use the funds from recycling pop tops of aluminum cans to help pay their electricity bills! It is an easy, free way that we can help this very special organization! Our very own Coley Schillinger was blessed to be helped by the Ronald McDonald house when her precious baby girl, Madi, was born at just 25 weeks, weighing 1 1/2 pounds. They provided her and her husband a place to stay, 3 meals a day and emotional support all for free so they could focus on their miracle baby! We are excited to report that momma and baby are doing great!

Please collect these tops throughout the year and send them into school with your child or bring them to the lobby of the front office and place them in the container.

Thank you for helping us support a very special organization that helps families every day!

If you complete your application to substitute, you can provide tutoring to students before, during or after school hours and get paid for your time! You can make your own hours and choose your preferred grade level/subject. $15/hour. Contact the front office for more information!