School Messages 11.22.2020

 Good afternoon Cub Families.  This is Mr. Vernon with a few short messages for this week.

First, remember that we have school 3 days this week, Monday - Wednesday.  Our students and staff have Thursday and Friday off for a short Thanksgiving break.  We hope everyone will be able to have some family time and has things they can be thankful for.

I am very thankful for our DCES staff, families, and students.  This has been a very complicated year and we have had a lot of obstacles to overcome.  Still the DCES school community has done everything we can to stay positive.  We have been trying hard to remember that we can't control the circumstances that we are in, but we can control our attitudes and I have been very proud of our Cubs.

Last, I have attached the December Newsletter to the email that comes with this email.  Thank you all for listening and enjoy the rest of your Sunday.  I will see our Ready, Responsible, and Respectful Cubs tomorrow morning.

https://sites.google.com/yourcharlotteschools.net/dces/december

Phone Message 11.15.2020

 Good afternoon to all of our Cub Families.  This is Mr. Vernon with some announcements for next week. 

Last week was a crazy week and we are happy that storm Eta got out of Punta Gorda without causing much damage.  I was proud of our Cubs as they were able to show GRIT and keep learning despite being out of normal school week routine. I was especially proud of them the way they handled our November Fire Drill on Friday.  I was out watching all the areas and our Cubs were Ready and Responsible.  We were able to evacuate our building in 2 minutes and 15 seconds.  I saw all Cubs listening to their teachers and patiently waiting in the assigned areas.  We practice one fire drill and one unannounced crisis drill each month and they have gone very well.

This Tuesday, November 17th is Fall Picture Day at DCES.  These pictures will be used for our DCES yearbook, so Cubs will need to be in normal school uniform.  Pictures can be purchased online.  The Lifetouch link is available on our DCES Facebook page and will be attached to the email that comes with this phone message.  https://my.lifetouch.com/mylifetouch/?fbclid=IwAR2rq3XXBe4HSDl04VUU0aUrrbqaeu930VKFb2zMzdttiud3l6C61pM4mho#/

The picture code for DCES is EVTXHNS7B.  

Last is a reminder of the school calendar this year.  Our students have Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th off this year for Thanksgiving.  We have school Monday - Wednesday that week.  Please unless your child is sick or showing symptoms of sickness, have them at school all day, everyday.  We are working hard to make sure our Cubs learn everything they need to know.

Thank you all for listening.  I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend and I will see my Ready, Responsible and Respectful Cubs tomorrow morning.

Monday Morning Memo 11.1.20

 Happy Monday!

Cooler air should be headed our way.  A cool breeze is always a reminder to me to slow down and breathe.  As we head into the month of November please remember to stop and breathe.  We have made it through the first quarter of school during an unprecedented time.  We have successfully kept our kids and ourselves healthy, implemented new safety and wellness protocols, learned new testing platforms, and participated in a new initiative of collaborative planning.  It has been busy... but we have made it.  Take a minute... and breathe!  

Reminders:

Professional Development Day:

Tuesday is Election Day and PD day.  Please remember that there will be voters on campus visiting our cafeteria.  You may want to enter and exit from our black gates instead of the main entrance of the school.

Paraprofessionals should have registered to attend the PD session that is being held at the Charlotte Harbor Event Center.  If you have not yet registered, please do so today.

Teachers, you will be participating in various professional development sessions throughout the day.  In the morning we will begin in the media center for a PD session on Freckle that will be presented by Doreen Alvarez and Alicen Rhodes from 8:00-9:00.  Following this session, James and I will remain with you in the media center from 9:00-11:00 to train you in our new observable elements and explain how the observation process will take place this year.

We will take a lunch break from 11:00-12:00.  We have arranged for a bagel sandwich and chips for you.  Please be sure that you have completed the form for Marie to select your sandwich type.  

In the afternoon we will have break out sessions.  A big thank you to our teacher leaders that will be facilitating these sessions.  We know that it is not often we get to select areas that we want to learn more about and get to learn that information from our peers.  We hope you enjoy your afternoon sessions!  The day will wrap up at 3:00.

Testing:

This week begins our second window for STAR progress monitoring.  Students in kindergarten through second grade will be required to test between November 4 and November 13.  ACCESS students are also required to test during this window.  Please complete the google form to designate your testing dates and times if you have not already done this.

Testing Dates and Times Form

If you teach grades third through fifth you may choose to administer the STAR assessment to check in on your students if you wish.  This is not a requirement since you just completed the APM assessment and are continuing to assess your students in ClearSight.  

This Week's Schedule:

Please let us know if you need anything.  Have a great week!

-Keli and James

Phone Message 11.1.2020

 Good afternoon Deep Creek Families.  I hope all of you are enjoying this beautiful first day of November.  Hopefully, everyone remembered to set the clocks back an hour and enjoyed some extra sleep. Also hope that all of our Cubs that celebrated last night are safe and remember to keep their candy at home.  Parents please help us in keeping these treats at home, so our Cub can focus on learning,  

I have heard that we are going to have some cooler weather the next few days and maybe next week.  Remember that any jacket, hoodie or sweater worn in the school building must adhere to our agreed upon dress code.  However, if a family does not have the proper dress code jackets these can be worn on the way to school, on the playground, at PE or any outside activity where it may be chilly.  Once we get back in the school building these items that don't meet dress code will need to be taken off.  Please remember to write your child's name inside the jacket as Florida students are not used to keeping track of these items and often leave them on campus.  If your family is in need of a jacket we did get jackets donated that we can give students in the front office.

Remember Tuesday, November 3rd is Election Day.  DCES is used as an election site, so Tuesday is a Professional Development Day for our teachers and our Cubs do not have school.  School will be in session the rest of the week after the election.  The next students day off will be Thanksgiving Day on November 26th.  Unless students are not feeling well or have been exposed to the virus it's so important that they are on time for school and at school every day.  

That concludes the reminders for this week, thank you for listening.  I hope you all have a great Sunday.  I can't wait to see our Ready, Responsible, and Respectful Cubs tomorrow morning.

Phone Message 10.25.2020

 Good afternoon to our Cubs and their families.  This is Mr. Vernon with messages for the upcoming week,  Let's get right to it.

This week is Red Ribbon Week.  This is were we as a Cub Family pledge to make safe and healthy choices and always stay drug free.  Tomorrow each Cub will receive a Red Ribbon Week Spirit Stick as a reminder of this commitment.  On Wednesday, we are encouraging all Cubs to wear a red shirt with their uniform bottoms.  We will all be proud to wear red together as a symbol of our school wide commitment to stay drug and alcohol free.  Finally on Friday each student will bring a pledge home to share with your families.  Thank you all for your support and working together with DCES to promote healthy choices with our Cubs.

Another fun event this Friday, is once again, Mrs. Skavroneck is taking our Family Reading Center Experience on the road to Pelican SnoBalls. Books will be available for check out and Mrs. Skavroneck will have free books that students can add to their collections.  Please have students returned previously checked out books.  The times of the event are from 3:30 - 6:30pm and Mrs. Skavroneck would love to see all students in their Halloween costumes if they would like.  We hope you can join us for this fun event at Pelican SnoBalls at 4045 Tamiami Trail between the hours of 3:30 - 6:30pm.

Last Friday, was the start of Mrs. Riddell's Book Fair and many students were excited to start shopping.  Students may shop each morning this week before school and during the school day during their scheduled Media Center time.  The last day for the book fair will be Friday, October 30.  If you would like to use a virtual option remember that Mrs. Riddell sent home a flyer explaining the ewallet that is available for book purchase.  

Just a reminder that Election Day is upcoming on Tuesday, November 3rd.  There is no school for students on that day as the school is used for voting and DCES teachers will be using the day for Professional Development.  Also this week will conclude the first quarter of this school year and teachers will be finalizing grades next weekend.  Encourage our Cubs to as always, reach for Nothing Less Than Their Success.

I'll finish by again making sure that we all know that costumes are not permitted at school this week.  We will have our traditional Character Parade during Celebrate Literacy Week later this school year.  I did also attach a copy of the November Newsletter to the email that comes with this phone message. Thank you all for listening.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and I will see our Ready, Responsible and Respectful Cubs tomorrow morning. 

November Newlstter

https://sites.google.com/yourcharlotteschools.net/dces/november

Phone Message 10.11.2020

 Good afternoon Cub Families.  This is Mr. Vernon with a few announcements and reminders for our upcoming week.  

Let's start with some fun.  As you know, we can not host our normal Family Reading Center Experiences on our school campus as has occurred in years past.  However, it is still so important that our Cubs stay excited about reading and books.  Mrs. Skavroneck knows this and is hosting a Family Reading Center event off campus at Pelican's Snoballs from 3:30 - 5:30pm this Wednesday.  Please stop by and have your Cubs check out some books and get a free book for their home library. There is no purchase necessary to participate in this event. However, if parents would like to to buy a snow cone they will receive $1.00 off each child's snow cone purchased. Pelican's Snoballs is located at 4045 Tamiami Trail in Port Charlotte.

This week health screenings are scheduled for some Cubs in Kindergarten, First and Third grades.  Our school nurse, Nurse Capo, has orchestrated these screenings with assistance from some county health officials.  Schedules have been created and these screenings will take place during school hours.  Other grade levels will have the same opportunity the week of October 24th.  We will honor all forms that have come back to school where parents have refused the screening.

I'll finish with a reminder that we do have school tomorrow.  Our original calendar had tomorrow as a teacher work day.  That teacher work day has been canceled and all schools will be in session tomorrow.  The next student day off is November 3, which is election day.  Just in case, there is a link to the updated school calendar attached to the email that comes with this phone.  

https://www.yourcharlotteschools.net/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=39823&dataid=37993&FileName=Revised%202020-21%20Reg%20Calendar%20-Board%20Approved%207.30.2020.pdf

I hope all of our families enjoy the rest of the weekend.  Make sure our Cubs know that remember to do their best every day and to show GRIT.  Our Cubs never give up when things get difficult. They show GRIT and don't quit.  Thank you all for listening, I can't wait to see our Ready, Responsible, and Respectful Cubs tomorrow morning.

Phone Message 10.4.2020

 Good afternoon Cub Families.  This is Mr. Vernon with two quick announcements for this coming week.

Our second SAC/PTO meeting of the school year is this Tuesday, October 6th at 5:30pm.  Remember that all parents are welcome to attend.  The meeting will be held virtually, through Google Meets and the link is included in the email that comes with this phone message.  

meet.google.com/npm-vptp-ynt

Also attached to the email will be this the October DCES Newsletter.  Each month the newsletter is posted on our DCES website under the Family Resource tab.  In the newsletter, you can find a message from Mrs. Sare and I, grade level information, our Student Leaders of the Month and much more.  Again the link will be attached in the email that comes with this phone message.  

https://sites.google.com/yourcharlotteschools.net/dces/october

Speaking of the October Newsletter it is amazing that we are already in the month of October. Teachers and students have been hard at work mastering grade level standards.  Parents you can help your child's achievement in many ways.  Two ways are Attendance and being on time each morning.  This is so important for our students' success.  We know that many students have had to stay home due to illness, but we need them at school all other days.  Also, please make sure students are on time to start their days confidently without missing classroom activities. If your child is eating breakfast at school getting them here by 8am is a necessity to be in class on time.  Thank you for your assistance and helping our students be Ready and Responsible. 

Please know we appreciate all our families and the partnership we share in helping our children reach Nothing Less Than Their Success.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.  I can't wait to see our Ready, Responsible, and Respectful students tomorrow morning.