The Cub Reporter
May 10, 2018
Dutch Fork Elementary School Academy of Environmental Sciences
DFES Goals 2017-2018
- Excellent Customer Service
- Effective Small Group Instruction
- Building Teacher Capacity with Environmental Education
Upcoming Events
- 5/7-5/11 Teacher Appreciation Week
- 5/21 Tag of Honor (4K & K)
- 5/21 D5 Board Meeting (Seven Oaks Elementary) 7 pm
- 5/25 Field Day
- 5/28 NO SCHOOL
- 6/1 Tag of Honor (1st-5th)
- 6/1 Last day for 4K
- 6/6-6/8 1/2 Day for Students
- 6/8 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
- 6/8 5th Grade Graduation 8:30
From the Principal
We would like to provide you with an update regarding our Nurse Position here at DFES.
Linda Miller, who dedicated her life to our school for the past 17 years had to retire due to health related matters. She was our biggest DFES cheerleader and will be greatly missed. During Nurse Miller’s absence, we had 2 sub nurses filling her position. We are now happy to announce that we have filled the nurse position and gladly welcome, Denise Sherman, who started May 1.
Denise has 30 years’ experience in critical care, and 3 years at Airport High School. Denise and her husband Richard have 5 children and 10 grandchildren. She loves to read, garden, spend time with her family and is active in her church. She is excited to serve the students here at DFES and make to them feel safe, valued and loved.
Welcome, Nurse Sherman!
From the Registrar
Proof of Residence for the 2018-19 school year will be accepted beginning Tues., May 1. Documents must be originals and current. There is a link to requirements on the DFES website and parents may call Sharon Clemens at 803-476-3917 or 803-476-3900.
A Note from our Resident Scientist, Amy Umberger
Thanks to all of our DFES community that came out to
“Envirofest 2018” on Tuesday, April 17 th . We had a
great day learning and engaging with each other on
topics surrounding Earth Day. Thanks to all of the
teachers who planned engaging experiences for our
students inside and outside of our school. We want to
congratulate Melinda Congdon who has a student in
Mrs. Gould’s class for winning the Date Night Prize for
participating in our exhibitor scavenger hunt.
Also thanks so much to all that purchased compost
and seeds from DFES. All proceeds from this
purchase go right back into our environmental project
fund so that we can continue to provide meaningful
experiences for our students. Thanks also to the
many parents who came out later in the week to help
with our Earth Day work projects around our school.
Tag of Honor
May 21
K 9:30-10:30
June 1
3rd 8:05-8:55
1st 9:05-9:55
5th 10:05-10:55
4th 11:05-11:55
2nd 12:20-1:10
SC READY & SCPASS
SC READY is a statewide assessment that includes tests in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. SC READY is administered to all students in grades three through eight.
SC READY tests are NON-timed tests in which assesses students on the South Carolina College and Career Ready ELA and Mathematics Standards.
This year, along with SC READY our fourth grade students will take SCPASS (Science) in which they will be assessed on the South Carolina College and Career Ready Science Standards. And, our fifth grade students will take SCPASS (Social Studies) in which they will be assessed on the South Carolina college and Career Ready Social Studies Standards.
Did you know...
- L - Live and Learn Safely
- E - Effectively Communicate
- A - Act Kindly and Respectfully
- F - Focus on Learning
We are proud of our students and want to keep encouraging them to be successful. We seek to acknowledge, reward and celebrate with them. Ways we do that:
- Passing out leaf bucks
- Silver Fox Store
- Fox Fun Friday
- Fox Star of the Day
- UnbeLEAFable Student Celebration
Ask your child today about how they earn leaf bucks and how they spend their leaf bucks.
From the Cafeteria
Please bring all lunch accounts current before the end of the year. Report cards will not be given out to those students with a balance owed. You can set up an account at paypams.com to monitor monies incurred and paid. You can also pay on line at this site.
Literacy Spotlight
The Gift of a Rich Vocabulary -
10 Ways to Build a Rich Vocabulary for Your Child
A strong vocabulary is one of the best predictors of future success in school and beyond. So, how do we as parents build our children’s vocabularies? Building a vocabulary happens when we hear a word over and over. Hearing words spoken by important people in their lives provides a model for children to learn words they will use in their own speech. Hearing words used in conversation naturally in a meaningful context provides fertile soil for vocabulary to grow.
You may wonder how to build vocabulary beyond the same words we tend to use daily. Here are ten ways to increase the vocabulary use in your home.
Talk to your child, tell them stories, talk about things with each other as they come up naturally throughout your day.
Read Aloud to your children. Books will expose your children to new vocabulary in a meaningful way.
Encourage and provide daily reading time.
Challenge yourself to switch up your vocabulary and begin using words your child may not already know. Instead of saying, “little” choose to say “miniscule.”
Keep the new word active in your home by using it intentionally throughout the day.
Play word games like Scrabble, Boggle, Word Bingo, Crossword puzzles, etc.
Encourage your child to write daily.
Increase the awareness of words and how they are used. New words are everywhere and new experiences can build vocabulary by exposing the child to different ideas. Visit the zoo, museum, grocery store, post office, etc. and see what new words you find.
When you come across a word that you don’t know, point it out to your child. Describe to your child how you were able to determine its meaning by using context clues. By explaining this process out loud, you will help show your child what they can do when they come across an unfamiliar word.
Tell jokes, read poetry, sing songs and have fun with words.
Rich vocabularies create strong readers, writers and thinkers. Remember rich vocabulary is a strong indicator of school success and beyond!
DFES is proud to be a Title I school.
Have you visited our website lately? Check us out: http://www.lexrich5.org/Domain/10