HERMAN E. DUMMER NEWSLETTER
November, 2022
A MESSAGE FROM MRS. FORD
Count your many blessings, one by one. I remember singing a song with these lyrics when I was younger and the tune and words have always stayed with me. As I grow older, I think about those lyrics and how they apply to me. Do I really stop to count my blessings or do I complain about what I don’t have or what doesn’t go right in my life? If I’m honest, I probably worry and want way more than I count my blessings. It’s so easy to take things for granted when things are going well, but we all know that is not how life works! Things don’t always go well. It’s not always easy to see our blessings, but when you make a practice of this it does become easier and your attitude actually changes for the better. When you focus on the good, the material things in life don’t become as important and we free ourselves to enjoy where we are with what surrounds us at that moment in time. Bad things happen, but if we really look, blessings are still there. Don’t give up! We just need to open our hearts and eyes to let ourselves see and feel these blessings just waiting for us to embrace and enjoy. You never know, but you may even be that blessing to someone else during their time of need. Thanksgiving is a great time to reboot and to look at life differently. Look for those blessings all around. Not just for the month of November, but all year long. “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.” – Camille Pissarro
Volunteers
We would love your help! Students learn in many different ways and from many different
people. We would love you to come help at Dummer. There are many different opportunities
for you to help make a difference in our students’ lives. Some areas would be a classroom
helper where the teacher may have you work with a group of students (Don’t worry, we don’t
expect you to teach), help in our Learning Center interacting with students playing games
and/or reading, recess or lunch just interacting and having fun with our students, participating
in our Dummer Parent Group, or sharing a skill, talent, or occupation with our students. We
have a wealth of resources right outside of our Dummer doors – YOU – and we would love it if
you would like to be a part of something that makes a positive change in our students’ lives. If
this is something you would like to pursue, please fill out a Sandwich CUSD #430 Volunteer
packet and contact the Dummer office at (815)786-8498. We look forward to having you!
TARDIES
Winter is Coming!
With October coming to an end and November beginning, we are seeing the temperatures drop. We will be outside as long as the wind chill and/or temperature are 10 degrees or above. Please have children dress appropriately.
Students should be reminded that snowball fighting is not allowed before or after school or during recess.
Also, poor weather conditions mean that streets and sidewalks will be slippery and proper care needs to be taken whenever walking to and from school, especially with traffic congestion before and after school. For those of you who are going to start picking up your child as the weather gets worse, follow the rules to keep all children safe. This means dropping children off on the east side of the street to cut down on students in the street and no cell phones in a school zone. Please do not pick up or drop off behind the school. The parking lot can be a very unsafe place with it being difficult to see students and teachers between cars. When the weather turns colder there tends to be more traffic due to student drop off, so please plan accordingly.
Thank you!
DISTRICT #430 NEWS
Substitute Teacher, Paraprofessional (teaching assistant), Custodian, Bus Driver, Bus Aide
Want to be a sub teacher or paraprofessional in the district? If you have a Bachelor or Associates degree and would like to consider becoming a substitute in Sandwich CUSD 430, the DeKalb County Regional Office of Education (ROE) can answer all your questions and guide you through the necessary steps of becoming certified. Call the ROE at (815) 217-0460; or visit the ROE office at 2500 North Annie Glidden Road, Suite C, DeKalb, Illinois 60115
Student Fees We want to send a reminder to all families that it is time to pay your student fees for the 2022-2023 school year if you haven’t already done so. To check your status or to make a payment please follow the steps below. Login to Tyler Fees and billing will be located on the left side of the screen. Click on fees and billing then select online payment at the bottom right corner of the screen. *If you have multiple students, you can toggle between students by using the drop-down arrow at the top middle of your screen. We ask that all families complete payment on their student fees by Thursday, December 1.
HONORING OUR VETERANS
Report Cards
Please make sure you have signed up for your child's P/T conference. This is a great time to work together with your child's teacher for the benefit of your child!
Nov. 22 8 a.m. -12 p.m.
NURSE NEWS
IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT ALL MEDICATIONS
All medications, including cough drops and over-the-counter products, require a Medication Authorization Form to be completed and signed by a student’s healthcare provider and their parent/guardian.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month & November 14th is World Diabetes Day
In the United States, about 30 million adults and 200,000 people under the age of 20 have diabetes. Here are some website resources for information about Diabetes:
FANTASTIC 4TH GRADE
It’s been another busy month for 4th grade! We finished our first unit in reading, in which we read about scientists and the human body. We researched scientists/inventors, and animals. Our focus was on point of view, text evidence, inferences, and main ideas. Our next reading unit will focus on the theme of literary texts and will feature legends, tall tales, and nonfiction texts. We will be writing our own tall tales and summaries of stories! We will also begin to learn about opinion writing.
Our multiplication unit in math is ending and our next focus will be on division. Our Reflex program is really helping our students build math fact fluency. Please make sure your child is getting their green light daily!
In science we started our Mystery Science unit on Earth’s Features & Processes. We are enjoying learning about volcanoes and why the Earth has certain features. Our government unit in Social Studies will be ending with a Branches of Government project, which will bring us to the end of the first trimester.
We are all enjoying the read aloud Wonder which has great lessons on kindness and having good character!
FABULOUS 5TH GRADE
The fifth-grade team of teachers would like to thank parents, guardians, and caregivers for all of your hard work at home helping students succeed in school! We also thank you for any time you talk to your children about the behavior they choose at school; behaving appropriately can be challenging in some situations, and we know you know your children best. Thank you for any attention you give at home to speaking with what situations especially challenge your children or cause uncomfortable feelings. Our school psychologist and social worker teach about strategies to handle feelings, but some of us need more time and instruction in how to handle our behaviors and emotions appropriately.
For academic subjects, we are learning how to create rainforest infographics (similar to informative magazine articles). Additionally, we are continuing to learn more academic vocabulary and read more nonfiction texts. Students have to show they can also use the text to find examples to support inferences they make. We also continue to focus on students learning Latin and Greek roots and prefixes/suffixes.
In math, we teachers are proud of the efforts we’ve seen on multi-digit multiplication! We have moved on to division, and we still do teach the traditional long division. We appreciate any attention you spend to reviewing that at home! Scholastic News continues to help focus on current events and emphasize reading strategies. Mystery Science units have allowed students to observe redworms and review food chains in ecosystems.
Finally, during the month of October, the format changed for some students during RTI. Ask your child if he or she enjoys RTI time with a new format! We are also excited to have some of you volunteering in our classrooms; having extra adults in the rooms is so beneficial! Thank you again, and we look forward to seeing you at parent-teacher conferences right before Thanksgiving on November 21 and 22.
BAND & MUSIC NEWS
Music has been very active during the month of October. Both grades created remixes on the melody of “Bad Habits” using Soundtrap. First, a midi melody was shared with them. Then they got to choose the type of accompaniment that went with it. Additionally, students have learned songs on boomwhackers; a tuned plastic tube which is played by striking it on their hand, arm, or leg. The songs included were the Skeleton Dance, Ghostbusters Theme, Rio, Tetris, Spooky Scary Skeletons and Africa. Fifth grade band has officially begun with lessons throughout the week grouped by the instrument each student has chosen. Band students have been learning how to read the notes on the music staff, how to take care of their instrument, and producing good sounds. Band lesson schedules are posted to the Google Music Classroom.
RaiseRight Reminder
Dummer Parent Group Nothing Bundt Cake Fundraiser
September Students of the Month
5th Grade: Jackson Lage, Brody Lindstrom, Max Mlot, Natalie Galvan, Laihla Stewart, Morgan Barbor, Bentley Jandt, Jitzel Hernandez & Carolina Benitez
4th Grade
Front Row: Sophia Henderson, Allie Hernandez, Alison Hoyle
Not Pictured: Olivia Staton & Brantley Green
5th Grade
Front Row: Bentley Jandt, Jitzel Herndanez, Caroline Benitez
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
October 31st -November 4th - Book Fair
November 3rd - Fire Drill with Fire Department
November 4th - RaiseRight Orders Due
November 6th - Turn Clocks Back 1 Hour
November 8th - No School
November 9th - Bundt Cake Orders Due
November 9th - Parent Group Meeting 6:30
November 10th - Bundt Cake Forms Due
November 11th - Veteran's Day - School is in Session
November 11th - End of 1st Trimester
November 15th - District Board Meeting
November 16th - Bundt Cake Pick-up 3:15-5:00
November 18th - Dummer Incentive Day
November 18th - Report Cards Go Home
November 21st - Early Dismissal 11:10 AM - Parent Teacher Conferences Noon - 8:00 PM
November 22nd - No School - Parent Teacher Conferences 8:00 AM - Noon
November 23rd - No School
November 24th - No School - Happy Thanksgiving!
November 25th - No School
RED RIBBON WEEK
FEAR FACTOR
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
NOVEMBER LUNCH & BREAKFAST MENUS
Herman E. Dummer School
Email: jkruswicki@sandwich430.org
Website: sandwich430.org
Location: 422 South Wells Street, Sandwich, IL, USA
Phone: 815-786-8498