Dolphin Details
The Walt Disney Elementary Newsletter
January
A Great Place to Learn
I trust all of you enjoyed the time during winter break to see family and friends. Prior to break, our students worked hard right up until they headed out on Friday afternoon. Prior to departure, we celebrated winter by creating poems about the season. We all gathered in the gym for a school sing along at the end of the day. Our second grade students were able to share some highlights from their concert that took place earlier in the week. We ended our time by singing our school song. It was a wonderful send off!
As we look forward to jumping back into learning, we encourage all students to talk about what they are learning daily. Please continue to have those valuable conversations with your child. Our students grow and learn such a great deal, and it is always wonderful to celebrate their accomplishments. Also, we encourage our students to keep reading everyday.
Thank you for partnering with us to support your child. We look forward to another great semester of learning here at Walt Disney!
With your child in mind,
Lavon Dean-Null
Principal
Greetings from Miss Duerksen
December brought us some very exciting weather! We've had two snow days so far. The first snow day will be made up on Friday, March 24. We will follow a "Monday" schedule on that day.
Our second snow day (or cold day!) was the first eLearning day. Students should be vising Canvas (https://phm.instructure.com/login/ldap) to complete eLearning activities. A page listing your child's log in information was sent home in early December. Contact your child's teacher if you need another copy. Work should be turned into teacher within 5 days of each eLearning day.
We hope your child will be safe and warm while they complete their eLearning assignments!
Sincerely,
Lisa Duerksen
Assistant to the Principal
Tidbits From Mrs. Tachman
Happy New Year!
Winter is in full swing here in Michiana. Despite the bitter cold, it is important that students come to school every day they are able. Good nutrition, adequate sleep, and appropriate dental and medical care all contribute to a student's success in school. Students should NOT attend school if they are ill. Please remember to call in your child's absence early on those sick days. Our main office number is 259-2486. Press 1 for Attendance and leave a message anytime, day or night.
I'm still looking for ANY Dolphin who wants to learn to play or wants to improve his or her chess game. If your child is interested in joining, or if you would be interested in helping out with a new chess club, please click on the link below and complete the Google Form to let me know!
Warmest regards on these wintry days!
Cindy Tachman
Assistant to the Principal
Elementary Coordinator, PHM English as a New Language Program
Click here for our Chess Club Interest Survey: http://bit.ly/2fiLoZl
Important Dates
January 9 Classes resume
January 17 Kindergarten registration begins
January 16 Martin Luther King Jr. Day- No school
January 18 End of second grading period
January 26 PTO meeting 6:30pm
Check out all of our school events on our school website: WD Website
Girls on the Run
Project Lead the Way
The first Project Lead the Way After School Club was a success! Fourth and fifth grade students met after school to learn about genetic traits in the Variations of Traits module. During this time, students worked to learn about dominant and recessive genes, genotypes and phenotypes, and Punnett squares. Students tracked traits in three generations of pea plants that were grown in the classroom.
Students also took some time to explore the world of robotics in the Robotics and Automation module. Over the course of several meetings, students used iPads to study 3-D models of robots and build them using VEX Robotics kits. Students were able to add creative and functional modifications to their robots. Some even named their creations!
Recess Reminder
PTO Fundraiser - Amazon Smile
If you shop AMAZON, you can now support us when you shop by using http://smile.amazon.com/ch/35-1697769. Or just go to http://smile.amazon.com and pick Walt Disney Elementary School PTO as the non-profit organization you want to support and Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to our school. Feel free to let all your friends and relatives know as they can contribute the same way all of us do to help our school, no matter where they are :) .
For more PTO details see their blog below.
PTO BlogWalt Disney Spirit Night at Chipotle - Thank you!
Project Lead the Way
Sharing Good Reads
Do you love or loathe winter?
New Way to Access Fliers of Community Events/Activities
Looking for the latest events and activities from area community organizations? We’ve gone paperless! Check out the P-H-M website for an online listing of non-school events & activities agencies have asked us to share with P-H-M families:
www.phmschools.org/community-events-activities Just look for the bullhorn icon on the District website.
School Messenger Update
We have added a new menu to the school website ... SCHOOL MESSENGER has been added as an item to SCHOOL INFO. The menu item links directly back to the School Messenger InfoCenter page on the District site, https://www.phmschools.org/parents/schoolmessenger. All the information is on this page, with step-by-step instructions, and has a direct link to https://infocenter.schoolmessenger.com so you can create your accounts.
If you wish to receive text messages but do not currently get them, you must create the account & login into https://infocenter.schoolmessenger.com in order to receive text messages.
Parent Volunteers and Visitors
Lavon Dean-Null
Email: ldean-null@phm.k12.in.us
Website: https://waltdisney.phmschools.org/
Location: 4015 Filbert Rd, Mishawaka, IN, United States
Phone: 574-259-2486
Twitter: @WDDolphinPride