It is hard for me to believe there are things at DES that I have not experienced yet. Lunch is one of these things. Now, I understand that lunch won't be normal by any circumstances, but I am thrilled to be experiencing it. Students at DES will be eating in the cafeteria and the gymnasium this year. When eating in the cafe, students will be seated at tables six feet apart, or at desks on the floor and stage area that are spaced six feet apart. We have taken lunch lines out of the equation since we are still lucky enough to have universal free lunch. Students who do not bring lunch from home will be given a fully contained hot lunch or alternate lunch on their way to their seat. In the gymnasium, students will be seated at desks that are spaced six feet apart and will also be given a fully contained hot lunch or alternate on their way in to sit. Students will sanitize on their way back into the building from recess to lunch to be prepared for removing their masks and eating. You should have received a hard copy of the menu choices for the month in your student's backpack last week. The lunch menu can also be found on the district website @ dcrsd.org.

Another area that is new for me is full day dismissal! All of our procedures will still remain in tact, however our hours will definitely be different.

Our new hours of operation are:

• 8:30am-8:45am Arrival and Drop Off
• 3:00pm-3:15pm Dismissal and Pick Up

Unfortunately, I had to make the decision this week to prevent students from using their DCRSD Google accounts to set up and hold their own Google Meet meetings. While we did have some students using this platform appropriately, we also had many who were not using it appropriately. In an effort to protect students from inappropriate language and topics while using accounts unsupervised by school personnel, the decision was made to block student hosted meets. We do have fully remote students who use this platform to socialize outside of school hours, which is unfortunate for everyone. If your student does not have an alternate form of communication, such as a cell phone, you can always allow them to use your account or create a new email if you want to supervise them meeting with friends online.

They're Coming Back!

I have heard wonderful things about the after school programs at DES. There has been a great deal of thought and planning happening to make these programs accessible and safe to begin again, now that we will be back in school full time.

The first program to return will be Sport of the Day with Mrs. Durant, Mr. Hanna, and Mrs. Finizza. Planning for this program is happening now and more information will be coming in the next week for how to sign up for this fan favorite.

Another favorite program at DES has been Homework Heroes. I am thinking about the possibility of transitioning this program into an extra help program for students who may be behind academically at this point in the year. Once we return to full days of school, we will be very limited in assigning homework. We would like students, families and teachers to have a much needed break and to encourage kids to be outside after school.

A few more considerations are the Walking Club and Garden Club. Please watch for more information on both of these popular school day activities once we are up and going full time!

As reported in a previous newsletter, students were given a survey in their classrooms in an effort to screen for social emotional wellness. At this week's School Council meeting, the council and I had a chance to review the survey results by grade level (anonymously). While most responses were pretty standard for the age/developmental level of students, we did find the responses of approximately 25% of students per grade level require further exploration. I will be speaking with the School Adjustment and Psychologist this week to see how we can connect with students from the screener.