The Royal Decree
November 2019 Newsletter
November at a Glace
- 4th Grade Famous Person Speeches 1pm
- Fall Classroom Parties 1:45pm. All classroom volunteers need to have signed up through the Parents Club AND have a background check on file with the district. Younger siblings should not attend.
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
- Running Club 2:45pm
- Enrichment Eagles 2:45pm
- DGS Parents' Club Meeting 7pm in the Cafeteria (use the back doors to enter)
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
- 3rd Grade HULT Center Field Trip
Friday, November 8, 2019
- Royal Roundup Family Dance Party 6-8pm
Monday, November 11, 2019
- Veteran's Day/No School
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
- DHS Cookie Sales from the Pathways Programs. Cookies are $1.00
- Running Club 2:45pm
- Enrichment Eagles 2:45pm
- 4th/5th Grade Music Program 6:30pm
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
- Running Club 2:45pm
- Enrichment Eagles 2:45pm
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
- Board of Education Meeting 6pm DHS
Wednesday November 27-29
- Fall Break. No School
November Staff Birthdays
November 6: Lyndsay Brooks
November 6: Marissa Lofgren
November 17: Karen Conlon
November 19: Ching Zedric
November 24: Rosemary Ardner
5 Essentials School Survey
We ask all parents to take time to provide us with feedback through the 5 Essentials Survey which is linked below. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. What is the 5 Essentials Survey? The 5 Essentials Survey identifies five indicators that lead to improved outcomes for all students, including improved attendance and larger test score gains.
The five indicators that positively affect school success are:
1.Effective Leaders
2.Collaborative Teachers
3.Involved Families
4.Supportive Environments
5.Ambitious Instruction
Research derived from the Five Essentials for School Success has proven that schools strong on at least three of the 5Essentials are 10 times more likely to improve student outcomes. We appreciate your feedback on what we are doing well as well as opportunities for improvement. You can access the survey here: https://survey.5-essentials.org/illino…/survey/parent/login/
Winter Weather
Tis the season to prepare for winter weather.
Students should come to school prepared to go outside for recess. This would include a warm coat, hat, mittens, and scarf. We strongly urge you to write your name and phone number on all winter clothing so that it can be returned in the event your child loses it. We understand the importance of getting students outdoors, even during the winter months. We will likely send students outdoors if the temperature is above 15 degrees. We do take into consideration wind chill and precipitation or snowy conditions. We also will limit the time outside if the conditions warrant it. In the event of snow, students must have snow boots and snow pants to play in the snow. If your family or child is in need of winter coats or warm clothing, please let us know and we can assist you.
School emergency closings could happen at any time of the year. Parents need to arrange plans with their children (a neighbor, child care, employer, etc.) on what is expected should an emergency closing occur. Decisions for closure, delayed start or to dismiss school early are always a judgment call; however, we do use some general criteria in making such decisions. School procedures call for an emergency school closing announcement to be given over local radio and television media. When listed, please look for Dunlap Community School District or Dunlap #323 in determining if your school is closed or delayed. Below are some of the criteria and examples of what would impact a decision to cancel school, delay start or dismiss school early.
Delayed Start:
There may be times when the weather is such that delaying the start of school by two hours would provide for a safer environment for our students and staff This decision will be announced no later than 6:30 a.m. on the day of the delayed start via School Messenger system as well as local TV stations. On these days, buses will run and morning pick up times will be two hours later than normal. Classes will begin two hours later than their regularly scheduled time. There will be no morning Early Childhood or Bright Futures classes, but the afternoon classes will run at the normal time. School will still dismiss at the regular time. If the district decides to implement a delayed start for the school day, all notifications will be sent in the same manner as the closing of school.
Weather Forecasts: Weather conditions and events are very unpredictable. We generally do not cancel school or dismiss school early solely on a weather forecast. Weather events must be occurring and deteriorating for school to be cancelled or for us to dismiss early.
- Snow: Generally speaking, snow is not a primary reason for closing school. As long as roads are not drifting shut, it’s possible we would have school even with a sizable snowfall.
- Road Conditions: As referenced above, road conditions dictate many of our decisions. Due to the fact the district is widely spread out, we have an early morning process (before 5:00 a.m.) of checking our rural and city roads.
- Cold: We will look at wind chill and air temperature (also road conditions) when making a decision relating to cold weather. Please remember that we do live in central Illinois so below 0-degree weather is not uncommon.
When are decisions made? A decision to cancel school may occur between 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. the night before school. In most instances, no later than 6:30 a.m. the next day. In an extreme emergency, we may have to announce early dismissal during the school day.
School closings will be communicated in the following ways:
School Messenger Phone/Email System
TV Stations – Channels 19, 25, and 31
Local Radio Stations - All local stations
Dunlap School District Voicemail System
Notification on www.dunlapcusd.net
Dunlap Facebook page - www.facebook.com/CUSD323
Further information regarding our weather related procedures can be found at http://www.dunlapcusd.net/Distri…/…/SchoolClosingPolicy.aspx
When to Keep Your Child Home from School
FEVER
A temperature of 100 or over is a sure sign to keep your child home. The child must be 24 hours fever free without fever reducing medication before returning to school. Giving a fever reducer and sending them to school will almost guarantee a call from school when the medicine wears off, as well as exposing other students to your child’s illness.
VOMITING/DIARRHEA
If your child has been vomiting or having diarrhea during the previous evening, please keep them home. Consult your doctor if symptoms continue more than 48 hours or worsen instead of improving.
CONTAGIOUS DISEASE
If your child is diagnosed with a contagious disease, such as strep, impetigo or pink eye they should be on prescribed antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school.
RASH
A rash is a characteristic symptom of infectious diseases. If your child has a rapidly spreading rash or any rash with fever, signs of other illness or behavioral change they need to be evaluated by a physician.
NASAL DISCHARGE/COUGH
Keep your child home if they have heavy nasal congestion and/or frequent cough. They probably feel miserable and will not be focused on school work, as well as sharing
their illness with others.
RED, RUNNY EYES
If your child has crusty, red or weepy eyes with thick or sticky eye drainage please keep home until evaluated by a medical provider. Prescription medication may be needed depending on the diagnosis.
LICE
We have a “No Live Lice” policy. Keep your child home until after the first treatment is administered.
MALAISE
Any illness that prevents your child from participating comfortably in class or school activities
Head Lice Reminders
Head lice (Pediculosis) are tiny, wingless, parasitic insects that live close to the human scalp. Knowing the definition doesn’t make us feel any better. However, I do want to reassure you that, although these insects may be pesky, they are not harmful. Dunlap School District follows the evidenced based mindset of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). We support a “No Live Lice” protocol.
Head Lice Facts.
- Anyone can get head lice
- Cleanliness is not a factor
- Lice do not jump or fly
- Head lice are mostly spread by direct head-to-head contact—for example, slumber parties, sport activities and camp
- Lice and nits (silver to dark gray colored eggs attached to the hair shaft) are visible to the naked eye.
- Nits which are further than ¼ inch from the scalp are not considered viable.
Please routinely check your child’s hair throughout the school year.
What are the signs and symptoms of having head lice?
- Tickling feeling on the scalp or hair.
- Itching (caused by the bites of the louse) especially behind the ears and at the nape of the neck.
- Sores on the head from scratching.
- Presence of nits that are less than ¼” from the scalp or live lice in the hair.
Procedures if your student is found to have head lice while at school.
- Parents will be notified and encouraged to pick their child up and begin head lice treatment.
- If parents are unable to come then the student may return to class. Immediate removal of child is unnecessary. This is supported by the AAP, CDC and NASN.
- Your child may return to school after initial application of lice shampoo/ treatment.
- Your child will be rechecked upon arrival to school and then again 5-7 days after initial treatment.
- Whole classroom head checks have not been proven to be effective in ridding schools of lice. No school is EVER lice free. We encourage you to be proactive and routinely check your child’s hair. *Remember lice can be acquired anywhere close contact occurs. This could be at home, at school or within the community.
- Staff will maintain the privacy of students identified as being infected with head lice.
What to do if my child gets head lice?
- It warrants repeating....In order to provide safe and effective treatment please follow the Package Directions!
- Apply lice shampoo/treatment according to directions. There are a number of over the counter treatment options or prescription medication available.
- Wash all bed linens, recently worn clothing articles, towels in very hot water. Items that are not washable may be sealed in a plastic bag for 2 weeks.
- Dry items on high heat for at least 20 minutes.
- Personal items such as combs, brushes, hair clips, should be soaked in very hot water and sanitized or thrown away.
- Vacuum the floors and furniture.
- All household members and other close contacts should be checked and those with evidence of head lice should be treated at the same time.
- Call your family doctor if you have any questions. A prescription treatment may be recommended.
Parent's Club Corner
Royal Fun Run – Wrap Up
The Royal Fun Run was a great success! The kids had a great time running the course and tackling the 12 obstacles. It is so rewarding to see students try new challenges! Overall, we raised $7,604.00 (84.49% of our goal)! Students that raised money through on-line donations on average raised $70.01 per student while those that only brought in cash/check donations raised on average of $36.25 per student.
Because we used FundHub to raise money through on-line donations, we were able to bring in donations from 67 cities in 18 different states!
The Fun Run Committee (& our husbands) want to thank all the volunteers who helped make the Fun Run so much FUN! Our husbands were especially thankful for the Set Up crew that got up early and worked in the morning darkness to help setup the course. The first gym period begins right after school starts, and since we can’t leave the obstacles up overnight, there is a lot of work to be done in a short amount of time.
We are also thankful that we had enough volunteers to cover all the obstacles through all 6 gym periods. And finally, we are thankful to all the volunteers that stuck around to help us tear everything down. You made the work go so much faster and smoother. The committee can plan everything, but without help from volunteers we wouldn’t be able to put on such a great event. We are so appreciative of everyone’s support!
Fall 2019 Royal Fun Run Committee
Sara Cleveland, Renee Gruel, & Annalee Huntington
Book Fair – Wrap Up
Thank YOU for making our Fall Book Fair so COOL!! A milk jug igloo, and amazing guest speaker (Mr. Schumacher), and 767 NEW BOOKS for students to read. We truly appreciate your support in continuing to grow our young readers!
Fall 2019 Arctic Book Fair Committee
Myrna Badawi, Renee Gruel, Annalee Huntington, & Amy Stahl
DGS Spirit Wear Orders
If you are wishing that you had placed a Spirit Wear order earlier this fall, but missed the opportunity, do not fret. We will be placing a 2nd round of orders in March of 2020.
Family Night Out
Thank you for your continued support of our Family Night Out events! Keep an eye out on backpacks for information on our next DGS Family Night Out at McDonalds (on N. Knoxville) on Wednesday, November 6th, from 4:30-7:30pm
Royal Ball
This year's Royal Ball will have a Western Theme, so pull on your cowboy hat, put on your dancing boots, and mosey on over to DGS for the Royal Roundup! We'll be kickin' up our boots at 6:00PM on Friday November 8th. So y'all save the date and bring your cowboy cash ($5 minimum donation per family). Y'all will have the opportunity to pre-order your supper in advance. Proceeds go to the DGS Parent's Club.
November Meeting
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, November 5th, at 7 PM in the DGS Café. All parents and guardians of DGS Royals and DGS staff are welcome! We hope you can join us!
Thanks,
Annalee Huntington
DGS Parents’ Club President
Interesting Articles and Tips for Parents
Dunlap Grade School
Email: mellis@dunlapcusd.net
Website: www.dunlapcusd.net/dgs
Location: 301 1st Street, Dunlap, IL, United States
Phone: 309-243-7772
Facebook: facebook.com/dunlapgrade
Twitter: @dgsroyals