DDES School News
Updates from Principal Sykes
January 19, 2020
Dear Families,
We have gotten back into our routines here at school, and each day is packed with important teaching and learning activities. I have enjoyed seeing students excited about new things they are learning as well as creative ideas teachers are sharing. It feels as if January is flying by! Please see important information below regarding instructional time, safety, and coming events.
Remember, we don't have school tomorrow (Monday, Jan. 20th), so we'll see you Tuesday!
SweetArt Dance!
On February 13th, from 5:30-7:00pm, we will have our next family engagement event! Our SweetArt Dance is designed to included movement (dancing), creativity (art), and learning (reading). We will have a DJ, photo booth, books (to take home), and snacks (no dinner this time) and it is all free! All we need from you is for you to either send back the paper invitations that were sent home or complete the online RSVP using this link: https://ddespta_sweetartdancefeb13_2020.eventbrite.com. It will be another fun night and we hope you join us!
Arrival and Dismissal Information
- Early/Unsupervised Drop Off-It has been brought to my attention that students are being dropped off and left outside of school in the morning prior 8:45. Students may enter the building between 8:45 and 9:15 in order to be in class on time for instruction to start at 9:15. Students may not remain unsupervised in the office, lobby, media center, classroom areas or outside of the building prior to 8:45am. This is a serious safety concern and the well-being of your child could be in jeopardy when left unsupervised.If there are needs impacting your family that you need support with, please contact our school social worker, Mrs. Basham at (919) 233-4200 or cbasham@wcpss.net.
- Late Carpool-Carpool ends at 4:15 and our staff who supervise are required to leave at that time. When students are picked up after 4:15, it causes supervision challenges. Please help us maintain our after school duties and schedules by picking up carpool students on time. Again, if there are needs impacting your family that you need assistance with, please contact our school social worker, Mrs. Basham. We will work together to support you.
- Dismissal Changes-Based on feedback we've received, Ms. Henderson has worked to improve how you can report unexpected dismissal changes. This will help prevent miscommunication and difficulty getting through to the school when phone lines are busy. In order report dismissal changes, go to our website: http://www.wcpss.net/dillarddrivees. Click the Parents tab on the blue bar on the right hand side of the top on the page and click DDES Change of Dismissal form. You can also click the picture on the scrolling banner that reads, "Do you have dismissal changes for today?" Remember, all changes must be reported before 3:15pm.
Kindergarten Open House
Do you have a rising kindergartner or know someone who has a a child who will begin Kindergarten at Dillard next year? If so, please join us for our Kindergarten Open House on Tuesday, January 21st. Kindergarten teachers will give a brief overview of Kindergarten before we take a tour. We will a morning session from 10:15-11:15am and an evening session from 5:00-6:00pm. Additional tour dates are posted on our website if the date and times won't work for you. We hope to see you there!
Info For 5th Grade Families
Dillard Drive Middle School Info (5th grade families): Their Open House will be on January 15th at 6:00pm. Tours will be held on January 24th at 10:00am and 1:45pm. Sign up using this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4ea8ac2c7-rising
Ongoing Reminders
- Volunteer Registration: We truly appreciate everyone for being willing help with various events and activities. It's not too late to volunteer. It's a fast and easy process. Registration only lasts for the current school year, but it will cover all events (field trips, field day, classroom, etc.).
- Amazon Smile AmazonSmile is the same Amazon--same products, same prices, same service. However, when you shope smile.amazon.com (not amazon.com or the mobile app), Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to DDES. To register, link DDES to your account. Once you register, DDES will automatically be preselected. Bookmark it today!
- Readvolution: Congratulations to all of our students for reading and participating in the Readvolution initiative. Our school met our goal and was eligible to participate in the drawing to receive the school-wide field trip. Although our name wasn't selected, I am so proud of all reading and effort of our students! Please see these links to see how to redeem Hurricane Tickets for students who met their reading goal. Directions (English) Directions (Spanish)
- Fall (2019) T-Shirt Orders: Is there anyone who still haven't received replacement T-shirt orders from the beginning of the school year? If so, please contact Beth Kelly at ddestreasurer@gmail.com. This is not to collect new orders, but we want to ensure those who have already purchased items have received them.
- Lost and Found: There are lots of jackets, coats, scarves, hats, etc. that have been left been behind on the playground and other areas in the school. When you visit campus, please take a look in our lost and found (across from the cafeteria) if your student is missing any of those items.
Important Dates
- January 20th-No School (in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday)
- January 27th-End of 2nd Quarter
- February 7th-Report Cards sent home
- February 13th-SweetArt Dance (RSVP above)
About Us
Dr. Sykes, Principal
Mrs. Griffin, Assistant Principal
Email: rsykes@wcpss.net
Website: https://www.wcpss.net/dillarddrivees
Location: 5018 Dillard Drive, Raleigh, NC, USA
Phone: 919-233-4300
Twitter: @dillardES