Dragon Digest
2021-2022 Parent Edition September 2021
A Message from DOES Administration
Our teachers, staff and students have had a great first month of school, I can't believe we have already been in school for 4 weeks. We have been spending a lot time building classroom communities and fostering relationships between classmates and adults. This is a strong part of success for students- when students are happy and feel valued, they work hard and want to do their best. We hope that you have seen your child growing as a learner so far this year. I know we have been very excited about the teaching and learning taking place in all classrooms daily.
We encourage all students to read every night! Spend time reading with your child and talking about what they are reading. Have your child retell the story and tell you about the what they are learning from the story. The more they read the more successful they will be in all content areas in school. This is also a great way to spend quality time with your child and reduce nightly screen time on technology.
Keep on eye on Bloomz as we will post announcements throughout the week. This is our daily means of communications with families at DOES. IF you are not on your child's class page or the school page, please email your teacher so they can get your their code and you can stay in the know.
#everydragoneveryday
Kelly Wisneski, Principal
Chasity Vento, Assistant Principal
At Denham Oaks, we provide an inclusive and collaborative community that delivers high impact instruction to ensure achievement for ALL.
Upcoming Dates in September
Upcoming Events in September:
6th- Labor Day- NO SCHOOL
8th- Early Release Day- Dismissal is at 1:50pm
10th- Progress Reports are posted in myStudent, be sure you log in and see how your child is doing in school. We are halfway through the first quarter.
10th- Fire Drill
10th- Bus Evacuations in the morning during arrival
11th- Patriot Day
12th- Happy Grandparents Day
14th- Severe Weather Drill
Week of 20th-24th- Active Threat Drill Scenario
30th- Fall Individual Picture Day
Spirit Days for September
9/3 College Day- Wear your favorite College Gear
9/10 Proud to Be an American- Wear Red, White and Blue
9/17 NFL Day- Wear your favorite NFL team gear
9/24 Color Team Day- Wear your color team shirt and color team gear
School-wide Updates...The more you know, the better!
Curriculum and Assessment Updates
All students in grades KG-5th Grade are finishing their beginning of the year baseline assessments. All students have taken the NWEA Maps Assessment for Reading and Math and 2nd-5th grade also took the Science assessment. This assessment gives the teacher valuable data as to where your child is performing as compared to where they should be according to grade level standards. Teachers then use this data to guide their instruction and plan for small group instruction as needed. Your child will take this assessment again in the Winter and Spring and the goal is to show growth over time with upward trajectory in their RIT score. In grades 3-5, this assessment also gives us a prediction as to what their achievement level would be when taking the FSA in the Spring. You can log into your Parent Portal on myStudent and view your child’s scores throughout the year. All students will also be taking the DIBELS Assessments which looks at fluency of letter ID, sounds, oral reading fluency and comprehension. This will also be given in the Winter and the Spring to show growth of our young readers.
Open House will be virtual this year in order to keep our visitors to a minimum on campus. We know this is an important event for parents to be involved in their child’s education and make those connections with their child’s teacher. Each team is putting together a video/powerpoint for families to get to know the team, teachers and expectations. This will be posted on the teacher’s Bloomz page on September 13th for you to view. It is highly encouraged to view this with your child so you can talk to your child about their classroom as a family. We hope you enjoy learning about all of the amazing things that are happening in your child’s classroom each day.
Communication is key to a successful and positive relationship between our families and the school. Parent-Teacher Conferences will occur twice per year. This year we are using zoom, phone calls, and possibly face-to-face. Your child’s teacher will be scheduling these throughout the fall and spring semesters. During the conferences, you will be updated on their progress for both academics and behavioral expectations. This is a great time for you as a parent to ask questions and learn how you can help your child at home to keep practicing what they are learning in school.
Progress Reports will be on myStudent for all students on Friday, September 10th. These reports will show you how your child is doing half-way through the first quarter. You will see how they are performing towards mastery of grade level standards, behaviors, and work habits.
Bloomz is our main means of communication at Denham Oaks. Be sure you check your child’s class Bloomz page and our school’s main Bloomz page daily for updates. Teachers post updates and pictures often on the page. You can send your child’s teacher a message on Bloomz as needed- just be sure you only check off your child’s teacher to receive, as there are many adults tagged to your class Bloomz page. When you click on your child’s teacher page, you will also be able to see how many positive behavior Bloomz points your child has earned. This is a great reinforcement for our students as they earn rewards each time the earn 25 points and “Bloom”! They love this- it’s a great individual reward and motivator for all students.
THANK YOU SYDNEY HAS A SISTER!!!!
Here Comes the Order
Two lil' dragons trying out the lava tiles
Student Self Screener pg. 1
Student Self Screener pg. 2
Family Reading Time
COVID PROTOCOLS AND SAFETY UPDATES
DOES Mission
myStudent Parent Portal Account Information and Directions
DOES Expectations
Fire Drill- September 9th
Fall Picture Day September 30th
PTA Family Night- September 21st
Important Information
School Bell Hours
It is very important that students are in school bell to bell to maximize their learning.
~9:15 am Campus open, breakfast served
~9:40 am Tardy Bell
~3:50 pm Dismissal Bell
**Students must be in their classroom by 9:40am- please be sure they are here at 9:30am so they have time to get breakfast and get to their classroom.
**Please do not sign your child out of school early unless it is an emergency. We have academic instruction until the end of the school day. Students leaving early are missing valuable instruction and time with their teacher. Without a doctors note, this will be marked as unexcused.
We ask that you make school and your child's education a priority by having them here on time and not signing them out early!
Health & Wellness / Reopening Guidelines
Public Health Actions:
Our goal is to create an environment that provides an opportunity for students to return to the
traditional school experience, while providing effective safeguards to protect the health and safety of students and staff.
- Practice safe social distancing to the greatest extent possible.
- Post signage and provide lessons to strongly encourage frequent hand washing and hygiene
- practices.
- Ensure hand sanitizer is available throughout the campus.
- Increase cleaning protocols throughout each campus, including replacing air filters more
- frequently.
- Limit group gatherings.
- Face coverings are optional for students and staff on campus.
- Self Screener for symptoms is required for all staff and students daily prior to arriving on campus or on the school bus.
- Ensure any staff or students who exhibit symptoms are not at school or in the workplace.
- Students can to wear face coverings on the bus.
- Clean high touch areas between runs.
- Ensure hand sanitizer is available on each bus.
- Disinfect each bus thoroughly at the end of each day.
- At the elementary school level, we are creating a cohort isolation model, where students will spend time on campus with the group of students in their class, including in the classroom, the cafeteria, media center, and the playground. Interaction with students from other classes will be limited to the greatest extent possible. If a student displays symptoms of illness, it will likely impact their cohort classmates, and not the entire school, in terms of quarantine or other interventions. Additional information can be found on our District Web Page.
Dismissal is an important time to show grace and patience to other parents and school staff. We are going to ensure that we know how every child got home each day. Please be kind in the carline and at the walker gate. This takes time and we appreciate your understanding. Any changes in dismissal must be communicated in writing to your child's teacher and we ask that you send an email to Sandy Amaral at samaral@pasco.k12.fl.us to let the front office know of this change as well. If you email or Bloomz the teacher during the day, they may not see it prior to dismissal because they are busy teaching. This will help ensure that your child goes home the correct way.
Stay Connected with Us!
We have many avenues of communication to stay connected with families. Keep an eye out!
BLOOMZ
Dragon Digest Newsletter
Denham Oaks Website https://does.pasco.k12.fl.us/
School Messenger (Phone and Email)
Denham Oaks PTA Facebook Page Denham Oaks PTA
Website: https://does.pasco.k12.fl.us/
Location: 1422 Oak Grove Boulevard, Lutz, FL, USA
Phone: (813)794-1600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DenhamOaksPta/
Twitter: @DenhamOaks