Dolphin Details
The Walt Disney Elementary Newsletter
December
A Great Place to Learn
As the weather becomes colder and the snow boots and mittens come out, it is a wonderful time to celebrate all we have accomplished this year and all that we have to anticipate for the remainder of the year. Please take a few moments to review all the highlights included in this newsletter. Our first graders serenaded us with fun camping songs. The whole student body participated in a food drive that goes to support local families. These are only a few of the wonderful happenings that took place in November. We look forward to more exciting events in December including Muffins with Moms and our Winter Musical Presentation.
As I walk through our hallways and spend time in classrooms, it is clear that students are daily being challenged to think deeper, ask questions, and talk about their learning. From kindergarten lessons about shapes to fifth grade lessons about author's purpose, everyone is working hard! Thank you for partnering with us to make Walt Disney an ideal place for our students to learn!
Dolphin Pride!
Lavon Dean-Null
Principal
Greetings from Miss Duerksen
As many of you have heard, at P-H-M we like to focus on relationships between students, teachers, and parents to ensure the success of our students. We love to have you visit as often as possible! One unique opportunity for this is coming up in December. We are hosting "Muffins with Mom's" on Wednesday, December 7 (Kindergarten - 2nd Grade) and Thursday, December 8 (3rd grade - 5th Grade). Please choose one day to attend, RSVP when you receive the form, and join us and your child for breakfast. We would love to see you and share the wonderful things that are happening here at Walt Disney.
Keep an eye out for "Donuts with Dad" after the new year!
Sincerely,
Lisa Duerksen
Assistant to the Principal
Tidbits From Mrs. Tachman
Now that we have had our first real snowfall, excitement is in the air! Along with the challenge of keeping up with all those snow pants, gloves, boots, hats, and jackets (I call them the "FAB 5") kids are beginning to anticipate the long winter break from school. At school, we try to keep our routines as close to usual as possible in order to help students stay on an even keel. We also ask for your help doing the same at home. Click HERE for a terrific article about kids and holiday stress.
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 for these chilly 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
December 6 Project Lead the Way
December 6 Young Rembrandts
December 7 Muffins with Moms
December 8 Muffins with Moms
December 8 Project Lead the Way
December 13 Young Rembrandts
December 20 Young Rembrandts
December 22 Walt Disney Winter Program
December 26-January 6 Winter Recess
Check out all of our school events on our school website: WD Website
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
How to Encourage Higher Order Thinking
Our goal here at Walt Disney is to inspire great young thinkers. Check out this website for ways to encourage higher order thinking skills with your child.
Ideas about Concentration and Focus
Check out this great video from Scholastic about ways to encourage your child to concentrate and stay focused.
Food Drive for our Community
Walt Disney Dolphins Choose Kindness
Thank you Walt Disney Families
A Familiar Friend Visits from London
First Grade Fall Folks Festival
Community Events/Activities
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