DHAA Newsletter
August 4, 2023
Note from the Coordinators
It has been a pleasure getting to know all of the new and past families of DHAA students this week. Thank you for your continued support of your teachers and child as we start a new school year. We have all had to adjust to some changes with classes on the 2nd floor amidst construction. At this time we are not having guests visit the school for lunch. We look forward to welcoming families into our school once construction is complete at the end of August. Please watch for more information about that in future newsletters.
We have added a new section to our newsletter this year: "Guiding the Gifted- Support Corner for Parents". In this section we will share articles and information for parents to help you support your gifted child at home. Please let us know if there are specific topics of interest you would like us to share more about!
We are so excited to see where this year will take us! Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Nesbit & Mr. Apollos
Guiding the Gifted- Support Corner for Parents
Supportive Conversations for Transitioning Your Child to a Magnet or Self-Contained Gifted School
Starting at a new school can be challenging and scary for many different reasons. This article from Parenting for High Potential shares some conversations parents can have at home with their gifted child to help them adjust to a new school.
Parenting for High Potential is a quarterly magazine designed for parents and others working to support and guide their gifted children at home and at school.
Parent Visits & Volunteers Start September 5th
Are you interested in having lunch with your child?
Do you like to help your student's teacher with class activities & jobs?
See the information below!
Parents may begin visiting the DHAA for lunch & class volunteers on Tuesday, September 5th. Follow the steps below to participate:
Lunch with your student:
- Have your ID ready to check in when you arrive!
- Enter Door #3
- After checking in with the secretary in the 2nd floor HUB, you may proceed downstairs to the cafeteria.
Lunch Reminders:
Lunch starts at 10:40am for grades 3 & 4
Lunch starts at 11:10 am for grades 5 & 6
You may only sit with YOUR child during lunch.
You must exit the building as soon as your child's lunch has ended.
Class Volunteers - Procedures:
We love having parent volunteers at the DHAA! Please see the following reminders if you are interested in helping your student's class:
- All parent volunteers MUST have a valid background check on file before being allowed to enter the building.
- All volunteer opportunities need to be planned with your student's teacher at least 24 hours in advance.
Thank you in advance!
Please bring a water bottle to school EVERY DAY!
Transportation Reminders
We want to thank everyone for your patience as we have worked out the issues with transportation this week. We wanted to remind you all of some essential information & steps as we continue to adjust to the demands of pick-up & drop-off at a new school:
- Pick-up - Please remember to arrive 5-10 minutes early to your bus stop every day.
- Errors - While we are getting close to having all the routes, stops, and other transportation needs figured out, we do expect there to be SOME minor issues. Please communicate these with our coordinators & with transportation directly:
DHAA Coordinators: 317-856-2109
MSD Decatur Transportation: 317-856-8060
Child Nutrition Updates
Please see the important attachment (with "live" links) from our MSD Decatur Child Nutrition Department, which includes:
1. Meal Benefit Application for Free/Reduced Meals: Click Here
2. Menus: Click Here
3. E Funds: Click Here
4. Purchases & Account Info in our new Lunch Portal: Click Here
DHAA PTO
DHAA PTO August Meeting
Join us for our first PTO meeting of the year! Find out how you can support DHAA and our students.
Please enter Door 3. We will meet in the cafeteria.
Tuesday, Aug 8, 2023, 05:30 PM
5106 South High School Road, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Donatable Items:
At the DHAA we LOVE to do projects, build things, and experiment with the world around us. This requires us to have a large amount of consumable items on hand for each project we participate in. Many of these items are common materials found stored around a home, garage, or workplace. As you work, complete spring cleaning, or notice some materials you just need taken off your hands, we hope you would consider making a donation to the DHAA MakerSpace. Please feel free to share this list with your family & friends if you think they could benefit from it as well!
The list below offers just a SAMPLE of items that our students could use for the various projects & problems they work to solve. Some items we are in need of at the present time include:
- Legos
- Scrap wood
- Wood working tools
- PVC pipe
- Plastic Containers
- Props/Decoration/Costumes (used in video productions)
Check out some awesome moments from our first week!
3rd Grade
Working together on a paper chain challenge
3rd Grade
Students trying to get out of the human knot.
3rd Grade
Going through the lunch line.
4th graders building with Vex Go
4th graders building with Vex Go
4th graders building with Vex Go
5th Grade
Working together on the Tallest Marshmallow Challenge
5th Grade
Working together on the Tallest Marshmallow Challenge
5th Grade
Working together on the Tallest Marshmallow Challenge
6th Grade
Paper, Rock, Scissors Tournament in P.E.
6th Grade
Human Knot Challenge
6th Grade
Human Knot Challenge
District Flyers
Bridges
Catapult
"Favorites"
Family Dinner Conversation Starters:
- What was your favorite part about attending the DHAA this week?
- What are you most excited about for this school year?
- Is there anything you are nervous for this school year?
- Whats something you learned about your teachers or coordinators so far?
- Which of your specials do you think is going to be your favorite?
- Have you met any new friends? Why are they a good friend?
- What is something that made you smile or laugh this week?
- How have you followed the OWLS expectations?
MSD Decatur Social Media Pages
Decatur High Ability Academy
Email: rnesbit@decaturproud.org
Website: https://www.decaturproud.org/decatur-high-ability-academy
Location: 5106 South High School Road, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-426-8226
Twitter: @DecaturHAA
Facebook: Decatur High Ability Academy