Duveneck Connections
Home of the Dragons - August 5, 2020
Dear Duveneck Dragon Families,
Welcome to the 20/21 school year! Hold on tight because this is going to be the most extraordinary year of teaching and learning that we have ever seen or experienced. I am very excited to begin this new year with your children and you.
Staffing Changes/Updates:
After 22 years of dedicated service to our school and PAUSD, Ms. Yashu Macwan retired this summer. Ms. Macwan was a beloved teacher on our staff and will be missed by her colleagues, students and families. She was born in Africa and grew up in England. She also taught in the Ravenswood School District. Another fun fact you might not have known about Ms. Macwan is that she is a world traveler who enjoys exploring and taking part in high adventure activities in all corners of the globe. One of the highlights of her time here at Duveneck was running the ‘Harry Potter Camp” with Mrs. Margaret Row (retired Reading Specialist) for 18 years. We thank her for her service to our school and wish her all the best in her retirement.
I am happy to announce that we hired a new teacher to replace Ms. Macwan in 1st grade. Please welcome Ms. Jennifer Rabanal to our school! Ms. Rabanal was born in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. at the age of 5. She was raised in Salinas, Ca and is currently residing in San Jose. She is one of seven siblings in her family. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BS in Environmental Science and a minor in Education. She also recently completed her Master’s Degree in Education at National University. She has worked as an afterschool Site Lead for 6 years in Campbell and she has also worked in various position related to education. She has been part of the PAUSD family (going on 5 years) as an Instructional Aide, Special Education aide, Substitute teacher, Student Teacher, and Supervisor. Welcome to our team Ms. Rabanal!
We have another wonderful announcement to share with all of you. Mrs. Therese Walls, 4th grade, will be on maternity leave this year. We are working on a long term substitute replacement for her and I will let you know who that will be soon. Mrs. Walls will be working with and supporting her replacement at the start of the school year. Mrs. Gutierrez and Mrs. Meinke will also be very supportive and work very closely with our new staff member. Congratulations Mrs. Walls on the birth of your first child!
Nuts and Bolts for the Start of School:
As I begin this section of my newsletter, I am reminded of how different this start of the school year is than any other I have experienced in my career. As far as communication goes, I will send out an email to all of you on Monday, August 10 and maybe more emails next week due to the volume of information I want to share with you. Please bear with me as I do my best to keep you in the loop of communication.
· We are so excited to have our students back at school. We love and miss your children and can’t wait to see them on August 17.
· I am highly recommending that parents and caregivers take the time during the first week of school to be present with your child every day at school. The teacher will be building relationships, community, discussing the details of the class schedule, curriculum and materials, online tools for learning and how to use them, Schoology and Seesaw, online etiquette and a multitude of other topics to launch your child and family to a successful start of school.
· The Duveneck distance learning schedule is nearly completed. The staff is doing its final review of the document now. This schedule will give you a general sense of your child’s school day and the details of each grade level’s schedule will be shared with you and your children by the teachers during the first week of school. Our goal is to send the general schedule to you on Monday, 8/10.
· Class Placement. We will review last spring’s class placement and determine the changes we need to make to our lists early next week. The reason for this delay is the need for updated student enrollment data from the parent survey. Once the teachers and I are finished with the lists, our secretary, Mrs. Elaine Saussotte, will make the changes in Infinite Campus. We hope by Wednesday afternoon to have our class lists updated in Infinite Campus. Once they are updated, you can go into Infinite Campus to see what teacher your child has this year. Class lists will be passed out during our distribution days on 8/13 and 8/14.
· Please remember to update your information in Infinite Campus if you haven’t already done so. Follow all the instructions in the Annual Data Update email that was sent to you in May. If you have any questions or concerns, file a Let’s Talk ticket (top left of the main PAUSD web site) under “Login Issues – Parent Portal”.
· Supplies, Materials & Devices Distribution will take place here on campus on Thursday, August 13 and Friday, August 15 from 11:00-3:00 PM each day. More details about the process for picking up these resources will be sent out in a communication next week.
Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions or concerns. My sincerest wish and hope is to launch this school year in the most positive way for our students, staff and community. It is going to take all of, our entire village, to pull together to weather the beauty and storms of this incredible year of uncharted teaching and learning.
Warmest of Wishes,
Leslie Crane
Principal
About Us
Principal
Email: lcrane@pausd.org
Website: https://duveneck.pausd.org/
Location: 705 Alester Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Phone: 650-322-5946