Dolphin Details
The Walt Disney Elementary Newsletter
March
Growing our Minds and Hearts
As we head into spring, we are continuing to grow students minds and hearts. Our third, fourth, and fifth graders are in the midst of ISTEP testing and are working hard to do their best. This is a time for them to shine and show off all they have learned this year! Our kindergarten, first, and second grade students continue to learn through enriching classroom experiences and during outings to the Snite Museum and the PHM's DVT and Planetarium. We are also growing hearts by reaching out to our community. Thanks to Mr. Stanton organizing Jump Rope for Heart and Mrs. Micinski for working with the WD Student Council to organize a drive for The Great Logan Nose-on. We continue to be proud of all our Walt Disney students for their commitment to learning more everyday and caring for those in our community.
With your child in mind,
Lavon Dean-Null
Principal
Greetings from Miss Duerksen
We are so close to finishing up our first round of ISTEP testing! Coming up soon will be IREAD-3 for all of our third grade students. That testing will begin the week of March 13. Parents of third graders, keep those test taking tips from February's newsletter in mind, including getting lots of rest and a good breakfast!
After spring break, the second portion of ISTEP will begin on 4/17. This round of testing is all on the computer.
Even with all this testing going on, students are participating in exciting and fun learning opportunities every day in the classroom. Don't forget our out of the classroom fun activities that are planned...like McTeacher Night on March 7 from 4:30-7:30. I'll see you there!
Sincerely,
Lisa Duerksen
Assistant to the Principal
Tidbits From Mrs. Tachman
Dear Dolphin Families,
With Spring just around the corner, this is a great time to talk to kids about new beginnings. Making mistakes is human and WE ALL MAKE THEM! The important part is how we act after we err. At Walt Disney, no matter how challenging, frustrating, or disappointing the day, when the sun rises and we walk through these doors again, the slate is clean. How we choose to write on that slate is completely up to each of us.
I want to take the opportunity to express my gratitude and admiration for all the parents who have made it possible for our students to participate in the numerous after-school activities Walt Disney offers. Your support for past, present , and upcoming events--from Circle the State, Basketball, WD Plus, AV Club, Girls on the Run, and Chess Club, to Running is Elementary--will benefit your child in so many ways. We are so proud of our Dolphins and all their accomplishments!
Warm regards and fingers crossed for an early Spring,
Cindy Tachman
Assistant to the Principal
Elementary Coordinator, PHM English as a New Language Program
Important Dates
February 27-March 10 ISTEP testing window open
March 7 McDonalds McTeacher night
March 11 Young Author's Conference
March 11 Young At Art - Snite Museum
March 11-12 Robotics Competition
March 13-17 IREAD testing window open
March 21 PHM Spell Bowl
March 23 PTO meeting 6:30pm
March 24 School IS IN session- snow day make up day
March 24 Enchanted Dance
March 29 Spring Picture Day
Check out all of our school events on our school website: WD Website
Circle the State - Outstanding Performance
Thanks to Mr. Davidson and the CSWS group for an outstanding performance! Here is a quick overview from Mr. Davidson: Saturday was a great day to be a Dolphin as our Circle the State with Song members worked hard all morning in rehearsals with 190 other students from around the area to put on a great performance. I was very proud of how our kids represented Disney in their politeness towards others, their work ethic in rehearsal, and of course their wonderful performance! It was inspiring to see each one of our students faces as they sang on the stage in a packed house. We truly have a talented and passionate 2017 CSWS group!
Young Author's Conference
P-H-M’s annual Young Author’s Conference offers an opportunity for all P-H-M elementary students in grades K-5 and their parents to meet and learn from a well-known children’s author.
This year’s guest author Judith L. Roth has written three children’s picture books (Goodnight Dragons, Julia’s Words and Cups Held Out) and a middle school novel-in-verse, Serendipity & Me. A native of California, Roth has been a resident of Indiana for almost 30 years now. Inspired by a love of music, Roth also writes some poetry. Her love of writing began with her love of reading when she was a student herself at the age 10. Roth is hoping to inspire other budding young authors like she once was!
Young At Art - Family Day at the Snite for Second Grade Families
First Robotics Competition at Penn High School
The FIRST Robotics Competition the ultimate Sport for the Mind. High-school student participants call it “the hardest fun you’ll ever have.” Under strict rules, limited resources, and an intense six-week time limit, teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team "brand," hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. It’s as close to real-world engineering as a student can get.
Please check out the link below to read more about the events that will take place at Penn High School on March 11-12.
Details for P-H-M Summer 2017 Camps & Activities
At Penn-Harris-Madison, we are proud to offer year-round academic enrichment, athletic and recreational activities for the students and families within our award winning school district.
For months, P-H-M administrators, teachers, coaches and staff have been busy planning all the camps and activities that will be available for students when school lets out this year on Wed., June 7, 2017.
Everything from Japanese to building apps for mobile devices to baseball will be offered this summer! And we’re adding more and more ...
See the link below for more details.
https://waltdisney.phmschools.org/details-p-h-m-summer-2017-camps-activities-now-available
McDonald's Night - Student Council
PTO Thanks!
- The Krispy Kreme Certificates fundraising opportunity raised a little over $700.
- We welcomed many family members for Donuts with Dads.
- Families had fun hearing Disney stories at Barnes and Noble Disney Celebration.
Be sure to check out all the PTO events at https://waltdisneypto.edublogs.org.
Enchanted Dane on March 24th
Kindergarten Registration
Girls on the Run Update
Girls on the Run's season started on Monday, February 27. We have 35 girls participating this year, which is awesome! After her first practice, one of the girls commented, "I knew we would be stretching and running, but I didn't expect us to have discussions and play games. The activities were fun and entertaining."
Chick-fil-a Spirit Night Update
Circle the State
Girls on the Run
Thanks to PTO for ISTEP Snacks
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 BlogNew 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.
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