Denton Dolphin News
End of January, 2021
DES to Reopen on February 1 and Feburary 8!
I know that many of you heard of Governor Hogan's press conference last Thursday and perhaps read the CCPS Press Release about the reopening of schools. We are anxiously planning for our Dolphins to return to DES within the next two weeks. As always, if you have questions, please reach out to your child's teacher, Mr. Breedlove or me.
We have a number of grades who are sending home materials for the third quarter. Please see the information below about which grades and the pick up times. For some grades, students who are returning to in-person learning will get their materials upon return. Please check your child's Google Classroom for specific information.
Grades Prek-3 will return on February 1 following the schedule as before; if your child was virtual in the fall, we assume that your child will stay virtual unless you contact us directly. If you have any changes, please contact Mr. Breedlove or me as soon as possible. This includes but is not limited to bus pick up location, change to car rider, day care change, parent contact information, or whether or not your child will remain virtual or attend in person.
Students in grades 4 and 5 will return on February 8 on a combination schedule of two days in person and two days virtual. Students who have connectivity issues will utilize the Kajeets on the day they are not in the building. A ConnectEd call will be sent with an email as to which days your child will attend. These determinations were made based on what was indicated on the last survey with consideration given to maintaining social distancing on transportation.
Here are a few reminders for the reopening of DES for in-person instruction.
• Breakfast and lunch will be in the classrooms. Bathrooms for each grade are designated; the number of students in each bathroom is limited.
• Social distancing protocols are adhered to in the classroom and throughout the building.
• Students will wear masks at all times, except during lunch or if socially distanced outside.
• We recommend that students bring a water bottle to school for filling throughout the day as the water fountains are not being used.
• Use of hand santizer and hand washing are encouraged throughout the day.
• Teachers rotate into the classrooms to minimize movement of students.
• If your child feels ill, keep him/her home and log in to virtual instruction.
• Any changes to transportation should come through the DES office.
Please email or fax doctor's note to Ms. Cabarris, our attendance secretary. When your child returns to school, please do not send in notes with them. We will only accept notes that have been emailed or faxed. If you have received a note from the doctors office, please take a picture of it and email it to Ms. Cabarris. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email her with them. Her email address is cabarris.chandra@ccpsstaff.org. Our fax number is 410-479-4220.
We look forward to having our dolphins return next week! As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to either Mr. Breedlove or me.
Stay safe! Blessings to you and your family,
Susan R. McCandless
Proud Principal of Denton Elementary School
Materials Pick Up Planned
Contact-less materials pickup for some grades will be held this week on January 26th, 27th, and 28th.
Pre-Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and third grades are NOT sending home materials this week; however, if you have not picked up materials from the earlier distribution, please come to the office to pick up materials.
Kindergarten and 3rd grade students who are NOT returning to school on February 1 should pick up materials this week. Kindergarten bags will be outside of the car rider door on Lupine Lane using the schedule below. 3rd grade materials will be in the front of the school. All bags will be labeled with your child's name on it for you to pick up from the appropriate box.
Materials for grades 4 and 5 will be for all students this week, regardless of whether or not they will be returning to in-person learning on February 8. The materials for these grades are needed beginning February 1 so all families should pick up materials in the front of the school; boxes with teacher names will be placed under the canopy in front of the school according to the schedule.
Materials will be in the designated location at these times:
• Tuesday, January 26 from 8:45 AM until 4:00 PM;
• Wednesday, January 27 from 8:45 AM until 6:00 PM;
• Thursday, January 28 from 8:45 AM until 4:00 PM;
If you are unable to attend during one of these time, please reach out to your child's teachers to make other arrangements. It is important that all students have these updated materials in a timely fashion. Thank you for your support!
Inclement Weather Information
Four inclement weather days are built into the 2020-2021 school calendar. If these days are not used, the school year will end earlier than June 17, currently the last day of school. If more than four days are used, the school year will be extended by the number of days used.
In an effort to avoid using inclement weather days this year, CCPS has developed the following plan:
- If a weather event impacts the ability to transport students safely:
- All students will remain at home for an asynchronous distance learning day (as they experience on Wednesdays). Asynchronous lessons will be posted by 10:30 am.
- Staff will report for a 10:00 am start time.
- If a weather event requires the closure of all CCPS buildings:
- All students will remain at home for an asynchronous distance learning day (as they experience on Wednesdays). Asynchronous lessons will be posted by 10:30 am.
- Staff do not report.
Unexpected inclement weather may result in an early dismissal for in-person students and staff. An early dismissal would impact the schedule for both in-person students and distance learners; however, it would generally not have an impact on the school calendar.
Delays openings, early closings, and all-day closings are communicated via:
- a phone call through our notification system School Messenger
- the CCPS website
- Social Media: Facebook (Caroline County Public Schools), Twitter (@CarolineCoPS) and Instagram (carolineschoolsmd)
- local and regional TV and radio stations
A reminder for families: If you are not receiving email or phone calls from your school, please contact the school office to provide or update your contact information. Having the correct information in PowerSchool is critical to receiving calls and emails from the school via School Messenger.
Caroline Teacher of the Year/Support Staff of the Year Nominations Open
Caroline County Public Schools is happy to announce that nominations for the 2021-2022 Teacher of Year and the Support Employee of the Year is now open. All members of the CCPS community, including staff, students, families and residents are invited to submit nominations.
Nominations for both awards must be completed and submitted no later than February 17, 2021.
Teacher of the Year Form – Full-time classroom, resource, or media teachers who spend the majority of their time teaching are eligible. Nominees must have completed a minimum of five years of teaching by June 2020 and be tenured. Caroline County’s selection will automatically represent Caroline County in the Maryland Teacher of the Year program.
Support Employee of the Year Form – Support employees must have completed a minimum of two (2) years of service with the school system as of June 2020 and must be a regular employee. Support employees are: custodial/ maintenance staff, Family Support Services/ child development staff, Food Services staff, Health Services staff, instructional services staff, secretarial staff and technology staff and transportation staff.
For additional information, please contact Debbie Siachos, Supervisor of Human Resources, siachos.deborah@ccpsstaff.org, or Sandi Barry, Public Relations Coordinator, barry.sandra@ccpsstaff.org.
DES is a School-Wide Title I School!
Vision of Excellence:
The Denton Elementary School Family will promote our core values of S.W.I.M. by supporting a challenging curriculum, honoring individuality, and working collaboratively.
S: Stay Safe
W: Work Hard
I: Include Everyone
M: Make Responsible Choices
Email: mccandless.susan@ccpsstaff.org
Website: dentones.org
Location: 303 Sharp Road, Denton, MD, USA
Phone: 410-479-1660
Facebook: facebook.com/desdolphis
Twitter: @SusMcCand