Derynoski Weekly Parent Update
Jan Verderame, Principal
First Weekly Update- Week of August 30-September 3rd
Hello Derynoski Families,
Welcome Back to School!
I hope everyone enjoyed their summer break. All of the Derynoski staff are excited to start a new school year. I would like to welcome all of our students and families back to school. It will be wonderful to have all of our students back in the building this year. I look forward to getting to know all of our new DES families.
I know everyone must have questions regarding the opening of school. In many ways it will be similar to last year. To help you understand the protocol for our school please review the procedures below along with the video. This video presentation was sent out to all families earlier today. This is of course subject to change. Also, you can review the return plan that was sent out earlier this week from Mr. Madancy. It is also attached below.
The summer math and reading work will be collected by the teachers this week. Thank you in advance for working with your children on this summer work. The school will be planning a celebration for students after we collect all of the summer paperwork. If you lost the paperwork you can write down the books that your child read this summer on a piece of paper.
Please see the school handbook attached on this newsletter. The handbook is also on our website.
We are excited to start our school year that promises to be filled with fun and learning! Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have during the year. (jverderame@southingtonschools.org)
Respectfully,
Jan Verderame
September
Monday, Sept. 6th - No School, Labor Day
Thursday, Sept. 16th - Open House, 6:30pm
Tuesday, Sept. 21st - Early Dismissal, 1:30pm - Professional Development Day
Wednesday, Sept. 22nd - PTO Meeting, 6:30pm
Monday, Sept. 27-Oct 1st - Book Fair Week
October
Friday, Oct. 1st - Whole School Celebration, 2:30pm - Extra Recess
Wednesday, Oct. 6th - Fall Photos
Thursday, Oct. 7th - Fall Photos
Monday, Oct. 11th - No School, Columbus Day
Thursday, Oct. 14th - Bus Safety 9:15am
Tuesday, Oct. 19th - Early Dismissal, 1:30pm - Professional Development
Wednesday, Oct. 20th - PTO Meeting, 6:30pm
Thursday, Oct. 21st - Fire Safety, Grades K-2
Friday, Oct. 22nd - Town Meeting, 2:30pm
Friday, Oct. 29th - Whole School Celebration, 2:30pm - Picnic in the Hallway
Safety at DES!
- Students will remain masked except during mask breaks/snack/gym outside/recess.
- If students require more mask breaks we will provide them
- Parents & Guardians at this time will not be allowed in the building during the school day. If you have to drop something off or pick up your child you would go to the front buzzer door and your child will be brought out to you. You can drop off items in the vestibule.
- See below for drop off and pick protocols.
- Special area teachers will be in their own classrooms this year for specials (art, music, PE, library-media).
- Please watch the videos below to welcome you back to school and review the school protocols in more details.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures for Walkers
Student Arrival between 8:40-8:55
Kindergarten- Kindergarten students will be dropped off at the front buzzer door. For the first two days their teachers will be there to greet them and make sure they go to the correct classroom. Next week the teachers and paraprofessionals on duty will be at the doors to escort students to their classrooms.
Grade 1-5- Grades One through five will be dropped off in the morning at the Eden Ave entrance. Parents will follow the arrows along the sidewalk and drop their child off at the stairs. Staff will be there at the bottom of the sidewalk along with a crossing guard and other staff at the top of the stairs to ensure safe entrance into the building. You can also park your car and walk along the sidewalk and up the stairs to the door.
Student Dismissal begins 3:15
- Kindergarten -Kindergarten students will begin the dismissal process at 3:15. All kindergartens will be picked up at the front buzzer door. Older siblings will join their kindergarten brother/sister for dismissal at that time. The teachers at the front door will dismiss the child to their parents/guardians or designated person. All dismissal information will all be on the iDismiss Program.
- First Grade - Grade 1 students will begin the dismissal procedure at 3:20 at the middle white doors in the front of the building. Older siblings will meet their first grade sibling and be dismissed together. Teachers will dismiss students to their parent/guardian or designated person. This information will all be retrieved from the iDismiss Program.
- ALL ADULTS AND CHILDREN MUST USE THE CROSSWALK WHEN CROSSING THE STREET TO DERYNOSKI OR TO THE LIBRARY PARKING LOT. WALKING ACROSS THE STREET IN ANY OTHER AREA IS VERY DANGEROUS AND ILLEGAL. (THANK YOU FOR THINKING ABOUT SAFETY FIRST)
- Grades 2,3,4,5- will be dismissed at the Eden Avenue pick-up area in the back of the building. Dismissal will begin at 3:20, by grade level, beginning with 2nd Grade. Older siblings will meet their younger sibling and be dismissed together. Teachers will dismiss students to their parent/guardian or designated person. This information will all be gathered from the iDismiss Program.
I Dismiss Procedures
We will use an app to dismiss students again this year.
Each family will have a “Family number” Numbers will go home the first week of school. Please have this number with you when picking your children up. Older siblings will be dismissed with the youngest sibling. Older siblings should be listening for their youngest siblings grade to be called for dismissal.
If you are having someone else pick up your children, please tell the office and give your number to the person picking up.
How it works:
Line up at the door. K is at the office door, grade 1, the middle doors in the front, and 2-5 will be at the back of the building (Eden Ave.).
Hold up your number to check in with a staff member. The staff member will enter the number. This will alert inside staff using the app, that you have arrived.
Listen for your number to be called by a staff member. When you hear your number please hold your number card up so that staff can identify you.
Your child/children will then be sent to you.
2021-2022 Derynoski Classes by Grade Level
1st Grade - 5 Classes
2nd Grade - 6 Classes
3rd Grade - 6 Classes
4th Grade - 4 Classes
5th Grade - 4 Classes
WELCOME NEW STAFF MEMBERS!
Miss Kara Gardner -1st Grade Teacher
Miss Rachel Dufresne - 2nd Grade Teacher
Miss Ashley Rutledge - 3rd Grade Teacher
Ms. Heather Graham - 3rd Grade Teacher
Miss Hannah Popovich - Long Term 4th Grade Substitute
Miss Emily Clark- Long Term Art Substitute
Mr. William Allen - Special Education Teacher
Miss Julie Saucier - Social Worker
Mrs. Paula Gorham - K-2 Interventionist
Mrs. Lindsay Veronneau - 3-5 Interventionist
Ms. Melissa Crespan - Para Educator
Mrs. Kateri Dickerman - Para Educator
Ms. Laura Monti - Para Educator
Emotional Intelligence
DES PTO Information
Election Results
Our election results are in for the 2021-2023 DES PTO Executive Board!
President - Jill Battaglia
Vice President - Meg Hurley
Assistant Treasurer - Liz Hager
Corresponding Secretary - Mandy Mrazik
Fundraising Executive Coordinators - Erica Boscarino and Jeannine Strada
Public Relations Coordinator - Meg Truss
Thank you so much to the Nomination Committee for your time and dedication to ensuring the election was a success, and good luck to the future Board!
Ongoing:
Remember to use smile.Amazon.com for your online shopping. DES PTO earns a percentage of eligible purchases and you don't have to do anything different when you shop. Simply set DES as your organization to support and remember to shop from that link!
PTO Calendar Invite - DES PTO Calendar
With this clickable link you can add the DES PTO Calendar to your phone or Google Calendar to keep up to date with PTO Events and Fundraisers!
Facebook page - Please visit our PTO web page on Facebook (Derynoski Elementary School PTO) to stay up to date on all of the PTO happenings. There is also a page for the parents of our 5th graders - DES 5th grade 2020-2021 (SHS class of 2028). Please join us there in order to plan and keep up with 5th grade events!
PTO Website - https://sites.google.com/view/des-pto/events?authuser=0