South Union Rail
Responsible, Respectful, Ready to Learn
A Message From Dr. Szakacs
Dear Parents and Citizens of South Union school community:
Welcome to March! I hope this edition of the Monthly Parent Newsletter finds you well and looking forward to spring. We have had a very interesting winter to say the least. I can assure you students and staff are ready for warmer weather; outdoor recess, sunshine, and not having to wear so much winter gear to school every day.
South Union has done a lot of good teaching and learning so far this year. We are pleased with the student growth that is occurring at every grade level. We are observing students taking on the challenges of more rigorous work, wanting to improve their learning, and understanding. With that being said…we are fast approaching spring break. March 15-26, students will be away from school and returning on 27 March, which is a Wednesday.
Students returning to school on March 27 will have a full day of school. SU will no longer have early out Wednesdays the rest-of-the-school year. The reason for this is to make up time lost from the school cancellations and late starts due to winter weather. In addition, next year (2019-2020) students will have full days of instruction all year long.
The testing period at South Union will begin shortly after spring break. Students will take several exams over the course of several weeks to wrap up another school year: the state test ISAP, Map, and Fast will be proctored to students at various grade levels.
Looking ahead: South Union is very excited about hosting a Pancake breakfast in late April. The SU PTO sponsors this event. We will be providing more information to you as we draw closer to the day of the event. In addition, the 2nd and 3rd grade Music program will be held on March 14 – more information coming from the music department.
As always, thanks so much for your support of South Union. I am so appreciative of all the families who support what we are doing on a daily basis. We consider it an honor to teach children and your support helps us give our absolute best every day. Please contact the school if you have any questions or need information about an upcoming event.
Warmest regards,
Dr. Bill Szakacs
DMPD Officers came to read to our first graders!
IA Wild donated hockey gear to the gym!
One of our first graders reading to Mrs. Pope's class!
A Message from Mrs. Plant
Welcome Spring! Hopefully it's not too far around the corner and we will be able to enjoy more sunshine than snow very soon. I wanted to share with you some of the great work we have been doing at South Union this semester. In January we began learning more about how to teach students to find healthy ways to handle big feelings, that typically have big responses. We have worked very diligently to provide a place in our classrooms called a refocus zone. As parents you can help us by asking your child if they know what the refocus zone is, have they ever visited it? This is an area that students may go to help them identify what they are feeling and to practice a coping skill that will help the student return to work. We are very pleased as this is helping many of our students. As parents you can help support this work by also practicing some of the skills our students are learning. We use deep breathing taught during our yoga time, we also teach students how to use "I feel" statements to help resolve conflict as well as we encourage students who may have a big feeling to write or color to distract from the feelings of the situation and then we can form a plan to get the student back into the learning. These are practices that can be easily implemented at home too. Helping our students navigating big feelings is always a work in progress, but it is a skill that will carry them far in life. If you are interested in learning about other strategies we use at school to help students at home we often posts helpful things on our Facebook page.
No More Wednesday Early Dismissals Beginning March 27th
Here’s our plan: early dismissals every Wednesday will end right after Spring Break; all schools will dismiss at their normal time every day of the week beginning Wednesday, March 27. This will make up for the time lost in January. It also allows for one more unplanned late start or early dismissal. The last day of school will remain May 30 for elementary and middle schools, and May 31 for high schools.
An important note: this plan is contingent on the cooperation of the weather! If there are additional full-day cancellations, late starts and/or early dismissals, this plan will be adjusted accordingly.
For high school seniors, their last day of school will remain May 23.
DMPS Fun Run!!!
Upcoming Events!
South Union Concert Dates
2nd Grade: Thursday, March 14th at 12:30pm
3rd Grade: Thursday, March 14th at 1:30pm
4th Grade: Thursday, April 25th at 1:30pm
5th Grade: Thursday, April 25th at 12:30pm
Battle Of The Books
Yearbooks!
Spring Break!!!
Upcoming 2019-2020 Kindergartner Sign Up
SU Pancake Breakfast
A Hundred Days..already!?
Students decorated the main entrance's bulletin board with something they've learned in during the first 100 days of school.
100 Days of School!
Ms. Cortez, Ms. Bennett, and Ms. Raine