Good Evening DRES Family,

We had a great first week of school. Our hallways were full of smiling students following SOAR expectations. Students were making new friends and adjusting well to their new teachers. We have an exciting year ahead of us.

Durant Road Elementary School is being adopted for the year by the John Wall Family Foundation. John Wall, an NBA player, most recently with the LA Clippers, grew up in Raleigh. He started his foundation adopting schools in the Maryland/DC area when he was playing with the Washington Wizards. Since he recently signed with the LA Clippers he decided to move his Foundation work to his hometown and we are the lucky school! All of the details are not ironed out yet but I'll be sure to keep you updated. We hear he is coming into town soon and may stop by to see us!

If you missed the last newsletter, please view it here: https://www.smore.com/pw6xn

22-23 DRES Carpool Agreement

Dear Families,

In order to keep all students and staff safe during arrival and dismissal, it is imperative that all adults utilizing carpool follow these important directions.

1. Drop off is from 8-8:30am. Please have your child to school on time to start their day so they are not feeling rushed or trying to catch up.

2. Do not drop children off before 8:00am. Staff members are not available to monitor them and are not responsible for their safety before 8:00am.

3. Cars need to pull all the way down to the end of the sidewalk, to quickly and efficiently move through carpool.

4. Drivers must follow the traffic director for when to pull away from the school.

5. All cars need to pull up together, have students exit as soon as the car stops, then pull away together as a group, in order to avoid dangerous situations.

6. If students arrive to school after 8:30am, parents must park and come to the door to sign their child in to school for the day and the child will be marked tardy.

7. In the afternoon, pick up is from 3:00pm-3:30pm. Children must be picked up by 3:30pm so staff can begin afternoon meetings and trainings.

8. Carpool Tags MUST be present daily for dismissal from the time cars arrive on campus until cars leave the campus. We need to see the tags in multiple locations.

9. Please be patient at the start of the school year as we have new students learning the process.

10. Teach your child to recognize their carpool number, both visually and orally, so they will recognize when their number is posted on the screen and when the caller is calling their carpool number.

11. All families will receive their first 2 carpool tags for free. Additional carpool tags can be purchased at $3.00 each.

12. If a carpool tag is not present in the car, the driver will need to park and come to the office to show their ID in order to receive the child.

Thank you for adhering to these procedures!

All students that ride a bus must have a bus tag on their backpack in order for the driver to take them home in the afternoon. If a student changes backpacks, please do not throw the tag away. We have to hand make the tags. Just cut the zip tie and send the tag back to school. We will secure it to the new backpack with another zip tie. These tags need to stay on their bags for the full school year. 2nd-5th graders have yellow tags. Kindergarten and 1st grade tags are RED. Students with RED tags are not allowed off the school bus without an adult present at the stop. The bus driver will bring the student back to school and parents will need to come to the school to pick up the student.

Please go over this Bus Contract with your children, if they utilize the bus. Students are expected to follow the bus expectations in order to be allowed to ride the school bus. Parents and students need to be aware of the expectations and that riding the school bus is a privilege.

English

Spanish

Cell phones can not be used by students during the school day. Student cell phones must be on silent and kept in bookbags at all times while on school campus. The only time cell phones are utilized by the students is with teacher permission to assist with getting in contact with a parent or guardian. Violation of this expectation will result in the cell phones being given to administration and parents required to come to the school to pick up the cell phone.

We are the Durant Road Eagles and we SOAR everywhere we go.

S- Safety

O- Own Your Learning

A- Act Responsibility

R- Respectful

The students have been learning how to SOAR in the cafeteria, classroom, bathroom, hallway, specials, recess, and at arrival and dismissal.

Eagle Points- As classes get compliments throughout the school day for following SOAR expectations, they receive Eagle Points that accumulate throughout the school year. When they hit each goal level, they get to have a reward celebration. Classes receive a shout out on the morning news when they reach new goal levels.

Eagles go from Red- 25 points to Diamond- 1000 points. Reward examples include: extra recess, hat day, popsicles, etc...

Positive Office Referrals- Any staff member can submit a positive office referral for any student that is demonstrating SOAR expectations. The students will receive a certificate and get a shout out on the morning news.

A copy of the WCPSS Parent/Student Handbook should have come home last week. Here is a link to the Handbook if you prefer a digital copy. Please take time to look through the handbook and refer to it throughout the school year as questions come up.

https://www.wcpss.net/handbook

We are using the Second Step Social Emotional Curriculum for all classrooms Kindergarten through Fifth Grade during our daily Morning Meeting. Please read the overview of the curriculum HERE.

All students are currently learning about Unit 1- Growth Mindset & Goal Setting. See specifics on how you can help support this work at home by selecting on your child's grade level below.

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

We will have an Open House/Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 1 from 4:30pm-6:00pm.

8-19-22- No School- Teacher Workday

8-25-22- DRES Chorus Starts for 4th & 5th Graders 7:15-8:00am on Thursdays

8-29-22- PTA Meeting 6:30pm- DRES Media Center

8-30-22- United Skates of America Spirit Night

9-1-22- Open House 4:30-6:00pm

9-2-22- Early Release- Dismissal 1:00-1:30pm

9-5-22- No School- Labor Day

9-6 to 9-16- Apex Fundraiser

9-17-22- School Grounds Clean Up Day 9am-12pm

9-26-22- PTA Meeting 6:30pm- DRES Media Center

9-30-22- Last Day of Quarter 1

10-3 to 10-24-22- Track Out

Do you have a School Messenger account so you don't miss important texts and emails from Wake County Public Schools and Durant Road Elementary?

Read more at this link: https://www.wcpss.net/schoolmessenger

If so, please call the school at 919-870-4220 to give us your new phone number. You can also email it to Mrs. Antonio at santonio@wcpss.net.

If you've moved, please provide an updated gas, electric, water bill, signed lease agreement, or bill of sale for house purchase. Contact Mrs. Antonio for an appointment.