Kangaroo Connection
Weekly updates for our NCES families
February 25th, 2021
Para la versión en español, seleccione "Traducir Newsletter" en el lado derecho de este boletín.
We hope all of you are doing well after the winter storms last week. Thank you for your patience and flexibility this week. Below is the schedule for the remainder of the week:
- Thursday, February 25th: 100% remote instruction (Live with the teacher on Google Meets)
- Friday, February 26th: Asynchronous Learning 1/2 Day. Remote classes (Live with the teacher on Google Meets) will end at 12:00PM on Friday. Students will be assigned work in Google Classroom or Seesaw for remainder of the day.
- In-Person and Virtual instruction will resume on Monday, March 1st.
Many of our families have been impacted by the winter storms. If you need additional assistance or help for your family, please contact our Parent Community Liason, Dorcas Soto at Dorcas.Soto@dvisd.net. We have access to community resources that we can provide to you.
Important Updates
- Friday, February 26th: Asynchronous Learning 1/2 Day. Remote classes (Live with the teacher on Google Meets) will end at 12:00PM on Friday. Students will be assigned work in Google Classroom or Seesaw for remainder of the day.
- March 1st: In-Person and Virtual instruction resumes
- March 4th: 5th Grade Parent Meeting
- March 9th, 10th & 11th: 3rd-5th Grade Benchmark Tests
- March 15th-19th: Spring Break
- March 22nd: Internet Safety Parent Education Class
- Parent & Principal Meeting: Rescheduled to March, TBD
MEAL SERVICES
DVISD plans to resume on campus learning on Monday, March 1 for students who previously selected in-person instruction. Students who selected remote learning will continue to attend remotely as they did prior to the district’s weather closure.
All DVISD students are eligible to pick up breakfast and lunch from 7:30 a.m. to noon at no cost. Curbside meal service is available Wednesday, February 24 through Friday, February 26 at the following locations:
- Baty ES (2101 Faro Drive)
- Creedmoor ES (5604 FM 1327)
- Del Valle ES (5400 Ross Road)
- Hillcrest ES (6910 E. William Cannon)
- Hornsby-Dunlap ES (13901 FM 969)
- Newton Collins ES (7609 Apogee Blvd)
- Popham ES (7014 Elroy Road)
- Smith ES (4209 Smith School Road)
- Dailey MS (14000 Westall Street)
- Ojeda MS (4900 McKinney Falls Parkway)
- Del Valle HS (5201 Ross Road)
Parents may use the campus location most convenient for pickup.
Guidelines for meal pickup
- Parent/guardian can pick up without the child
- Student must be enrolled at Del Valle ISD
- Parent must provide one of the following documents to receive meals for their children:
- Student ID # or ID card
- Official letter/email confirming enrollment
- Individual student report card
- Attendance record from Skyward Family Access
- Only 1 meal bag (containing breakfast and lunch) per student per day
To ensure food safety, all meals are prepackaged.
Families who do not have transportation to a campus or the ability to pick up meals from a campus, should call 512-386-3076 between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. to request meal delivery.
Meals requested will be delivered by 11:30 a.m. Meals requested must meet the guidelines for meal pick as noted above. Del Valle ISD is an equal opportunity provider.
BENCHMARK TESTS
These tests are administered to all DVISD students in 3rd-5th grade and are an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learned and for teachers to use this data to plan instruction for our students.
Parents of VIRTUAL Students: Please plan to pick up hard copies of the test prior to exam days for your student.
We have found that students are much more successful with showing what they have learned on these tests when they are provided with a paper version of the test during the administration. We are encouraging parents to come pick up these tests and review materials so that students are prepared to be successful. Your students will still attend live classes on these exam days and enter their answers online.
It is extremely important that you do NOT preview these tests before the day of the test or help your student with the test. We want to simply provide students with a hard copy of the test so that they are as successful as they can be with showing what they know by themselves.
You can pick these materials up for your students beginning Tuesday, March 2nd through Monday, March 8th from 7:30AM-3:00PM. If you need to pick them up after hours, we can make a pick up bag for you and leave it outside the main entrance.
It is important for your child to get a good night’s sleep each night, beginning Saturday before the test date. Being completely rested will help improve test performance.
· Eating nutritious meals has also been shown to help students perform under stress. Eating a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner and limiting sugar intake will help keep students alert for longer periods of time.
· Encouraging students to do their best will help them feel more confident on the day of the test. Giving your child positive words of encouragement on a daily basis will let them know you are supporting them on test day.
· If you drop your child off at school, please make plans to get them here early on testing days so that they have time for breakfast and a relaxed start to the day.
· Please remember that if your child is absent on a testing day they may have to take two when they return. It is important that your child attends school during this time.
The teachers at Collins appreciate all you do to help your child succeed academically! Feel free to contact your child’s teacher with additional questions about test day.
METHOD OF LEARNING
If you wish to change your child's method of learning to remote, please contact our front office at 512-386-3900 or our registrar: angelica.matias@dvisd.net.
PRINCIPAL'S WRITING CHALLENGE
Principal’s writing challenge is OPTIONAL for students.
Students may complete this on their own time.
All writing samples will be displayed in the hallway. Students can submit their writing to the front office.
Selected students will be chosen for a special Author’s Visit with the principal and receive a prize notebook and pen to continue their writing!
Ms. Fredo is issuing the Principal's Writing Challenge to all Collins Kangaroos! All essays will be due by 3pm on Friday, February 26th. Only final drafts will be accepted. Final drafts have very few mistakes and are written in your best handwriting or typed. Our lucky winners will be chosen for an Author’s Luncheon and will also receive a prize notebook and pen to continue their writing! Go writing Roos!
Our February prompt is in honor of Black History Month and features the First National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman who read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration. She is 19 years old and was the youngest person to perform at a Presidential Inauguration.
Our February prompt is...
Read:
Amanda Gorman is the First National Youth Poet Laureate. She wrote a poem “The Hill We Climb” and read it to the nation at the Presidential Inauguration in January. In her poem she wrote about courage:
There is always light.
Only if we are brave enough to see it.
There is always light.
Only if we are brave enough to be it.
Write:
Think about a time when you had to be brave or have courage. Maybe you had to be brave because you were scared or you had to be brave for someone else like a friend or someone in your family because they were scared or going through a difficult time. Write about what happened and how you had courage or were brave.
COMMUNICATION IS ESSENTIAL !
Here are the ways that we are communicating with our families at Newton Collins. If you are not receiving emails or need help with Dojo, please contact our front office or your child's teacher. We can help!
- Collins Parent Newsletter-Weekly, via email
- Our campus Twitter: Account: @DVISD_NCES
- Class Dojo / Website Updates at http://nces.dvisd.net/