Windsor Elementary Newsletter
August 2018
Welcome Back From Your Principal!
Dear Parents:
Wow – the summer went really fast! I hope you and your family had time to get away and relax. But despite the kids’ best efforts, the first day back to school is just around the corner. I thought I’d take this time to help refresh your memory on a few things that will make the school year start off smoothly :-)
* Let’s start off with the biggie: School Bell Times. As you are undoubtedly aware, DMPS is starting new bell times across the district. Here are the times for arrival and dismissal.
- The doors will open at 7:15 and the tardy bell will ring at 7:30
- School will dismiss at 2:25 on every day but Wednesdays.
- Wednesdays will be a 1:10 dismissal.
* We have many new staff coming to Windsor this year and several veteran staff who have moved to a new position:
· Kindergarten – Ms. Byriel, Ms. Edwards, Ms. Kair
· 1st grade – Ms. Cowman, Ms. Gero, and Ms. Hoffman
· 2nd grade – Ms. Mitchell, Ms. Smith
· 3rd grade – Ms. Leahy, Ms. Roth
· 4th grade – Mr. Buyck, Ms. Bolte, Ms. Rodriguez
· 5th grade – Ms. Merical, Ms. Nichol, Ms. Zimmerman
· Art – Ms. Warren
· Music – Mr. Harmsen
· PE – Ms. Dyer
· Guidance – Ms. Doeden
· Special Education – Ms. Dorrell, Ms Heddinger (formerly Ms. Maldonado), Ms. Powers
· ELL – Mr. Baker (.5), Ms. Metelman
· Interventionist (.5) – Ms. Gostomski
· Instructional Coaches – Mr. Ballard, Ms. Bowen
· Library – Ms. Fatino
* Windsor is a Community Eligible building again this year, which means that all students will receive free breakfast and lunch.
* We will once more be participating in Breakfast in the Classroom. When students enter the building, they will have the opportunity to take a breakfast sack with them to the classroom. The breakfast menu is available at https://dmschools.nutrislice.com/menu/windsor They may choose not to take one and go directly to the classroom, but many families find it to be a convenient option.
* If your student will be late, absent, or leave early, please call the office by 8:00 at 515-242-8440. If we do not hear from you, we will call to try to determine where the student is. If you are arriving late or leaving early, there is a clipboard on our front desk to sign and we will call for your son or daughter to come to the office.
* Please have your doctor and dentist offices print a school excuse if your students visits them during school hours. By bringing those to school, you can help alleviate any difficulties that could occur regarding the DMPS attendance policy. If your student has issues with repeated violations of the attendance policy, we will contact you via phone and then letter. Continued violations can result in mediation and possible referral to truancy court. https://www.dmschools.org/departments/office-of-schools/school-services/learning-services/attendance-and-attendance-officers/
* If your student is going to be going home by a different route than normal (i.e. getting picked up by an aunt, going to a friend’s house, etc…), you need to contact the office or the teacher and let us know. If we do not hear from the parent/guardian we will send them home via their normal routine. WE DO NOT TAKE THE WORD OF THE STUDENTS, no matter how trustworthy they are.
* At Windsor, we take the safety of our students very seriously. If you are coming to Windsor, you must enter through the office by coming through the right-most door on the north side of the building. That will let you into the building. But to enter, you will need to ring the doorbell by pushing the white keypad that is to the right of the office door. That will ring a doorbell and Ms. Casey or I will let you in.
*Once you are in, you will be required to provide us with a driver’s license that we will process through our identification system that checks the abuse registries. If there is no issues with the background check, a nametag will be printed for you to wear while you are in the building. When you are ready to leave, simple check out of the building by scanning the barcode on your nametag in the scanner at the front desk.
* If you are a parent, you will only need to have your license ‘dipped’ yearly. You will be given a code that you can type directly into the system and print your own tags. Non-parent visitors need to go through the process every time.
* If school would be canceled for any reason, most people hear it on the news or the radio. However, DMPS has a great app for your smartphone that will send out notifications for weather events. It also has many other great features such as lunch menus, event schedules, and so on. https://www.dmschools.org/news-and-information/mobile-app/
Again, I would like to thank everyone for supporting Windsor and helping keep all of our students safe and excited for their learning. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at robert.nichols@dmschools.org or call 515-242-8440.
Thanks!
Mr. Nichols
On Line Registration is REQUIRED
Thank you!!
Windsor Centennial Celebrations!
- August 22nd Meet the Teacher Night 4:00PM-5:30PM
- August 23rd First Day Of School Doors Open 7:15AM 2:25PM Dismissal
- August 29th Early Out Wednesday 1:15PM Dismissal
- September 3rd Labor Day No School
- September 4th-14th Windsor Wear Sale
- September 17th-21st Penny Wars Fundraiser Competition
- September 18th PAWS Meeting 6:00PM
- September 27th Picture Day
Welcoming New Staff to Windsor!
Ms. Doeden - Counselor
Mr. Baker- ELL Teacher
Mrs. Edwards - Kindergarten
Mr. Harmsen- Music Teacher
Hello Windsor Elementary! My name is Howard Harmsen, and this year I’ll be working with you all as the new music teacher. I specialize in the Kodaly Method and I really believe in my focus on elementary music.
Outside of school, I love spending time with my wife, Hannah, and two sweet little girls, Esme (age three), and Phoebe (6 months). I can't wait to get to know you all this year. Go Wildcats!
From The Nurse
School Is Out But We Stay Busy!
Parking Reminders
Thank you!
President: Shelley Langfitt Vice President: Katy Hager
Treasurer: Scott Finken Media Coordinator: Renea Burg
Contact P.A.W.S.: dsmwindsorpaws@gmail.com
Windsor PAWS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/windsordmps/
You Can Pay Your Student Fees Online!
School Fee Payment Instructions for Infinite Campus
1. Visit our district website at www.dmschools.org and find the Parents Link at the top of the site.
2. Click the Online Payments link under Links for School Info to get to the Des Moines Public Schools Web Store.
3. Select School Fees.
4. Enter your Infinite Campus Parent Portal User Name and Currently enrolled child’s birthdate (MM/DD/YYYY) to access a list of your student’s fees.
5. Select the fees you would like to make a payment for and click Next Page.
6. Confirm your payment choices and click Go to Checkout.
7. If a new customer, select “I am a new customer”.
a. Enter your email address
b. Click “Sign in”
8. If a returning customer, select “I am a returning customer”.
a. Enter your email address and password
b. Click Sign in
9. Enter your billing information and create a password (if required).
10. Enter your payment information.
11. Verify information for accuracy and select Complete Order.Payment will be processed and Receipt can be viewed and printed.
Need Help?
Forgotten Web Store Password? Click Password Reminder under Services, enter your email address and click the arrow. Your password will be emailed to you shortly.
Forgotten your Infinite Campus Parent Portal Password or no Parent Portal Access? Contact your student’s school building secretary Casey Brown at
Important Links Below!
Please Click the Links Below for 19/20 School Year Open Enrollment Policy
Windsor Elementary
Email: casey.brown@dmschools.org
Website: https://windsor.dmschools.org/
Location: 5912 University Ave, Des Moines, IA, USA
Phone: 515-242-8440
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/windsordmps/
Twitter: @WindsorCatsDMPS