Dover Avenue Elementary News
January 2024
Message From the Principal
January 2024
DA Families,
Happy New Year! As the crisp air of January settles in, we are buzzing with renewed energy and excitement for the year ahead. We hope you and your families had a restful and joyous holiday season, and we welcome you back with open arms (and maybe a steaming mug of hot cocoa!).
As we embark on this new year, we're committed to fostering a learning environment that's both challenging and supportive, where every student can thrive. We're incredibly grateful for your trust and continued partnership. Let's make this January (and the whole year!) one to remember!
Mrs. Katie Nicholson, Principal
Dover Avenue Elementary School
Winter News & Events
Calamity Days
2-Hour Delay
On a 2-Hour Delay, all schools will be open 2 hours later than normal but will end at the normal time. There will be no breakfast served on a 2-Hour Delay. The Dover Avenue schedule for a 2-Hour Delay is below:
- Students may arrive: 9:30am
- Tardy bell rings: 9:50am
Calamity Day Resource Schedule
Due to our Resource Rotation A-D rather than Monday-Friday, if there is a calamity day, the resource letter day will pick up on the day that we return to school. For example, if there is no school on a Monday, which was scheduled to be a C Day, Tuesday will become a C Day. This allows our students to not miss any resource class.
*Please be sure you're signed up to receive our texts and phone calls from Dover Avenue and the school district. If you're not already receiving them, you can do so by clicking on the link: https://target.brightarrow.com/msg.aspx?a=g-#%23%23%23
Spelling Bee at Dover Avenue
The Dover Avenue Spelling Bee will be held on January 17 at 6:30 in the gymnasium. 5th grade students who wished to compete in their classroom Bee did so before break. Our 16 finalists and 8 alternates will be invited to the Bee in the coming days.
Student Handbook
Please review the 2023-2024 Elementary Student Handbook which can be found on our district website under parents: https://www.dovertornadoes.com/Handbooks.aspx
Workbook Fees
Workbook fees include the cost for novels and workbooks. Grades 4-5 workbook fees are $25 and were due September 30, 2023. Please make checks payable to Dover Avenue Elementary. Report cards will be held the second nine weeks for unpaid workbook fees.
Important Information for DA Families
Absences
In compliance with the Missing Child Act and for the safety of our children, parents are requested to call Dover Avenue School (330-364-7117) before 8:30AM to report the reason for your child's absence. We encourage student attendance every day to ensure continuity of learning. However, if your child is absent, please send a note following the return of your child to verify his/her absence. If the absence is due to a medical, dental, or legal appointment, please provide a verification note on the provider’s stationary upon return to school. If no call or note is received within 24 hours, the absence(s) will be marked as unexcused.
Transportation
Updated bus routes will be available before school on the district website under the Parents tab. https://www.dovertornadoes.com/TransportationServices.aspx If you need to change your child’s mode of transportation home, please contact the office by 1:00PM.
Meals
Breakfast and Lunch are available for students daily. Breakfast will no longer be free this year. If you’d like to purchase breakfast for your child it is $1.00. Lunch is $2.50. Milk is available for purchase for $0.50. Ala carte funds can be added using your Payschools Account (https://dovercity.healtheliving.net) or make checks payable to Dover Schools Cafeteria with student name in the memo line.
Medications
If your child needs medication at school, in accordance with state and board policies, we are not permitted to dispense medication without directions and signatures of both the physician and the parent or legal guardian. If it is essential that a child takes medication during the school day, medication forms are available on our district website or you may stop in the office.
Drills
Throughout the year we will practice Fire Drills, Tornado Drills, Lockdown Drills and Evacuation Drills. We perform these Safety Procedure Drills in order to be prepared in case of an emergency. We will discuss these drills with our students.
Child Find
Dover City Schools receives IDEA-B funds for the purpose of the education of children with disabilities. Annually, at the September Board of Education meeting, discussion will be held regarding how the district will spend its IDEA-B funds. Time will be allowed for public comment.
Raptor Visitor Management System
Dover City Schools will be using the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools to strengthen school safety for students and faculty. Part of keeping students and faculty safe includes knowing who is in our buildings at all times, and the Raptor system allows us to do that. The Raptor system will better allow us to screen visitors, workers, and volunteers in our schools and provide us with a safer environment for all. Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present a US government-issued ID such as a Driver’s License, which can be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian does not have a scannable ID, the school staff member can use any form of government identification that includes a photo to manually enter the person’s information into the Raptor system. The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with public state and national databases of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded, and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Upon approval, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. If anyone other than a parent or guardian is signing a child out from school, he or she may be asked to present identification, as well. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who are not going past the main office but are simply dropping off an item in the office or picking up paperwork. The safety of our students is our highest priority. The Raptor visitor management system allows us to quickly identify those who may present a danger to our students. Thank you in advance for your understanding and your support in enhancing school safety procedures in our district.
During the month of December teachers finished up many units or started new units of learning for each content area. December allows teachers to incorporate some fun holiday activities while continuing to target our learning standards. One way that you can help your child is through practicing math facts and reading with them each night. Taking 15-20 minutes daily to read or practice math facts is a small but powerful way for your child to foster important skills in their literacy and numeracy skills.
During the month of January, students will be completing their mid-year MAP, Measures of Academic Progress, assessments for Reading and Math. This will give our teachers the chance to analyze student growth and identify areas to improve on for each student and the class as a whole. Students will also be completing their DIBELs assessments, which measures their Oral Reading Fluency.
Accelerated Reader
Don't forget to encourage your child to keep reading and to take AR quizzes. At the end of the second nine weeks, students who earn 35 points by January 11 will receive a Cookies & Milk Party on January 19th!
PBIS Update
Each week students are randomly selected for receiving Tornado Shout Outs. These students are given a certificate and their picture is put on our slides on the main floor. So far this year we have had over 600 submissions of Tornado Shout Outs! What a celebration this is! Each month, teams of teachers look at this data and choose 1-2 "Top Tornadoes" to earn a special lunch with me, a special sticker and certificate. Congratulations to the following students for being our “TOP TORNADOES OF THE MONTH” for December and the many other students who received a Tornado Shout Out this month!
Henry Velasquez Ixcoy
Pedro Perez Cobo
Sparro Coventry
Bradley Murray
Lydia McFadden
Micah Fockler
Mila Bonanno
Wesley Huston
4th Grade November Top Tornadoes
5th Grade November Top Tornadoes
4th Grade Orff Student Performance
Orff Winter Concert
Orff students in Mr. Reveal, Mrs. Maybaugh, Mrs. Worst and Mrs. McGarry's class performed for their families last month! Check out the video below for a special song they performed - The Office Theme Song! Thank you Mr. Graves for all of his dedication to our students!
Communication
Monthly Newsletters
My monthly newsletters will be sent via text and email every month and will be available on the Dover Avenue website. These newsletters will include special events, Dover Avenue specific information, district news, academic updates and any other relevant information. These will no longer be paper copies sent home. However, a paper copy of the calendar will still be sent home each month. Please be on the lookout for this in your child’s DA Folder and via text/email.
Weekly Assignment Sheets
Your child’s team will have a weekly newsletter / assignment sheet that is sent home with your child. This includes upcoming events, assignments or other important information for you and your child. Please be sure to review this on a weekly basis.
Text Notifications
If you have not yet signed up for text notifications from the district and Dover Avenue, please do so on the link below. This link is located on our webpage under Parents -- Parent Text Notifications "Opt in"
District News
Dover Athletic Ticket Information
All tickets for Crimson Tornado home athletic events can be purchased online or with cash at the gate. Reserved-seat season football passes, adult fall all-sports passes, and student (grades 1-12) year-long passes are now available for purchase online through Hometown Tickets via the Dover City Schools webpage: https://www.dovertornadoes.com/Athletics.aspx
*Free language assistance with respect to school programs and activities is available for all students and families of Dover City Schools. Please contact your child's building principal for translation or interpretation services.
PTG
Last month our PTG volunteers wrapped an ornament for each student at Dover Avenue, hosted our Winter Parties, and held our Santa Shop! This month will be a little quiet but there are still ways for you to get involved! You can click on the link to view the first semester recap: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lCTZeP_TU7EVloMJCm0Vh_ymU7E1OMtu/view?usp=sharing
For more info, contact doveravenueptg@gmail.com, join the Dover Ave PTG Facebook Group or text “@dvraveptg” to 81010 to join our Dover Ave PTG Remind group!
Our next meeting is January 10 in the Dover Avenue library at 6:00!
Upcoming Events
- January 3: School Resumes
- January 10: PTG Meeting 6:00
- January 11: End of the 2nd Nine Weeks
- January 12: NO SCHOOL - Teacher In-Service
- January 15: NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Jr Day
- January 17: Spelling Bee 6:30
- January 19: Report Cards sent home
- January 19: AR Party & PBIS Reward Party
- January 26: Crimson Companions
- February 5: 100th Day of School (TBD)
- February 6: Solid Rock Group Picture & Candids Day
- February 14: Valentine's Day Parties (donation only)
- February 14: PTG Meeting 6:00
- February 15: 5th Grade to the PAC
- February 19: NO SCHOOL - Presidents Day
- February 22: 4th Grade Musical at DHS Auditorium 7:00
- February 23: Crimson Companions
- February 29: Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences