Dolphin Tales

A Newsletter for Dove Elementary Families

February 13-February 17

A Note from the principal...

Hello, Dove families!


We hit the ground running this week and had so much fun celebrating the 100th day of school, Drum Fit in PE, and previewing the Book Fair! I am so impressed by what I see when I walk into classrooms throughout Dove! Our teachers are THE BEST at engaging students in high level of learning! We appreciate your support at home- reading 20 mins/ night for the 1,500 Minute Reading Challenge, completing homework, checking your child's folder, and ensuring you stay up to date with campus events! We'd love to have our families come shop the Book Fair Thursday evening and then join the PTA meeting at 6:30 in the cafeteria!


Proud to be your principal,


Heather Landrum

Grade Level Newsletters

Links to grade-level newsletters can also be found here:

PreK

Kindergarten

1st grade

2nd grade

3rd grade

4th grade

5th grade

School Stats: Week of February 6-February 10, 2023

Total Enrollment: 455


Total tardies goal: 0

Tardies this week: 132


Total Attendance Goal: 96.5%

Total Attendance Rate for last week:

PK: 93.4%

Kinder: 91.8%

1st: 92.2%

2nd: 93.8%

3rd: 96.0%

4th: 97.3%

5th: 95.3%

Attendance Matters! Thank you for having your child at school on time every day!
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Can I eat lunch with my child?

YES! We welcome families to come eat lunch with their child!!


Due to limited visitor seating, we ask that families use the sign up below to ensure they have a space to sit when they come to lunch! Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. We ask that you only choose one slot per week to allow for other families to also enjoy lunch with their students.

You are welcome to share this sign up with a family member that may not have received the newsletter.

Don't forget your ID when signing in to visit during lunch!

Please call the front office if you have any questions! Thank you!

February Lunch Sign Up

New Information!

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Book Fair Week

The Literati Book Fair is at Dove this week! Students are welcome to bring money to shop Monday-Thursday 8:00-3:00pm and Friday 8-10am.



Don’t forget to add our Family Event to your calendar! On Thursday, February 16 from 5:30-7, you are invited to shop with your students. If you choose to do so, you can find a comfy place to sit and read for 20 minutes and this will count towards the 1,500 minute PTA challenge!

Don’t forget to RSVP and we will print a Fast Pass for easy access!


Mrs. Young is in need of volunteers to help at the Book Fair this week. if you're available, please sign up for a time slot (or two) on the Sign Up Genius below!

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Grade level Valentine's Parties will be held during Specials times in the gym on Tuesday, February 14. An RSVP Fast Pass form and Sign Up Genius to help with parties can be found below:


Sign Up Genius to volunteer at parties:


RSVP Fast Pass to skip the line at the kiosks when signing in to volunteer (must also sign up on the Sign Up Genius for a time to volunteer):


Party times are:

Kinder: 8:30-9:10
1st: 9:20-10:00
2nd: 10:40-11:20
3rd: 11:30-12:10
PK: 12:30-1:10
4th: 1:20-2:00
5th: 2:10-2:50


Grade levels will decide if/when students will exchange valentines in the classroom. Communication to families regarding Valentine's Day boxes, bags, etc will be send via the grade level newsletters. Parties are during Specials and if parents would like to volunteer and help at the party, they will sign up on the Sign Up Genius in the newsletter. Parents will not be going back to classrooms.

Celebrating Black History Month

February is Black History Month. We will recognize and celebrate outstanding leaders in history as part of this celebration throughout our campus and daily announcements. Be on the lookout for a special Black History Month video collaboration featuring students from all GCISD schools.


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Repeated Information (But worth reading again!)

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Signup Genius Link: Dove PTA Movie Night Signup Genius

Fast Pass for all volunteers + background check

Fast Pass Volunteer form

Sign Up genius volunteer workers:

RSVP - Friendship Day Volunteer, March 3


ATTENTION 5TH GRADE FAMILIES!!!

MIDDLE SCHOOL TRANSITION INFORMATION

Click this button to view a Google Doc with information about Middle School Transition Information! Check back as more dates/ info will be added!

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Dove Elementary Helps Students Find Their Love of Reading

Check out the article GCISD put out to share more about our 1,500 Minute Reading Challenge!! How's the challenge going for your student!?!? We LOVE that our students are motivated to read, read, read!!


Link to the article HERE: https://www.gcisd.net/news/what_s_new/d_e_s_helps_students_find_their_love_of_reading

GCISD LOVES Books!

Dolphins, Want some fun ways to switch up your 20 mins/ a night for the 1,500 Minute Reading Challenge?? Check these out!!

For the month of February, our librarians are asking students to show how they read at home and created this fun photo challenge for families to complete together. Take pictures of your student completing each challenge and fill in the card to show your love for reading!

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GCISD 2023-2024 Instructional Calendar Approved

GCISD will begin the 2023-2024 school year on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. The calendar for the upcoming school year was approved by GCISD’s Board of Trustees at their December 19 meeting.


A few additional holidays and important dates on the calendar include:
-District holidays are on September 4, October 9, January 15, March 29, May 27 and June 19
- Six professional development days (no school for students), which are scheduled for September 18, November 6 and 7 (Election Day), January 2-3 and February 19
- Thanksgiving Break runs November 20-24
- Winter Break for students runs December 18-January 3
- Spring Break runs March 11-15
- The calendar includes flexible minutes which will be used before the two bad weather days scheduled for on February 16 and April 15
- The last day of school is on Thursday, May 23

Click here to view or download the final 2023-2024 calendar. Please note the start date in August and save this calendar and use it when planning upcoming trips and vacations next year!

The Dove Yearbook is proud to celebrate Dove Elementary's 50th anniversary!

There are so many amazing teachers, students, clubs and events at Dove, and we can't wait to showcase them all in this 2022 - 2023 yearbook.

If you haven't already, be sure to create an account with TreeRing.com, our online yearbook service. Signing up is free, and you'll have full access to view the yearbook. Use the link and school code below to create an account:

TreeRing Link: https://legacy.treering.com/validate2/

School Code: 101285613713880

Watch your inbox for future Yearbook updates!

GMS Band (5th grade parents only)

5th Grade Parents! Is your student interested in learning how to play an instrument next year in middle school? The Grapevine MS & Cross Timbers MS Band will be holding their “Meet the Instruments” Event on Saturday, January 28th from 9-1:30pm at Grapevine MS and Saturday, February 25th from 9-1:30pm at Cross Timbers MS. Sign up for one of the days regardless of what school you will be attending next year. All students interested in joining the band program need to attend with at least one parent.


Click here to go to the GMS Band Website to sign up for a time and get all the information you need.

Click HERE for information regarding Meet the Instruments in English.

Click HERE for information in Spanish.

1,500 Minute Reading Challenge

We are so excited to partner with our PTA and the community to present the Dove Dolphin 1,500 Minute Reading Challenge to our students! We'll be sending the challenge worksheet home this week! Students should have their parents initial in a box for every 20 minutes that they read or are read to at home.


DID YOU KNOW?: It would take 75 days of reading 20 minutes per day to conquer reading 1,500 minutes, and there are 99 weekdays left of the school year!?


As students earn prizes on the worksheet, they should present their worksheet that's been initialed by their parents to their homeroom teacher in order to collect their prizes. We are so excited to do this as a school and can't wait to see our students reach those prize milestones!!!

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Grade Level Calendars

If you've been looking for a way to more easily stay on top of all of the events, activities, and deadlines for school, these calendars should really help you!

Pre-K: https://bit.ly/dove-prek
Kindergarten: https://bit.ly/dovekinder
1st Grade: https://bit.ly/dove1st
2nd Grade: https://bit.ly/dove2nd
3rd Grade: https://bit.ly/dove3rdgrade
4th Grade: https://bit.ly/dove4th
5th Grade: https://bit.ly/dove5th

If you have any questions or issues with the calendars or integration, feel free to reach out to communications@dovepta.org for more assistance.
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New STAAR Item Types

3rd-5th grade families, take a look at this!!

The State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) has undergone a redesign starting with the 2022 - 2023 school year. Students will experience new item response types, as well as, additional opportunities for free response and writing.

Families and students can preview and practice with the new item types by visiting the Texas Education Agency (TEA) resource at this link.

You do not need a login or password to access the site. Leave both options set to Guest and click the green login button at the bottom of the page. After selecting a STAAR-tested grade level, you will have a variety of options including information about the new item types and practice tests.


3rd-5th grade students will take Interim Assessments (STAAR Benchmark Assessments) on December 14 and 15!! Please make sure you log in at home and talk with your student about these new question types!

Celebrating Birthdays at Dove!

Celebrate your Dolphin’s birthday in a BIG way by having their name and birthday flash on our marquee (Pro Tip- this is a great photo opp)!! Fill out the form below and drop your money by the front office!

Happy Birthday to all our Dolphins!

Please Bring Your ID!

ALL visitors must present a photo ID upon entering Dove EACH TIME THEY VISIT. Any visitor without a photo ID will not be allowed to sign in to our school. Thank you for understanding and for keeping the safety of our students and staff a priority!

Attendance Matters!!!

Please click HERE to view the 22-23 GCISD Instructional Calendar. This is a helpful resource to consult when planning family vacations and trips! Thank you for planning trips and vacations around the Instructional Calendar to ensure your student is in attendance every day that we have school!


Of course, we know that there will be a day when your child has a fever or is vomiting. We ask that in these cases, you keep them home and email or call the school to let us know.


Thank you for making sure your student is at school learning every day!!

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From Dove PTA

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Dove Apple Tree

The Dove Apple Tree has been updated! We invite you to take a look at the list to see what items teachers are needing! This list will continue to be updated, so check back to see what needs we can fill for our amazing teachers! Email appletree@dovepta.org with any questions!

Volunteers Needed!

At Dove, we believe in the partnership between the classroom teacher, student, and parents, and we want you to be a part of our Dove community! Volunteers are needed for a variety of reasons throughout the year. Whether you will be working with a small group of students, reshelving books in the library, helping at Field Day, or chaperoning a field trip, all volunteers must view the GCISD Volunteer handbook and complete a background check every year. More information can be found on the Volunteer page on the GCISD Website. We look forward to seeing you around Dove soon!

District Information

Literary Lunch - February 15

Nutrition Services will celebrate another Literary Lunch day at all elementary schools on Wednesday February 15, 2023! The featured book is from the popular children's series, Pete the Cat, titled "Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party," and will be given away on the most popular day of the week, Pizza Day! One student per grade that chooses a plate lunch will be randomly selected to receive the book. A complimentary copy of the book is also provided to each elementary school library. We look forward to seeing students for a week of Texas themed food and fun!

EB Parent and Family Engagement Event February 22

As part of the Title III funds we receive for Emergent Bilingual (EB) / English Learners (EL), we have to offer a district-wide event for parent, family, and community engagement. In partnership with TEA, we will host a watch party to address the Parent Engagement event for Emergent Bilingual Families. This event will focus on educating parents to increase their English skills and academic performance and become active participants in their children's education.

We will meet in the PDEC Panther and Bronco Rooms. We will have multiple Chromebooks to ensure that families listen to the information in their native language. The languages that we will offer to our families are:

  • English

  • Spanish

  • Arabic

  • Vietnamese

  • Russian

***The communication to share with EB families will be the flyers attached by language.***

February Parent Tech Academy

Are you a parent looking to stay informed about your child's technology use at school and at home? Look no further than the GCISD Parent Tech Academy! Our next session is at the PDEC on February 22nd, at 6:30pm. At the Parent Tech Academy, we will go over how to access parent weekly emails, your children’s internet history, and even how-to pause the internet on school issued devices after school hours. We will also have a Q&A about raising kids in a digital world.

Join us for the Parent Tech Academy and learn how to be better informed on your child's technology use.

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Curriculum Site

The community may access an overview to curriculum for core courses at the following website: https://sites.google.com/gcisd.net/gcisd-curriculum/home. The site may also be accessed from GCISD.net under the Parent pull-down menu.


Paying for Meals

GCISD will begin charging for meals this year. To see if your child qualifies for Free or Reduced Meal Pricing, please click HERE and complete the form.


To add money to your child's meal account, please send a check to school with them or drop it by the front office. **Pro Tip** Download the My School Bucks App from your App Store. You can add money directly to your child's meal account, track their spending, and receive notifications when their meal account runs low!

Lunch Menus

Click the button to be redirected to the GCISD Nutrition Services Page!

Upcoming Events

February 13-17: Literati Book Fair!!

February 14: Valentines' Day!! Grade level parties in the gym during Specials

February 16: PTA Meeting in cafeteria (6:30-7:00) and D.E.A.R. Night in the Learning Commons (5:30-7:00)!

February 20: No School for Students- Staff PD Day!

February 21:

  • READING IA#2

February 23:

  • MATH IA#2

February 27: TELPAS (2nd-5th)

February 28: Class Pictures and Spring Pictures


March 1: SCIENCE IA #1

March 2:

  • TELPAS (2nd-5th)
  • CEC Meeting 3:30-4:45 in the Learning Commons

March 3:

  • Friendship Day (During Specials)
  • Open House (5:00-6:00) / PTA Movie Night (6:00-7:30)

March 13-17: Spring Break

March 20: Phase 2 Tutorials begins


April 7: Bad Weather Day

April 10: Bad Weather Day

April 19: Early Release (11:45am)

April 25: STAAR Reading (3rd-5th grade)

April 27: STAAR Science (5th grade)


May 9: STAAR Math (3rd-5th grade)

May 19: Field Day

May 25: Last Day of School! Early Release @ 11:45am

Contact Us

The mission of Dove Elementary:


In a partnership with parents, students, teachers, and community, Dove Elementary provides a safe and supportive environment in which students develop an understanding and respect for self and others. We cultivate learning through encouragement of inquiry and empower students to make a difference in our ever-changing world.


Follow our story on Twitter at #DESisBEST