Dover Avenue Elementary News

DA Families,

Welcome back to another school year! It has been a fantastic start, and our students are doing an amazing job. We’re so happy to see their smiling faces each day and watch them engage in their classes.

This month marks the beginning of a busy and exciting time for us. We're looking forward to our annual Grandparents and Special Friends Day, the Fall Book Fair and the annual Fall Fest! We can't wait to share these special moments with all of you and create some great memories together!

Here's to a wonderful year together!

Mrs. Katie Nicholson, Principal

Dover Avenue Elementary School

Please see the attached schedules for a 2-hour delay or 2-hour early release. In the case of a delay or early release due to weather, please have a plan for your child(ren) for a later drop off or early pick up. Thank you for being prepared!

Arrival: Students who ride the bus will be dropped off on the west side of the building and enter through the gym doors. Students who walk or ride bikes will also enter through the gym doors or the east/alley side door.

Students who arrive by car can be dropped off in the alley to the east of the building. Students can exit their cars at the numbered posts #1-7 to ensure a quick and safe drop off. Families, please remain in your car and follow the directions of the staff on duty to ensure student safety and traffic flow. Students may not enter the building until 8:25 A.M. when staff is available.

Dismissal: At the end of the day, students who are getting picked up by car, walking or riding bikes will be dismissed at 3:12 P.M. and are to leave school property upon the conclusion of the day. Parents are not permitted to use the alley to pick up due to city traffic laws so please do not arrive to wait in the alley for your child. Please plan to park on the street if you will pick up your child by car. Students who are going home via bus will walk down to the bus room/cafeteria and wait for their bus to arrive with a staggered dismissal starting at 3:15-3:17 P.M.

**Please be sure your child uses the crosswalks before and after school for their safety!**

Please review the 2026-2027 Elementary Student Handbook which can be found on our district website under Parents >> Handbooks ( https://www.dovertornadoes.com/Handbooks.aspx )

Breakfast and Lunch are available for students daily. Breakfast and lunch will be FREE again this year to all students! 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.

Parents and guardians who are not yet registered on the StopFinder app will receive an email invitation on August 11th. These invites will be sent out as soon as the upcoming school year's bus routes are finalized, allowing you to track arrival times in real time.

Please click below for the information that was sent in the spring--there is still time to join!

https://www.dovertornadoes.com/Downloads/StopFinder%20Letter.pdf

We are very excited to announce that Dover City Schools has partnered with FinalForms, an online forms and data management service. FinalForms allows you to complete and sign academic and athletic forms for your students. FinalForms saves data from year-to-year, meaning that you will never need to enter the same information twice! FinalForms also pre-populates information wherever possible, for each of your students, saving you time.

You may review your data at any time to verify it is current. You will be required to sign your forms once per year and after any update. You can access these forms with the link below or through the Parent Portal on the Dover City Schools website. https://dovercity-oh.finalforms.com/

Thank you for your assistance in streamlining our paperwork processes at Dover City Schools.

Our students would like to invite the special adult(s) in their lives to our Grandparents & Special Friends Day on Friday, September 18, 2026. Students may invite their grandparents, or if a grandparent cannot attend, they may invite a special friend, such as an aunt/uncle, or a neighbor. We ask that you reserve this day for students’ special guests ONLY. Thank you for understanding and for your cooperation to help us make this day memorable for each student! If your child does not have a special friend they will still be able to participate in this special event for our school.

School doors will open at 2:00 for this open house event. Guests should go directly to classrooms, where they will be able to complete an activity with their Dover Avenue student, view a special presentation, tour the school, stop by a photo booth located on the first floor of the school, shop at the Book Fair located in the gym or stop by the food truck outside (cash and credit card accepted)! Students will be allowed to leave with their visitor(s) as long as a permission slip is filled out and they have made their teacher aware. Visitors may park on the playground behind our school.

Parents must complete the permission slip and return it to your child’s teacher by September 10. Please fill out a separate permission form for each child who is to leave with a special person.

https://signup.com/mobileweb/2.0/vspot.html?activitykey=41139204074&fbclid=IwRlRTSAUBdBxwZG9mBWZkaWQWUNdu_tnwbK-YFOXt-tiK1u1Qb6XQDGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR4DlYv5kCm1UHofmtw60601kKDF9FSWnNt3-se3Exqzg7UOOqMVz9IvFLaV4g_aem_-c8C99K4jygFLbNexEn1Rw#choose_event_page

Beanstack is a digital reading tracker platform that helps motivate students to build strong reading habits. Through the web or mobile app, students can log their reading minutes, earn virtual badges, and participate in our school-wide challenges. At Dover Avenue, we use Beanstack as part of our core reading initiative to encourage students to read consistently throughout the year.

Our very first challenge of the school year is Fall Into Reading!

• Goal: Log 300 minutes of reading in Beanstack.

• Reward: Students who complete the 300-minute challenge will earn a special candy treat in the library at the end of the month!

This year we will be using an online platform called PowerSchool Behavior Support to support a positive school environment. This is a key part of our Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) program in which we focus on our students Being Respectful, Responsible and Safe!

How It Works:

This free app and website will be our primary way of documenting both positive and unexpected student behavior throughout the school day.

• Real-Time Updates: Teachers will input behavior directly into PowerSchool Behavior Support daily. This will give you timely updates to celebrate your child's successes and to discuss ways to improve behavior at home.

• Primary Communication Tool: This platform will be our main way of communicating any unexpected behavior incidents, which we call "Tornado Warnings" and to celebrate the great things your child is doing at school. While we will primarily use the digital platform, a paper form may also be sent home in certain situations.

Accessing the Family Portal:

You will be able to access your child's behavior progress through the Family Portal. This week, we will home a letter with your personal login information.

• Please use the instructions provided to create your account. If you have more than one student at our school, you can add them all to your single account.

• If you have specific questions about the app or website, please contact me so we can help you troubleshoot.

• We kindly ask that you do not contact teachers during school hours for behavior updates. If a phone conference is needed, the teacher will contact you at their earliest convenience.

3Bs - Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe - Reward Parties:

This platform will also help us plan for our nine-week 3Bs Reward Parties. Our first party will take place on October 23 in the afternoon! Students with a 65% positivity percentage will be able to participate.

School-Wide Expectations:

Our teachers have been reviewing our school-wide expectations using our Behavior Matrices, which are also part of your student handbook. We encourage you to review these with your child. I met with each grade level during the first week of school to go over these matrices, and we even had some fun playing a game! You can check out a video of our students in action below.

Welcome Back, Dover Avenue Families!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful summer! I'm excited to welcome everyone back for another great school year.

My name is Mrs. Kaitlyn Dunlap, and I'm looking forward to my second year as the school counselor at Dover Avenue Elementary. I provide a variety of services throughout the year, including individual counseling, small group counseling, Lunch Bunch groups, monthly classroom guidance lessons, and school-wide activities that help students build coping skills, strengthen friendships, and make positive choices. Here is a link to my "All About Me" page, where you can learn more about me.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be meeting with each class during Lunch Bunch in the library. These fun, informal sessions allow me to get to know students, build positive relationships, and help them get to know me, too! I'll also be visiting each classroom to introduce myself and share the many ways the school counselor can support students throughout the school year.

During the week of September 21-25, students will complete the Panorama Social-Emotional Survey. This short survey allows students to share their thoughts about their school experience, sense of belonging, and social-emotional skills. The information helps our school better understand students' needs and guides our efforts to support their social-emotional and behavioral well-being. *Parent consent for this survey was included in the Back-to-School Forms completed through the Parent Portal.

I'm looking forward to partnering with you this year! If you ever have questions, concerns, or would like to talk about how I can support your child, please don't hesitate to reach out. You can contact me anytime at dunlapk@dovertornadoes.com.

Here's to a fantastic school year—I can't wait to see all that our students accomplish!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Dunlap

School Counselor

*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.

Welcome back to school! Join our Parent-Teacher Group to support student success, build connections, and share your ideas.

We are excited to kick off our annual Mum Sale! Beautiful fall mums are now available for purchase, but don't wait—our sale ends on September 11. Be sure to place your orders early to support our school and help raise funds for our students!

Getting involved is easy! You can attend meetings, volunteer for events, stay connected, share your expertise, contribute to fundraising like our Mum Sale, and advocate for our students, teachers, and families.

Let's work together to create a fantastic school year! For more info, contact doveravenueptg@gmail.com or join the Dover Ave PTG Facebook Group.

Lots of information can be found on the PTG Website as well, including upcoming events, Mum Sale details, and helpful resources for families throughout the school year.

Our meetings are held in the East library at 6:00 on a Thursday of each month! Our first meeting is September 10!

We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events and meetings!

Dover Executive Board:

• Erika Koffa, president
• Miranda Malarik, vice president
• Lacey Smith, secretary
• Jessica Karl-West, treasurer

Dover Avenue Board:

• Stacey Gordon, president
• Haleigh Harmon, vice president
• Amanda McConnell, secretary
• Taylor Wright, treasurer

Breakfast and Lunch are available for students daily. Breakfast and lunch will be FREE again this year to all students! 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.

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.

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 8:25 AM 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.