Dryden Splash | January 4, 2026

Dear Dryden Families,

Happy New Year! We hope this holiday season brought you time to slow down, connect, and create loving, happy memories with your families. We are so happy to welcome everyone back to Dryden School as we begin 2026 together. We are looking forward to another wonderful year of learning, growth, and joy.

The week before Winter Break was especially exciting and filled with celebration throughout our school. We are so proud of our 4th grade students and their incredibly talented music teachers, Mr. Toerner and Ms. Weismann, for their beautiful musical performance on December 17th, Holiday Lights! Students shared songs celebrating holidays around the world, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Kwanzaa, and even surprised the audience with a spectacular light show during their final song. Thank you to our classroom teachers, our art teacher, Ms. Siegel, our custodial team, and our parent volunteers for helping make this performance truly unforgettable. Photos from the performance can be found below.

We also want to thank our amazing PTA for hosting the Winter Wonderland event on Friday, December 19th. Our gym was transformed into a festive holiday fun fair complete with games, crafts, holiday music, and photos. This extraordinary event brought so much joy to our students, and we are grateful to the PTA parents who planned and volunteered their time to make it such a success. Photos from Winter Wonderland are available below.

Another highlight of the week was a special collaboration between some of our Kindergarten and 4th grade students on December 18th. Two kindergarten classes and two 4th grade classes teamed up to learn about holidays around the world. Mrs. Greazel's and Miss Wilson's students each researched a holiday tradition and prepared crafts, mini passport stamps, and other activities for the kindergarteners. When it was time to travel, Miss Carson's and Miss Mahal's kindergarten students visited different "countries" to learn about new holiday traditions. They carried their suitcases to collect souvenirs and passports to earn stamps along the way. All of the students loved working together and sharing holiday traditions from around the world! Photos of this fun event are available below as well.

As we move into the winter months, we kindly remind families to send students to school dressed for the cold. Students will have outdoor recess when the actual and/or “feels like” temperature is 0 degrees or above. Snow gear is required for students to play in the snow and should be brought to school each day in order to participate in snow play.

Thank you, as always, for your continued partnership and support. We are so grateful to be part of such a caring school community. We look forward to a fantastic year ahead at Dryden!

Warmly,
Jessica Martinsen and Beth Glass

Please help us reunite lost items with their owners by clearly labeling all of your child’s clothing, lunch boxes, and other personal belongings! Items found at school will be placed in the Lost and Found. Older students may ask their teacher for permission to check for missing belongings, while parents of younger students are welcome to stop by the office between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM to take a look. On the 30th of each month, any unclaimed items will be donated to a charitable organization. If an item has a name on it, our office staff will give you a call so it can make its way home before donation day. Thank you for helping us by labeling everything—big or small—so nothing stays “lost” for long!

Please click on the following links for more information:

• Where can I view the school lunch menu? Click Here
• How does my student order a school lunch? Click Here
• How do I pay for my child’s meals? Click Here
• How do I apply for free & reduced meals? Click Here

For further details on D25 Food & Nutrition Services, please click here.

January

January 5: Teacher Institute Day - No Classes for students

January 6: Pajama Sprit Day, Student return to school; 5th Grade Service Project Begins

January 8: January Birthday Books

January 19-January 23: 5th Grade Service Project Collection

January 23: Crazy Sock Spirit Day

January 26: Soup Lunch for Staff

January 26-January 30: Book Fair Week

January 29: Family Reading Night

February

February 3: Book Club

February 4: Athleisure Spirit Day

February 5: PTA General Member Meeting

February 10: Book Club

February 12: February Birthday Books

February 12: Crossing Guard Appreciation Day

February 13: Classroom Valentine’s Day Parties

February 16: Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences

February 17: Book Club

February 20: Dress as your Favorite Color Spirit Day and Family Dance

February 24: Book Club

February 26: 5th Grade Volleyball Night

Link to D25 2025- 2026 Year-At-A-Glance Calendar

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