Good afternoon Cougar Community!
Personal Smartwatches/Devices
As a parent myself, I totally understand the need to stay connected with your child. The world we live in can be a scary one at times, and for that, I appreciate caregivers who want to have the immediate availability to connect with their child. This, coupled with the ability for students to communicate with their friends on these smartwatches has negatively impacted the learning environment.
In order to minimize distractions and avoid communication breakdown between home and school, we encourage both students and caregivers to not engage in back and forth communications via a smartwatch or similar devices during the school day. Additionally, fairly frequently, students have been messaging their friends. For these reasons, smartwatches will be treated as other electronic devices with the exception of any students whose device is critical to their educational programming. Otherwise, they should remain in students’ bookbags until the end of the school day.
If your child is not feeling well during the day, we encourage them to alert their teacher or closest support staff member. The teacher or support staff member will ensure your child is seen by our school nurse. At that point, communication home via the school nurse will be initiated if necessary. Should you need to communicate a message to your child, please do not hesitate to call the office. We will ensure they get the information they need.
Thank you for your support in reinforcing this message at home and keeping our students safe and engaged in the classroom.
YouTube- Beginning May 1st, the app, YouTube, will not be accessible on student devises. DASD elementary schools have recognized that while this app has educational benefits, students have frequently overutilized the app. Teachers will have access in order to share any educationally pertinent video content.
Fly Eagles, fly! Whether you are a sports fan, or not, we wish the Philadelphia Eagles all the best in Sunday’s Super Bowl! They have been supporters of DASD the past several years, so hoping we can cheer them on. For our Chiefs fans (as everyone matters at EW), my hope is that the game is well played with no injuries. If the Chiefs pull it out, I’ll be happy for you. Lastly, for those who are not that interested in the game, I hope we all find the commercials to be enjoyable!
There is snow predicted next week. We want everyone to be prepared for the potential need for a Flexible Instruction Day (FID). DASD will send a message early morning (around 5:45AM). Caregivers should check email and Class Dojo. While younger kids may have QR codes for Zooms, teachers may also post links on their Dojo Story. FID days, if we have one again, will begin at 9AM and end at 1:35PM. Teachers will provide instruction at the beginning of the lesson, and may dismiss students to work in breakout rooms, with support of instructional assistants, or independently. Their Zoom rooms will remain open for questions throughout this timeframe. While I am confident the day will go well if it is FID, fingers crossed we see everyone in school on Monday!
February is Black History Month. During our morning announcements, students will hear inspiring words from and about African Americans who have made an impact in our world. I encourage everyone to have conversations with your children about what they learn during morning announcements.
At the end of each newsletter, please find helpful information. This section may give you answers to questions you have about things like the student handbook, attendance, or car rider pickup. There's too much for any of us to remember, so I want for everyone to know it can be found below.
Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who supported 5th grade’s “Souper Bowl”. Our 5th grade students collected a large number of canned goods to benefit the Lord’s Pantry in Downingtown. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by EW, and this will help sustain our community members in need. Thank you for demonstrating “everyone matters”!
Thank you for your support, encouragement, and involvement of all things East Ward!
Best regards,
Dr. Argonish
“Magic Story Time”, where students and Parents can come and listen to stories from 7pm to 8pm in their pajamas.
In wanting to create a positive and reflective model for our Building Equity Task Force, our Books selected are aligned with the cultural initiatives set fourth by the district for our story time session.
Parents will join their children and be available for question and answer sessions after stories are read for further positive discussion.
The goal is to get…
*books of different cultures and traditions read to students
*get students inquisitive about the beauty of books and their stories
*get students to ask questions in an open setting with parents as a guide
*to deepen our community as a whole
*an opportunity for students to check those books out at a later time if they wanted to.
Thank you for the possibilities of making this a big success. Truly appreciate all of you.
Hope to see you in the iDesign Room (Next to library-2nd floor) on February 12th at 7:00 PM!
- Brian Hearns
The Ripple Effect of Kindness
Second Step lessons this month continue to focus on empathy and kindness. With this month also being Valentine's Day, it's a great time to reflect on the ways that we show love and kindness to others. In several of my lessons, we talk about how kindness is like a ripple; it spreads from one person to another. We talk about how simple it is to perform an act of kindness, but how meaningful it can feel for the person on the receiving end. That kindness could end up brightening their day, causing them to show kindness to others. What are we doing to promote the spread of kindness, love, and compassion?
How can I promote kindness in my child?
- Notice when they are kind. Verbally appreciate it to them or to someone in front of them: "Wow, did you see what Vivaan just did? That was so helpful and kind!"
- Tell them how you feel when they perform kind acts. Demonstrate the impact they had on you. "That compliment really made me feel warm and happy inside. Thank you for sharing how much you appreciate this meal!"
- Point out acts of kindness you notice throughout the day, whether it's in books, movies, or in real life. Talk about the potential impacts of those acts of kindness. Is there a visible ripple effect?
- When asking about their day, ask questions like "who did you include today?" or "how did you show kindness today?" Our focus and attention shows what is worthy of focus and attention.
East Ward Elementary
Email: ewinfo@dasd.org
Website: https://ew.dasd.org/
Location: 435 Washington Ave, Downingtown, PA 19335, USA
Phone: 610-269-8282
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dasdew
Twitter: @dasd_ew