Owl Observer News

Thank you to all the families who were able to join their child’s teacher for our important parent-teacher conferences focused on reading and writing skills. We hope the new format gave you a clear understanding of how your child is performing—their strengths, as well as areas of intentional focus and growth.

We truly believe that our students’ academic success is a partnership with you. We can’t meet or exceed our goals without your support, and we are incredibly grateful to have such a dedicated and engaged parent community.

🩵 A Special Thank You to Our PTA
We also want to thank our wonderful PTA for providing a delicious dinner on Monday evening. It was the perfect way to keep all of us full and energized throughout the evening of conferences—your support made the night run smoothly and comfortably for our families and staff!

🩵 A Special Thank You to Our Community Partners
We also want to extend our deepest gratitude to our many valued community partners who generously provided bountiful holiday meals for our families. In a time when financial stress is weighing heavily on so many, your support allowed our families to enjoy time together without the worry of placing food on the table. Your kindness made a meaningful difference, and we are profoundly thankful.

🎯 Our shared goal:
Commit to coming to school every day and practicing reading and math skills at home so that we can show strong growth and achievement on our spring assessments.

Let’s close out the last month of the 2025 year by meeting this challenge together—because together, we can do anything.

We hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful break and has a restful weekend. We can’t wait to welcome our students back on Monday—let’s make December a strong month of learning!

We’re kicking off a friendly December Attendance Challenge, and your child’s grade is so close to taking home the prize… but we need everyone to help us win!

To keep our momentum going, we’ve planned Monday Spirit Days all month long and a schoolwide attendance competition. It’s simple: just come to school!

Each grade level that earns 100% attendance on Fridays in December will celebrate with a Movie Matinee during lunch on Friday, January 9th. And don’t worry—we won’t penalize a grade for any excused absences.

What a fun way for our kids to compete, celebrate, and learn together—and we know we can count on YOU to help make it happen! Let’s finish the year strong! 💙📚✨

Monday, December 1st: Schools reopen from fall break

Wednesday, December 24th-Friday, January 2nd: Schools Closed for Winter Break

Our Winter Concerts are right around the corner! If your child is in Band, Orchestra or Chorus, please review the concert flyers linked below.

5th Grade Winter Concert - December 11, 2025 @ DLES

6:00pm Concert (students arrive at 5:30pm)

• 5th Grade Band

• 5th Grade Orchestra

• 5th Grade Chorus

4th Grade Winter Concert - December 17, 2025

6:00pm Concert (students arrive at 5:30pm)

• 4th Grade Orchestra

• 4th Grade Band

• 4th Grade Chorus

If your child is in need of a white shirt, black pants or black shoes please contact their music teacher. DLES has a small closet of donated concert clothes available for students in need.

Mrs. McKay (Orchestra) amanda_mckay@hcpss.org

Mr. Marsh (Band) josiah_marsh@hcpss.org

Ms. Abrams (4th Chorus) hana_abrams@hcpss.org

Ms. Eng (5th Chorus) taylor_eng@hcpss.org

If you have any concert clothes (shirt, pants/skirt, shoes) that no longer fit your child, please consider donating them to the DLES Concert Closet for another student to wear.

Building a strong vocabulary is one of the best ways to help your child become a better reader and writer. Words are the building blocks for understanding what they read and for expressing their ideas clearly in writing. You can help at home—whether your child is in the primary grades or in the intermediate grades!

Here are some simple ways to support vocabulary at home:

1. Talk About Words Every Day

• Describe things you see around you. For example: “The sky is bright today,” or “This fruit is juicy and sweet.”

• Explain what new words mean in simple language.

2. Read Together

• Read books, articles, or even recipes together.

• Pause to talk about new words. Ask, “What do you think this word means?”

3. Use Words in Fun Ways

• Play word games like “I Spy,” rhyming games, or word matching.

• Encourage your child to use new words in sentences.

4. Make It Visual

• Draw pictures of new words. For example, draw a storm when reading a story about weather.

• Label objects in your home with sticky notes in your child’s language or in English.

Even just a few minutes every day talking, reading, and playing with words can make a big difference in your child’s reading and writing growth. Together, we can help all our students become confident learners!

Show your DLES pride and let everyone know you’re part of one of the best school communities! Check out our new school spirit wear store—new weekly deals are added regularly, so be sure to check back often.

PTA Membership Raffle

Not a member yet? Join the DLES PTA today for your chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card! We'll have one lucky teacher/staff and one lucky family winner! Drawing will be held on 11/24. Sign up today at https://duckettspta.givebacks.com/

When you become a member, you are supporting the students and teachers at DLES, as well as the nation. Each voice makes the PTA louder when advocating for what they need.

To stay up-to-date on all of our upcoming events, visit our website and Facebook page.

We strive to be a school that actively partners with our students, staff, families, and surrounding community members. We welcome your feedback.

Please click on the Feedback Form to share your thoughts with how we can make DLES the best for everyone.

• Principal, Mrs. Caroland Molly_Caroland@hcpss.org

• Assistant Principal, Mrs. Van Osdel Amy_Van_Osdel@hcpss.org

• Leadership Intern, Mrs. Poquette Laurie_Poquette@hcpss.org

• Principal Secretary, Mrs. Canter Teresa_Canter@hcpss.org

• Registration Support, Secretary Ms. Lynette Carmen_Lynette@hcpss.org

• Attendance, Synergy and Family File Support, Secretary Mrs. Forman Julie_Forman@hcpss.org

• Synergy and Family File Support, Secretary Mrs. Haque Puna_Haque@hcpss.org

• Counselor Mr. Leisawitz Alexander_Leisawitz@hcpss.org

• Counselor Mrs. Barron Krista_Barron@hcpss.org

• Community School Coordinator Mrs. De La Cruz- Van Natta ndelacruzvannatta@hcpss.org