Duval Dispatch

Hello Duval Community!

We hope everyone had a great looooong weekend! It's another 3-day week ahead, this time with full day on Friday.

The second week finds us still getting to know the kids and having them make their mark in their classrooms and across the school. We really want ALL kids to be up on our Duval Garden so PLEASE send in a pic of your child!

Did you know that we welcomed over 100 new students (80 of whom are Kindergartners) and over 15 new staff this year? While many folks are new to the building, we are really excited about the wonderful students and talented staff who have joined us to help Grow a Duval Garden!

Have a great week!

Dr. Marcus and Ms. Craig

Traffic around the school needs to move slowly and carefully. Please be patient. Reminder- No passing anywhere on campus driveways.

Parent Pick-Up: We will come to your car and ask for your child's name. Please have your placard in the window or out your window so we can see it. You will HAVE to have a bright yellow placard by the end of this week. Please call or email Mrs. Brandon if you don't have one yet.

Walkers/Bikers: Please make sure teachers know that your child has permission to walk or bike home. Walkers should come out Door 24. Parents on foot picking up should be on the grass by the bike rack, far left of school.

Buses. We have had a student returned to school ALL 3 days so far. Please be outside or clearly visible to the bus driver at least 5 minutes before expected time.

Thank you for your help in ensuring our kids are safe on their way home each day!

We're up to about 30 pictures but that leaves us 400 shy of everyone! Keep 'em coming!! Please send your child in with a small picture of them to add to our Growing Garden lobby display!

We are looking for 2 or 3 parents/guardians who can join the Duval School Council. The DSC is a group of parents, teachers and our administrators who help survey the community and then write a School Improvement Plan based on the hopes and wishes of our community members. If you can spare an afternoon a month and you feel like you can contribute to this dedicated team, please email Dr. Marcus as soon as possible.

We are proud at Whitman-Hanson of the high quality instructional materials in reading and mathematics that we provide your child, and we are pleased to share with you that this year we will begin a three-year training for our elementary teachers in a research-based writing approach. Writing, and the ability to express oneself in writing, is an essential life skill. These strategies will help teachers develop those skills and hopefully a love for writing among our students. We are pleased to be selected to partner with Providence College in this opportunity. As part of the partnership, our teachers receive feedback about writing samples and instructional practices, which are collected anonymously. For more information about this partnership and your child’s participation, please see this link.

Nurse Melissa is amazing! Please read her Beginning of the Year Newsletter HERE.

There is really important information on medications, illnesses, first aid, and more.

• Families can log into Infinite Campus for classroom information. Need an Infinite Campus Parent Portal Account? Please contact the Technology Department at 781-618-8100.

• School supplies are listed here and on the Duval website.

• YMCA Before/After School Care Information

• The WHRSD and Duval School PTO Facebook pages are excellent social media resources for staying connected and informed.

• WHRSD Academic Calendar includes holidays, vacations, and early release dates.

• For the safety of your children and our students, please call the Absence Line if your child will be absent or tardy @ 781-618-7055, press 1. Day of dismissal changes need to be made in writing or with an email prior to 9:30 AM.

Sept. 5- 5th Grade Instrument Demonstration (daytime, just for kids)

Sept. 10- PTO Meeting, 7pm in the Library

Sept. 16- 5th Gr. Instrument Rental Night at WMS.

Sept. 17- First School Council Meeting, 3:45pm, Conference Room

Sept. 20- The Brain Show Assemblies and Evening Family Event!

Hello Dolphins!

The PTO was so happy to welcome our new kindergarteners at their Meet and Greet last week, and see some familiar faces at Open House the next night! We have some exciting news to share with you all.

Our first meeting of the year is just a week away on Tuesday, September 10th in the Duval Library at 7:00 PM. Childcare is provided for Duval students by the high schoolers from Whitman-Hanson’s National Honors Society. We will have some fun, some giveaways, and talk about all the amazing events we have planned for this year! Feel free to come early and chat with us if you've never been before and are looking to learn more!

On PTO meeting nights, the Whitman Papa Gino’s donates a percentage of their sales to us to help fund our programs. Please see the flyer below for more information.

Finally, we have a new event on our calendar this year and it is just a few weeks away! Thanks to a grant from the Whitman Cultural Council, we are so excited to be hosting The Brain Show at Duval for the first time! This educational trivia event has the look and feel of a real game show where your students are the contestants! On Friday, September 20th, we will be hosting two shows during the school day for students to play with their classes, and a third show at night for families to join in the fun! Doors will open at 6:30 PM and we hope to see you there! If you are able to volunteer or donate snacks for this event, please see the Sign-Ups here: The Brain Show.

Have a great week and we can't wait to welcome some new faces to the PTO!

On behalf of the board,

Marshall Ottina

President, Duval PTO

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John H. Duval Elementary provides a safe, supportive environment where children are able to reach for the stars!

Email: john.marcus@whrsd.org
Website: https://whd.whrsd.org
Location: 60 Regal Street, Whitman, MA 02382
Phone: 781-618-7055
Twitter: @DuvalElementary