This Week's News!

• October 16 - No School
• October 17 - Education Foundation Pancake Breakfast (see flyer below!)
• October 22 - Picture Retakes
• October 30 - DK's Trunk or Treat!
• November 2-3 - Mobile Dentist Visits
• November 4 - Kickstart Deposit Day for 1st-4th grades
• November 6 - Veteran's Day Tribute
• November 10 - Half Day - Dismissal at 11:30am
• November 25-27 - Thanksgiving Break

We are so excited to welcome our families tonight for Parent-Teacher Conferences! This is such a wonderful opportunity for us to come together, celebrate your children's successes, and share all of the amazing growth and accomplishments we are seeing here at Delton Kellogg Elementary. We truly enjoy having the chance to connect with you and discuss all of the great things your children are doing each day! Just a friendly reminder that there will be no school tomorrow, Friday, October 16.

We are also excited to announce that our Book Fair is back! Be sure to stop by the elementary library during conferences tonight, from 12:30–8:00 p.m., to check out the amazing selection of books available! We have so many wonderful titles for our students and families to explore, and we can't wait to share them with you. It's a great opportunity to encourage a love of reading while finding some new favorites to enjoy at home!

Halloween Parties & Important Reminders

With Halloween quickly approaching, our classroom celebrations are right around the corner! We know our students are looking forward to all the fun, and we want to share a few important reminders to help make sure everyone has a safe and enjoyable experience.

When purchasing candy or treats for your child's classroom, please check with their teacher first regarding any classroom allergies or dietary restrictions. We encourage families to bring prepackaged treats whenever possible. Homemade items may be accepted with prior approval from the classroom teacher.

As you begin planning Halloween costumes, please keep our school expectations in mind. Weapons of any kind, including toy or fake weapons, are not permitted at school. This includes anything that resembles a weapon or could be mistaken for one. We also ask that scary, gory, or bloody masks and costumes be left at home. While Halloween is an exciting time, we want to be mindful that some costumes may be frightening to our younger students. Our goal is to create a fun, welcoming, and comfortable environment for everyone to celebrate!

Lastly, all parents and family members planning to volunteer or attend classroom Halloween parties must have an approved volunteer form on file before participating. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in helping us keep our students safe.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and partnership. We are so grateful for our Delton Kellogg Elementary families and all that you do to make our school community such a special place. We look forward to seeing many of you tonight at conferences and celebrating another wonderful week of learning and growing together!

Have a wonderful long weekend!

Registration is now open for the 2026 Boys 3rd–5th Grade Youth Hoops season!

This year, the Youth Hoops season has been moved to align with the boys middle school basketball season. Please note that 6th grade boys will no longer participate in Youth Hoops, as all schools now offer 6th grade middle school basketball teams.

Register Online: https://dkpanthers.com/Registrations

Please be sure to register your 3rd–5th grade boys before the deadline, October 23!

Girls season will start after Christmas break and registration will open in December!

We are starting a K-2nd grade youth hoops program here at DK for both boys and girls! We look forward to working with our youngest athletes teaching them the fundamentals of the game! Register with the flyer below, online registration will open soon!

All students K-12 attending Delton Kellogg Schools are eligible for free breakfasts and lunches during the 2026-2027 school year. This is due to a “Free Meals for All” legislation passed by the state. Although all meals are FREE any student who would like to purchase milk to add with a cold lunch would need to have funds loaded on their accounts. Parents have on-line access to view student balances, histories, and make bankcard deposits. Even though breakfasts and lunches are free, families are required to complete the EBF (Educational Benefit Forms) since other funding and grant eligibility for the district are tied to these applications. This application also applies to pay-to-participate for student-athletes for qualifying families and chromebooks to be able to take home for after-school enrichment opportunities. A new Educational Benefit form IS REQUIRED each school year (one application per family, not per student). So even if you applied a year ago, a new application must be submitted for the 2026-2027 school year.

We are asking families to please head to the following site to complete the EBF application deltonkellogg.familyportal.cloud or scan the QR code below

You will need your students ID# that will be emailed to each family.

If your student requires dietary accommodations, please fill this form out and return to the elementary office. If you have any questions please contact the Food Service Director, Tiffany Haines at Tiffany.Haines@dkschools.org or call 269-623-1223 for additional assistance.

Office phones turn on at 7:30 am

Front office doors open at 7:55 am for late arrivals.

Office closes at 3:30pm

If you need to change your students end of the day transportation plans contact the elementary office at 269-623-1530 or email us! Please make sure to contact the office staff no later than 2 PM on full days or 10 AM on half days.

Phone: (269) 623-1530

Laci.Watson@dkschools.org

Kristin.Liceaga@dkschools.org

There have been changes that have been made to the student handbook.

The complete 2026/2027 DKES Student Handbook can be found on our district website: https://www.dkschools.org/page/board-of-education-bylaws-and-policies under HANDBOOKS.

Please reach out to our elementary school office at (269) 623-1530 during office hours (7:30 am to 3:30 pm) or to me via email at bobby.tillman@dkschools.org if you have further questions.

I would like to thank our students, staff, families, and community in advance for all of their hard work and support in helping our students have a successful 2026-2027 school year!

Arrival : 7:30am -7:55am

After 7:55am your student is late and will need to be signed in at the front office

School dismissed: 2:50pm (full day) 11:30am (half day)

• The elementary doors will open for students at 7:30 a.m and drop off will be staffed from 7:30am-7:55am. After 7:55 am your student is late and will need to be signed in at the front office, the office doors open to students/parents at 7:55am daily.
• All drop offs must take place in the drop off line located in between the elementary and middle school. You can enter the drop off line from Delton road, or M-43. Please see the diagram below.

• DK Staff will be in place at our student entrance to ensure the safety of all students. Staff will also be available to make sure students get to their classrooms safely.

• Parents will utilize the drop off line if students are not riding the bus to school.

• Do NOT drop off students without staff present

• Parents will stay in their vehicle, forming a single line

• Staff will be stationed on the curb to open the vehicle doors for students to exit their cars.

• Once students have exited the vehicle, parents will continue through the loop to exit onto Delton road.

• Staff will be at the bus drop off to greet students upon exiting the bus and usher them to the student entrance.

Each family will receive two dashboard pickup identification tags for those who are pick up, more will be available upon request. These tags can be shared with family members or others who parents designate as being able to pick up their child.

These tags will have a number that coordinates to your student(s). The person making the pick up should place the tag in a visible area on the passenger side when picking up the child. A staff member will check the number on the tag with the identification on the child’s backpack. This process is being used to ensure the safety of all students. You MUST have a proper tag to pick up any student. We CANNOT release any student to a parent without this proper identification.

Numbers will be given out to families at the open house Wednesday, August 26th if the form was filled out. If you cannot make it to the open house, please contact our main office for assistance.

We ask you to PLEASE comply with the times you are picking students up. If everyone tries to get here early, it’s only going to cause more congestion, frustration and potentially dangerous situations. We must work together to make this work as smoothly as possible for everyone.

• Parents should NOT park in the lot, but stay in the pickup line. The traffic flow should continue around the parking lot as children are brought to the vehicles

• Parents do NOT use the bus loop to pick up students.

Families picking up multiple students in different buildings should use the elementary pick up line, older students can meet up with the younger siblings. If your older students are not there when you pick up your younger student, please park in the parking lot for your other students to meet you.

Please Be Patient, the safety of all our students is the most important part of our plans. We want everyone to remain safe getting to and from school and we are asking all drivers to be extremely vigilant and watchful as they enter and leave the parking lots.

During the first couple of weeks, we know it will take a bit longer until everyone understands how the system works. We will make adjustments as needed, but we are asking for an abundance of patience from everyone.

• Classroom volunteers are at the discretion of the teacher

• Our PTO is always looking for volunteers for special events.

• We are looking forward to having visitors for many special events (field trips, classroom parties, field day, etc) this year, we will communicate procedures as these come up.