DCS Ravens' Report

September 16th-Ski Program Information Meeting September 18th 6pm, DCS Library

September 27th-Community Lunch-bring your lunch and join us at 12pm

October 4th-Walk to School-More information to follow

October 9th-Open House and Harvest Supper 5:30-7:00pm please park at Yankee and take bus to DCS, change in date.

October 15th-School Picture Day

TGIF DCS families, it has been a fun filled week! Our new Library Media Specialist, Deane Rynerson was here and students enjoyed lots of fun books! PE is our Special next week, so please make sure your student(s) have sneakers with them. This week brought remembrances of September 11th which was an opportunity to connect with our local Fire Department.

It may be hard to get into a routine of a 5 day week, but we will get there! We will be starting the MAP (computerized) testing next week. Please be sure your child is rested and has had a good breakfast. Thank you!

If you happen to have any silverware that you are considering getting rid of, please donate to DCS. We avoid using plastic utensils. Have a lovely weekend, Nicole

As the third grade teacher here at DCS, I am on a team teaching with Deb Quinn this year. She teaches Math for grades 3/4/5 while I teach their English Language Arts. This is perfect as I love teaching reading and am currently in my second year of the LETRS Science of Reading Training.

It has been so exciting to join the wonderful staff at DCS to teach and learn with your children. I have almost 30 years of teaching experience in Kindergarten, First Grade, and Third Grade classrooms in both public and independent schools in this area.

I live in Peterborough with my husband, David, and our dog, Jett. We have four grown children, Chris, Kate, Emily, and Madeline, who live in Maine, Massachusetts, Florida, and Washington, D.C.

When I am not teaching, I love to play tennis, go on walks with Jett, travel, read, and spend time with my family and friends.

Fun facts - My stepson, Chris, attended DCS for elementary school 30 years ago and I started my teaching career here as a substitute teacher for Dave Rollins at the same time. Also, Erin Jadis was in my first class in Wilton, and I am now teaching her son, Ross.

Kindergarteners have had an amazing 10 days at school! We've settled into our daily routines and are ready for learning. Students learned about where sounds come from when we speak- lips together (ie- /p/ /b/ /m/), teeth on lips (ie- /f/ /v/ ), tongue between teeth (ie- /th/), tongue behind teeth (ie- /t/ /d/ /n/ /s/ /z/ /l/), lips rounded, tongue back (ie- /sh/ /ch/ /j/ /y/ /r/), back of tongue lifted (ie. /k/ /g/ /ng/ /w/), and back of the throat (ie. /h/). Knowing where sounds come from helps students learn to differentiate between tricky sounds like /th/ vs/ /f/.

Kindergarteners have also talked about using shapes to make pictures as part of our "becoming an illustrator" unit. They are so excited to have their very own writing journal!

In math, kindergarteners learned what subitizing is all about. Ask your child what this means. They are becoming experts!

Please be sure to check out our classroom website for current pictures of the many activities that happen here at school. My hope is that these pictures are used as a springboard for conversation with your child, as the "how was school" question is often an overwhelming one to answer.

This week we touched "lightly" on the events of September 11th. I have a few favorite picture books that I like to read, and the students' favorite was "The Man in the Red Bandana." This is a true story about a man who worked in the World Trade Center who was also a volunteer firefighter. He jumped into action that day and saved many people. We talked about First Repsonders, who they are, and what that means. Then we worked on a banner and a card for our own first responders (Fire and Police) right here in our town. Fire Chief Tom Vanderbilt was able to stop by so we could present our banner to him! He intently listened to a couple students retell one of our stories which was so special.

We have caterpillars! I have had the hardest time finding Monarch Caterpillars this summer! But a few friends sprang into action for me. We have one Monarch in a chrysalis, and one still munching on milk weed. Then we discovered that Ms. Penny's caterpillars are actually Swallowtails! We are talking a lot about the process of metamorphosis, and we are watching it right before our eyes! Learning is so much fun!

It is so exciting to be back at school, learning and growing with this year’s Terrific Third Graders. We are busy settling into the year and establishing the guidelines for our classroom community. We created our Hopes and Dreams for the year and started our Zones of Regulation unit by reviewing the different zones, doing an emotions sort, and playing Zones BINGO.

For Science, the students thought about what “Scientists Do” through a fun activity using the skills of observing, predicting, collecting data, and sharing. Weather and Climate are the topics of our first studies, which we kicked off with a super fun Mystery Science about clouds. The students also had a blast gardening with Cornucopia in the DSC gardens. This week, they observed the garden insects to understand their role in the ecosystem, analyzed their impact on the garden, and participated in a game to explore the relationship between plants and insects.

For ELA for both 3/4/5 -

For the first couple of weeks, all the classes are doing similar activities at their levels to establish routines and get back into the flow of Reading/Writing time.

The children began reading Forest Secrets, the first-class book of the year. With this book, they will develop their vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension skills. For writing, the classes are working on a “Letter to My Teacher” project based on the book of the same name. This activity supports narrative letter writing and the social-emotional side of thinking and writing to tell me about themselves.

Both classes painted beautiful journal covers for their ELA journals and started Friday Reading Buddies. 3rd Grade is matched with Kindergarten, while 4th and 5th Grades are matched with 1st/2nd Grades.

On Wednesday, all three classes walked up the hill for their first monthly visit to the Dublin Public Library. Thank you so much to the wonderful librarians for welcoming the children and encouraging a positive attitude toward books and reading!

As a 4th and 5th grade class, we have been learning about the Scientific Method. We have completed one experiment about buoyancy and are writing summaries.

DCS has a strong connection to our community, and we continue to explore ways to connect in different meaningful ways. This year we invite members of our community to join us for lunch on the last Friday of the Month from 12:00-12:30pm. After lunch from 12:30-1 pm, I offer the opportunity to engage in conversation. I look forward to seeing you on September 27th for our first lunch.

If you are interested in ordering some DCS swag for your student(s), please use this link. We will be providing new students with a DCS T-in the near future. https://dublinravens.deco-apparel.com/

Mums are coming soon...delivery will be next Fri. September 13th.

We know how important attendance is to student success at school. There are District Policies and procedures that guide responsibility with regard to attendance. As part of this, I monitor absences and last year DCS had a large number of students with more than average absences. Many of the absences are due to illness over which there is little control. Please consider taking family vacations when school is not in session. Thank you for your help with reducing the high number of absences at DCS.

Did you know that DCS has been recycling clean plastic bags since 2022? Even more exciting is that we have recycled 683 pounds of plastic since this program started! That is about the same as a zebra, motorcycle, or baby grand piano weighs! That is amazing! Thanks so much to Mrs. Hopkins for bringing this program to DCS! Please bring clean plastic grocery bags, bread bags, or pellet bags to school.

DCS also collects aluminum tabs to be donated to Shriners Hospital which designs and creates prosthetics. Please bring your aluminum tabs to DCS, there is a collection container in the lobby.

We are so lucky to be able to have our Winter Fun Days! Karen Niemela has been instrumental in supporting many of the DCS students participating in the Ski Program at Crotched Mountain. We are in search of a parent or parents who are willing to take on this role. Karen is happy to help support in the transition but we need to find a new coordinator if we want this program to continue. While it may seem daunting, Karen has this program well established and can make it seamless for our new coordinator(s). Please reach out if you are able to help, thank you!

We will be holding an informational meeting about Ski Program September 18th at 6pm.

Email: npease@conval.edu
Website: dcs.conval.edu
Location: 1177 Main Street, Dublin, NH, USA
Phone: 603-563-8332