Yost Weekly Update: August 11, 2023

Dear Families,

We are excited to announce that we have adopted a new form of school-to-home communication at called ParentSquare for the 2025-2026 school year. This unified communications platform is designed to keep parents and guardians informed and encourage greater engagement and connection with [school or district name]. It provides a safe way for district administrators, school principals, teachers, staff, and parents to:

• Send and receive school and class information

• Share pictures and files

• See calendar items

• Sign up to volunteer

• Schedule parent-teacher conferences

• and much more . . . all in one centralized place!

Parents—Getting Started Video

All district and school, grade level and classroom information will now be sent to your computer or phone via email and/or text. For even more convenience, download the ParentSquare app (available for free for iOS and Android devices).

Have questions? Click the question mark in the top right corner of the desktop version or the Help tab on the app (tap the triple bar icon at the top left) to find answers to most of your questions.

Per Indiana Code 10-21-1-10, it is now a requirement that schools announce when we will be having an Armed Intruder Drill. We will be holding our second Armed Intruder Drill the week of March 10 through March 14. We will not be using theatrics, such as simulated loud noises, during the drill. If any students are upset by the drill, they will be encouraged to speak with their teacher, the school counselor, or our administrative staff for support.

The 50th annual Porter County Arts-A-Budding student art exhibit will open on March 4 featuring the best artwork produced by students’ grades Kindergarten-8th in Porter County. Visual Art teachers from across Porter County have selected the top 11 pieces of artwork done by their students during the past year. Hundreds of students’ art will be featured at this Best of Porter County Exhibit.

This exhibit may be visited from March 4-13, 2024 Monday-Sunday from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Chapel of the Resurrection, Valparaiso University Campus. A reception and awards presentation will be hosted for students and their families on Sunday, March 9 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. at the Chapel of the Resurrection, Valparaiso University Campus.

Many talented young people have been recognized since ARTS-A-BUDDING began 49 years ago. It was started by Visual Arts teachers who wanted to honor students and encourage their creativity. This exhibit is organized annually through the volunteer efforts of these teachers and in cooperation with the Brauer Museum of Art, Valparaiso University.

99 Duneland School students whose artwork was selected for the exhibit are:

YOST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Teacher: Jose Carrillo

Devin Broshears, Vito Garza, Skylar Griffin, Nolan Kolosci, Mila Kovacich, Aiden Marin, Isabella Ontiveros, Zoe Pierce, Sammi Ritz, Piper Rooney, Stevie Sweeney

BAILLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Teacher: Anne Long

Abigail Binder, Emma Breitzka, Liam Carter, Sam Chubb, Skylar Dilosa, Abby Garriott, Blakelyn Hicks, Isabella Lee, Morgan Michalski, Marlee White, Hailie Zmierski

BRUMMITT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Teacher: Heather Connors

Lex Adelman, Adley Bozak, Harrison Brown, Orion Carstens-Sables, Piper Copollo, Ivy Frey, Alex Glatthorn, Piper Koniarz, Ari Panian, Nora Peffers, Eva Skurow

JACKSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Teacher: Sue Calkusic

Cayia Blythe, Maisie Benson, Fiona Gurgon, Isabella Martinez, Addison Meyne, Lincoln Phelps, Micky Plinovich, Julia Pytel, Barinderjit Singh, Ainslee Shaw, Sam Wineland

LIBERTY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Teacher: Aubrey Rose

Jameson Berwanger, Maverick Berwanger, Penelope Bulger, Victoria Demsich, Samantha Dobosz, Lucas Dones, Jace Hawthorne, Reed Hawthorne, Avani Parikh, Sofie Underwood, Addy Zachara

LIBERTY INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL - Teacher: Brooke Sutter

Alex Cibak, David Brosas, Adelynne Dzugas, Fiona Haynes, Michelle Holmgren, Emily Mercon, Eleanor Palmisano, Nory Prow, Jaelynn Reno, Lexi Tarin, Juliette Wegerich

WESTCHESTER INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL - Teacher: Paige Hart

Erika Aker, Miley Campbell, Lillian Carter, Gretta Dortmund, Daniel Fowler, Crosby Lejeune, Margaret Myers, Maiya Reed, Addison Spanopoulos, Rowyn Turner, Bailey Yagelski

LIBERTY MIDDLE SCHOOL - Teacher: Jason Gast

Brittany Anderson, Rowan Cashmer, Leah Douglas, Brooklyn Hardsock, Lily Huneryager, Isabella James, Sydney Johnson, Chloe Murzyn, Riya Patel, Abby Roper, Lauren Spiess

WESTCHESTER MIDDLE SCHOOL - Teacher: Katherine Jones

Iyanna Beach, Angelo Burnahl, Savannah Carlson, Riley Evans, Roxanna Frey, Abigail Kuffer, Kaden Mullert, Siddarth Senthil, Avery Smith, Genevieve Smith, Adlyn Wallace

Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of media and technology, has recognized Newton Yost Elementary as a Common Sense School and its school media specialist, Kris Borrelli, as a Common Sense Educator.

Newton Yost Elementary has demonstrated its commitment to taking a whole-community approach to preparing its students to think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate while preparing them for the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying. With the right support, kids can take ownership of their digital lives, engage with real issues, and change their communities for the better. The recognition acknowledges our school's commitment to creating a culture of digital citizenship.

"We applaud the faculty and staff of Newton Yost Elementary for embracing digital citizenship as an important part of their students' education," said Merve Lapus, vice president of education outreach and national partnerships at Common Sense Education. Newton Yost Elementary deserves high praise for giving its students the foundational skills they need to compete and succeed in the 21st-century workplace and participate ethically in society at large."

Newton Yost Elementary has been using Common Sense Education's innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with researchers from Project Zero, led by Howard Gardner at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and are grounded in the real issues students and teachers face. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, media balance, managing online relationships, and media literacy. The free K–12 curriculum is used in classrooms across all 50 states, in more than 80,000 schools by more than 1,00,000 educators.

"We're honored to be recognized as a Common Sense School," said Josh Huwig, Newton Yost Elementary principal. "By preparing our students to use technology safely and responsibly, we are providing them an opportunity to build lifelong habits to help them succeed in a tech-driven world."

Gym- Bennett Ozug (Ms. Taylor), Joan Reilly (Ms. Hasselberger)

Library- Colin Alonzo (Mrs. Street), Claire Dyksterhouse (Mr. Hardsock)

Music- Daphne Villagran (Ms. Koss), Todd Clemens (Mrs. Nay)

Art- Bruce Harrison (Ms. Hasselberger), Quinn Mullenix (Ms. Taylor)

The link below will be used for any necessary safety reports for an elementary school in Duneland.

DSC K-4 Anonymous Safety Reporting Form

Color Run Registration is Now Open,

https://www.dunelandcolorrun.com/

Spiritwear Ordering Open until March 19

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/spring-2025-spiritwear-pre-order

Free Yost Family Glow Night, March 20

Save the Date!!

PTO Dates to RememberPTO Dates to Remember

MARCH

11- FIT Club/PTO Meeting 4:30-5:30PM

14- Pi Day “Pie in the Face Day”

19- Spring Spirit Wear Orders Due

20- Glow Party 6:00-7:30PM

MAY

17- Duneland Elementary Color Fun Run

Questions can be directed to yostpto@gmail.com

Congratulations to Joan read 3,651 minutes during our Read-a-Thon! Thank you so much to our Porter Fire Department for making a special trip to take Joan and her sisters to school this morning!

Way to go Joan!

For those families that volunteered, the student directory is attached.

Please refer to the video for updated traffic patterns.

https://youtu.be/sVQEas2ZlOA

Yost is committed to supporting and honoring those men and women that currently serve and have served in our military.

3/10 IREAD Testing Window- Test Make-ups for Absent Students (Grades 2 & 3)

3/14 End of Quarter 3

3/21 Quarter 3 Grades Available

3/24-3/28 Spring Break (no school)

4/8 Yost PTO Meeting

4/14 ILEARN Testing Window Begins (Grades 3 & 4)

4/17 Yost Science Fair

4/28 Yost Author Visit

5/6 eLearning Day

5/8 Yost Blood Drive

5/13 Yost PTO Meeting

5/17 DSC Color Run

5/29 Last Day of School!

8/13 First Day of School 2025-2026!

The first step to maximizing academic growth throughout the year is getting to school as much as possible. This year, we have a goal of a 95% attendance rate for the year. We will celebrate class winners and share our school attendance rate for the week.

In an effort to improve attendance which directly positively impacts student growth and achievement along with adhering to the new state law regarding attendance, Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 282, Duneland School Corporation has developed a new Attendance Policy.

A few important changes:

• Parent/Guardian Verified Absence: This is a new category of student attendance. It is used when an absence does not meet the criteria to be considered "Excused" or "Unexcused." There will only be four (4) Parent/Guardian Verified absences allowed a semester. Additional absences called in by a parent or guardian not meeting the definition of "Excused" will be considered "Unexcused."
• Parents only have one (1) week to verify an absence or provide documentation for an "Excused" absence.
• A student who is absent from school for five (5) days within a ten (10) week period without the absences considered "Excused" will be deemed a student in need of truancy prevention.

1. Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school.
2. Chronic absence appears to have doubled by the end of the 2021-22 school year. We estimate that it now affects nearly one out of three students (or 16 million vs. 8 million students in the 2018-19 school year).
3. Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of third grade or be held back.
4. By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.
5. Research shows that missing 10 percent of the school, or about 18 days in most school districts, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. Chronic absence is considered two days a month.
6. When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances of graduating.
7. The most important thing to track is not just how many are missing school without an excuse but how many are missing so many days in excused and unexcused absences that academics are off track.
8. Missing one (1) day of school every two (2) weeks, adds up to almost a year and half of school from kindergarten to senior in high school.

Yost Attendance- 94.1%

Kindergarten- Ms. Koss 94.6%

1- Mrs. Papineau 97.7%

2- Mr. Diaz 96.4%

3- Mr. Hardsock 94.8%

4- Ms. Hasselberger 97.1%

Summer School Registration will open on Monday, March 17th in a new Skyward portal. Families interested in enrolling in one of Duneland's PreK-12 Programs should look for email communication next week with detailed instructions on how to register.

Separate registration processes will be shared for invitation only Kinder Camp and Grades 1-4 High Ability programs. PreK-7 Summer School will take place at Liberty Elementary from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. in Session 1. Grades 8-12 Summer School will take place at CHS from 7:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m. in both sessions. See below for the scheduled dates of this year's schedule.

Help VOTE Chesterton High School 'Best Public High School' for the 3rd year in a row! Voting opened TODAY. Participants may vote one time daily in each category today through March 23. Click on the image below of this link to vote: https://www.nwitimes.com/exclusive/readerschoice/best-of-the-region-ballot-2025/

The DSC Color Run is back. Look below for more information and sponsorship opportunities.

ONLINE ENROLLMENT is NOW OPEN for incoming Duneland Kindergarten students for the 2025-2026 school year. Families are asked to complete online enrollment. To get started please visit: DSC Kindergarten Enrollment 2025-2026

Below is information regarding the student art exhibit.

Learn more about the Duneland Early Learning Classes at the the HUB. Click on the image below to enroll.

To make an appointment please call 219-763-8112. Let NorthShore know you are a Duneland School student or staff member and that you would like to make an appointment at the Duneland School Clinic located at the old CMS.

Information regarding student bus transportation for the 2024-2025 school year is available on DSC website under the Transportation Department.

TRACK STUDENT'S BUS WITH MYSTOP APP- The Duneland School Corporation Department of Transportation has now made My Stop available to our families.

My Stop is a web-based application which will allow parents to access live bus GPS information using a smartphone, tablet, or computer and securely view the current location of your child’s bus on routes. The system also provides the bus’s estimated time of arrival at your child’s bus stop.

Please read the attached letter to parents for more information on how to use My Stop to track your child's bus.

The DSC Child Nutrition Department utilizes NutriSlice as its menus program. This app is available for iPhone and Android through your mobile app store. Parents can also access the full website for Duneland Schools on a computer via this NutriSlice link.

This app will allow parents and students to view the menus as well as the nutritional info for each menu item at any of the Duneland Schools. This program will be developed further incorporating images of the actual food items being served at each of the Duneland schools.

Do you want to earn money but still be home with your family?

Does the cost of childcare hinder your plans to work?

Does your child participate in the many afterschool opportunities?

Would you like to spend quality time with your kids during spring, summer and winter breaks?

https://www.applitrack.com/dune.../onlineapp/default.aspx...

The goal of the Duneland School Corporation district school newsletters is to inform students, parents and the school community about school-related information.

The Duneland Schools share information that pertains to opportunities our students may be interested in and outside of school on a special page on our website. These available opportunities are offered by not-for-profit partnerships and organizations within our school district boundaries and local communities. Follow this link to Community Opportunities.

Want your event/activity/camp posted on this page? Submit a request by email with the flyer/information to the Duneland Schools Administrative Center to ahicks@duneland.k12.in.us and bmartinson@duneland.k12.in.us.

Email: jhuwig@duneland.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.duneland.k12.in.us/Domain/12
Location: 100 West Beam Street, Porter, IN, USA
Phone: 219.983.3640