Duval Dispatch

Hello Duval Community!

Last week of October! Here we go!

We had lots of fun and took on lots of learning last week. Picture day, two more Pod meetings, beautiful weather, and the Monster Mash made for a great time for everyone! Many thanks to the PTO and all the volunteers for such an awesome Fall event on Friday! See pics below!

Coming up this week, we have our first annual Pumpkin Festival Day! On Thursday, Oct. 31, we invite our students and staff to wear Orange and Black. While we don't do costumes/Halloween per se, we are excited to have a really fun day full of learning and school spirit!

We are also getting ready for a big event on Monday next week, where we are doing a bit of a civics lesson. Students will have an opportunity to experience "Election Day" by voting for our mascot's name. See the story below for more details.

Reminder that Friday is an EARLY RELEASE DAY.

Have a great week and a safe Halloween!

Dr. Marcus and Ms. Craig

To reiterate this note from last week, we had more texting issues this week, so we are stating this one more time in hopes of not having to make additional restrictions. To clarify the policy below, there is to be NO texting, taking photos/videos or calling at all during the day. Watches may only be used as a watch during school. Any other use and they will be taken away.

Our Pumpkin Festival is on Thursday and we couldn't be preparing for as much fun and learning without two amazing partner donations. Many thanks to Vineyard Farms in West Bridgewater (https://www.vineyardfarm.com) who donated a big pumpkin for each class to do science and math explorations. They were so gracious!! And also thanks to Stop and Shop in Whitman for donating sugar pumpkins for the wild Pumpkin Chucking competition out back in the afternoon! If you visit either retailer, please let them know we are grateful for their support!

Pumpkin Day will consist of science and math explorations in class throughout the day followed by Pumpkin movies and trivia at lunch, and then a Pumpkin Chucking competition with the whole school in the afternoon. We are attempting to beat the "National Chucking" distance record.

The Theme Team is leading a special experience for Duval students by holding an Election Day on Monday to name our mascot. Kids, think of a good name for our dolphin and share it with your class this week! We'll narrow the ballot down to 4 choices with official voting next week!

Episode 2, Friday Oct. 25th Dolphin TV can be found HERE.

Dolphin TV Channel is HERE to see all broadcasts.

Please click on Subscribe so our livestreams can be seen by more people!

Two more Pods, the Eyes and the Fins, got together, learned their Pod Cheer, did a cool circle game getting to know other kids in their Pod, and then did a challenge "chip" activity. Both Pods improved on the challenge time of the earlier Pods. Last up is the Tails Pod on Tuesday.

We are excited to announce that 10 students were chosen to be members of this semester's Student Council, coached by Ms. Jordan. Each student wrote a persuasive essay, and after careful evaluation, were selected to be part of this group that helps Duval continue to grow! Congrats to Lydia, Osasere, Emma, Leyla, Caden, Ava, Tejsa, Savannah, Ruby, and Jack! Can't wait to hear your plans!

Tuesdays and Thursdays OPEN. Last Call for volunteers to come to recesses and help coach the more active games, or even teach good old playground games. Folks are welcome to come to as few or as many recesses as possible! Email Dr. M if you're interested.

October News from Nurse Melissa. Check it out HERE.

Oct. 31- First Annual Pumpkin Festival. A day of all things pumpkin at Duval!

Nov. 1- Early Release Day

Nov. 3- Daylight Savings Day

Nov. 4- Duval Election Day Event!

Nov. 5- Election Day, NO SCHOOL

Nov. 8- Veteran's Day Ceremony at the Flagpole, 10:30am

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Calendar Items for the Year. We'll have a link HERE permanently and update it frequently.

We had a wonderful Monster Mash on Friday! Great costumes, games, treats, decorated pumpkins and fun for our Duval community! Thanks so much to the many caregivers and Duval alums who volunteered their time to make this a one more in a great annual tradition!

Basket Raffle on Nov. 15th is our next big event! Please see the Class Theme list below. We’d like all donations by this Friday, 11/1. Please also see the scratch ticket flyer and know that the winner does not need to be present to win, so please invite family and friends to participate. More details later this week about live auctions, purchasing tickets during library class Nov 12-15th and volunteer opportunities.

Helpful tips from Townsend, MA PD

• 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

• 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 date.

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