Delaware Ridge Monthly News

November 2026

November

2-6 -- Feed His Lambs Food Drive (SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS)

2 -- USD 204 School Board Meeting @ DRE, 6 PM

3 -- Fall Picture RETAKES

5 -- 4th Grade Music Program (6 PM, Gym)

6 -- Celebration of Learning (8:30 AM, Gym)

6 -- PTO Candy Sale permission slips go home

9 -- PTO Candy Sale BEGINS

11 -- 4th grade field trip

11 -- BSHS Frozen performance (10:30 - 11:00 @ BSHS)

12 -- Fire Drill @ 10:15 AM

13 -- Feed His Lambs Pajama Day Fundraiser (SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS)

16 -- Dental Clinic @ DRE

17 -- Family Literacy Night (5:30 - 6:30)

19 -- Crew Day

23-27 -- THANKSGIVING BREAK/NO SCHOOL

First Quarter Glows & Grows

At DRE, we're proud to have some of the greatest kids around! First quarter gave us opportunities to celebrate them as they show they are RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, and SAFE.

Here are some first quarter GLOWS.

50 students were recognized with DRE Excellence Cards! This means a staff member noticed them doing something outstanding, they met with Dr. Archer to celebrate, parents received communication from Dr. Archer, and they were celebrated at one of our Celebrations of Learning.
71,222 PBIS Rewards Points were given! You read that number right. Our students provided lots of opportunities for us to recognize them for meeting expectations in their classroom or in other areas of the building. That means an average of 1,656 points per day were awarded during first quarter, and the average student received 4.7 positive recognitions with PBIS Rewards Points every day! Students can use their points to buy things from our school store, and some teachers have their own class stores where students can make purchases, as well.

Here are a couple of GROWS as we continue the year.

When the adult in charge gives directions, we need all our students to be in the habit of following those directions "first time, fast," as many of our teachers say. Failure to do this leads to lost learning time for everyone. At this point, we've taught and retaught expectations many times. We will continue to reteach, as needed. Often failure to meet expectations isn't about whether or not students know what to do. And the vast majority of our kiddos do follow expectations on a consistent basis. Your encouragement and reminders can go a long way to helping your child successfully meet expectations every day.
We spent time in October focusing on the core skill of Agency. Agency means, "You know how powerful your voice is and use it to help you, your friends, and your community. You understand you can make a big difference by speaking up and doing things that make your community better." Whether it's using kind words toward others or speaking up for someone else, our DRE kiddos know their voices can be a powerful voice for good. Your reminders will strengthen this core skill that will help your child for life!

Military Connections at DRE

We would like to honor veterans who are part of our DRE family by displaying their pictures and information at our Celebration of Learning on November 6th. Please use this form to submit your military member's information/pictures. All pictures will be shared in a slideshow that will run on November 6th during Celebration of Learning.

Military Connection Form

If you cannot submit the form, please email your veteran's picture and information to mackeyj@usd204.net.

Celebrating DRE at Family Literacy Night

Part of our literacy night will also be an opportunity to celebrate our school's 20 years! You'll be able to enjoy a treat and even jot a note about great things going on at DRE. Be sure to mark your calendar and join just for this fun evening!

Visiting DRE (REPEAT)

We have some upcoming opportunities for families to visit DRE during the day, and we want to make sure everyone is prepared for changes to our process this year.

Whether it's Celebrations of Learning or seasonal parties, everyone who is entering the building during the school day must check in using our Centegix visitor system, in compliance with USD 204 expectations.

This requires scanning a driver's license or government ID into the Centegix system to receive a badge for the event.

Since all parents will be allowed to join us for class parties this year, we expect lots of visitors, and early planning will make sure you don't miss any of the fun!

Please note: Younger children are welcome to attend Celebrations of Learning. Only children who attend DRE may attend our seasonal parties.

Enrollment Fees (REPEAT)

Our district relies on enrollment fees to ensure we are able to provide the highest quality education possible for all our students. If you have not had an opportunity to pay your child's fees, please enter your parent portal and do so today.

Families who qualify for free or reduced lunches may be eligible for reduced or waived fees. HOWEVER, there is an additional process, so the fee reduction or elimination is NOT automatic.

You may contact our bookkeeper, Mrs. Sirmans, to set up a payment plan or to find out about the fee reduction/elimination paperwork.

We will communicate with individual families over the course of the year to ensure all fees are paid. Thank you for working with us and taking care of this responsibility at your earliest opportunity.

Ms. Claudia

You may or may not ever see her, but you'll see evidence of her important work at DRE whenever you visit. Ms. Claudia is our daytime custodian. There is a night crew that gets rooms ready for the next day, too. However, anytime we need help throughout the day, Ms. Claudia is right there ready to help, whether that's keeping our entryway clean or helping students at lunch or restocking our restrooms with supplies. Whatever the need, Ms. Claudia's got it, and we're glad to have here on our DRE staff!

Goin' Gaga

Thanks to your generosity during our fundraiser last year, we were able to purchase a gaga ball pit to add to our playground. Our PTO purchased balls for every grade level. Our USD 204 facilities department installed it for us, and our kiddos broke it in a few weeks ago. This new addition is on our large playground where most of our grade levels have one or both recesses. Gaga ball is a fun activity that lets lots of kiddos get involved!