Owl Observer News

What a full and wonderful week it has been at Ducketts Lane! We’re heading into another fantastic week ahead—one filled with school spirit and two firsts for both Howard County and our school community!

On Wednesday, we’ll proudly welcome the Morgan State University Band for a special assembly, and on Friday, November 14th, our entire school will take part in Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. This event will be HUGE—and it will even change our usual morning arrival patterns!

We will be sending out a separate message early next week to share more details with all community members about the anticipated traffic pattern changes for the morning of Friday, November 14th, as we come together to celebrate and participate in National Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day.

In this week’s edition, you’ll also find updated data on our attendance and discipline for the first quarter—a reflection of how we’re doing as a school community and the progress we’re making together.

And don’t miss details on how your child can join in each day of Spirit Week next week—it’s going to be a fun and festive time for everyone!

Be sure to read more about Ruby Bridges Day, our upcoming events, and other important updates in this week’s newsletter.

Today, November 7th, marks the first full week of Quarter 2! Report cards will be available online Monday, November 10th after 4pm. We encourage you to review these reports with your student to celebrate their successes and discuss areas that may need focus for next quarter. If you need help access the report card use the link below for directions.

https://help.hcpss.org/how-can-i-access-my-childs-report-cards-online

Parent Teacher conferences will be held in person on Monday, November 24th and virtually Tuesday, November 25th and virtually Wednesday, November 26th. Parents/guardians may schedule conferences in HCPSS Connect beginning at 8:00 a.m. on November 7th. Conference scheduling will continue through 4:00 p.m. on November 20th. Conferences will be held with your child's Language Arts teacher.

Daily school attendance is one of the most important ways we can set our children up for success—both now and in the future. As part of our School Improvement Plan, we’re focusing on improving student attendance, and we need your partnership!

Please be intentional about avoiding scheduling appointments or vacations during school days and setting consistent routines that help your child arrive at school on time and ready to learn each day.

Our Quarter 1 attendance rate was 95.6%, slightly below last year’s 96% at the end of the first quarter. Our 3-year-old (90.4%) and 4-year-old (93.8%) classes currently have the lowest attendance rates, so let’s work together to build strong attendance habits early!

Congratulations to our 5th grade students for leading the way with 97.5% attendance! Kindergarten followed with 96%, and 4th grade came in close behind at 95.8%—great job!

As a reminder, one of our school goals is to reduce the number of students classified as chronically absent—students who miss 10 or more days of school, whether excused or unexcused. This is why it’s so important to carefully consider the reason your child is missing school—each day adds up. Our goal is to stay below 12.8%, and we are currently at 10.3% who have already reached that threshold.

If you need support in helping your child attend school every day, please reach out—we’re here to help. Together, we can make sure every child is ready for success. Each day counts!

Monday, November 10th: Report Cards Issued

Wednesday, November 12th: Students are dismissed at 12:15-no preschool classes

Friday, November 14th: Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day

Monday, November 17th-Friday, November 21st: American Education Week

Monday, November 24th: Students are dismissed at 12:15-no preschool classes/In-Person Parent:Teacher Conference

Tuesday, November 25th: Students are dismissed at 12:15-no preschool classes/Virtual Parent:Teacher Conference

Wednesday, November 26th-Friday, November 28th: Schools Closed For Students

Monday, December 1st: Schools reopen from fall break

Celebrations Next Week

We are excited to announce that we are the first school in Howard County to be hosting a Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. Please mark your calendars for two important events the week of November 10th!

🥁 Wednesday 11/12, Special Half Day Event: We are excited to welcome the Morgan State Band for a special performance for our students. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin_Anderson@hcpss.org.

🚶‍♀️Friday 11/14, Ruby Bridges Walk to School: We warmly encourage all families to join us in walking to school with your child this Friday! This day is a powerful opportunity to teach our students about courage, equality, and the importance of taking that first step.

Staff Walk and Start Time: Our DLES staff will be joining the walk to school from two designated starting points. We would love to walk as a group, please be on the sidewalk at 8:25 AM sharp to join in the fun.

• Starting Point #1: Entrance of Village Apartments (the last road before the light to Route 1).

• Starting Point #2: Duckeys Run Road.

Important Note for Bus Riders: We want all students to participate! Children who normally ride the bus will be dropped off at Kara Walk where designated waiting staff will meet them. They will then walk together as a group to the school building to experience this meaningful journey.

Destination: Storywalk Around the School! Once all groups have gathered at the back field, we will begin our special School Storywalk at 8:40 AM, which will take us around the school building. Let's make this a joyful, community journey!

🥳 DLES Spirit Week

Get ready to show your school spirit all week long! We will be hosting a fun-filled, week-long Spirit Week leading up to the walk on Friday.

We look forward to seeing our community come together for this special week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. De La Cruz-Van Natta

Delivery Notice: If you chose to ship your Joe Corbi's/ShopFund orders to DLES, those items will be delivered on Monday, November 24th. They will be available for pick-up on that day from around dismissal time until 7pm. Please be sure to stop by DLES to pick up your orders on this day as we do not have freezer space available to keep any orders that are not picked up.

Thank you for your support!

If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Abramson at Jennifer_Abramson@hcpss.org or

410-313-5050.

We hope everyone had a great month and has had a chance to talk with your students about some of the exciting things they’ve been learning in Physical Education!

During October, our PreK–1st grade students worked hard to develop their locomotor skills as they explored different types of movement and direction through various activities.

Our 2nd–5th grade students have been engaging in activities designed to promote fitness concepts and build a deeper understanding of the Health-Related Fitness Components — muscular strength, muscular endurance, aerobic fitness, and flexibility. We encourage you to ask your students to share and demonstrate some of the skills and concepts they’ve been practicing in P.E.

Looking ahead to November, we’ll begin our Striking with Feet unit, which will include dribbling, passing, and kicking a ball with their feet!

We truly appreciate your continued support and partnership. Your involvement is invaluable, and we look forward to continuing this journey together.

The P.E. Department
Mr. Anderson & Mr. Abramson
#WEAREDUCKETTS

As a staff, we commit to applying the Student Code of Conduct consistently to ensure fair and equitable discipline practices here at Ducketts Lane. We work tirelessly to teach our values of being determined learners who are embracing and safe on a daily basis. We are proud to share our Quarter 1 data with you.

Our School Improvement Plan focus for our discipline data is to reduce the overall number of Incident Reports (IRs) for all students.

We have had 17 Incident Reports written for 13 students during Quarter 1. Four students were repeat offenders- having had more than 1 incident report written.

• 3 incidents were written for 1st grade

• 8 incidents in 3rd grade

• 1 incident in 4th grade

• 5 incidents in 5th grade

The majority of incidents occurred in the classrooms, with our most difficult day being Tuesday. Specific violations to our Student Code of Conduct include:

• Academic Dishonesty

• Destruction of Property

• Theft

• Threat

• Attack on Student

Thank you for your ongoing partnership in reinforcing our shared expectations for student behavior. Your support helps us create a respectful, safe, and focused learning environment for every student.

Some of our students are learning to add and subtract two-digit numbers by understanding place value—how tens and ones make up a number. This helps them make sense of math, not just memorize steps.

✖️ When Adding (Example: 47 + 35)

1. Break apart each number into tens and ones.
   47 = 4 tens and 7 ones
   35 = 3 tens and 5 ones

2. Add the ones first.
   7 ones + 5 ones = 12 ones → that’s 1 ten and 2 ones.

3. Then add the tens.
   4 tens + 3 tens + the extra 1 ten = 8 tens.

4. Put it together.
   8 tens + 2 ones = 82

✅ 47 + 35 = 82

➖ When Subtracting (Example: 63 – 27)

1. Break apart into tens and ones.
   63 = 6 tens and 3 ones
   27 = 2 tens and 7 ones

2. If you can’t subtract the ones, regroup (borrow) a ten.
   Take 1 ten from the tens place. Now you have 5 tens and 13 ones.

3. Subtract the ones.
   13 ones – 7 ones = 6 ones

4. Subtract the tens.
   5 tens – 2 tens = 3 tens

5. Put it together.
   3 tens + 6 ones = 36

✅ 63 – 27 = 36

🏡 Ways to Practice at Home

• Count household items by groups of ten (like 10 spoons or 10 crayons).

• When reading numbers on signs or clocks, ask:
  “How many tens? How many ones?”

• Play a quick game: say a number and have your child show it with tens and ones (draw sticks and dots on paper).

🧠 Why This Matters

Understanding place value helps children make sense of numbers, not just memorize facts. It builds strong number sense and prepares them for multi-digit addition, subtraction, and even multiplication later on.

👉 This same understanding applies to much larger numbers, too — children learn that place value continues into hundreds, thousands, and beyond. Recognizing that each place is 10 times the one before it (ones, tens, hundreds, thousands) is key to understanding all higher-level math skills.

Families that have been affected by the federal government shutdown and who would not ordinarily qualify for the Pre-K program could now be eligible due to their current loss of income. Howard County families who have lost pay due to the shutdown, even those families who have previously applied and did not meet Tier I eligibility, may apply. If your family qualifies, the Pre-K program would be offered at no cost to your family for the remainder of the school year. Please submit a completed application and the required income documentation to: hcpss_pk@hcpss.org. Application submissions must include the required income documentation in order for our office to determine eligibility. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Early Childhood Program by email at hcpss_pk@hcpss.org or by phone at 410-313-6836.

Show your DLES pride and let everyone know you’re part of one of the best school communities! Check out our new school spirit wear store—new weekly deals are added regularly, so be sure to check back often.

PTA Membership Raffle

Not a member yet? Join the DLES PTA today for your chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card! We'll have one lucky teacher/staff and one lucky family winner! Drawing will be held on 11/24. Sign up today at https://duckettspta.givebacks.com/

When you become a member, you are supporting the students and teachers at DLES, as well as the nation. Each voice makes the PTA louder when advocating for what they need.

Jason's Deli Spirit Night

Join us for a delicious way to support our PTA at Jason's Deli (8874 McGaw Rd, Columbia, MD 21045) on November 12th, from 5-9 pm.

Order in person and show the flyer, or skip the line and order online for pickup using code FUND20.

Staff Conference Dinner

We’re excited to host a Staff Conference Dinner on November 24th to show our appreciation for all the hard work and dedication from the teachers and staff at DLES.

This year’s menu will include a fresh garden salad and a baked potato bar with all the fixings.

We’re asking for a few donations to help make the evening extra special. If you’d like to contribute, please sign up using this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080549A8A92BAAFB6-59961816-staff

General PTA Meeting & Game Night

Join us for our next PTA General Meeting and Game Night on November 14th from 6-8 pm in the Cafeteria!

We’ll kick things off with a brief PTA meeting to share updates and upcoming events, followed by a fun-filled Game Night for families. Bring your favorite board games—or enjoy some of ours—and spend an evening connecting with other families in our school community.

To stay up-to-date on all of our upcoming events, visit our website and Facebook page.

Book Fair

Get ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to DLES from November 17th to November 24th! This is a wonderful opportunity for students and families to discover new books, build home libraries, and share the joy of reading.

We’re looking for volunteers to help make the Book Fair a success — from setup and sales to cleanup. If you can lend a hand, please be on the lookout for additional volunteer information!

Here's the link for the book fair or online shopping

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/duckettslaneelementary

Here is the sign up for volunteers to help out with the book fair.

https://tinyurl.com/3a4v6vym

Have you ever thought, “Why is my child acting this way? Is this challenging behavior normal?"

You’re not alone.

This webinar helps you understand what’s typical for your child’s stage, what might be outside the expected range, and how to adapt your parenting so life gets easier for everyone.

We’ll discuss what’s common vs. behaviors to watch more actively, when a rough patch is a phase, and when to consider additional support.

• Ages & Stages overview. Clear snapshots of developmental expectations from Pre-K to middle school in the domains of attention, emotions, social skills, language, executive function, and self-regulation.
• Behavior = communication. How to figure out what’s behind the behavior (sensory, skills lag, stress, sleep, language, transitions).
• When to call in the experts. Decision points for seeking professional help and/or school-based evaluations, and how to start. If something feels “off,” we’ll show you how to pursue help thoughtfully, without jumping to worst-case scenarios.
• Adapting your approach. Initial steps you can take to align expectations and routines with your child’s current developmental capacities, and guidance on in-depth parenting programs designed to support that journey.

For: Parents, caregivers, and educators of children ages 3-13

When: Wednesday, November 5, from 7:30 - 9:00 PM ET

Cost: FREE

REGISTER

https://pepparentonline.org/p/parents-guide-child-development-2025

We strive to be a school that actively partners with our students, staff, families, and surrounding community members. We welcome your feedback.

Please click on the Feedback Form to share your thoughts with how we can make DLES the best for everyone.

• Principal, Mrs. Caroland Molly_Caroland@hcpss.org

• Assistant Principal, Mrs. Van Osdel Amy_Van_Osdel@hcpss.org

• Leadership Intern, Mrs. Poquette Laurie_Poquette@hcpss.org

• Principal Secretary, Mrs. Canter Teresa_Canter@hcpss.org

• Registration Support, Secretary Ms. Lynette Carmen_Lynette@hcpss.org

• Attendance, Synergy and Family File Support, Secretary Mrs. Forman Julie_Forman@hcpss.org

• Synergy and Family File Support, Secretary Mrs. Haque Puna_Haque@hcpss.org

• Counselor Mr. Leisawitz Alexander_Leisawitz@hcpss.org

• Counselor Mrs. Barron Krista_Barron@hcpss.org

• Community School Coordinator Mrs. De La Cruz- Van Natta ndelacruzvannatta@hcpss.org