Duval Dispatch

Duval Families,

We’re heading into our first full week of school, and it’s been wonderful to see our Dolphins settling into routines, getting to know their classmates, and getting ready for a great year of learning together!

Last week, we introduced our monthly focus of being Welcoming and Inclusive. Last week, Ms. Craig and Mrs. Salamone started visiting classrooms to bring that theme to life! We’re joining classes for a read-aloud and having conversations with students about what it means to be welcoming, inclusive, and make sure everyone feels like they belong.

We’re also inviting our students to help us create an interactive bulletin board in the school! Students can share examples of ways they have included someone, welcomed a new friend, or helped someone feel like they belong. We hope their ideas will inspire other Dolphins to look for their own opportunities to include others throughout the school day. 💙

And, of course, we’ll continue celebrating students who put our monthly value into action with Dolphin Dollars! We love catching students making those small choices that help make Duval such a welcoming place to be.

You may also be hearing more about Pods! Each class is part of a Pod made up of one class from each grade, K–5. Our four Pods are the Eyes, Ears, Fins, and Tails. Throughout the year, Pods will have opportunities to work together and participate in fun activities. We’ll be sharing more about Pods as the year goes on!

We have a great week ahead, and we’re looking forward to seeing our Dolphins learning, laughing, making new friends, and continuing to build a school community where everyone feels welcome and included.

Don’t forget to join us at Hornstra Farms on Monday evening! We hope to see you there!

Have a wonderful week!

Ms. Craig and Mrs. Salamone

Everyone at Duval is expected to follow and support the 10 basic values that families, students, and staff agreed on during the 2024-2025 school year. Along with our theme celebrations, we will also be highlighting each of our 10 values over the course of the year. Please take a moment to read through these with your child(ren) and talk about ways we can ALL support the Duval Values.

The WH Elementary Handbook can be found HERE.

We have had several reports of unsafe bike behavior from our crossing guards. We would like you to review these expectations if your child is riding their bike to and from school :

• Wear your helmet every time. Keep it on until you reach your destination.
• Walk your bike across crosswalks. Stop, get off, and walk your bike across the street.
• Stop at all stop signs and traffic lights.
• Look both ways before crossing the street.
• Watch for pedestrians and give them space.
• Stay alert—no phones or headphones while riding.

As noted in our Elementary Handbook: The WHRSD Elementary Schools support and will enforce the Massachusetts General Law and Regulation of Bicycle Operations Ch. 85, Section 11B. Students 12 years of age or younger must wear a helmet when riding a bike. Failure to comply with this law will result in immediate and permanent loss of the privilege of riding a bike to school.

A few quick reminders to help keep arrival and dismissal safe and running smoothly:

Parent Pick-Up Placards

• This week, we will be sending home yellow parent pick-up placards.
• Placards will include your child’s name and grade.
• Please have the placard visible in your windshield at pick-up each day.
• This helps speed up dismissal and lets staff know you are approved to pick up your child.
• If someone else will be picking up your child: Please call the main office to let us know and, if possible, pass the placard along to the person picking up.

Please Pull Forward!

• When entering the parent pick-up line, please pull forward as much as possible.
• Please do not leave large gaps between cars.
• Keeping the line condensed helps us get buses safely off the street and into the driveway so students can board their buses.
• A little extra space in the line can create a big traffic backup, so thank you for helping us keep things moving!

Thank you for helping us make arrival and dismissal safe, smooth, and efficient for everyone!

If you have a dismissal change from your child's regular routine, a note MUST be sent in ahead of time. Please DO NOT rely on an email or even a phone call during the day.

Please call the Duval main office at 781-618-7055 (Press 1), if your child is going to be absent or late. We take the responsibility to care for your child very seriously and we need to know your child is safe!

Each Dispatch, we have a section for Nurse Melissa to share the latest health news. Here is this month's update.

Thank you.

Thank you to all who attended our first PTO meeting on Tuesday. It was great to see so many people there! As a reminder, all are welcome at our PTO meetings. They are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm in the Duval library. Childcare is provided by our high school National Honor Society students. Hope to see you in October!

Our local dining partnerships are coming up! Tomorrow is our Hornstra Farms night! Come see friends, have some ice cream and see our Duval surprise scoopers! Check out our Facebook page for a special raffle for those who attend and post a picture. Don't forget to mention Duval when ordering! We thank you for your support!

Upcoming PTO dates:

Hornstra Farms Partnership - September 14th

Napoli Pizza Partnership - September 30th & October 1st

Next PTO Meeting - October 13th

Monster Mash - October 23rd

Basket Raffle - November 6th

Please follow our social media pages for the most up to date information. We can also be reached via email at duvalpto@gmail.com.

Sept. 14 - SEPAC Meet and Greet at 6:30pm in High School Library

Sept. 14 - Hornstra PTO Fundraiser 4:00pm-9:00

Sept. 15- DOT Day; wear something with DOTS to Celebrate Peter Reynold's and National DOT Day!

Sept. 23 - Instrument Rental night 6pm in WMS Cafe

Sept. 23- School Committee Meeting 6:30pm WHHS

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Calendar Items for the Year. Click HERE.

Flyers from the community will be posted here.

• WH Elementary Handbook

• School Lunch Menus

• Infinite Campus Log In for grades, class info. Need help? Contact Tech: 781-618-8100

• School Status (emails, texts from WH or Duval)

• YMCA Before/After School Care Information

• The WHRSD and Duval School PTO Facebook pages.

• Anonymous Bullying or Harassment reporting: call 781-618-7086

John H. Duval Elementary provides a safe, supportive environment where children are able to reach for the stars!

Email: ashley.craig@whrsd.org
Website: https://whd.whrsd.org
Location: 60 Regal Street, Whitman, MA 02382
Phone: 781-618-7055
Twitter: @DuvalElementary