Summer 2026 Newsletter

School's out for summer, but that doesn't mean learning has to stop. Summer break is the perfect time for families to incorporate lessons into daily activities--and even vacations--to keep kids engaged and their minds active. These fun, brain-friendly activities are a great place to start.

Set Expectations

Tell your child that reading and learning activities will be an important part of their

summer, but make sure they know they’ll still have lots of time for play.

Create Mini-Lessons

Everyday activities make great learning opportunities. Have kids count change,

write a shopping list, or calculate a recipe’s measurements. Include your child in some cooking or baking; it's one of the best ways for them to build understanding of fractions!

Encourage Creative Writing

Have your child keep a summer journal, write letters to family members or friends, or start

a family cookbook with your favorite recipes, instructions, and shopping lists.

Read Daily

Set aside at least 15-20 minutes a day for your entire family to read. (That means parents,

too!) Organize a summer read-a-thon with goals for each family member, or sign your

child up for your library’s summer book club.

Let Them Play

Schools often use playful learning in the classroom, and of course, students have recess during the day. To boost playful learning at home, encourage kids to play matching or guessing games or solve puzzles. Go for a walk and have them look for shapes in the neighborhood buildings or playground equipment or hunt for letters or words around town. Setting up a restaurant or a shop is full of learning opportunities for kids, too.

Travel Around the Globe—Virtually

Have an international evening where you cook a meal with recipes from a different country.

Learn basic words in that country’s language. Find the country on a map, and read a book or

an article about what life is like there.

Learn During Family Trips

On vacation, stop at zoos, children’s museums, or historic sites. Have your child help you plot out the trip using maps and keep a journal along the way. Older kids can tally up miles, keep track of expenses, or compute gas mileage.

Play Outside

With the tremendous uptick over the past decade in device use, fewer students play outside. Get out of the house and play outside as a family: corn hole, kick ball, tag. Visit the park. Go for a hike. It is helpful for students to connect with nature, soak in some vitamin D, and breathe in fresh air.

On July 4, 2026, from 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., the City of Dalton Gardens will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary at Dalton City Park. As part of the festivities, the city is seeking a cross-section of community voices, including a Dalton Elementary student, middle school and high school students, veterans, and other community members, to share a brief (3-minute or less) reflection on what it means to be an American.

Mrs. Hiltenbrand is partnering with Mayor Jernigan to help identify Dalton Gardens students who may be interested in participating. If your student (elementary, middle, or high school) would like to be considered, please reach out to Mrs. Hiltenbrand at jhiltenbrand@cdaschools.org. She will connect interested families with the City of Dalton Gardens for next steps.

We hope to see our students’ voices represented in this special community celebration!

New student and kindergarten registration for the 2026-2027 school year is NOW open. Students turning 5 years of age on or before September 1, 2026, are eligible for kindergarten. We would love to have your eligible student registration as soon as possible so we can plan accordingly for next year.

Visit https://www.cdaschools.org/o/cdaps/page/new-student-registration (preferred method for registration).

For our returning families, you may finalize your registration for the 2026-2026 school year by accessing your Skyward account once you have received the District email alerting you that the "Returning Student Verification Window" is NOW open. The returning student online verification window opens July 1st. Please complete it by August 13th. Once you verify, you will receive a confirmation email to assure you that your verification is completed. Please reach out to the office once we open in mid-August if you do not receive confirmation, and we can assist. Thank you!

7/1 - Returning Student Online Verification Window Opens

8/13 - Online Verification due date

8/17 - Dalton Office opens; new student registration is daily

8/20 - Kindergarten Screening: 11am-1pm or 4pm-6pm (drop by to have your kinder screened)

9/2 - Open House: last name A-L @ 4:30pm and last name M-Z @ 5:00pm; class lists posted in multiple spots

9/8 - First day of school/9:00 a.m. start time

Thank you,

The Dalton Office Team