Duncan Dispatch

We appreciate your partnership in maintaining a safe and positive learning environment for our students and staff.

As a reminder, all visitors must follow these important safety protocols:

• All visitors must use the intercom at the front door to notify the office of their arrival. Office staff will ask to see your identification and confirm the purpose of your visit before granting access to the building.
• Visitors volunteering in classrooms or conducting business beyond the main office must register through the Raptor Visitor Management System, which includes a background check. Raptor information is always at the bottom of each Duncan Dispatch.

Thank you for your cooperation and continued commitment to school safety. If you have any questions, please contact our office at 586-797-4600.

November will focus on Gratitude! One way to think about Gratitude is “choosing to appreciate the people and things in our lives.” Practicing Gratitude can increase our well-being and our happiness.

Gratitude is 1 of 3 traits we will focus on throughout the year that helps students Be Well. Throughout the school, students will be developing skills like emotion regulation, positive self-talk, and stress management.

Pursuit #1

What are some small, specific things that you are Grateful for? Maybe it is your favorite water cup, the way the cat sleeps on the chair, or when your grandma bakes banana bread. Spend some time as a family trying to think of at least 10 small things that you have Gratitude for and then choose to notice them this week with a smile.

Pursuit #2

Review Gratitude as a family! Remember that Gratitude is choosing to appreciate the people and things in our lives. Find a place in your home to display a glass jar. Cut up small slips of paper and place them next to the jar. Use the jar to collect special people, places, events, and memories that your family is thankful for. Find a time each week to add slips of Gratitude to the jar and assist students in writing or drawing gratitude as needed. Having a gloomy day or a challenging time as a family? Pull out the slips of Gratitude and read them aloud together as a reminder of your Grateful moments.

Pursuit #3

Set aside some time to gather as a family and check in with each other. Ask each family member, “How are you feeling today?” Practice Honesty when responding and listen carefully as each family member shares. Use the emotion check-in questions to learn more. Challenge yourselves to check in with each other on a regular basis! Let people know you are Grateful for their willingness to share.

November

• 2nd: Student Council Board Member Speeches
• 3rd: No School - Teacher Professional Development
• 4th: Ike Band Tour @ Duncan
• 4th: DECO Meeting @ 7:00
• 5th: Picture Retake Day 📸
• 5th: Pathways Event @ Henry Ford 6 - 8:00pm
• 6th: Quarter 1 Report Cards Posted in PowerSchool
• 9th: Student Council Inauguration
• 9th: Fire Drill
• 11th: Veterans Parade
• 12th: IKE Choir Tour @ Duncan
• 12th: Rink Night 6:00 - 8:00 🛼
• 13th: World Kindness Day
• 13th: Quarter 1 PBIS Assembly
• 16th: Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00
• 18th: Bagel Day
• 18th: Lockdown Drill
• 25th - 27th: No School - Thanksgiving Break
• 30th: Book Fair Begins

December

• 1st - 4th: Book Fair
• 4th: Holiday Bingo 6:00 - 9:00
• 16th: Bagel Day
• 21st - 31st: No School - Winter Break

January

• 1st: No school - Winter Break
• 11th: Group Pictures
• 15th: Half Day - End of Marking Period
• 18th: No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• 20th: Bagel Day
• 27th: No Schol - Teacher Professional Development

February

• 15th - 19th: No School - Mid-Winter Break
• 24th: Bagel Day

March

• 10th: Half Day
• 17th: Bagel Day
• 25th: Half Day - End of Marking Period
• 26th: No School - Good Friday
• 29th - 31st: No School - Spring Break

April

• 1st - 2nd: No school - Spring Break
• 21st: Bagel Day

May

• 19th: Bagel Day
• 31st: No School - Memorial Day

June

• 1st: 1st Grade Field Trip Troy Historical Museum
• 1st: 6th Grade Field Trip Camp Tamarack
• 9th: Bagel Day
• 14th: Half Day
• 15th: Half Day - Last Day of School

It is strongly recommended parents/guardians download the Raptor Safe app in order to create a visitor profile. The Raptor Safe app offers a convenient and secure way for visitors to manage and verify their identify before arriving at school. This profile provides a Raptor Passport which can be used to quickly and easily check in at the school office via the app.

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If you plan to volunteer in our classroom, work directly with a student and/or chaperone a field trip, etc. you will need to have a volunteer background check on file. This is a separate step beyond downloading the Raptor Visitor APP. The background check involves multiple state and federal law enforcement databases. Click the button below to complete the volunteer application form. Please select all the areas you might like to volunteer such as classroom helper, fundraising and chaperone.

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The Community at Richard J. Duncan Elementary School is devoted to academic excellence. Sound instructional strategies will provide our students with a foundation of skills that will prepare them for lifelong achievement in a global society.

• Principal: Mrs. Jodi Pfeifer
• Assistant Principal: Mrs. Hannah Plourde
• Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Kelly Salter
• Clerk: Mrs. Joanne Giannone
• Hours: 8:30am-4:30pm
• Open Daily: Monday-Friday
• Office Number:586-797-4600
• Absence Line: 586-797-4699
• Early Childhood Number: 586-797-4660
• Email:officeduncan@uticak12.org

School Hours

Full-Day: 9:05 AM - 3:55 PM

Half-Day: 9:05 AM - 12:09 PM

Breakfast: 8:45 - 9:05

Doors open for students not eating breakfast at 8:55 AM