DCS Ravens' Report

January

5th-first day of the school year 2026

9th-Winter Fun Afternoon/Ski and Ride Program

19th-MLK Jr/Civil Rights Day-No School

20th-some DCS students present at the School Board meeting 7pm

30th-Community Lunch 12pm

February

20th-Community Lunch 12pm

23rd-27th-February Vacation-No School

Hello DCS families, I hope you have had a great week! DCS had the incredible honor to be recognized for the November Granite Stater of the Month by Senator Hassan's Office for the special Veteran's Day Assembly! Last weekend, Heather Fletcher and I were able to attend the banquet for the 2025 nominees. It was very moving to hear the other stories about the good works people and groups are doing across the state to support and give to others! If you know of someone that you feel should be nominated you can do just that, please reach out and I will explain the process. This was an amazing experience and I am so proud of our school! Some of our students will presenting at the School Board Meeting Tuesday the 20th at 7pm, please watch via livestream on the top of the Board Meeting Agenda.

The week has been all about returning to our school schedules and to focus upon winter benchmarking. These assessments help us understand where our student are in their progress. I hope you have a lovely weekend and find ways in which to remember Martin Luther King Jr.

We jumped into the new year by learning the abbreviated way to write the date!. In math, students learned what a math expression is and practiced drawing pictures to represent addition and subtraction. In literacy, we explored story elements—characters, story and plot and learned to retell stories using beginning, middle, and end.

We also enjoyed reading Snowmen at Night and the rest of the series (Snowmen at Work, Snowmen at Halloween, Snowmen at Christmas, and Snowmen All Year). The class had a blast adding their own creative ideas about the secret lives of snowmen!

Be sure to check out recent pictures here Keep reading!

This week, our students have been busy learning all about maps and places! We explored which countries have states and which have provinces, and played fun scavenger hunts using compass rose directions to figure out the state or country being described. We also learned the differences between urban, suburban, and rural communities. Right now, students are creating their very own “Initial Islands,” complete with a compass rose and a map key—such creative work!

Second graders practiced using quotation marks and commas in a hands-on way by gluing macaroni to stand in for the punctuation. They did a fantastic job! We are also working on Opinion Writing, practicing strong topic sentences and learning how to organize our writing with a topic sentence, three reasons using transitionwords, and a closing sentence.

In math, first graders are working hard on addition and subtraction facts within 20, building confidence and accuracy each day. Second graders are moving into addition and subtraction within 1000.

It is so great to be back in the rhythm and routine of the school day. The students are happy to be with their friends and learning in the classroom. The classes worked hard on their NWEA testing for ELA and Math. During Social/Emotional Learning, Ms. Gregg is visiting the classrooms to share about being a good friend and standing up for others.

In Language Arts, third grade began our poetry unit with the district pilot of CKLA. The focus this week was on rhyme in poetry and on starting their opinion writing paragraph. While the fourth and fifth graders continue their biography research project, learning about writing essays and focusing on finding & using text features to gain a greater understanding of texts.

For Math, the third grade is focusing on a new unit on interpreting descriptions, diagrams, and expressions that represent division situations. The fourth graders are starting Unit 4, which focuses on the relationship between fractions and decimals. At the same time, the fifth graders have started a new Unit focused on Multiplying Fractions.

Kindergarten and 1st grade loved singing about Winter and sharing their favorite Winter activities. A highlight of the week was "ice skating" to music using paper plates. The metallophone was a new and exciting addition to their music lessons and everyone took turns playing while we sang "Winter is Here".

2nd graders reviewed some previous knowledge about instruments and rhythm. The Sledding Song was a fun activity for acting out a musical story and playing several different instruments together. Both classes were able to "level up" and learn the challenge Xylophone part for the song!

3rd and 4th grade spent most of the week reviewing rhythm and note names on the music staff. They are getting ready to play recorder in the Spring!

The Conval district wide choral concert is 3/18 at 6:30pm this year at the CVHS. As always, all 4th graders (and DCS 5th graders) are invited to join in singing the finale song. I have begun to teach "Dance, Love, Sing, Live!" to 4/5 during special this week. Please include this information in your newsletters or messages home to parents. Students will need to arrive at 6pm wearing all black clothing.

This Friday (01/09), CVHS is hosting a varsity basketball double header vs. Souhegan High School. The Girls' game tips off at 5:00, followed by the Boys' game at 6:30. This is CVHS' “Claws for a Cause” game, and this year's cause is our local food pantries. In lieu of an admissions fee, we are asking all fans to bring in a non-perishable food item. Cash or check donations will be accepted. All profits from the game will go to our local food pantries. We hope to see you here!"

68 Hours of Hunger:

End 68 Hours of Hunger provides extra food for the weekend to any child attending school in the ConVal district. No financial paperwork is required. A grocery bag will be provided every Friday at school. It’s easy to register here: registration.end68hoursofhunger.org

Dublin Food Pantry: If you are in need or know of anyone in need, please share this information.

Winter Gear-If your student has any need for cold weather gear, please reach out. We have been offered up supplies if needed.

If you are interested in finding out how you can support please reach out to DCS: 603-563-8332.

DCS website-is here

Plastic Recycling-the DCS community has recycled over 2000 pounds of plastic bags and in return were given a bench from the Trex decking company! Please keep your clean plastic shopping bags and pellet bags coming, we are working toward a second bench and beyond!

DCS also collects metal tabs to be donated toward support for people with prosthetics! Please bring your tabs to school!

If you are interested in ordering some DCS swag for your student(s), please use this link. We will be providing new students with a DCS T-in the near future. https://dublinravens.deco-apparel.com/

Email: npease@conval.edu
Website: dcs.conval.edu
Location: 1177 Main Street, Dublin, NH, USA
Phone: 603-563-8332