DCS Ravens' Report

March

18th-4th and 5th Grade Choral Concert at ConVal.

20th-End Trimester 2, Talent Show 2pm Rehearsal, 6pm Performance (please park at Yankee)

27th-Report cards go home, 12 pm Community Lunch

April

8th-Spring Picture Day

Hello DCS families, it has been an incredibly busy return to school after the February Break! So much fun in many ways, but we do feel the transition from the vacation back into the routines of school deeply. Oh yes, then there are the many weather impacts to consider. However, we have had ana amazing start to March! Our kick off to the One School One Book was quite fun! Ellen Gorr, Vicki Brown, and Jackie Neilssen did a humorous job with the skit to set the stage for the book reveal (image above). We had some fun with some team building games as well to connect to the idea of community and teamwork in the book. Thanks again to Heather Fletcher for bringing this amazing experience into our school and district!

Last weekend, the PTO hosted the Winter Fun Day. While this was postponed, the weather was perfect and it was so joyous to see all the box sleds in action (see photo below). I am so thankful for our PTO for their creative thinking, support, and dedication to our students! I cannot wait to see what they come up with fun next Winter Fun Day!

With great appreciation to Brittney Redler, the second annual DCS Talen Show will be held next Friday. Dress rehearsal at 2pm and evening performance at 6pm.

4th and 5th graders, do not forget the opportunity to participate in the District Wide Choral Concert at the High School Wed at 6pm.

Our week ended with a visit from ConVal Principal Heather McKillop who came to DCS to read a book to us. The story was about the worries we hold and considering those that we have control of and those that we do not. It was so lovely to have her come to our school and we hope she will come again!

Have a wonderful weekend, Nicole

Our kindergarteners have been working on teen numbers, learning that they are made of 10 and some more ones. The children are beginning to see how numbers like 14 are really 10 + 4, which is an important step in understanding place value.

Students had fun making animal tracks in playdough, carefully pressing and comparing the different prints they created. We have also been excitedly checking in on the Big Bear Valley eagle cam, where we are watching a nest with two eggs and learning about eagles and their habitats. To get ready for St. Patrick’s Day, we made colorful rainbow paper chains that are brightening up our hallway and adding a little festive cheer!

The first Monday back after vacation was the birthday of Dr. Seuss, so of course we had to celebrate! We started our day by reading Green Eggs and Ham—and yes, we even enjoyed some green eggs and ham for breakfast. Some students were a little unsure about tasting the oddly colored meal, while others dove right in and even went back for seconds (and thirds!).

We also enjoyed comparing and contrasting Horton Hears a Who! and Horton Hatches the Egg. The class agreed that we definitely never want to be like Mazie the bird, who leaves her responsibility behind to fly off to Florida! Horton showed us what it means to be faithful and responsible—just like he says, “I meant what I said and I said what I meant… an elephant’s faithful one hundred percent!”

In phonics, second graders are working on vowel teams that make the long A, I, and O sounds. We are also reading stories from our Kids Excel readers about children who excel at things like spelling, swimming, and other skills. The students really enjoy these stories, and they lead to great comprehension discussions.

First graders have been working hard on the /oo/ and /ou/ sounds. We played a quick game of Wonder Ball to help remember the /ou/ sound in the phrase O-U-T… OUT! The students loved the game—and the learning really stuck!

Both grades are also working on our Fairy Tale unit in CKLA. Stories like Sleeping Beauty and Rumpelstiltskin were new to many students, and they have really enjoyed hearing and discussing these classic tales.

The 3/4/5 team is thrilled to be back in school, learning and growing. This month, we are preparing for our Poetry Recital on Friday, March 27th, at 11:15 am. Please mark your calendars to come listen to us recite our poems!

Thank you for reading, The Wild Robot, with your child. The students are enjoying the morning Trivia game and using the new vocabulary words.

For Social/Emotional Learning, Mrs. Garland’s class is working on different ways to regulate the body when it is deregulated for various reasons. While across the hall, Mrs. Quinn’s class has returned to their SEL Zoo and continues developing meaningful regulation strategies.

During English Language Arts, the third grade has started their new CKLA unit on Native Americans. The class will focus on Native American regions and cultures through reading, discussion, and writing. To correlate with our study, each student is following a musher live in the Iditarod and listening to the read-aloud, Balto. Thank you, Pam Bator, for creating this fun project for us. In the fourth/fifth grade, they will be busy with each reading group beginning their own chapter book, a poetry study, continuing to work with subjects and predicates, and writing an opinion essay.

For Math, the third graders' unit of study is fractions. “Students will develop an understanding of fractions as numbers and of fraction equivalence by representing fractions on diagrams and number lines, generating equivalent fractions, and comparing fractions.” The fourth graders have started a new unit that focuses on using multiplication and division in the context of measurement. They are also working on finding unknown angles in Geometry. The fifth graders have started a new unit on Multiplying Fractions.

The team continues to love their time together knitting! We are so appreciative of Carrie, Aiyana, Kristi, Erin, and Pam for their loyal support.

The K/1 class learned about and played a lot of new instruments - it was PERCUSSION week! Percussion instruments are any instrument that you: hit, shake, or scrape. We used the different instruments to tell stories and sing silly songs. A favorite song was the Scottish children's folk song, "Aikendrum".

The 2nd grade class studied the music alphabet: DO RE MI FA SOL LA TI DO (think "Sound of Music"). We practiced singing and playing it many times on piano, xylophone, and boomwhackers. "Doe a Deer" was very popular this week. They used their new knowledge to play along while we read the book "Mortimer" about a little boy who doesn't want to go to bed and loves to sing!

The 3rd grade class started recorder! The 4th and 5th graders reviewed the notes names on the music staff and how to play BAG on the recorder. Of course we played "Eye of the Tiger" - that seems to be everyone's favorite recorder song!

This class also learned the song "Dance, Live, Sing, Love!" in preparation for the District Choral Concert in March. All 4th graders are invited to join the older singers from GBS, SMS, and CVHS on Wednesday, March 18th at 6:30pm in the gymnasium. Each choir will perform one song and 4th graders will sing in the finale song with everyone.

Hello from the ConVal Wellness Committee! We want to provide information about how our students, families and staff can stay healthy, so will be sharing a short item in this newsletter once a month. Below is this month's "News from the Wellness Committee" item. We hope you find them beneficial!

Paying Attention to Seasonal Mental Health:

During winter’s reduced sunlight and colder temperatures, we spend more time indoors, and need to be intentional about supporting positive mental health. A great way to do this is to limit the use of devices such as phones, laptops, gaming systems, etc. We want to increase our exposure to fresh air and natural light whenever possible, and when it is not too uncomfortable to be outside. Excessive screen time has been linked to increased depression, while the blue light from screens before bed can disrupt sleep patterns. Stepping outside into the crisp, cold air, even for short intervals, can offer important benefits. Spending time outside during the day helps regulate the body's internal clock and boosts Vitamin D, which is essential for mood regulation. Fresh air increases oxygen levels in the brain, raising serotonin levels—the chemical messenger associated with happiness and well-being. Outdoor physical activity can also reduce stress hormones and release endorphins, alleviating symptoms of anxiety, fatigue, and seasonal depression (SAD). By choosing a walk in the park over indoor screen time, we can support our mental and physical health during the chilly winter season.

Recent classroom counseling lessons with the DCS first grade and second grade students have focused on bullying prevention. These lessons, from a research-based curriculum developed by The Committee for Children in Seattle, Washington---https://www.cfchildren.org--- are taught in all Conval School District elementary schools. The students learn (and review) the Bullying Prevention Three R's: Recognize, Report and Refuse. They learn how to distinguish bullying from other mean behavior: bullying is repeated, mean, one-sided and deliberate in behavior. People engaging in bullying behavior almost always have more power in some way(s) than the person being bullied. Students learn that this power can sometimes take the form of "social power"--the power of the person doing the bullying to engage others in the bullying behavior and to exert "negative, harmful leadership". Students watch developmentally appropriate video scenarios during the lessons and they practice The Three R's. Similar classroom counseling lessons for the DCS third, fourth and fifth grade students took place earlier this school year and similar lessons will take place in the DCS Kindergarten class a bit later this 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.

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/