Owl Observer News

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our incredible community partners for their generous holiday support:

• Grace Community Church, Fulton, MD
• CrossLife Community Church
• Sorority Dorsey United Methodist Church
• The Catholic Community of St. Augustine and Ascension
• Shop With A Cop – Howard County
• J.J. McDonnell
• Mitzvah Women / Susanne Goldstein

Thanks to your kindness and generosity, our community was able to support 128 families during Thanksgiving and 131 families with holiday support this season. We are truly fortunate to be surrounded by a community that genuinely cares for our students and families and helps ensure they can enjoy bountiful, festive holiday celebrations.

Thank you for all that you do to ensure every student is seen and their needs are noticed. Your partnership helps set our students up for success in the classroom and beyond, and we are deeply grateful for your continued support.

We hope everyone has been able to enjoy the extended break and spend time resting and recharging. We look forward to welcoming students and staff back on Monday, January 5th at 8:30 a.m. As we return, we are excited to focus on our new attendance goals, upcoming winter assessments, and all the new learning ahead. Together, we can make this a strong and successful start to the new year!

As a reminder, Monday is a Spirit Day! Please wear your grade-level color. Together, we create a bright rainbow—when every color is present, we shine. When one color is missing, we all feel it. Every student matters, every day.

We would like to share some observations and reminders regarding student attendance on our scheduled half-days. While these days include an early dismissal, they remain full instructional days. Students continue to receive their complete reading, writing, and math instruction, and new learning takes place throughout the day.

With only 180 school days in the year and a significant amount of curriculum to cover, teachers are unable to pause instruction when students are absent. When students miss school—even on shortened days—they miss important learning that is difficult to fully make up.

Currently, our average absence rate on half-days is just over 10%. This means a significant number of students are missing instruction, which impacts both individual learning progress and overall classroom continuity.

We are also making intentional efforts to ensure half-days are engaging and enjoyable for students. Teachers and staff plan fun and meaningful activities during recess and lunch to keep students excited, connected, and motivated throughout the day. In order for students to benefit from both instruction and these activities, consistent attendance is essential.

Unfortunately, no grade earned the lunch movie incentive in December, as every grade level had several unexcused absences on Fridays. This is a reminder of how attendance directly impacts schoolwide incentives and celebrations. Please remember to send in a note or email DLESAbsence@hcpss.org if your child is absent so the absence can be properly documented. We look forward to holding another attendance competition when we return and encourage all students to participate by being present each day.

We understand that early dismissals can create challenges for families when it comes to childcare and schedules. We truly appreciate your efforts to plan ahead, especially as we have several half-days approaching:

• January 22

• February 5

• February 6

• March 3

Your partnership and support make a difference in helping students stay on track academically and feel connected to our school community. Thank you for working with us to prioritize attendance and learning—even on half-days.

Monday, January 5th-DLES Spirit Day-wear your DLES grade-level shirt or other spirit wear to kick off 2026

Monday, January 19th- Schools Closed-Martin Luther King Jr. Day

With the start of the new year, students in Grades K–5 will participate in several assessments. We kindly ask that you review the Winter Testing Dates below and be mindful of your student’s schedule during these testing windows.

WIDA ACCESS Testing for Multilingual Learners (K–5)

This assessment measures a student’s English language proficiency.
Testing Window: January 7 – February 18
Make-Up Testing: February 19 – March 4
This assessment may be administered in small groups or one-on-one.

DIBELS Reading – Middle of the Year Screener (K–5)

This is a brief, one-minute fluency assessment used to evaluate key reading skills such as letter naming, phonemic awareness, and decoding.
Testing Window: January 12 – January 31

ELA Reading Assessments (Grades 3–5)

This reading assessment is administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to monitor student growth and reading proficiency.
CommonLit Testing Window: Month of January

MAP Winter Assessment (Grades 1–5)

This computer-adaptive assessment measures student growth in Reading, Math, and Language Usage. It adjusts question difficulty in real time to identify learning levels and support personalized instruction throughout the school year.

• Grade 5 Only: January 5 – January 14

• Grades 1–4: January 27 – February 27

Spring testing dates will be communicated once they have been finalized by the school team.

This holiday season please remember the Ducketts Lane Blessing in a Backpack program. For as little as $2.90, you can help provide a hunger-free weekend for a child. Enough to keep hunger pangs at bay until children return to school on Monday morning. But the impact goes beyond that. Kids who have enough to eat do better in school and feel cared for by their community. The needs grow every day. In September we started the Blessing in a Backpack distribution with a list of 30 Ducketts Lane Students and as of today I have 50 students in need of weekend food bags.

Blessings In A Backpack On-Line Giving

Who will feed the kids this weekend? We hope you will.

Congratulations to Kenton Goulet. His Artwork titled "Moody Cat" a mixed media Pet Portrait, will be exhibited at 50 Plus center in Columbia. Please see the attachment . We are so proud of Kenton and know his art will reach many hearts !

Congratulations to Kai Bellas, Jezelle Bennett, and Sarah El Mahyaoui . Their amazing "Crayon Challenge" artworks which explore pushing the medium of CRAYON will be exhibited at the Columbia Art Center . Please see the details and attachment.

The HCPSS Black Student Achievement Program (BSAP) Saturday Math Academy (SMA) will offer an in-person enrichment program for Howard County Public School System students in all levels of math for grades 3 through 12 based on course availability.

The BSAP Saturday Math Academy has been in existence since 1992. The program was developed in response to parents’ seeking math enrichment for their students. The priority was to learn instructional mathematical strategies to support their children at home and to accelerate
academic achievement.

Click here for registration. Registration will open on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

Sign up here- A Day With a Dude Volunteer Sign Up

Show your DLES pride and let everyone know you’re part of one of the best school communities! Check out our new school spirit wear store—new weekly deals are added regularly, so be sure to check back often.

Join today at https://duckettspta.givebacks.com/shop! When you become a member you are supporting the students and teachers at DLES, as well as the nation. Each voice makes the PTA louder when advocating for what they need.

Together, we can wrap our school community in warmth this season. Thank you for giving, supporting, and sharing kindness! ✨

We strive to be a school that actively partners with our students, staff, families, and surrounding community members. We welcome your feedback.

Please click on the Feedback Form to share your thoughts with how we can make DLES the best for everyone.

• Principal, Mrs. Caroland Molly_Caroland@hcpss.org

• Assistant Principal, Mrs. Van Osdel Amy_Van_Osdel@hcpss.org

• Leadership Intern, Mrs. Poquette Laurie_Poquette@hcpss.org

• Principal Secretary, Mrs. Canter Teresa_Canter@hcpss.org

• Registration Support, Secretary Ms. Lynette Carmen_Lynette@hcpss.org

• Attendance, Synergy and Family File Support, Secretary Mrs. Forman Julie_Forman@hcpss.org

• Synergy and Family File Support, Secretary Mrs. Haque Puna_Haque@hcpss.org

• Counselor Mr. Leisawitz Alexander_Leisawitz@hcpss.org

• Counselor Mrs. Barron Krista_Barron@hcpss.org

• Community School Coordinator Mrs. De La Cruz- Van Natta ndelacruzvannatta@hcpss.org