Duval Dispatch

Hello Duval Community!

What an exciting week we had last week with the Pumpkin Festival and lots of learning to go along with it! Coming up this week, we stay really busy with more community building and learning projects. Monday is the Duval Elections where kids will learn about voting by casting their ballot for our mascot's name. Tuesday, there's no school for kids, but staff will be doing Professional Development to enhance instruction. Wednesday is an Early Release Day for Parent/Guardian Conferences. And, on Friday, we will have our first annual outdoor Veteran's Day Assembly with the whole school. If you or a grandparent is a Vet, you are invited to this assembly!

As we move into November, we are celebrating the value of Gratitude throughout the month. While November can be pretty chopped up in terms of days off and half days, there are lots of important school and community experiences that both enrich learning for our students, but also provide those wonderful memories we all cherish as adults.

Have a great week!

Dr. Marcus and Ms. Craig

Teacher Conferences are this Wednesday, 1-3pm and 5-7pm, all In-Person. Sign up with your teacher HERE (if you haven't already done so). Conferences with interpreters will be on Friday, Nov. 8, during the day. EL teachers will reach out to you if you filled out THIS FORM.

NOTE: ALL Sign Ups must be done by Wednesday at 8am. After that, folks will need to arrange another conference time with your teacher(s).

A couple of reminders/adjustments:

1- Except in rare emergencies, ALL dismissal changes MUST be announced to the classroom teacher with a physical note. Please do not rely on email or phone calls during the day to get the message to staff.

2- Beginning soon, we are going to stop any early dismissals after 3:10pm. With less than 5 minutes notice, and with the real need for the office to pay close attention to the safety of children leaving, we can not safely pull teachers and our admin assistant away from that task. Please plan accordingly. If folks do arrive at 3:10 or later, students will be called to come to the office when the bell rings at 3:15pm.

Our Pumpkin Festival on Thursday was a blast. Many thanks to Vineyard Farms in West Bridgewater (https://www.vineyardfarm.com) who donated a big pumpkin for each class and Stop and Shop in Whitman for donating sugar pumpkins. If you visit either retailer, please let them know we are grateful for their support!

Classrooms did some cool science experiments and math with the big pumpkins, and then both decorated and made aerodynamic their smaller sugar pumpkins. At the main event, we added up all of the distances each class's pumpkin flew and got to 1,630 total feet! A new record!! Congrats Duval!

Check out some pics of the day below.

The Theme Team is leading a special experience for Duval students by holding an Election Day on Monday to name our mascot. Here are the names on the ballot:

DeeDee

Dewey

Domingo

Dash

Voting will be in the cafeteria by secret ballot, and includes "I Voted" stickers! Ask your kids which one they prefer, then get ready to VOTE!

If you're coming in for Conferences, be sure to check out Lost and Found next to the cafe!

Episode 3, Friday Nov. 1 Dolphin TV can be found HERE.

Dolphin TV Channel is HERE to see all broadcasts.

Please click on Subscribe so our livestreams can be seen by more people!

November News from Nurse Melissa. Check it out HERE.

Nov. 4- Duval Election Day Event!

Nov. 5- Election Day, NO SCHOOL

Nov. 6- Early Release for Conferences

Nov. 8- Veterans Day Ceremony at the Flagpole, 10:30am

Nov. 11- Veterans Day. No School

Nov. 13- World Kindness Day! Hoping for a big event...

Nov. 15- PTO BASKET RAFFLE Event!! Please join us!!

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Calendar Items for the Year. We'll have a link HERE permanently and update it frequently.

Happy November!

The basket raffle is almost here! Please have all items for your children's classroom baskets to the school by tomorrow. If you are able to help us assemble the baskets, we will be in the Duval Library this Thursday at 5:30. The baskets will be on display the following week, when your students can purchase raffle tickets during their library time.

The big night is then Friday November 15th starting at 6 PM at the Whitman VFW. We have over 100 raffle prizes, 21 auctions, and our scratch ticket raffle tree up for grabs. The night is always a ton of fun and helps keep all of our programs running.

Additionally, we also have our November meeting on Tuesday the 12th. We will be discussing the December food drive, Holiday Shop, and more. Please join us at the Duval Library at 7 PM. Childcare will be available and a prize will be up for grabs in our Dolphin Games!

Thank you and see please see the links below for upcoming volunteer opportunities.

Marshall Ottina
President, Duval PTO

Basket Raffle Event Night: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090849A8AC2EA5FA7-52230535-basket

In-School Ticket Sales: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090849A8AC2EA5FA7-52775750-raffle

• Families can log into Infinite Campus for classroom information. Need an Infinite Campus Parent Portal Account? Please contact the Technology Department at 781-618-8100

• YMCA Before/After School Care Information

• The WHRSD and Duval School PTO Facebook pages are excellent social media resources for staying connected and informed.

• WHRSD Academic Calendar includes holidays, vacations, and early release date.

John H. Duval Elementary provides a safe, supportive environment where children are able to reach for the stars!

Email: john.marcus@whrsd.org
Website: https://whd.whrsd.org
Location: 60 Regal Street, Whitman, MA 02382
Phone: 781-618-7055
Twitter: @DuvalElementary