E-News

Daylight savings time is upon us! At 2:00am on Sunday, March 8th the clocks spring forward one hour. This can make waking up for school on Monday a little difficult. Here are some tips to help ease your way into the time change!

1. Start slow: On Friday (today), put your child to bed 20 minutes earlier than their usual bedtime. Wake up on Saturday (3/7) 20 minutes earlier than usual. On Saturday night, put them to bed 40 minutes earlier than their usual bedtime...that way on Sunday (after the time change) they are only 20 minutes off of their new schedule. This gives their bodies some time to adjust to the time change.

2. Stay Consistent: On Sunday night, put them to bed at the normal time ON THE CLOCK. Try not to let them stay up an extra hour just because the clocks moved forward.

3. Get some fresh air: Getting outside and moving their body around during the daytime this weekend can help your student rest easier as they transition to a time change.

4. Keep the Routine: Keep your bedtime routine the same! Do you have your child take a bath, brush their teeth, then read a bedtime story every night before bed? Keep it the same! Routine will help your child's brain know that it is time to wind down.

5Essentials Survey

We’re writing to inform you that beginning February 3rd, District 303 students in grades 4-12 will be provided with the 5Essentials survey. Please click HERE for a letter regarding the 5Essentials survey.

5Essentials PARENTS

In addition to student and teacher feedback, the 5Essentials survey is also administered to District 303 parents. The Parent Survey is open now through March 13, 2026. All responses are confidential and will never be connected to you or your child. To take the survey, visit survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois and select the parent survey. A supplemental report will also be generated if at least 20 percent of a school’s parents complete the survey.

Thank you for your support and valuable feedback!

1. Parents will be notified by email by Monday, March 9, if their student has been identified for AT math, Accelerated math (6th grade only), or AT ELA. Families have the opportunity to appeal their child’s placement decision.
2. Families can appeal for AT/Accelerated/Infinity placement by completing this form by May 1, 2026. Recommending a student for further review will not guarantee their placement, but it will prompt a comprehensive review that may/may not include classroom performance reviews and additional testing.
3. More Information about AT pathways is available on the D303 website. Please contact tina.king@d303.org with additional questions.

Dear Davis Elementary Families,

Spring is almost here, and with it comes an exciting opportunity for your child to showcase all of the amazing learning they have accomplished this year! We want to make sure you have all the information you need about our upcoming state assessments.

• IAR English Language Arts (Grades 3–5) March 17 & 18

• IAR Mathematics (Grades 3–5) April 7, 8 & 9

• ISA Science — Fifth Grade Only April 21, 22 & 23

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) measures student growth in English Language Arts and Mathematics, while the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) allows our fifth graders to demonstrate their scientific thinking and knowledge.

These assessments are one meaningful snapshot of your child's learning journey, and we want you to know — our students are ready! Our teachers have been working hard all year to build strong skills, deep understanding, and confidence in every learner at Davis.

Here are a few simple ways you can support your child during testing weeks:

• Make sure your child gets a good night's sleep before each testing day.

• Send them off with a healthy breakfast to fuel their brain.

• Offer words of encouragement — remind them to do their best and trust what they know.

• Aim for on-time arrival so students can get settled before testing begins.

Please also plan to avoid scheduling appointments or early dismissals on testing days whenever possible, as uninterrupted testing time helps every student perform at their best.

We are so proud of everything our Davis Dragons have worked toward this year, and we know they will walk into these assessments confident and prepared. As always, thank you for your continued partnership in supporting your child's success.

Go Dragons! 🐉

Warmly,

Gina Shaw

Principal, Davis Elementary School

Click HERE for a detailed letter on these assessments.

This February and March, Davis will once again be participating in One School, One Book. Every family will receive a copy of the book Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. We are encouraging everyone in the Davis community to follow the same reading schedule each night and read along with your family’s copy of the book.

What is One Book, One School?

One School, One Book is a shared reading experience for the entire school. Each Davis family and classroom have received a copy of the book, along with a reading calendar. We hope to get all families reading the same book at the same time. We aim to build a community of readers at our school.

What do I need to know?

• On Monday, February 23 your child brought home a copy of the book and the reading schedule. This weekend, we should all complete chapters 16 and 17 to stay on track.

• While we encourage your family to read each night together at home, we know that this isn’t always possible. If you are not able to read as a family, the daily readings will be posted on the Davis One School, One Book website read by a different member of our staff. This provides students the opportunity to participate in the reading in the event that reading aloud as a family is difficult.

• We plan to celebrate our shared reading experience together at school on March 12 at our Family Learning Night. We are planning a fun-filled, country fair themed night to celebrate our love of reading and a successful One School, One Book program!

We are looking forward to sharing this experience with our Davis families. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our LRC Director, Mrs. Bradley. melissa.bradley@d303.org.

On Tuesday, the kindergarten classes gathered together for a virtual visit with U.S. Paralympic athlete Sandy Dukat. Born without her right femur bone, Sandy uses a prosthetic leg and has achieved incredible success in sports. She won medals in alpine skiing at the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City and again at the 2006 Paralympics in Turin, Italy.

In addition to skiing, Sandy is also a swimmer, triathlete, marathoner, and mountain climber. During her presentation, she shared her inspiring story and spoke to students about embracing who they are and celebrating what makes them unique. She encouraged the kindergarteners to challenge themselves, try new things, and never give up.

On Monday, all Third graders got to experience a "Space Talk" presentation led by a space engineer, who is a family member of a student in 3MS! We learned of all the work it takes to send supplies up to space to support astronauts on the International Space Station. We are so appreciative to have had this opportunity to grow our knowledge on space and learn from an expert first hand.

The Davis Wellness Club and Student Council members volunteered at the NIFB this week as a culminating activity to our “Souper” food drive. It was a full evening of teamwork, organization, following directions, and camaraderie! This group packed apples and potatoes with 5,425 lbs packed which totaled 4,520 meals. This wonderful opportunity provided our students a meaningful giveback to the community of St Charles. Thank you to all of the parents who supported this extra-curricular activity!

Student Council is excited to once again support our monthly Davis SEL goal by helping make it visible and meaningful for both students and staff.

For the month of March, our focus is on fostering a growth mindset by encouraging students to recognize the value of effort, perseverance, and positive risk-taking — not just achievement. This aligns with the research of Carol Dweck, emphasizing that abilities develop through dedication and hard work. Davis classrooms will be implementing SEL resources into conversations and lessons throughout the month.

In addition, Student Council has created an interactive, building-wide bulletin board to celebrate students who demonstrate growth mindset behaviors. Student Council members have delivered bags of golden paper coins to each classroom and staff member. Davis staff will be awarding these coins when we observe students demonstrating growth-oriented behaviors such as:

• Trying something challenging

• Using mistakes as learning opportunities

• Showing perseverance

• Asking for help appropriately

• Encouraging others

• Demonstrating improvement from previous work

• Using “yet” language (e.g., “I can’t do this… yet!”)

When a class finishes 5 coins, they will hang them in STEM hallway by the rainbow that has been put up there. We will share weekly coin totals during announcements. Once we reach our schoolwide goal of 1,000 coins, students will earn a building-wide reward. One thousand coins seems like a lot but it is only 53 coins per class or approximately 2 coins per student in the month of March!

We appreciate the creative ways that the Student Council has been reinforcing our SEL focus each month! We will continue to recognize and celebrate the effort and resilience our students demonstrate each day. Go Dragons!!

In planning for the upcoming school year, parents are invited to provide information that will assist us in the class placement process. Since every learner is unique, our goal is to pair each learner with an environment that maximizes his or her potential. Therefore, balancing classrooms based on student needs or talents, learning styles, and personalities are all factored as we compile class lists. As you can imagine, this is a complex process and a very important one.

We welcome any information that you would like to provide about your student in order to assist in making the best possible placement. Because of the many factors considered when putting a class roster together, requests for specific teachers will not be accepted. Clearly defining the needs of your child will be most helpful in making a good classroom assignment.

Please complete this Google Form to share your child’s information with the principal.

This information must be submitted by March 27th.

Click HERE for Davis Google Calendar

March:

8th, Sunday 2am - Daylight Savings Starts - move clocks ahead 1 hour

12th, Thursday - Family Learning Night 5:30-7:00

14th, Saturday - Ice Skating PTO Fundraiser at Fox Valley Ice Arena, 12:10-1:40pm

17-18th, Tue-Wed - IAR ELA assessments for grades 3-5

18th, Wed - 1st Grade Musical (5:30pm) & 3rd Grade Musical (6:30pm)

19th, Thursday - 6:00 PTO Meeting (Childcare Available)

23rd, Monday - 7:00 PTO Trivia Night at Pollyanna Brewing (Doors Open @6pm)

25th, Wed - 8am Student Council Meeting & 2:35pm Early Dismissal

26th, Thurs - PTO Oberweis Fundraiser 11am-9pm

30th, Mon - Fri (April 3rd) - Spring Break (no school) & Nothing Bundt Cakes Fundraiser

April:

6th, Monday - Students return to School

7-9th, Tue-Thur - IAR Math Assessment for Grades 3-5

8th, Wed - 8am Wellness Club Meeting

10th, Friday - Community Science Night 6-8pm at SCEHS Field House

16th, Thursday - 6:00 PTO Meeting (Childcare Available)

17th, Friday - School Improvement Day - No School for Students

21-23, Tue-Thur - ISA Assessment for 5th Grade

22nd, Wed - STEM Night at WMS (5:30-7:00) & Davis Talent Show (7:00)

23rd, Thurs - 5:30-7:30 PTO Family Bingo Night

28th, Tuesday - Kindergarten Field Trip & 7pm Band Concert at TMS

29th, Wed - 8am Student Council Meeting & 2:35pm Early Dismissal

• Calling all Dads/male guardians/grandpas/uncles/adult brothers etc. to volunteer in school & provide positive male role models for students!!

• Volunteers will support students during all lunch periods both inside and outside. Watch Dog day will be on Fridays. Volunteers will eat lunch with their own child/children and help all students during mealtime as needed and interact with students at recess. Times will be from 11:00-1:15.

• 4 Volunteers are permitted every Friday. Please click HERE for more information, and for signup links. Thank you!

If you believe your household qualifies for free or reduced meals based on the current USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines, please complete the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) application. To obtain a form in another language, please visit the USDA Free and Reduced application site.

Email: linda.jezek@d303.org
Website: https://davis.d303.org/
Location: 1125 S 7th St, St. Charles, IL, 60174
Phone: 331-228-2200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavisElementaryD303
Twitter: @StCharlesD303