The Dolphin Report

DES families and community,

This is typically the format of our monthly newsletter, but this one is different. Below is what you need to know to start the school year. If you are a new parent to us, please read through the general information. Your student's teacher will provide you with information that pertains to their classroom. There will be an orientation night during the last week of August to get more details. This should answer general questions. If there is anything you still need clarification on, please call the front office at 850-833-4360 and we will be happy to help! Welcome to DES and the 25-26 school year! It's going to be amazing!

Fins Up DES!

Amy Meyer, principal

Parents, please make sure you have your FOCUS accounts set up and accessible. All communications, grades and student information will be through your FOCUS account. :)

You will be able to access your FOCUS accounts on August 6th to see your teacher assignments. Please know that we take great care to place your child with a teacher and a class that is a good fit. Mrs. Meyer reads each parent input form, takes teacher input and class make-up all into consideration when placing students. You may or may not be placed in the classroom you are hoping to be. We have between 8-10 incredible teachers across each grade level. Each is unique and highly qualified. We will not be accepting requests to change teachers. We ask that you respect our process and believe that you will have an amazing year where you will make many treasured memories and friendships. Thank you for trusting us with your children and supporting them and their teachers to help make this year awesome!

Drop off- Students may ride the bus, come by car or walk/ride bikes to school.

Buses will drop students off at our cafeteria entrance.

Walkers and bike riders have 3 ways they may enter. One is on Beach Drive at our multipurpose room (we call this the Beach Drive entrance), one to the left of the front office (we call this the kindergarten gate) and one to the right of the front of the school by the kindergarten playground (we call this the black gate).

Car riders will come through the car line on Kelly St. Please have your students ready to exit the car when you pull up to the drop off point so we can keep things flowing smoothly!

Although we try to open all car doors for students, you do not have to wait on staff to get kids out of the car. Students that are capable, may exit the car on their own. All students must exit the car through the passenger side of the vehicle. There are 2 lanes on car line and cars may be driving by on the drivers side making it very dangerous for students to exit the car on the drivers side.

Car riders MAY NOT be dropped off across the street and have them cross traffic or walk in front of the car line to come to school. Any student crossing a street should use the crosswalks! I understand the car line can get long, however, this causes a very dangerous situation and we want our kids to be safe- thank you.

You may park at the Catholic Church on Beach Drive and walk your student to the multipurpose room entrance if you don't want to wait in the car line. Please do not park in the yards/driveways of people who live around the school. We want to be respectful of their property.

Afternoon dismissal-

Please make sure your child's teacher knows how your child should be going home. Any changes to afternoon transportation must be in writing by the parent. Please include your child's full name, their teachers name, the date and specifics on how they will get home, including bus number and bus stop address.

All cars must have their car tag with their pickup number displayed in order to pick up in the car line. If you don't have your car tag, you will be asked to go to the front office to pick up your child. Kindergarten walkers will only be dismissed at the kindergarten gate to the right of the front office to parents with their matching tag. All other grade level walkers/bike riders will be dismissed through their normal gate and do not require a parent to meet them.

Bus riders should go straight to the cafeteria when dismissed as buses load and leave promptly and do not wait on students who come late.

Make sure you've signed up for transportation on your FOCUS accounts! The link is below!

Free and Reduced Meal Applications must be submitted each year. If you were in this program last year, you will need to fill out a new application for the 25-26 school year, please! We encourage ALL of our families to fill out a free and reduced meal application, even if you don't think you will qualify or if you plan to bring meals from home. This application offers other supports as well, such as reduced internet cost if you qualify. Please take a moment to fill out the application!

Thank you :) https://www.myschoolapps.com/

Parents,

Students love to buy "extras" at lunch time in the form of ice cream, cookies, chips and other snacks. When they do this, they tend to throw the rest of their lunch in the garbage. If there is money in their account, no one at school can tell them how to spend it. We want parents to be aware this is an option and to talk to your kids about the parameters you would like to set about how many and how often they purchase extras. You may view their online accout to see exactly what they are purchasing each day. If you need to communicate with the cafeteria kitchen about your preferences, you may contact our cafeteria monitor, Ms. Amanda Reed, at amanda.reed@okaloosaschools.com

For the safety of all students, please always have a valid ID when signing in as a visitor or checking out a child. Even if we know you well, our security system is designed to flag us if there is ever a problem or information we need to keep our kiddos safe. If you need to sign your child out early, please make it before 2:15. The afternoon dismissal process can be hectic as we ensure all students are getting home the appropriate way. We can't do this while calling classrooms and processing check outs. Thank you for your cooperation.

We love our volunteers! If you would like to help in classrooms or chaperone on field trips, you must have an approved volunteer application on file through Okaloosa County Schools. These volunteer approvals are good for one calendar year. You will receive an email when your application is received and another email when it has been approved. If you have an approved application on file, you will receive an email alert 30 days before it will expire to let you know to reapply. If you have problems with your application, you may call Lori Scott in the front office of DES :).

Many of you wonderful people ask how you can help our teachers! One way is to "adopt a class". This program puts money into teacher's school accounts for them to buy supplies and materials to use in the classroom. If you would like to "adopt-a-classroom", please fill out the form and send in a check to the front office. Forms will be sent home with your child once school starts as well. You may also visit the front office to fill one out. We disperse funds to teacher accounts once all classrooms have been adopted. :)

If you are able, please consider being a PTO sponsor to support Destin Elementary School this year! Thank you to all of our local business partners that help us every year by providing funds to enhance our school and the educational experience for all of our kids!

Our Lost and Found bins fill up fast! Parents are free to look through the bins right inside the school. Check in through the front office. Items will be donated at the end of the quarters.

After school activities will not begin until after the Labor Day holiday in order to give everyone time to adjust to the new school year and schedules. Information will be sent home as we receive it. If you sign your child up to attend one of the after school activities, please understand that these are not school sponsored activities. All communication, fees and transportation will be arranged through the organization you sign up through. The individual organizations are solely responsible for your child, including all behavioral or other concerns.

Club registrations with information about age requirements, cost and dates/times will be sent home a few weeks after school begins!

We are still in need of a sponsor/coach for the Drone Club! :) Contact Mrs. Meyer if you are interested!

Drama Kids - After school on Thursdays

Violin - After school on Wed and Fri

Remarkable Arts- After school on Thursdays

Music Club- during the school day, students rotate

Good News Club (all grades)- after school

Library Club (4th grade only) - during school hours

HOPE Squad (4th grade only)- during school hours, students chosen by peers

Safety Patrol (4th grade only)- during school hours

Junior Deputy (4th grade only)- during school hours

Destin Ambassadors (all grades, students chosen by admin)- during school hours

Students may purchase breakfast in the cafeteria before class if they choose.

School starts at 8:25. All students should be in their classroom and ready to learn no later than this or they will be marked tardy.

Please make every effort to be on time. Instruction starts at 8:25 and it is uncomfortable for students to enter late and try to catch up on what they missed :). It also disrupts the learning of the other students.

No visitors will be allowed on campus unless they sign in through the front office.

Drop off- Students may ride the bus, come by car or walk/ride bikes to school. Walkers and bike riders have 3 ways they may enter. One is on Beach Drive at our multipurpose room (we call this the Beach Drive entrance), one to the left of the front office (we call this the kindergarten gate) and one to the right of the front of the school by the kindergarten playground (we call this the black gate).

Car riders will come through the car line on Kelly St. Please have your students ready to exit the car when you pull up to the drop off point so we can keep things flowing smoothly!

Although we try to open all car doors for students, you do not have to wait on staff to get kids out of the car. Students that are capable, may exit the car on their own.

DO NOT drop off students across the street and have them cross traffic or walk in front of the car line to come to school. Any student crossing a street should use the crosswalks! I understand the car line can get long, however, this causes a very dangerous situation and we want our kids to be safe- thank you.

You may park at the Catholic Church on Beach Drive and walk your student to the multipurpose room entrance if you don't want to wait in the car line. Please do not park in the yards/driveways of people who live around the school. We want to be respectful of their property.

Breakfast and lunch are able to be purchased each day. The menu can be viewed by clicking the following link. Keep in mind that there are times the menu changes without notice.

https://okaloosaschools.nutrislice.com/menus-eula

You may access the application for free and reduced lunches with the link below. We encourage everyone to fill out the form whether you think you will qualify or not. :) It helps our school by having more people fill out the form!

https://www2.myschoolapps.com/

Breakfast and Lunch Prices are listed below.

You can add money to your child's account online by creating an account at https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/getmain?requestAction=home

We welcome parents to come eat lunch with your kids any day of the week! Due to limited seating in the cafeteria, we ask that you eat outdoors only at any of our picnic tables or benches around campus. You may bring lunch in to eat with your child or buy lunch in the cafeteria. We do not accept deliveries for lunch such as fast food drop offs or Door Dash orders. Calling classrooms for students to pick up their lunch disrupts instruction and causes much confusion and traffic in the front office. When you come to eat with your child, you may only take your child with you. Please do not invite friends to join you. This is for everyone's safety. Sign in through the front office when visiting, please :)

*Side note about lunch- Students are allowed to purchase ice cream, chips and other treats at lunch as long as there is money in their account, unless you contact the cafeteria and tell them otherwise. When students buy these extra treats, most of the time that is all they eat. The rest of the lunch goes in the trash. We want parents to be aware. If you would like to limit what your child buys, please write a note to the cafeteria or call to talk to them. :)

Early Checkouts: If you need to check your child out early for any reason, please come to the front office to sign them out. We ask that you come no later than 2:15 for early checkouts. Dismissal time gets very hectic in the front office and we need that time to handle transportation changes and make sure kids get to their correct locations to get home.

If your child is needing to change the way they go home, you MUST write a note that includes your child's full name, teacher's name, the date and the way you want them to go home. Please sign the note and send it to school with your child. Their teacher will get it to the office for you. Any transportation change that differs from their regular way home, requires a written note.

Dismissal - Dismissal begins at 2:55 and students are released in waves.

ALL students will be given a tag that is placed on their backpacks. They will be assigned a tag number.

Any parents picking up in car line must have a matching car tag to their students backpack tag. You will be sent to the front office to get your child if you do not have your car tag at pickup.

Kindergartener walkers will be picked up at the kindergarten gate to the left of the front office. Parents of kindergarten walkers only will be required to show their matching tag. Older students may go home as walkers/bike riders without a parent meeting them.

Kindergarteners are walked to their appropriate places for dismissal.

***If you plan to volunteer at school this year, including attending field trips with your student, you must have a current volunteer application on file. You can access this application at the following link: https://apps.raptortech.com/Apply/OTYyOmVuLVVT

When filling out the application, if you choose Coach, Overnight Chaperone, or Mentor options, they require fingerprinting and it's a longer process. You do not need to be fingerprinted to volunteer in the school setting only. If you do not hear back about your application within a week, contact us to check on it for you :)