DFS Summer Update #1

We hope you are having a wonderful summer and enjoying lots of outdoor time with your family! Back at DFS we are busy preparing for the 2026-27 school year and excited to welcome our new and returning students on Thursday, August 27, for the first day of school. Each week during the school year you will receive an email link to our weekly newsletter which provides important up-to-date information so you can maximize the DFS educational experience. The purpose of today's newsletter is to provide you with some summer updates so the beginning of the school year is like a gentle breeze that aligns you with the DFS Tradewinds!

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• Previous newsletters are stored on our school website as the year progresses.
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We are in year two of replacing our parking lot and sidewalks. Last year, drainage was installed to ensure this year's final product functions as intended. Below are current photos, with more to come in subsequent newsletters.

The project should alleviate traffic on Daniels Farm Road and improve safety for students, families, and staff. Buses, carpool, and parking will all have separate entrances and exits. A detailed schematic and explanation of new procedures will be shared with all DFS families later this summer.

Please mark your calendars for this year's Back to School Night on Thursday, September 3, 2026. The evening offers an excellent opportunity to learn about the grade level curriculum and how your child's classroom functions on a daily basis. We hope to see you there!

The district continues to monitor enrollment across all six elementary schools with the hope of making any necessary adjustments in allocated classrooms by late July.

In general, the BOE uses the following class sizes along with other variables when making final decisions:

• Kindergarten, Grade 1 & Grade 2: Twenty-two students per class
• Grade 3, Grade 4 & Grade 5: Twenty-five students per class

Kindergarten: Four classes of 17, 17, 17, and 18 students (69 total)

Grade 1: Four classes of 18, 18, 18, and 19 students (73 total)

Grade 2: Three classes of 18, 18, and 18 students (54 total)

Grade 3: Four classes of 22, 23, 23, and 23 students (91 total)

Grade 4: Four classes of 20, 20, 20, and 20 students (80 total)

Grade 5: Four classes of 22, 22, 22, and 22 students (88 total)

Total Enrollment: 455 students

Our class of 54 students, now in grade two, necessitates the movement of staff each year. Mrs. Chopskie is moving to first grade to accommodate the reduction to three sections of grade two. She has experience in both kindergarten and grade one, and is a fantastic addition to an already dynamic team!

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Desiree Mercado to our DFS kindergarten team. Mrs. Mercado comes to us from Frenchtown Elementary School. She taught a variety of grade levels in her eight year teaching career, spending most of her time in kindergarten. Mrs. Mercado is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., and outside of school enjoys watching baseball games with her husband and German Shepherd, Pounce. She is looking forward to a fantastic first year at DFS!

Did you know students can lose up to two months of reading and math advancements over the summer? That's like working a 12-month job and only collecting paychecks for 10 months; who would do that?! Please make reading and computing/problem solving a daily passion in your home, carving out a specific time when all electronics are off and everyone is buried in a book or challenging each other's mathematical thinking. When children see their parents improving their minds, they realize it is an important and fun habit. It's not too late to turn this summer around if you start tonight!

Please complete the summer reading and math form at the link below ONE TIME; we recommend you do this in August. Only students who read and complete the form participate in a fun fall celebration at DFS. Thank you!

Summer Reading and Math Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfmOTUQMLaDUJFWBE9H7jk7oVH3ctHPfTX-RaQslhVoXolRzw/formResponse

Summer break is an excellent time for children to relax, explore, and have fun after all the work they accomplished this school year! As we approach the sunny days of summer, we wanted to take a moment to highlight the importance of summer reading and how it's crucial to keep their minds engaged to prevent any learning loss.

The learning loss phenomenon is known as the "summer slide" and refers to the decline in academic skills that can occur over the summer months when children are not actively engaged in educational activities. Research has shown that students can lose up to two months of grade-level equivalency in reading and math skills over the summer break.

However, the good news is that the summer slide can be mitigated through consistent reading habits. Encouraging your child to read regularly over the summer is one of the most effective ways to combat this decline and ensure they start the new school year on the right foot.

At Daniels Farm School we celebrated DFS’ Summer Reading Read-Out with an event on June 11th. Students bookshopped a gently used book to get a head start on their summer reading! We discussed celebrating summer reading by logging it on this Google Form at the end of summer. Then classes paused their regular schedules to come together and read outside.

Here is Dr. Iwanicki’s Summer Letter and some creative and fun ideas to help keep your child excited about reading throughout the summer:

• Create a Summer Reading Challenge: Challenge your child to read a certain number of books over the summer months. You can create a chart to track their progress and offer incentives for reaching milestones, such as a special outing or a small reward.

• Start a Family Book Club: Choose a book that the whole family can read together and then discuss it over dinner or during a designated family book club night. This is a great way to promote literacy while also spending quality time together as a family.

• Visit the Library Regularly: Make weekly trips to the local library a part of your summer routine. Allow your child to choose books that interest them, and don't be afraid to explore different genres and topics.

• Incorporate Reading into Daily Activities: Encourage your child to read in everyday situations, such as reading recipes while cooking together, reading signs while out on a walk, or reading aloud to younger siblings or pets.

• Set Up a Reading Fort: Create a cozy reading nook or fort in your home where your child can escape with a good book. Add some pillows, blankets, and a flashlight for extra coziness.

• Join a Summer Reading Program: Many libraries and bookstores offer summer reading programs with incentives and rewards for participating. These programs often include activities, events, and prizes to keep kids motivated.

By incorporating these creative ideas into your summer plans, you can help prevent the summer slide and foster a love of reading that will last a lifetime.

Happy reading!

Just like reading, math skills stay strongest with a little regular practice. Consistency matters more than quantity—even a few minutes of math practice each week can have a lasting impact on your child's confidence and success in mathematics. Spending just 10–15 minutes a day, 3–4 times a week, working through a summer math packet page and practicing math facts can help your child maintain important skills and feel prepared for the next school year.

Visit our Elementary Summer Math Website to access:

• Summer Math Packets (download the packet for the grade your child will be entering next year)

• Information about the Connecticut Commissioner's Summer Math Challenge

• Fun resources and activities to practice math facts and build number fluency

A little math practice throughout the summer can help your child return to school feeling confident, capable, and ready to learn. Be on the lookout for more information to come about the importance of repeated practice of math facts over the summer.

Have a great summer!

If you enter your reading data on the Google Form listed in Mrs. Panella and Mrs. Cavalli's section, the information is automatically used for the First Selectman's Super Summer Reading Challenge.

Please use the link below to enjoy 2026 summer book talks with Trumbull Public Librarian Miss Kristine.

LINK: https://www.canva.com/design/DAHMMJmHvFs/J_ySrOkwDvkSuyEpE8FHCw/view?utm_content=DAHMMJmHvFs&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=viewer

All Trumbull elementary schools electronically distribute summer packet information sometime in mid-August. Students' bus numbers and assigned bus stops will be on the Parent Portal under the transportation tab. Everything you need for a great start to the school year is provided, and we are available if you have any questions after thoroughly reading all materials.

Each week I meet with Mrs. Katz and Mrs. Cohen to review up-to-date student attendance. This involves looking at each child's attendance and directly connecting with families to ensure students are present for instruction on a consistent basis. We fully understand everyone becomes sick from time-to-time, and focus on absence patterns not related to illness.

Below you will find a graph detailing how many students were absent for a specific number of days last year. For example, fifty-four students were absent six days and twelve students were absent zero days. Our goal is to maximize the number of students who are absent less than five percent of the year (nine absences or less).

Additional 2025-26 Attendance Data:

• Average daily attendance was 96.72%
• 81% of our students were absent less than 5% (this is our target)
• 17.9% of our students were absent more than 5% but less than 10%
• 1.1% of our students were absent 10% or more and considered "chronically absent". This list is forwarded to the CT State Department of Education.
• The percentage of students absent in the less than 5% range increased by 9% over the previous school year.
• The percentage of students absent in the 5 - 9% range decreased by 8% over the previous school year. This is the third year in a row that we have seen a decrease in this range. Incredible!
• The percentage of students chronically absent decreased from 2.1% to 1.1% over the previous school year.

We only have 181 days to ensure each student receives the best possible education, so daily attendance is very important and we take it seriously at DFS. To help families reflect on last year's attendance and plan for improvements, 2025-26 personalized attendance reports are being emailed home later this month. A sample of a prior year's report is below.

Summer is a great time to reinforce our DFS SWIM mantra! It's amazing how following a few simple-to-do mindsets can make a world of difference in yourself and the people around you. Be a positive force!

Our DFS website is another great source of ongoing information!

DFS WEBSITE LINK: https://dfes.trumbullps.org/