Panther Express

From the Panther's Den-A Note From Mrs. Gill

Dear DC Family,

Fall Carnival

The PTC Fall Carnival was a tremendous success! A huge thank-you to our amazing PTC for the countless hours spent planning, setting up, running the event, and cleaning up afterward. Everything was absolutely perfect! The campus was buzzing all night, and it was clear no one wanted the fun to end when 8:00 p.m. came around. With beautiful weather and great company, it was truly a wonderful evening for our school community. Be sure to check out our Instagram or Facebook page for photos from the Fall Carnival!

Agency Day

Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers and local agencies for supporting our annual Agency Day! It was a huge success and such a fantastic opportunity to bring our school and community together. A special thank-you to Mrs. Shelia Hughes for her hard work and dedication in organizing the event and coordinating all of our agency volunteers!

Red Ribbon Week

A huge shout out to our Student Council, with the support of Ms. Bruno and Ms. McDowell, for organizing our Red Ribbon Week decorating and dress up days.

Heritage Night

We are excited for our first Heritage Night of the 25-26 school year, coming up on November 13th. Read our flyer to learn more about our Multicultural Week festivities!

Fall Parties

Thank you to all of our parents and volunteers for making the Fall parties such a joyful celebration for our Panthers! We truly appreciate your time, creativity, and support. We’re also grateful for your help in keeping student safety a top priority by RSVPing early and checking in through the office before visiting classrooms—every step helps ensure a safe and welcoming campus for all.

Jog-a-Thon Support

Jog-A-Thon funds are already making a difference for our Panthers! Funds raised directly support our extra- and co-curricular programs, including athletics, academic teams, the performing arts, field trips, student awards, and more. Every student benefits—for example, Student Body funds cover the base cost of each grade-level field trip, monthly awards, and even the Jog-A-Thon t-shirts. Thanks to your generous support, we were able to purchase books for classrooms, host an author assembly, and purchase new wrestling warm-ups as well as pep and competition cheer uniforms. Thank you for helping make Dry Creek such a unique and exceptional place to learn and grow.

In Gratitude & Service,

Mrs. Gill

AVID Update at Dry Creek

In AVID this month, we have been focusing on learning through writing strategies. Students are practicing how to use writing not just to show what they know, but to deepen their thinking and make learning stick.

A few strategies we’ve been practicing:

Quick Writes: Short bursts of writing to help students put ideas into their own words.
Focused Note-Taking: Using their notes to summarize, highlight key concepts, and create questions.
Reflections: Writing about what they learned and how they learned it.
Sentence Frames: Supporting students in building clear, academic sentences.

Practicing these writing strategies helps students:

Strengthen their critical thinking
Improve communication and confidence
Boost comprehension in all subject areas, not just ELA

We are proud of the effort students are putting in and we look forward to seeing their continued growth!

If you’d like to support at home, you can:

Ask your student to explain their thinking.
“Tell me about what you learned today. Why is it important?”
This helps students practice turning ideas into clear sentences.
Encourage complete sentences.
When they answer questions at home, gently push them to answer in full, thoughtful sentences.
Have them summarize.
After reading or watching something, ask:
“What was the main idea?” or “What is this mostly about?”
Model curiosity.
Wonder out loud, ask questions, and show that learning continues outside of school.
Provide a quiet space for writing.
Even just 10 minutes of calm writing time can help build focus and stamina.

By supporting these habits, you’re helping build strong communication and critical thinking skills that will benefit your child across all subjects. Thank you for partnering with us!

November 12th:

Multicultural games at recess led by DC Human Relations Council
Heritage Night board projects due

November 13th:

Multicultural games at recess
Dress-up day
Cultural assembly
Heritage Night & IDAC Meeting @5:30pm

November 14th:

Multicultural games at recess
World Diabetes Day-Wear Blue!

Our second movie night will be here soon! Purchase your tickets early, this one is sure to sell out fast!

Shop Online Here

Search for Your Child's Art Here

The lost and found items will be out through October 31st. Anything left will be donated on November 3rd. Please stop by and take a look for any lost items!

Buchanan Boys Basketball is excited to announce that Little Bears Basketball League sign-ups are now open! This league is designed to help foster a love for the game, teach basketball fundamentals, and build connections with our younger athletes. The program is open to TK–6th grade students, and includes five Saturdays of basketball fun! Each session runs for one hour — featuring a 20-minute skills clinic followed by 40 minutes of game play. Every player will receive a reversible jersey, team and individual photos, and a Player of the Game award each week. Team rosters will be sent out on January 2nd.

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Little Bears Flyer 25-26.pdf

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Sign up here

Click Here to Sign Up

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Elementary Camp Dry Creek 2025.pdf

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Click Here for Basketball Camp

If you need to pick up your child early and are in a rush, just give the office a quick call so we can send them up to meet you. Even if you email the teacher, they cannot release students directly from class without an office call. A little heads-up helps us get your child to you faster—especially if they’re at recess, PE, or enjoying Snack Shack on a Friday. If your pick-up overlaps with those times, we’re happy to have your child come straight to the office—just let us know when you’re on your way!

CUSD Parent Nights are offered district-wide to parents and have a goal of supporting them in fostering a lasting, positive educational environment and school partnership for their children, both at home and at school, through proven activities and lessons.

The October presentation is a Vape Information Night, an informative parent night about the dangers of vape'ing, prevention, and more. Click on the graphic for more information and to sign up!

Here is a list of the Multi-Cultural and/or Heritage Events Mrs. Gill has or will announce to our students through a daily video announcement. Let us know if there is a holiday we missed! Also, if there is a holiday your family celebrates, we would love for you to email Mrs. Gill a picture of your celebration! Please include a short blurb to help with understanding of what is happening in the photo or some background on the holiday. We would love to share it with our Panther community through our video announcements!

September/October/November

Labor Day - September 2 Patriot Day - September 11 Mexican Independence Day - September 16

Chinese Moon Festival Day - September 17 Rosh Hashanah - October 2

Yom Kippur - October 11 Sukkot - October 16 United Nation's Day - October 24

Diwali - October 31 All Saints' Day - November 1 Day of the Dead - November 1

Veteran's Day - November 11 Thanksgiving - November 28

December/January/February

Jamhuri Day - December 12 Las Posadas - December 16 Hanukkah - December 25

Christmas - December 25 Hmong New Year - January 1

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - January 15

Vietnamese New Year (Tet Nguyen Dan) - January 29 Chinese New Year - February 10

Black History Month - Month of February Vasant Panchami - February 2

President's Day - February 17 N'Cwala Festival - February 22 Ramadan - February 28

March/April/May/June

Hina Matsuri - March 3 St. Patrick's Day - March 17 Holi - March 14

Eid-el-Fitr - March 29 Iranian New Year (Nowruz) - March 20

Passover - April 12 Vaisakhi - April 14 Easter - April 20 Earth Day - April 22

Feast of Ridvan - April 21 Cinco de Mayo - May 5 Mother's Day - May 11

Vesak - May 12 Memorial Day - May 26 Shavuot - June 1

Reminders:

Drop-off and pick-up must take place in the back parking lot on Nees Avenue. This is the only approved location for all grade levels.
The white and green curbs at the front of the school are for TK and Kindergarten drop-off only. This area is a drop-off zone, not a parking location.
Follow staff directions at all times. Our staff are working to keep traffic moving and children safe—please respect their guidance.
Stay alert and distraction-free. Phones, rushing, and unsafe maneuvers put lives at risk.
Use crosswalks only. Students should never be allowed to run across the street or the parking lot.
Follow traffic laws. U-turns are not allowed in the middle of the street unless permitted by posted traffic signs.

We thank you for doing your part to keep every Panther safe!

Please review Clovis Unified District Website for full details regarding Dress Code here - https://www.cusd.com/DressCode.aspx

Below are a few excerpts to highlight:

The CUSD dress code exists as part of our district's overall mission to prepare and equip students to be successful in life after high school.
We believe as a district that attention to appearance and a student’s attitude toward self and school are related.
In January 2022, the Clovis Unified Governing Board updated the district’s dress code following a months-long, extensive review with students, parents and staff.
The dress code applies to all students in grades TK-12. Use of best practices for dress code enforcement is part of ensuring that the dress code remains a positive part of our school climate, and gives clarity to what is acceptable.
In annual surveys, a high majority of parents consistently voice their support of the district's dress code.
For the complete Governing Board Dress Code Board Policy (including Administrative Regulations and Exhibits) in its entirety, click here and see below for additional information.

The accompanying graphic highlights a few examples of what is appropriate to wear to school and what is considered out of dress code. Please be mindful of what is out of dress code and if those items are in your child's wardrobe, please help monitor your child's choices to ensure they are not coming to school with clothing that is determined to be out of dress code. In the event a child is out of dress code, we will work with the student and family to get them back into dress code as soon as possible in order to avoid missing as little classroom instruction as possible. Parents can play a pivotal role in helping to ensure their child's dress is following the board policy and we appreciate your family's support in meeting these policies.

Breakfast & Lunch for All Students

Clovis Unified School District will continue to provide FREE breakfast and lunch to all students. Please click on the link below for detailed menu information.

Breakfast and Lunch Menus

Dear Families,

This week, our school community will focus on the character strength of Bravery. Bravery means you act with mental, moral, or physical strength, even when you know things are difficult or scary.

Bravery refers to voluntary (not coerced) action in the face of a dangerous circumstance. This strength involves judgment; the brave person must have an understanding of the risks and consequences involved in acting. According to Socrates and Plato, forethought separates acts of valor from acts of rashness. This means that bravery isn’t simply fearlessness but instead the overcoming of fear.

Overcoming fears is critically important in individual development, as it allows the person to do more and become more. A person can be brave every single day. For example, some people with social anxiety are brave just by leaving their houses and talking with people. On a physical level, bravery allows us to overcome fears, such as swimming or playing a sport. And, on a moral level, doing what we know to be right, despite the risks, gives us the sense that we are acting on behalf of a larger purpose.

To practice and encourage the character strength of bravery at home, please visit The Positivity Project’s mobile-friendly P2 for Families (available in English and Spanish), where you will watch a video together and discuss a quote and three questions.

Thank you for your support!

Click Here to Purchase

Birthday Marquee is available for families to recognize their child's birthday! Help celebrate your child's birthday by wishing him/her a Happy Birthday on the school's marquee (Nees sidewalk near crosswalk). Submit your birthday by the 25th of the month prior to your child's birthday. Birthday wishes will be posted for a week. Sign up and pay $20 online.

Please remember, if any birthday treats are being brought to school to share with the class, bring those to the front office, not directly to the classroom. Items must be store bought. We appreciate you giving your child's teacher at least one day's notice if treats will be dropped off. Thank you!