Dear DuVall Families,
Welcome back Mrs. Morrison! We are so happy Mrs. Morrison is back after having emergency surgery. Many thanks to Mrs. Moon and Ms. Hardey for keeping our students learning and everything running smoothly. Mrs. Morrison’s tutoring is still on hold for now. We will let you know when it resumes.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Shamrock Shuffle! A special thanks to Robbin Makled and Jackie Kuehn for organizing this event, to Mrs. Press for her help, and all of the other volunteers! The weather cooperated and the kids had a great time! Check out our Facebook or Instagram for pictures.
Congratulations to Mohamad Baydoun (3tr grade) and Morgen Lackey (5th grade) who represented DuVall in the district spelling bee. They both did very well and made us proud! A huge congratulations to Ishaan Harish who won the district 4th grade spelling bee! Ishaan earned a trophy and an iPad. We are very proud of him!
On a more serious note, we are noticing a decline in positive student behaviors. Many students, especially grades 2-5 are putting their hands on each other, using poor language, not following directions, and being irresponsible. I am asking every family to have a talk with their child and remind them of the importance of following rules. I realize every student doesn’t fall into this category but there is quite a few more than usual and a small reminder never hurts anyone. I will also be visiting every classroom this week to review expectations. My discussion with the students will be to remind them to follow our Positive Penguin Practices, especially kindness. I will also discuss staying calm, keeping their hands to themselves, and reminding them that the playground games are just that, a game. Their passion towards winning has gotten out of hand. Teaching our children to lose is a life skill and something they need to learn.
Our March Positive Penguin Practice is Perseverance. Your children will be learning about this practice during March. To persevere mean not to give up, keep trying and give your best. Our past practices that we continue to teach are kindness, responsibility, gratitude, generosity, and friendship.
Parents, I recommend you double check your child’s permissions on their pads, computers, phones, etc. Also, please speak to your child about what is appropriate to share with others. Our younger children are giving their parents phone numbers out and parents phones are blowing up with text messages from their child’s friends. In other cases our little ones are sending unsupervised messages to their friends on their tablets. As far as I am aware, our older students are leaving their phones in their backpacks during school and being respectful using their phones after school. I do recommend that parents take the phones away at night to avoid children staying up too late playing on their phones/tablets.
We have a Parent Education meeting on Tuesday at 9:10. The topic is Student Health. All parents that come will earn a Penguin Point for each of their children and receive a book to read with their children at home for March is Reading Month. Donuts and coffee will also be served.
This week’s notes:
- Fifth grade parents needing information about admission to STEM Middle School should click on this link: https://stem.dearbornschools.org/admissions-information/
- Thank you to the Conway, Jester, and Morgan families for loaning us their Wii Systems.
- Art Club will now begin at 8:00.
- Remember, we have notes in the office for you to leave a positive message to your child or a staff member. A quick note of one or two sentences from you can change someone’s day and put a smile on their face.
- One of our students found a silver or white gold men’s wedding band on the playground. If you are the owner or know who lost a ring, it is in our office.
- Congratulations to DuVall! We won the $500. Mardi Gras prize for the most doubloons from all of the elementary schools.
- On behalf of the staff and students in the Dearborn Public Schools, especially DuVall, we want to personally extend our most sincere appreciation for your support to renew the Operating Millage. More importantly, we want to thank you for caring about the students in our classrooms.
- Our district GSRP Preschool is looking for donations of cake mixes and frosting for their “take home” baggie for the March 8th Birthday Celebration during the Parent University. Donations need to be turned in by March 6th. If you are able to help please bring items to the office. Thank you
- Parent University will be held this year on three Fridays: March 8, April 26 and May 17. The free, one-hour sessions are open to parents or other caregivers and their children ages 6 months to preschool. The classes will be offered at four locations on each of the Fridays. Cotter Early Childhood Center, Henry Ford Elementary and River Oaks Elementary will hold sessions from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. Salina Elementary will host its sessions from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Each event will offer every child a free snack, craft, and book. Staff will sing, play and engage in educational activities that help young children build the skills they need to become strong students. Parents are asked to reserve their child’s spot so staff can bring enough materials for all the children. Register for free Parent University with this link, email kubitzv@dearbornschools.org, or call the Parent University registration number at 313-827-6172 (please leave a voicemail). Each session will have its own theme. March 8 is birthday party. April 26 is spring celebration, and May 17 is field day.
- DuVall’s Penguin Players presents: The Magic Bookshelf, Thursday, March 21st. There will be two performances, 10:00 and 10:30 both in the gym.
- Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Dearborn is hosting Read to Rover to celebrate March is Reading Month. Read to Rover allows children to gain confidence, help with fluency, and enhance their reading skills while comforting and socializing shelter animals. During the half-hour session, readers will work in a private meet-and-greet room with an adult staff member, the parent/guardian, and your choice of either working with a cat or dog. The 30-minute session is $10 and is open to children of all reading levels. To sign up click here: https://www.metrodetroitanimals.org/read-to-rover/ Click here to view a Channel 4 story on this program: https://www.clickondetroit.com/live-in-the-d/2023/03/01/helping-kids-improve-literacy-while-comforting-animals/?fbclid=IwAR3TAhoAygAckPfadMKg9WqQ2v6xI-8t7xnj-s9O76vp7O5bfVc3UZ9xRw4
- Tuesday, 4:10 Chess match at Michael Berry Center – Players dismissed at 3:45. Parents, please pick up your child from the lobby.
Notes that bear repeating:
- Teach of the Year nominations are open. Students should click here to nominate their favorite teacher. Each student can nominate two teachers. I am asking every student to nominate at least one teacher. Everyone of our teachers deserves to be nominated.
- 5th Grade parents, mark your calendars, O.L. Smith Middle School orientation will be May 9 at 6:00.
- We are in need of Ice Cream Social donations. Anyone that is willing to donate a gift card or items, it would be greatly appreciated. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and we need as much help as possible. If you own a business or work Please see the attached letter to take to businesses to help explain our need. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lhmifUQIbGIO-UctLrqcUyYNAxLB9e39/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104780840291113704430&rtpof=true&sd=true
- 2024 Martian Marathon – 12:00 pm ~ April 13, 2024 @ Ford Field, Dearborn Group Registration Instructions: LINK: https://runningfitevents.redpodium.com/2024-martian-invasion-of-races Select “I am here to register as a group participant” TEAM NAME: DuVall – Blue Wave 12:00 TEAM PASSWORD: PENGUINS24 Continue on with registration. You must select team name and enter password. The kids’ race is already discounted to $23 (thru March 4) so no coupon code is needed. If you would like to extend the invitation to your school community we are offering a school discount code. March 5 the price goes up to $26. Please note there are processing fees.
- We are still in need of noon hour supervisors. This is a paid position. If you are interested, please contact the office.
- To purchase a yearbook, go to: https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/order/Lookupjob?jobnumber=14536124 The cost is $13.00.
- We still have class shirts available. The cost is $7.25 and are available in the office.
- Kids Club & Developmental Preschool Open House, March 7, 4:30-6:30: 4 year olds Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 3 year olds on Tuesday and Thursdays DuVall is at 22561 Beech, Dearborn. The program is in room 107.
- The first day of school for the 2024-2025 school year will be August 26, 2024. It will be a half day.
- Our Holiday Shop for Eid will be April 4th, 8:00-4:00.
Have a great week,
Mary Timpf
| Date | This Week’s Schedule | Lunch First Choice | Lunch Second Choice | Watch D.O.G.S. |
| Monday | Happy National Social Worker Week, Mrs. Makled! 8:00 Art Club 8:30 Safety Meeting, room 202 | Chicken Tenders | Sunbutter & Jelly | |
| Tuesday | 8:00 Math Club 9:10 Parent Education Meeting, Media Center Topic: Student Health 11:15 Lockdown Drill | Scrambled Eggs & Pancakes | Cat in the Hat Strawberry Parfait | |
| Wednesday | 8:00 Penguin Players, Room 204 8:00 Green Club, room 105 9:30 5th Graders to O.L. Smith 4:10 Chess match at Michael Berry Center (Players dismissed at 3:45) | Bosco Sticks | Veggie Ranch Wrap | Karme Makki |
| Thursday | 8:00 Chess Club 4:30-6:30 Kids Club & Developmental Preschool Open House | Pepperoni Pizza | Chicken Salad | |
| Friday | Popcorn Day 7:45 Running Club First Grade Healthy Living | Hot Dogs | Tuna Sliders | Tim Noles |
Upcoming Dates:
March 13: PTA Meeting 6:30, Media Center and Zoom
March 15: Iftar Dinner
March 18-22: Book Fair
March 22: Literacy Day
March 25-29, No school – Spring Break
April 2: Parent Education Meeting M-Step
April 2-5: Change Challenge
April 9-10: No school, Eid break
April 15: Kindergarten Roundup 6:00
April 17: PTA Meeting 6:30, Media Center and Zoom
April 19: Father / Son Game Night
April 25: Book Bingo
April 30: Parent Education Meeting, How to help my child at home