Dear DuVall Families,
I am excited to begin our new school year. Many thanks to all of the people who have been hard at work this summer to prepare our building for staff and students, especially our engineer Dave Brice and our custodians Carol Kelley, Jeta Kamberovska, and Beverly Kraft.
I look forward to working together to provide a memorable, challenging, and enjoyable school year for our students. The following are important bits of information to prepare you for the beginning of the school year. If you have any questions, feel free to stop in or email me at timpfm@dearbornschools.org
Staff Changes:
- We are sad to announce that Mrs. Jennifer Pelaccio, Early Childhood Specialist (ECS) has been reassigned. Our new ECS is Jennifer Murray.
- We are sad that Mrs. Nicole Hill, psychologist, has been reassigned. Our new psychologist is Amanda VigJones.
- Congratulations to Jeta Kamberovska, school custodian, who will retire at the end of the month. Beverly Kraft has transferred to DuVall from another DPS school.
Name Changes:
- Congratulations to first grade teacher Isabelle Hernandez and her husband Carlos on their wedding this past June. Mrs. Hernandez was formerly Ms. Stupar.
- Congratulations to art teacher Abigail Freed and her husband Mason on their wedding this past July. Mrs. Freed was formerly Ms. Mendez.
Important Dates
- Friday, August 23, Open House, 12:00-1:30
- Class lists will be posted at this time. In the cafeteria, our wonderful PTA will be giving out popsicles and will also be available for you to join their great organization. They will have some spirit wear available for sale also. Our Watch DOGS will have a table to explain their program. Dearborn Public Schools received a donation of free books from Toys for Tots. There will be a table where every child attending can receive one free book.
- Monday, August 26: First day of school (8:55 first bell, 9:00 classes begin, dismissal 12:05). Breakfast is served at 8:35. No lunch will be served.
- Tuesday, August 27: First full day of school (8:55 first bell, 9:00 classes begin, dismissal 3:55) for all grades. Breakfast (8:35) and lunch will be served. Busing provided for those that qualify.
- Friday, August 30 & September 2: No School. Labor Day recess
- Tuesday, September 3, Early Release, 2:25 dismissal:
- This is the first Early Release, which will occur every Tuesday.
- Kindergarten Soft Start has been canceled. All students will follow the above schedule.
Class Rosters & Open House
Class rosters will be posted on Friday, August 23 at 12:00, the start of Open House. Rosters will be displayed on the glass windows near the gym on the playground side of the building. Doors 5 and 8 will be unlocked. All Open House visitors are asked to enter through those doors. Teachers and I looked at the big picture and took a great deal of care when dividing students into classes. We took into consideration personalities, relationships, behaviors, strengths, needs, and challenges. Moving one child creates a domino effect. I do not anticipate moving any child into another class than what they have been assigned.
School Supplies
While Dearborn Public Schools provides all school supplies and learning materials required for all students, parents often request a list of additional materials they may choose to purchase. Optional supply lists organized by grade level can be found on the DuVall blog (duvall.dearborschools.org) or the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B7bBtqGnMccyUGNGQ0liajBuVWM?resourcekey=0-gAvpgbs1E8UR9Dw8kecA-g&usp=sharing
School Line Up
Students should line-up on the playground side of the school on the number assigned to their teacher. We ask that parents remain outside as students are escorted inside by their teacher. Incase of inclement weather, line-up will be inside.
- Mrs. Hughes, #105,purple rectangle
- Mrs. Ross, #106, green triangle
- Mrs. Press, #102, red circle
- Mrs. Hernandez, #103, yellow star
- Mrs. Shapas Brettschneider, #108, white diamond
- Mrs. Morrison, #110, red circle
- Mrs. Moon, #204, white diamond
- Ms. Courtright, #202, green triangle
- Mrs. Ranka & Ms. Morey, #201, yellow star
- Mrs. Alabakoff, #203, purple rectangle
Kids Club
Kids Club is a before and after school program that allows parents to drop off/pick up their children at extended times. This is not tutoring, only supervisory, however students usually are able to complete homework, do arts and crafts, play games, etc. There is a fee for participating in this program. There is also financial assistance for those that qualify. If you are interested, please visit the link here: https://dearbornschools.ce.eleyo.com/child-care/3/school-age-care
Developmental Preschool
DuVall offers preschool for 3 year olds, 4 year olds, and Mommy and Me classes. For more information visit the website at: https://dearbornschools.ce.eleyo.com/child-care/3/school-age-care or call 313-827-8350.
GSRP Preschool
DuVall houses a GSRP class which is coordinated through our GSRP Program at Cotter. This class meets Monday thru Thursday, 8:35-3:20. For more information call 313-827-6150 or go to: https://cotter.dearbornschools.org/great-start-readiness-program-recruitment-and-enrollment/
Parent Connect Update
- Visit https://dearbornschools.org
- Click on Parent Portal, click on Parent Connect
- Can’t remember your pin and password? Underneath login in the left-hand corner, there is a link that says
“Need Your Login Information?” This link will email your pin and password. (It may take several hours to receive the email)
- To update student forms, you must use a computer NOT a tablet or cell phone.
First Day Handouts
Students will receive many handouts on the first day. The handouts will include a district calendar for the year, important dates, and many other important papers. Please review them all carefully and if any need to be filled out please complete them and return them by the end of the first week. One form that you will be asked to fill out is the “CEP Home Income Report” form. DuVall’s school funding is greatly determined by this form. Please fill it out completely and return it with the other documents. The past three years we have had over 90% of families fill this out. We have just been given the designation of Schoolwide Title One, which is based on these forms. This gives us great benefits for all of our students, not just our targeted students. We now have more flexibility with the federal money that we receive. Please consider filling this form out ASAP so we can maintain our Schoolwide Title One status. Thank you.
Visiting DuVall
- When visiting, parents must enter through door 1, sign-in at the main office and receive a visitor pass. All visitors are asked to contact the classroom teacher prior to visiting, enter through door 1, and sign in at the office. When exiting please sign-out in the office and exit through door 1.
- All doors are locked at all times for the safety of our children and staff. Please, do not ever ask a student to open a door for you. They are not allowed to do this, even for their own parents. You must enter through door 1 where you can be buzzed in and the office is aware of who is in the building.
- If there are evening events doors 5 & 8 will be unlocked after 6:00. This is the ending time for Kids Club and students are no longer in the building. Parents must accompany their children to after school events. Doors 5 & 8 are the ones near the gym on each side of the building.
Breakfast & Lunch
- Menus will be sent home monthly.
- Breakfast is available for all students beginning at 8:35. Students may not enter the building before 8:35 unless they are attending an extra-curricular activity. They must enter through door 1 for breakfast. Breakfast is not served after 8:55. The only exception is for our students that take the bus on days the bus is running late.
- Free lunches are available for every student on full days of school. Lunch include a protein, vegetable, fruit, and milk.
- If your child brings lunch please send healthy foods with only one treat item. Please do not send in any glass containers. No soda pop, Doordash or fast food is allowed.
- Mrs. Joyce Dunlap our food manager can be reached through email at: dunlapj@dearbornschools.org
- Lunch times are:
- 11:45-12:25 – Kindergarten, First, First/Second
- 12:35-1:15 – Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth
Communication
- Please keep your child’s teacher and our office informed of any changes in phone numbers or email addresses for parents and emergency contacts. Also, if transportation or the person picking up your child changes please notify us. Anyone who picks up your child from school must be listed on the emergency card as a contact and will be required to show ID.
- A weekly email is sent to parents recapping the upcoming week and providing important information. This email is also posted on our blog and a link is sent through text. If you do not receive the texts and/or emails, please contact Ms. Jen in the office. .
- Please subscribe to our school blog at duvall.dearbornschools.org. Whenever a post is made you will receive an email. Let family members know of this option. Grandparents and other family members will not receive our emails but can subscribe to our website where the same information is often shared. We also have Facebook (DuVall Elementary School PTA) and Instagram (duvall_elementary). Please follow us.
Volunteers
We love when we have volunteers! If you are interested in coming in to volunteer please contact the teacher a few days ahead of time to coordinate a convenient time for both of you.
- All volunteers in the school, classroom help, field trip chaperones, PTA assistance, etc. must fill out a district required i-Chat form with a copy of your driver’s license, at least two weeks prior to coming in.
- i-Chats are valid for 3 years.
- I recommend and request that EVERY parent has an i-Chat on file. This way it is done and you won’t need to worry if a field trip or volunteer opportunity comes up.
- If you are unsure if your current iChat has expired or not, please contact Ms. Bobbie or Mrs. Jen in the office, 313-827-2750.
- We are looking for parents willing to facilitate after school clubs. Please let me know if you are interested or have any ideas for clubs. We need a parent for Doodle Club, Lego Club, and Robotics. More information will be included in the weekly email a few weeks into the year.
Attendance
- School hours are 9:00-3:55. We will come together as a school to say the Pledge of Allegiance and DuVall Pledge at 8:55 on the playground.
- Students entering the building after 9:00 must enter through Door 1 and be signed in by an adult in the office.
- If your child is absent please report the absence on Parent Connect or call 313-827-2751 and leave a message in the morning or anytime after 4:00 the day prior.
- Our goal is to teach our students responsibility. If your child is absent please remind them to talk to their teacher about make-up work. Parents are encouraged to follow-up with the teacher but ultimately, we want our children to be responsible. For our younger students, they will need more follow-up from both parents and teachers.
- Students absent for 3 days or more, should make arrangements with the teacher to pick-up make-up work from the office.
- Students are expected to attend school daily unless they are ill or have an appointment. Please make every attempt to make appointments outside of school hours so as little school as possible is missed.
- Vacations should be planned during school scheduled vacations. Students completing work during absences is not the same as receiving the instructions that accompanies the work while in school.
- Overall, the attendance of our students the past few years have been extremely high. Last year 25.10% of our students were classified as having chronic absenteeism. This is extremely high and must be a focus in our school improvement plan. If there is a medical reason your child is absent please provide a doctor’s note if the absence is beyond three days. If doctor’s care isn’t needed please call the office and speak with me.
- Being on time is extremely important. When students are tardy they start their day behind, which often creates anxiety for them. They also miss directions for the day and instruction.
Illness
- If your child is running a fever (100.4 degrees or higher), vomiting, or not feeling well please keep them at home.
- As always, parents will be contacted if their child becomes ill at school.
- It is important to keep all emergency contact numbers up to date.
- If you have health questions or need to provide the school with new health occurrences with your child, please contact our school nurse, Amy Kandes, at: kandesa@dearbornschools.org
Dress Code
- Students must dress appropriately in a manner that is not distracting to the learning process.
- Please dress students according to the weather. During winter months bringing a sweater or light jacket to wear inside is beneficial.
- Shoes worn must have a strap across the back for safety reasons.
- Tight fitting clothes, pajamas, crop tops, very short shorts, or clothing displaying inappropriate language are not permitted.
- Parents should review their child’s dress each day and make sure it is school appropriate.
Cell Phones
Cell phones are not permitted at the elementary level at Dearborn Public Schools.
- We understand that in today’s society, a parent may choose to have their child bring a phone to school for safety reasons. If this is the case, it must be kept in the student’s backpack and not visible and cannot be used during school hours. If a student uses his/her phone or it is seen outside of the backpack it will be confiscated and the parent will be notified to pick up the phone from the office. The school is not responsible for any phones or devices brought to school.
- Students wearing Apple Watches (or similar devices) should not use them as a phone during school hours. If they do, the watch will be confiscated and will need to be picked up by the parent from the office just as a cell phone would be.
- Parents, please do not text or call your child during school hours. If their phone is in their backpack, as it should be, then they will not be replying.
- The wearing of Apple Watches (or similar devices) is strictly prohibited during standardized testing. This rule is set by the state. Devices used for medical reasons will stay on the teacher’s desk during all testing.
Purses
If students choose to bring a purse, they must leave it in their backpack or ask their teacher to put it in a safe place.
Important Notes
- Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school each day. They can be refilled at our hydration stations in the cafeteria and gym.
- Please write your child’s name on the outside of their lunchbox and water bottle and inside all of their belongings, including backpacks, jackets, sweatshirts, etc. The amount of items in our Lost & Found is extremely high.
- Please keep in mind, this is a good time to begin transitions for your children. Bedtimes and wake up times should be modified to assist students in adjusting to their school schedules and help them get back into the routine of school. Most importantly, continue reading with your child each day to help prepare them for being back.
- When picking up your child early please let the office and the teacher know first thing in the morning or the day before. It takes away from class time when a teacher has to stop instructing to prepare one student to leave early. Knowing ahead of time will help the teacher and student be prepared and be ready to leave when the parent arrives.
- Students may celebrate their birthday with their classmates. An easy to pass out treat and a small water bottle are allowed to share with classmates. Parents must send in enough for each child in the class. Balloons, treat bags, and full size cakes are not allowed.
- If you are passing out party invitations to students and not inviting the entire class, please be discreet. It is best to hand the invitations out at the end of the day on the playground and when possible give them directly to the parent.
- Students should have a change of clothes in their backpack, especially grades K-2.
- We are in need of noon hour supervisors. The hours are 11:30-1:30, Monday through Friday. Call the office for more information.
The DuVall staff and I would like to thank you in advance for being our partner. We realize there is a great deal of information in this letter but it is helpful for all of us to be on the same page so we can work together for the good of our children.
On the first day of school, weather permitting, we will have an area on the playground available to take photos. Come early so you have time to take pictures in front of our DuVall backdrop and with our photo props.
We are looking forward to a successful 2024-2025 school year! Please contact me with all questions and concerns.
Thank you,
Mary Timpf
Principal
DuVall Elementary
313-827-2750