From the desk of Cherie Swader
March 17, 2008

Dear DES Family and Friends,

EARLY RELEASE DAY- PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCE DAY THURSDAY - MARCH 20TH - Students will be released at 12:45 for bus and car rider pickup - please make arrangements for your children. NO AFTER SCHOOL CARE.

I hope that each of you has scheduled a conference with your child's teacher. Conferences will begin at 1:00 and will end at 7:00 with a 3:45-4:30 dinner break for the teachers. You should have received a sign-up sheet from your child's teacher, but if for some reason you did not receive it or did not sign up, please call the teacher or the school and we will schedule a meeting. Report cards will be given to parents at the conference. This is very important and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

MARCH 21ST - GOOD FRIDAY WILL BE A SCHOOL HOLIDAY - NO SCHOOL

March 28th and April 28th will be weather makeup days - WE WILL BE IN SCHOOL.

As we approach spring and the last nine weeks of school - please pay close attention to your child's attendance. School attendance is very important for learning and teaching good work habits and life skills. Students need to be at school on time (8:10 or earlier if they are going to eat breakfast) - and they need to remain the entire day. Thank you for paying close attention to this matter.

Check with your child's teacher or with Regina McBryar (DES cafeteria manager) to make sure your child does not owe breakfast or lunch charges. The faculty and staff at DES believe that eating breakfast and lunch are essential for a child's health and well-being and so we ensure that each child has the opportunity to eat, but it is also important that parents take responsibility for the cost of the meals. If your income has changed and you would like to complete a free/reduced breakfast/lunch form, please contact the school or Wilma Crane at the county office and we will provide you with the documentation.

Spring Break - March 31-April 4 - No School

READ DAILY WITH OR TO YOUR CHILD. PRACTICE BASIC MATH SKILLS (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) - these skills are essential to students as they progress through the math curriculum. Make learning fun and relative. Talk with your child about his/her future and how school will factor into that successful future. Make high school graduation and post-secondary preparation a belief.

We still need volunteers and will work around your schedule. We welcome all of you to visit and/or volunteer at DES. Have a great week and we look forward to seeing you Thursday.

Cherie Swader
Principal
Dade Elementary School
"Hand In Hand - We Learn Together"