From the desk of Cherie Swader
November 5, 2007

Dear DES Family and Friends,

Tomorrow evening (Monday, Nov.5th) at 6:00pm, we will be hosting a Parent Involvement Workshop at Dade Elementary School. The theme of the workshop is: "Learning to Read and Reading to Learn." Brenda Wheeler and Darlene Rogers have put together a wonderful presentation that will be interactive and will involve parents and students (make sure you bring the children). We hope that you will be able to work this opportunity into your busy schedules. Pizza and drinks will be provided compliments of the Parent Involvement Program. You may bring a dessert (and the recipe) if you would like, but if you don.t have time, just bring yourself - there will be plenty.

85%- That number represents the percentage of parents that attended the Dade Elementary School Parent/Teacher Conferences on Thursday, October 25th. Thanks to all of you who were able to attend; we hope that the conferences were informative and beneficial to everyone. We will hold another of these events in March, but we want you to know that our faculty/staff is available for conferences throughout the year, so if you have concerns or questions please call and schedule an appointment. You may also contact us by telephone or e-mail.

The following classes turned in 100%: Leeanne Gibson; Kim Smith; Dawn Paschal; Misty Tierce; Darlene Rogers; Daniel Middlebrooks; Jane Anne Austin; Sharon Turner. We had many teachers who had 90% or more - again thanks to the parents, students, and teachers for a great event.

The Dade Elementary School PTO will be sponsoring two fundraisers during the month of November. The first will kick-off this Friday, November 9th. This is a merchant discount card that will be offered for 10.00, and includes offers from twenty local merchants. The PTO is hoping that each student can sale at least three cards. The other PTO project involves art work that will be produced by each of the students and will be matted, framed, and ready for hanging. These works of art will make great Christmas gifts and provide wonderful memories for years to come. The proceeds from both of these projects will go to support student focused activities throughout the school year.

Last years PTO funds were used to create and supply resources for an art room that will be used by students in all grades. We appreciate the PTO and their support of Dade Elementary School. Please support these projects and other PTO activities.

November PTO Meeting - Tuesday, November 13th - 6:00pm in the Upper Gym. The Kindergarten Classes will be presenting the program.

Dade Elementary School Council Meeting - Monday, Nov. 12th - 4:30pm.

The annual Dade Elementary School Thanksgiving Lunch will be held, Friday, November 16th from 10:00-1:00. This is a wonderful event that we look forward to each year. If you would like to volunteer to help in anyway, we would be grateful. It takes a lot of man/woman-power to organize and execute this event. We want to especially thank our cafeteria staff for their hard work and effort to make this such a success.

The students, faculty, and staff at Dade Elementary School are involved in a county-wide food drive. The food will be presented to needy families in our community. This is a great opportunity for our students to learn the importance of helping others. Please encourage them to bring cans and non-perishable foods for this project.

Please remember that it is important that children arrive at school and are in class on time, and that they remain until 2:50. Students are missing valuable instruction time, when they are tardy or are checked out early. Waiting in line a few extra minutes is not too much to ask, when it comes to the education of our children. We need to make sure that we are teaching them good work habits and demonstrating the value we place on education.

Talk with your child about what he/she is learning in the classroom. You may access the benchmarks for each grade level and subject area by going to the county webpage and clicking on Departments, Curriculum, and Benchmarks. This is a valuable resource that will help you better understand your child.s instruction. The benchmarks are based on the Georgia Performance Standards and are used by the teachers to plan and drive instruction in the classroom. Several of our parents who have accessed this website, have commented on the relevance and rigor of the material. We are proud of the instruction that is taking place at Dade Elementary School - come and see for yourself.

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