From the desk of Cherie Swader
December 3, 2007

Dear DES Family and Friends,

This is a very busy time of the year for everyone and we understand that there are many distractions for the children however; we would like to encourage you to help your child stay focused on learning. You should have received your child's progress report last week and if you have questions or concerns, please contact his or her teacher or call to schedule a conference. Children in grades one-five will be taking the 2nd nine week benchmark post-tests in math, language arts, and science on December 12th and 13th. These tests are based on the GPS standards and the pre-tests that the students took at the beginning of the nine-weeks. The post-test data will be used to help teachers determine the needs of individual students and to plan additional instruction. Please continue to read with your children and to work on basic math skills including number recognition and number sense. Talk with your students about numbers by counting objects, grouping objects and even comparison shopping in the grocery store.

We would like to thank Leslie Tate and Fairway Outdoor Billboard Company for the wonderful "Hand In Hand" billboard located on Hwy. 11 coming into Trenton near the Bank of Dade. If you haven't seen it, be sure to drive by a take a look. We truly appreciate the positive publicity and the recognition of our mission and vision.

We would also like to thank the many volunteers who have supported our school during the first semester of this year - individuals, businesses, and civic organizations are an important part of our mission and working "hand in hand" is integral to providing for the needs of all of our students. If you have questions about volunteer opportunities, please contact Brenda Wheeler, our Parent Involvement Coordinator. We look forward to seeing you at DES.

December PTO program - Tuesday, December 11th - 6:00pm in the cafeteria - the program will be presented by the 2nd grade classes.

WOLVERINE DISCOUNT CARDS ARE STILL AVAILABLE - $10.00 - THESE MAKE GREAT GIFTS. THE PROCEEDS WILL GO TO SUPPORT STUDENT PROGRAMS. GET YOURS TODAY.

Have a great week.

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