The Cub Reporter

Dutch Fork Elementary School.Academy of Environmental Sciences

7900 Broad River Road Irmo, SC 29063 y (803) 476-3900 FAX (803) 476-3920
www.lexrich5.org/dutchfork.cfm y Title I School
April 2015

Fifth Graders Participate in Regional Science Fair

Mar 30-Apr 3
Spring Holidays
Apr 6
Student Holiday/Staff PD
Apr 8
Report Cards Go Home
SIC Mtg. 6:00 p.m. Conf. Room
Apr 10
Tag of Honor Ceremony in the
Mini Theater
8:05 3rd grade 9:05 1st grade
10:05 4th grade 11:05 5th grade
12:20 Kdg.
1:20 2nd grade
Apr 13
4K and Hardie Tag of Honor
Ceremony in Mini Theater 8:15
1st grade Saluda Shoals
Apr 14
5K Saluda Shoals
Apr 18
Nature Trail Clean Up Day 9-2pm
Apr 20
4K and Kdg. Field Trip to Zoo
3rd grade Saluda Shoals
Apr 21
1st gr. Music Performance 6:30
Apr 22
Early Release Day 11:40 a.m.
Apr 24
Prince Bowl @ Anchor Lanes
5:00 p.m.
Apr 27
2nd grade Saluda Shoals
Apr 28, 29, 30
ACT Aspire grades 3-5

On March 13 several of our 5th grade students participated in the USC Central South
Carolina Region II 59th Annual Science and Engineering Fair. Our students
competed in the junior division with other 5th-8th grade students from around the
state. Over 500 students participated in this division. The following students won
awards for their project presentation at the fair: U.S. Metric Association Award
Sean Daugherty, Anna Sycamore, Christina Kinard, Kai Williams, Sydney Rhue,
Kendall Pressley, Ryan Snow, Kennidy Jenkins, Kori Peterman, Sebastian Powell and
Joshua Commander. Region II Grand Awards: Team Division Honorable Mention:
Sebastian Powell and Joshua Commander. We are very proud of our 5th graders for
their outstanding presentations. They have made DFES Academy of Environmental
Science shine even brighter!

Spring 2015 Testing Information for Parents

Our state has a new testing program that will be administered this spring. The ACT
Aspire test will be given to all students in grade 3, 4, and 5 according to the
schedule below:
Tuesday, April 28 Writing and English
Wednesday, April 29 Reading
Thursday, April 30 Math
In addition, all 4th and 5th graders will participate in PASS
testing on the dates listed. Third graders will not participate
in PASS testing this year as they have in the past.
Thursday, May 7 Science
Friday, May 8 Social Studies
Parents, please be reminded of a few simple things that will help your child be
successful during testing:
1. Parents should schedule appointments and out of school activities for another
day. All students will make up tests that are missed.
2. Testing will begin at 8:00 each day. Be sure your child is well-rested and on
time. Avoid a rushed morning or discussions that may upset your child.
3. Have your child eat a healthy and filling breakfast.
4. Parents and students in the building are not permitted any electronic devices
during testing. This includes cell phones, calculators, and watches with alarms.
5. Encourage your child to do his/her best on all days of testing. Eliminate
pressure and send them off with a hug and a smile.
Students are encouraged to check out this website: www.testtakingtips.com to
access ideas about being successful on tests of all kinds and what to do about
getting nervous about tests. There is even helpful information for parents of testtakers!

We need your help!

Nature Trail and

Project Clean Up Day
Saturday, April 18
9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m.
DFES Families please join us as we
have many projects to complete
around our school to make it a better
place for our children to learn and
grow! Many hands are needed and
we also need tools and heavy
equipment! If you are able to help
please contact Emily Perkins @
eperkins@lexrich5.org so we will
know how many people we can count
on. Water will be provided.
Participating students must be
accompanied by a participating adult!

Fifth Graders Become

Social Activists

Dutch
Fork
Academy
of
Environmental Sciences 5th graders
are seeking your assistance. At our
school, we believe that our learning
should lead to social action.
Currently, we are in the midst of our
Great Depression unit of study. Our
historians are learning the impacts of
a weak economy on American citizens
of the past and noticing how
economic status impacts an
individuals condition of life in
present day society. The students
would like to take social action on
their learning by putting together
care/hygiene packages to a pantry in
need. Our students have found
organizations in Columbia that would
benefit from our services. Please
support us by donating any of the

following items during the months of March and April:

Soap ~ toothbrushes ~ toothpaste ~ washcloth or hand towel ~ deodorant ~
comb ~ shampoo ~ tissues ~ hand sanitizers ~ granola bars ~ individual
packaged wet wipes ~ utensils ~ paper bags ~ bottled water/juice boxes ~ Spam
ready to eat tuna packets ~ Vienna sausages w/pop top ~ cans of soup w/pop top
snack-size bags of chips ~ snack cakes ~ fruit/pudding cups ~ trail mix ~ peanut
butter or cheese crackers ~ pop tarts
Any of these items can be delivered to Mrs. Drayton or Mrs. Jefferson on the fifth
grade hall. Thank you for your support!

PTO Highlights
2015-16 PTO
Its time to begin planning for our next school year! We have openings for the
2015-16 PTO Board and Committee Chairs. Please see the attached flyer to find
out how you can be a part of the PTO!
Prince Bowl
Calling all Dutch Fork Super Heroes! Our annual Prince Bowl will be held Friday,
April 24, at Anchor Lanes on Lake Murray Boulevard. Boys, wear your favorite
super hero shirt and bring your favorite adult super heroine for a fun night of
bowling. A very special guest with spider senses will be there for photos!
Registration forms with more details will be sent home on April 9.
Service Project
Recently, Chapin High School student Jack Enright was paralyzed while playing in a
school lacrosse game. The road to recovery will be a long and expensive one, so
we want our DFES Super Heroes to help! We will be collecting money to assist
Jacks family with expenses incurred during his recovery. Students who make at
least a $5 donation will be entered into a drawing for two tickets to Carowinds!
Please make all checks payable to DFES PTO. Be sure to include a note with your
childs name and homeroom teacher when submitting donations so we will have
that information for the drawing! The drawing will be held the evening of the
Prince Bowl!
Box Top/Labels Update
Congratulations to Mrs. Mims 4th grade class for earning the Box Top Trophy this
month! Their class submitted the most Box Tops/Labels in February! April 30 will
be the LAST day to submit Box Tops/Labels and have them count toward the Box
Top Baseball competition! Be sure to get yours submitted so your child can earn
the prizes! Remember, the class with the most submissions for the school year will
receive a frozen yogurt party and the teacher will receive a $50 Visa gift card!
Spirit Night Info
Because of a scheduling conflict with Wild Wings Caf we have changed our April
Spirit Night to Silver Fox Grill on Broad River Road. On Wednesday, April 15 come
by Silver Fox Grill anytime between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and let them know you are
there to support DFES! A portion of the sales will be donated to our school.
Thanks for your support!

Principals Post . . .
Recently our certified staff has been engaged in professional dialogue centered around questioning. More specifically
we are having on-going discussions about the characteristics of effective questions that lead to critical thinking for students.
Students will benefit tremendously when both parents and teachers are more intentional with the types of questions
posed to children. We hope you find the following to be useful throughout your day to day life with your child.
Language is one of the most powerful tools for learning. We can use language to stretch childrens curiosity, reasoning
ability, creativity and independence. An effective way to do this is by asking open-ended questions those with no single right
or wrong answer. Instead of predictable answers, open-ended questions elicit fresh and sometimes even startling insights and
ideas, opening minds and enabling adults and children to build knowledge together.
Ask questions such as:
Tell me about your picture.
What else can you do with play dough?
Why do you think this happened?
What do you think would happen if . . .?
Is there another way to . . .?
Open-ended questions encourage learning.
Open-ended questions offer children the opportunity to freely express feelings, motives, and ideas. A question like,
What color is that block? evokes a one-word answer. But an open-ended question such as, Tell me about the blocks you are
using, encourages a child to describe the blocks or explain what he or she is doing. There is no right or wrong answer.
Asking open-ended questions gives children opportunities to use an expanded vocabulary. An answer to an open-ended
question gives us a window into what the child is thinking and feeling. The response is sometimes wonderfully creative. In
explaining or describing, children also use language more fully.
Listen attentively and respond.
When you listen attentively to kids responses, you are showing them that what they are saying is important . . .its a
sign of respect. The adult can comment on a childs response or ask another question to extend the conversation it is
reflecting the value that the adult places on the interaction.
It shows that the adult wants to know what a child is thinking or feeling. When parents and other adults become more of
a partner and less of a boss during conversations, children enjoy the time more and interact longer.
Listening attentively also helps adults determine when the child is tiring of the conversation and wants to talk about
something else or nothing else. Adults can look for clues regarding the direction that the conversation should take.
How to encourage conversations.
If children only provide one-word responses to your open-ended questions, there are still ways you can encourage them
to communicate more interactively. Start questions with how, what, where, why, or when. Talk with children about
what interests them. Create opportunities for children to ask each other questions.
Use wait time: briefly staying quiet and listen until the child responds to your comment or question. Five seconds is
long enough. (Young children who are just developing oral language skills often need extra time to decide what to say and how
to say it.)
Look at it as conducting a conversation with a child and not just gathering information. Communicate more for enjoyable
social contact rather than to get something done. The most interesting conversations people have are many times the result of a
series of open-ended questions that move the discussion in ways that you cant predict at the start.
Closed questions are appropriate in certain situations and the adult needs to asses when to use each type of question.
Conversations are usually a mix of open-ended and closed questions.
It is difficult to change the closed-ended question habit. But when we ask open-ended questions, children reap great
benefits as they think through their responses to express what they want to say. And with their answers, we find out more about
what they think and feel.

DFES PTO
Nominations & Elections for 2014-2015

Help us help the school!!

YOUR PTO IN ACTION

2013-2014
Programs Supported

Teacher Appreciation

Box Tops for Education

TAGS

Assessment Testing

PBIS

Grandfriends Day

Graduation

Spirit Night(s)

Field Day

Events Sponsored

I want Dutch Fork Elementary to be one of the best schools in South

Carolina.
I want my child to have a great school year to learn and to have fun!
I want to help decide how PTO fundraising monies are spent.
I want all the students at DFES to be successful.

If the above statements are true, then help us help the school. Parent involvement
is critical for a successful school, so volunteer as a PTO officer or a committee chair
for 2014-2015. There are jobs that take no more than a couple hours a month,
some are that are seasonal, and a few that require a routine commitment.
Dedicated teachers, staff, and PARENTS help make DFES a great school!
Join us its rewarding, its important, its even fun!
Nominate yourself or someone else. All chair positions can be shared. (See back of
form for position descriptions.) If you have any questions, please contact Tonya
Kinard at DFESPTOPRES@aol.com
th

Elections will be held at the PTO Meeting on Tuesday, May 20 at 6:00 pm in

the school library. All nomination forms must be received by the Nominations
1h
Committee by May 12 . Please return this form to your childs teacher or to the
school office. Nominees will be posted on the school website and in the lobby by
th
Thursday, May 15 .
Elected Officers

Nominee Name

Contact Info

Nominee Name

Contact Info

Elected at General Meeting

Fall Festival

Holiday Store

BINGO Night

Princess Ball

Secretary

Prince Bowl

Treasurer

Fifth Grade Picnic

President
Vice President

Services & Supplies

Committees Chairs

Classroom Supplies

BINGO

School Yearbook

Box Tops

Volunteers Recruited

School Fundraising Efforts

School Spiritwear

Selected by newly-elected Executive Board

Business Partners
Fifth Grade Picnic/Graduation
Fall Festival
Holiday Store
Hospitality
Princess Ball/Prince Bowl
Spirit Wear
Volunteer Coordination
Year Book