
The Dolphin Report
Destin Elementary School
To access staff contacts, handbooks and more, visit our website at https://www2.okaloosaschools.com/o/destines
Mrs. Meyer, Principal / Mrs. Brown, Assistant Principal
Hello Dolphin Families! Every year we say it, and here we are again...I can't believe the school year is coming to an end! Time flies when you are having fun! May means it is time to show our appreciation to our incredible teachers! Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6-10. All too often, we think about how much we appreciate people, but life gets busy and we don't actually say it. I know how hard our teachers work and how much time and love they pour into their students. If you would like to help us shower them with love, please take a moment to write a card, note, letter or email and let them know what they have meant to you and your child! You may drop these off in the front office, email Mrs. Meyer or contact your teacher directly! Any letters/emails coming through the office will be delivered to the teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week! Thank you for your help with this!
This past month in April, we had a blast at our first ever Spring Hoe Down Dance! Our wonderful PTO did an awesome job organizing it and everyone had a great time dressing in their western wear and dancing the night away! There were field trips galore to include the zoo, the pirate cruise, Paint the Music and the movies! The kindergarten classes hosted a fairy tale ball in their classrooms which was absolutely precious, our students showed off their art skills in the art show and music showcased the 2nd grade students in a musical for parents! Springtime means that flowers are blooming and many classes are watching caterpillars turn into butterflies and releasing them into our butterfly garden. We even got to watch chicks hatch and host some baby chickens for a week!
As April ends, we are getting ready for our annual talent show. Auditions are after school on April 29th and 30th- see Mrs. Hays for information!
Our 4th grade students took their state writing test in April and made us all so proud as we watched them take their time and work hard! We feel more than ready to conquer the rest of our state testing in May across all grade levels. Please help us encourage your students that all we ask of them is to try their best! We are focusing on building confidence! Dewey Destin's Sno Cone Truck will be on campus on May 14th to give snocones to all students to celebrate them being "safe, respectful, responsible and ready to learn" all year! This is hosted by our very own Retired Teachers of Destin group! We love that this group continues to be champions for our students and our school! Testing dates will be from May1-10. During this time, we ask that there be no visitors on campus for lunch. We aim to have a quiet and calm campus during testing for everyone. Many classrooms have windows and walls that are beside our outdoor picnic tables and having lots of people, movement and noise can be distracting during test taking. Thank you for understanding and cooperating with this. Friday, May 17th will be the last day that we have visitors on campus for lunch for the 23-24 school year. The last week of school has too many visitors on campus for parties and check-outs to safely manage lunch visitors as well. Again, we appreciate you all for helping us welcome families for events while keeping safety a top priority.
We hope that many of you can join us on campus throughout this month for class events, celebrations and volunteering! If you have a 4th grader, don't miss their wax museum on May 17th! It is so fun to see all of the costumes and I guarantee you will learn something new about people in our Florida history!
Yearbooks are here and will be delivered on May 10th! If we have any extra available for purchase, we will advertise and have those available Monday, May 13th, on a first come basis! This has truly been a year of blessings. I absolutely love the Destin community and how much love and support people have for one another. It definitely takes a village and we have one of the best!
End of Year Testing Schedule!
Families,
Please help your students by making sure they are present and on time for their state FAST/Star testing dates. Getting a good nights sleep, eating a healthy breakfast and encouraging a positive attitude will help your student be able to perform the best they can! Students that arrive at school after testing has started, will not be able to join their class for testing that day and will need to wait until a make-up day. Thank you!
*Individual classes may have changes to the schedule. Please confirm your testing dates with your child's teacher.
Kindergarten Parent Information Night!
Parents of upcoming Kindergarten students, we will host informational nights on Monday, May 6th at 5:30 and Tuesday, May a 7th at 5:30 in our multipurpose room. This will be a presentation of what you can expect when your child starts school at Destin Elementary School. There will be opportunities for questions as well. These meetings are designed to reduce some of the anxiety that comes with getting your baby ready to go to "big school". The meetings are optional and you may attend either night. Both nights are the same presentation. We will also be hosting another opportunity to get this information later in the summer :)
Change For Children Drive Benefitting Children in Crisis
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Change for Children Drive! We earned over $3,000 to donate to Children in Crisis! Mr. Vasquez was the winning class for the most change collected! They earned that pizza party! Congratulations!
Chick-Fil-A and East Pass Coffee
Thank you to everyone who visitied Chick-Fil-A and East Pass Coffee on our spirit days! These incredible businesses offerred to give back to our school on these days and we appreciate their support! Money raised on these spirit days/nights goes into our student/staff recognition account that funds individual and class rewards and recognitions, staff recognitions and offers monetary help to pay for field trips, class shirts, etc when needed! Our community rocks!
Annual Talent Show
Attendance H.E.R.O (Here Everyday Ready On-time)
We understand that there are circumstances that require late arrivals, early checkouts and absences from time to time, however, we ask that you make every effort to try to have students to school on time and avoid early check outs whenever possible.
To encourage full day attendance, we will be having weekly drawings to reward those that are here all day, every day of the week! We will draw 2 names each week from the students with perfect attendance that week to come to the office for a certificate for a free treat from a local business!
Thank you for helping us promote good attendance so we can continue to see our students be as successful as possible!
Food For Thought Summer Feeding Program
THANK A TEACHER!
Have you ever wanted to thank a special teacher for the impact they've made on your life? Here's your chance!
HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital and the Okaloosa County School District have partnered to celebrate the Okaloosa County School District's dedicated educators! Students, Families, and staff members are encouraged to share their stories about a particular teacher's inspiring actions, supportive words, creative lessons, or just their overall positive impact. Each month of the 2023-2024 school year, one nominated teacher will win $250 from HCA Florida Healthcare and be highlighted on social media.
Nominate the teacher who impacted you by clicking the link below or visit OkaloosaSchools.com, click on "Parents/Students" and select "Thank a Teacher."
https://forms.gle/vp84LbWTaPp4jjin6
@hcafloridahealthcare HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital
PTO Sponsorships for DES
THANK YOU TO OUR CURRENT SPONSORS!
Platinum Sponsors:
The Spa at Emerald Grande
Timberview Helicopter
Emerald Bay Plumbing
GOLD SPONSORS
Scenic Real Estate
Coastal Pediatric Group
Austin Music Lesson Academy
SILVER SPONSORS
Please make sure to put your child's name on all jackets and water bottles! Lost and Found is already filling up! Unclaimed items will be donated.
Things You Need To Know
Students may purchase breakfast in the cafeteria before class if they choose.
School starts at 8:25. All students should be in their classroom no later than this or they will be marked tardy.
Please make every effort to be on time. Instruction starts at 8:25 and it is uncomfortable for students to enter late and try to catch up on what they missed :)
No visitors will be allowed on campus unless they sign in through the front office.
Drop off- Students may ride the bus, come by car or walk/ride bikes to school. Walkers and bike riders have 3 gates they may enter. One is on Beach Drive at the back of the school (we call this yellow gate), one to the left of the front office (we call this the kindergarten gate) and one to the right of the front of the school by the kindergarten playground ( we call this the black gate).
Car riders will come through the car line on Kelly St. Please have your students ready to exit the car when you pull up to the drop off point so we can keep things flowing smoothly!
DO NOT drop off students across the street and have them cross traffic or walk in front of the car line to come to school. I understand the car line can get long, however, this causes a very dangerous situation and we want our kids to be safe- thank you.
You may park at the Catholic Church on Beach Drive and walk your student to the yellow gate if you don't want to wait in the car line. Please do not park in the yards/driveways of people who live around the school. We want to be respectful of their property.
Breakfast and lunch are able to be purchased each day. The menu can be viewed by clicking the following link. Keep in mind that there are times the menu changes without notice.
https://okaloosaschools.nutrislice.com/menus-eula
You may access the application for free and reduced lunches with the link below. We encourage everyone to fill out the form whether you think you will qualify or not. :)
https://www2.myschoolapps.com/
Breakfast and Lunch Prices are listed below.
You can add money to your child's account online by creating an account at https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/getmain?requestAction=home
We welcome parents to come eat lunch with your kids any day of the week! Due to limited seating in the cafeteria, we ask that you eat outdoors only at any of our picnic tables or benches around campus. You may bring lunch in to eat with your child or buy lunch in the cafeteria. We do not accept deliveries for lunch such as fast food drop offs or Door Dash orders. Calling classrooms for students to pick up their lunch disrupts instruction and causes much confusion and traffic in the front office. When you come to eat with your child, you may only take your child with you. Please do not invite friends to join you. This is for everyone's safety. Sign in through the front office when visiting, please :)
*Side note about lunch- Students are allowed to purchase ice cream, chips and other treats at lunch as long as there is money in their account, unless you contact the cafeteria and tell them otherwise. When students buy these extra treats, most of the time that is all they eat. The rest of the lunch goes in the trash. We want parents to be aware. If you would like to limit what your child buys, please write a note to the cafeteria or call to talk to them. :)
Early Checkouts: If you need to check your child out early for any reason, please come to the front office to sign them out. We ask that you come no later than 2:15 for early checkouts. Dismissal time gets very hectic in the front office we need that time to handle transportation changes and make sure kids get to their correct locations to get home.
If your child is needing to change the way they go home, you MUST write a note that includes your child's full name, teachers name, the date and the way you want them to go home. Please sign the note and send it to school with your child. Their teacher will get it to the office for you.
Dismissal - Please be patient for the first couple of weeks of school! Dismissal begins at 2:55 and students are released in waves.
ALL students will be given a tag that is placed on their backpacks. They will be assigned a tag number.
Any parents picking up in car line MUST have a matching car tag to their students backpack tag. You will be sent to the front office to get your child if you do not have your car tag at pickup.
Kindergartener walkers will be picked up at the kindergarten gate to the left of the front office. Parents of kindergarten walkers only will be required to show their matching tag. Older students may go home as walkers/bike riders without a parent meeting them.
Kindergarteners are walked to their appropriate places for dismissal.
***If you plan to volunteer at school this year, including attending field trips with your student, you must have a current volunteer application on file. You can access this application at the following link:
To Access Bus Routes, click on the link
Clubs and Activities
Club registrations with information about age requirements, cost and dates/times will be sent home a few weeks after school begins!
Drone Club
Lego Club
Coding Club
Drama Kids - After school on Thursdays
Violin - After school on Wed and Fri
Music Club
Good News Club (all grades)
Library Club (4th grade)
Gardening Club
HOPE Squad (4th grade only)
Safety Patrol (4th grade only)
Junior Deputy (4th grade only)
Destin Ambassadors (all grades, students chosen by admin)
Upcoming Events:
April
29- Talent show Auditions afterschool
30- Talent Show Auditions afterschool
May
1- KG Math Star
3- KG Reading Star
3- Pre-KD- Nonies Ark -9:00 Media center
9-PTO @7:45
9- KG field trip to Gulfarium (Huffman, Howell, Schillinger, Nelson, Burns)
10-KG field trip to Gulfarium (Deslauries, Pisarchuk, Luallen, Turner)
13- 3rd Field trip to skating rink (Schmidt, Wall, Donatelli, Taylor, Bitler)
14-21 4th Grade KickBall Tournament on softball field
14- Dewey Destin Snow Cone Truck here
14- Talent Show Dress Rehearsal Afterschool
15- 3rd Field trip to the skating rink (Henry, Litka, Vasquez, Williams, Davis)
15- Talent Show Dress Rehearsal Afterschool
16- Food Truck- Copper Grille- Nachos, tacos,quesadillas, shrimp, salads, bowls -10-1
16- Talent show at 6 pm
17- Burns EOY Party-Classroom- 9:00-10:20
17–Luallen EOY party- classroom 1:45
17–Huffman EOY party–classroom 9:00-11:30
17–Turner EOY party–classroom 11:00-12:00
17- 4th Grade Wax Museum - 9:00-11:00 am
20 - 2nd Grade EOY party on baseball field 9:30-12:00
20–Pisarchuk EOY party classroom 11-12:30
20–Howell EOY party 11:30 court yard outside room 5
21–Schillinger EOY party court yard outside room 5
21- Pre-KD- graduation in library 9:30-11:00 am
21- 3rd Grade gathering @ Baseball Field (bounce houses all day & pizza in the afternoon)
22 - 1st Grade Play Day - Track (8:30-10:00)
22- 4th Grade End of Year Party to Wild Willie’s (8:30-1:30)
22 - Reed Class party - classroom (1-2)
23 - Mills/Ross Class party - Track near fence under tree (1:00-2:00)
23- 2nd Grade back-up date for EOY party (9:30-12:00 baseball field)
24- Last Day for Students
24- 4th Graduation
27-Memorial Day Holiday
30- Last Day for Teachers
Pop Top Collection to Support the Ronald McDonald House!
Please collect these tops throughout the year and send them into school with your child or bring them to the lobby of the front office and place them in the container.
Thank you for helping us support a very special organization that helps families every day!
Are you interested in getting paid to tutor students?
New Addition Coming to DES!
We are excited to report that we are finishing up the design phase of a new 32 classroom addition to house our 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students on the Destin Elementary School campus. Phase I got approval at the April 24, 2023 School Board Meeting. The new build will include a new front office, additional bathrooms and a new multipurpose building. We will also have plenty of additional parking!!!
All portable buildings will be removed once the building is complete!
The design process is a continual, collaborative process that takes time. Our process will focus on the school’s academic needs, technology, safety and security.
The new construction is tentatively scheduled for completion in August 2026.