Hawk Talk

Dear Duran School Families,

I hope you were able to enjoy a restful December break. We are very glad to welcome your children back to school. As we start a new year, I also wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude and extend warm wishes to each and every one of you. The Duran School is an incredible learning community, and that is due in part to the amazing students, teachers and families. Your children bring so much joy and enthusiasm to our halls each day. Their laughter, curiosity, and energy embody what it means to have a vibrant school community. It is an honor to watch them grow as scholars each day. Thank you for entrusting with the education and well being of your children.

In the spirit of gratitude, I would also like to express my deepest thanks to our amazing teachers and staff. Their dedication and passion for nurturing young minds contribute significantly to the success and positive atmosphere of our school. As we start a new calendar year, let us continue to foster a spirit of community, kindness, and learning.

Warm Regards,

Melissa Davis, Ed.D.

Principal

Our kindergarten students enjoyed an afternoon, with our wonderful volunteers, creating snowman ornaments. This holiday craft was possible thanks to our amazing PTA.

We also continued to build our classroom community and kindness skills with a grade level viewing of The Grinch.

Next week we will be having our music concert and kindergarten showcase on January 11th at 6 pm. We will be showcasing our arctic animal projects and hope to see you there!

There are several ways to find out if we have a weather-related delay or closing:

1. Delays and closing are reported through the local television outlets (WABI, WLBZ and WVII Fox Bangor)

2. A number of different radio stations also report out on delays and closings as well. A few include: 107.3, 106.5, 94.5, etc.

3. The Patricia A. Duran Facebook page is also updated with a delay/closing. If you haven't liked the page, please go to https://www.facebook.com/HermonElementary/ and like us.

4. A text alert from the superintendent is also sent out to all families. This alert goes to the phone numbers that we have on record at the school. If your number has changed, please contact us so that we can ensure that you receive these updates.

Just a reminder that we do not have school on January 15 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

K-1 Concert and Student Showcase: Our concert and showcase will be on January 11th. Our students have been working hard to create a performance and body of work to show their families. Students are asked to arrive at 5:45 and head straight to the cafeteria to line up. After the concert, students will be dismissed to their classrooms for the academic showcase. Please remember to visit Mrs. Caddell in the new wing to check out what our students do with computer coding.

Tis the season for cold and flu! Just a reminder that if your child has been sick, we ask that you keep them out of school until they have been fever, vomiting and diarrhea-free for 24 hours. Fever-free requires that the student is without a fever, and not using a fever-reducing medication, for 24 hours. Thank you for helping us reduce the spread of seasonal illnesses.

Please remind your student to use good hand washing skills, cough into an elbow, and use a tissue when sneezing. Having a water bottle at school to stay hydrated is important also.

Thank you for your help encouraging your child to keep up healthy practices!

When your child is absent, please verify their absence by calling the main office at (207) 848-4000, option 3 for the Duran School. Please do not send information regarding absences to your child's teacher via SeeSaw. They are often not checking SeeSaw during the day. We are required by law to track student absences to ensure that students are attending school on a regular basis.

Excused absences include: illness, health related appointments, observance of recognized religious holidays when observance is required during school hours, family emergency situations, educational absences approved by the principal in advance, absences caused by school activities held during the school day. As a school, we are required to maintain and report truancy data to the state. Students who accumulate five consecutive unexcused absences or seven unexcused absences are considered by the state to be truant.

As you all know, dismissal and arrival times can be very chaotic. With close to 500 students to dismiss, it is critical that we have student plans. Please do not send dismissal information to your child's teacher through SeeSaw. Please call the main office or send your child with a note if their dismissal plans change. We begin preparing for dismissal at 2:00 and request that if plans need to change, they are done before 2:00.

Cold weather has arrived! Please make sure to pack appropriate clothing for outdoor play. We do try to get students outside to play every day. Packing a hat, mittens and a warm jacket is essential for winter recess. When snow arrives, students will be required to wear snow pants in order to play in the snow at recess. If you are unable to provide these items, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Davis. We will make sure that your child has the items they need for cold weather play.

It's also a great idea to make sure that your child comes to school with an extra set of clothes that are seasonally appropriate. We sometimes have spills and the extra clothing ensures that students have what they need.