Weekly Newsletter 1/23/25

 

January 23rd, 2025

Happy Friday everyone, we hope that everyone enjoys their 3-day weekend. We have some new families who have joined our school or are about to join our school and our enrollment is currently at capacity in EVERY classroom except for our Middle School. This means we are only 5 students from our school being completely full. This is AMAZING! For prospective families that do not currently live in our school boundaries, we are currently accepting Attendance Exception forms FOR NEXT YEAR, and have already begun a waitlist. For our new families and families who have been with us for years, we wanted to share what we stand for at Dorena School:

Mission: We are Dorena Proud!

Vision: Dorena School is a place where everyone belongs. We hold high expectations for all and together we will learn and achieve at high levels.

Our School Community's Values

• We commit to unwavering support for one another. 

• We commit to celebrating everyone’s skills and strengths

• We commit to making sure everyone belongs and has status and agency. 

• We commit to being positive, honest, and kind 

• We commit to holding high standards and working with rigor and stamina to prepare for the future

• We commit to being collectively responsible and accountable for the success of all!

Announcements:

• PBIS Theme: Empathy 
• We have had a lot of questions regarding health, we are teaching health every Wed as per required OREGON standards. In November we sent home opt out forms regarding certain more sensitive content areas as quoted here from the form: "If you DO NOT want your child to participate in the body development or/or sexual health lessons, sign below and return it to your student’s classroom teacher." This means that if you signed the form your student will be excused during the health lessons containing body development and sexual health ONLY. Health standards also pertain to bullying, nutrition, stress management, internet safety, etc. If any lessons contain content pertaining to body development or sexual health, students who have a signed Opt-Out form, will be excused, otherwise all students will participate in lessons regarding other content. If you have questions please call or message Mrs. Pixton.
• We have our January PBIS Celebration on Friday, a School-wide Dance Party! Students who have received less than 3 office referrals for the month of January are eligible to attend.
• Check out this really great opportunity!

• Starting Feb 1st we will start our next attendance challenge, the class that has the best attendance for the month is going to win a NEW Dorena Proud Hat and NEW Dorena Vinyl sticker.
• Our school community is participating in the 2025 Electronic Recycling Competition! We will be going up against 45 Lane County Schools to recycle the most "e-waste" the winner gets $500 to their school and a NextStep Reuse store gift card! Please see this document for eligible items to recycle. We will notify families as soon as our Bins have been delivered. 

• Every Friday our classes have "Fun Friday" 1:30-2:30pm, and we would love to have guest presenters or guest artists, musicians, etc. come be a part of this experience for our students. If you would like to be involved or know someone who would, please email or call Mrs. Pixton. 
• Our Robotics/STEM club has really taken off and we are hoping for some additional help! We need volunteers to help with our Robotics/STEM club each Wednesday from 12:30-3:30pm.
• We also would love school-wide snack donations, goldfish crackers, graham crackers, and granola bars are all big hits. Thank you! 

Data

• Our attendance is slowly recovering from the onslaught of illness but we are still off from our goal of 75% regular attenders, currently at 68% regular attenders. 
• 4th grade has the highest attendance rate in the school, and 7th and 8th grade have the lowest attendance rate. 

Volunteers

• WE ARE SO GRATEFUL for our Volunteers! 
• We are always looking for more volunteers to help in our school. This year we have a new math curriculum and it requires a lot of prep! We also send home snack packs weeks and need help with assembly. If the activities listed below are something that you are interested in, please stop by our office and pick up a volunteer packet. Processing applications takes about 2 weeks so please get your forms in quickly. 
• Helping in the classroom
• Attending and assisting on field trips
• Helping with school events such as assemblies, field day, etc.

From the District

Opportunity for Input!

The South Lane School District seeks your input as we work to:

• Create a welcoming and productive environment for students
• Improve student Math and Reading performance
• Prepare students for their career or further education after high school 

We want to share with you what we’re doing to accomplish these goals, and hear your input on what we could do in years to come. These input sessions are part of our Integrated Guidance Plan review process that occurs every two years. This plan is aimed at ensuring that we serve all students, provide a well-rounded education, and provide opportunities for parents and communities to be involved in our schools.

We will be hosting two sessions in the Harrison Elementary School Cafeteria:

• Tuesday February 4, 2025 at 5:30 pm. (English session)
• Thursday February 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM (Spanish/Mam session)

Dinner will be served and childcare will be provided. Come and share your ideas with the district. If you will be attending on February 4, please fill out this quick form to confirm your attendance and childcare needs. If you have any questions, please contact Chad Harrison (chad.harrison@slane.k12.or.us). We look forward to seeing you! 

On the Radar:   

• 2/7 2nd-5th Field Trip
• 2/14 Valentine's Day
• 2/14 2-5th Field Trip
• 2/17 No School-Presidents' Day 
• 2/21 Family Title Night: Art Gallery 

• Week of School 1/27-1/31

  Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
  		Early Release 12:30pm  STEM Club 12:30-3:15pm		Panther Pride & Hat Day PBIS Dance Party 1:15-2:15pm  4th/5th Student Store

We are so happy that you and your students are members of our Dorena School family! We will partner together to have a fantastic school year. Thank you for all that you do.  Please do not hesitate to reach out if you ever have questions or concerns.

STEM club fun!