Welcome Back Weekly Newsletter 8/15/25

 Dear Parents, Guardians, and students of Dorena School,                                               8-15-2025


    It is my greatest pleasure to welcome you to your first or to another wonderful year at Dorena School. I hope that you had a wonderful summer and are feeling eager and excited to start the 2025-2026 school year! We feel very honored that you have chosen us or continue to choose us as your school. This year we have capped classrooms and are continuing to grow enrollment as more and more people are hearing about the wonderful things we are doing here.  We have a very exciting year planned with rigorous reading, math, and writing instruction, filled with high expectations for all, kindness and belonging for all, and of course lots of fun! 

The following statements represent what we are all about here at Dorena School.  

Dorena's Mission Statement
        We are Dorena Proud

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

So welcome to our Dorena family, we can't wait to see you in person on September 3rd, 4th, and 8th! 

There is a lot of information to share. Please do not hesitate to reach out if have questions or concerns. Our office is open M-F 8am-3pm 541-946-1506.

Announcements:
  • We will review all attendance exceptions on August 19th, all families that currently have attendance exception applications in will be notified on the 20th. 
Staggered Start Schedule
First-Eighth Grades 
    • At the beginning of the school year half of the students will attend on Wednesday, September 3rd and the other half of students will attend on Thursday, September 4th. Both September 3rd and 4th will be EARLY RELEASE days where students will be released at 12:30pm. 
      • September 3rd- We will welcome all 3rd graders, and 5th graders, 7th and 8th graders from 8am-12:30pm. All 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th graders will stay home on this day.
        • Please note that First graders will not attend school this day, this allows for our K/1 teacher to have home visits and family meetings with our incoming Kindergartners. 
      • September 4th- We will welcome all 2nd graders, 4th graders,  and 6th graders from 8am-12:30pm. All 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th grade students will stay home on this day. 
        • Please note that First graders will not attend school this day, this allows for our K/1 teacher to have home visits and family meetings with our incoming Kindergartners. 
      • September 5th we will welcome all 1st-8th-grade students for a full day 8am-2:30pm. 
      • September 8th we will welcome all 1st-8th grade students for a full day 8am-2:30pm. 
    • Please note that the school day starts at 8am, there is not supervision for students prior to 7:45am. Breakfast will be available in the cafeteria starting at 7:45am for K-3rd grade students. 
Kindergarten
    • As we welcome our kindergarten students to Dorena, we will be operating on a different schedule for the first few weeks to support their transition into school. During September 5th  and 6th, families will schedule a one-on-one family visit directly with our  NEW Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Fallert. 
    • Kindergarten students will start school on Monday, September 9th and attend school on an early release schedule through September 27th with a daily schedule from 8am-12:30pm. 
    • Starting Monday, September 30th kindergarteners will begin a Full Day schedule 8am-2:30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Wednesdays will continue to be early release 8am-12:30pm. 
Open House
  • Come meet the teacher with a fun classroom scavenger hunt 9/4/25 5-6pm
  • Free hotdog dinner for the family! 
  • We will have a special Middle School Classroom presentation for all of our Middle School families starting at 5:15pm in the middle school classroom, with VERY important information! 
  • Come see our resource fair in the gym with information about attendance, assistance signing up for all of the apps, community resources, etc. 
  • The class with the highest percentage of scavenger hunt forms turned in at the event will earn a popsicle party. 

New Staff
Please welcome our new Dorena Staff! 

K/1 Teacher
Bethany Struthers
" My name is Bethany Struthers, and I am going to be the K/1 teacher this year.  I recently graduated from Bushnell University with a degree in elementary education and psychology.  My favorite season is summer because I love the heat and sun!  I have a small dog named Teddy, and my favorite color is yellow.  I am very excited to see and work with you this next year!" 

Educational Assistant 
Jessica Ward


"Hi my name is Jessica! My family and I have been residents in Dorena for 11 years. I have a strong passion for helping kids learn and grow, as well as fostering a supportive environment and seeing kids thrive. Outside of work I treasure the time I spend with my husband and 5 kids. We love outdoor adventures, the coast, waterfalls, visiting family and friends, going on bike rides, and all of our pets. I enjoy learning new things, music and gardening"










Custodian
Josh Larimore 



















Volunteers
    • We are always looking for more volunteers to help in our school. 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.
Transportation
    • If your transportation plan has changed and your student now requires bussing, please call their front office 541-942-2803. 
Other Information
  • Our School Supply List is HERE, please remember we have scholarships available, please reach out if you need support. We are HAPPY to help! 
  • We will practice several ALICE drills this year in conjunction with our emergency drills (Lockdown, Earthquake, Fire). Please see the follow letter for more information. 
    • Please also see these handouts that we will be presenting to students. 
    • See this FAQ sheet to answer further questions about the SLSD ALICE drills. 

On the Radar: 
  • Open House 9/4 5:00-6:00pm *Middle School presentation 5:15pm in classroom 
  • Kindergarten starts half days 9/8/24
  • Preschool Starts school Wednesday 9/10/25
  • Kindergarten starts full days September 29th

  • First Week of School 9/1-9/5

    Monday

    Tuesday

    Wednesday

    Thursday

    Friday

    Labor Day
    No School      		Teacher Inservice
    - No School     		First Day of School for  3rd, 7th and 8th grades

    Early Release 12:30pm    		First Day of School for 2nd, 4th, and 6th grades

    Early Release 12:30pm

    Open House 5-6pm

    Middle School Open House 5:15pm    		Full Day schedule for 1st-8th Grades

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.

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