September 12th, 2025

We are so excited about the learning and growth happening at school. We just finished up our first assessments, and are so impressed with where our students are starting with skills. To make sure every student can get the most out of each day and continue to make growth, it's important that they come to school ready to learn.

A great day at school starts the night before. Getting a good night’s rest is crucial for a child’s ability to focus and engage with lessons. A tired mind struggles to grasp new concepts and can lead to frustration. We encourage you to establish a consistent bedtime routine that allows your child to get the sleep they need to be at their best.

Another key to a successful day is minimizing distractions. We've noticed that toys and personal items can sometimes take a child's attention away from their schoolwork and classmates. To help us create the best learning environment for everyone, please remind your child to leave their toys and gadgets at home.

Announcements:

Illnesses are starting to pop up HERE is a quick flyer to reference when a student should stay home for symptoms or when they are still able to come to school.
We are asking parents to help us to ensure that toys stay home, we have had several students bring toys from home to school and they have gotten lost, broken, or distract from learning.
About our pick up gates, we appreciate anyone needing to pick up early or Kinders at 12:30 for being flexible and parking to pick up your kids as we are needing to keep our gates closed during student hours.
In case you missed our Middle School Open House presentation PLEASE take some time to review it HERE.
Every Friday we show our Panther Pride by wearing a Dorena shirt or black and yellow/gold! We also are allowed to wear hats every Friday for a quarter or 3 Panther Pride tickets.
Check out a School Handbook for information regarding our policies!

Attendance Matters

Consistent school attendance is vital for your child's success. Every day in the classroom is a building block for their future, and even small absences can lead to significant gaps in learning that follow them through their academic career.

Missing just one day of school a week means your child misses 10% of the school year. This can have a major impact on their grasp of fundamental skills:

Literacy: A child who is chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade is far less likely to be reading at grade level by the third grade.
Numeracy: Studies show that from kindergarten to fifth grade, one day of missed school can be equal to a loss of 2.5 days of math learning.

The Impact on High School Success

The attendance habits your child develops in elementary and middle school are strong predictors of their success in high school and beyond. Chronic absenteeism in early grades is a key indicator of whether a student will struggle academically later on.

A leading indicator for dropping out: By the 6th grade, chronic absenteeism becomes one of the best predictors that a student will drop out of high school. In fact, a student who is chronically absent in middle school is more likely to be off-track for graduation in 9th grade than to be on-track.
Foundation for graduation: Students who are chronically absent in any year from 8th grade to 12th grade are far less likely to graduate with their peers. Some research shows that a student who misses more than 15 days of school each year is only half as likely to graduate from high school.

Regular attendance builds a strong foundation for learning and helps your child develop important life skills like responsibility and discipline. If you are facing challenges with your child's attendance, please reach out to us. We are here to help.