Dear Duniway Community,

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the 2019-2020 School Year.  I am thrilled to begin my 7th year as Duniway’s principal. With school starting on the “early-side” this year, summer seems to have come and gone.  I hope you all found time to enjoy the warm sunshine and that everyone is excited to return to Duniway. We are thrilled to welcome all our students back to school.   Our work has always been centered on providing the very best learning environment for our students. As we ready ourselves for the 2019-2020 school year, our staff is committed to work on behalf of the more than 500 Duniway students.

Every staff member, regardless of their position, play a critical role in the lives of our students.  It is our sincerest hope that we build meaningful and positive connections with every Duniway student and family.  As we prepare for the 2019-2020 school year, I am excited to announce a few changes to our staff: Jon Vogel will be joining our Kindergarten team; Loren Chasse is joining the 5th Grade team; Allison Newton will be joining the 4th grade team; Bonnie Robb will be teaching 1st grade; Margie Doern will be teaching 2nd Grade; Catherine “Cat” Freeburg will be teaching part-time (grades K-2) and Paul Colvin will begin the year teaching music for grades 3-5.  In addition, we are finalizing several Educational Assistants who will support our students and teachers. I am sure you will meet many of our new staff members in the coming weeks and hear more about how they will be supporting Duniway students.

If you are around on Saturday, August 24th please stop by and help beautify our school grounds.  The annual Community Care Day will run from 9:00 AM - Noon.  Please bring garden tools, gloves - come by and help out, even for just a bit.  Kids are welcome!

Another exciting opportunity to say hello will be on Monday, August 26th at our Welcome Back Celebration!  The event will run from 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM and will be located in front of the school, on SE Reed College Place, between Rex and Lambert.  So, come on out, enjoy the shade, the beautiful green median, and of course the opportunity to meet classmates, teachers, and hear some live music.  

In addition to our event on the 26th, please join the PTA for coffee after drop off on the first day of school (August 28th for grades 1-5 and September 3rd for Kindergarten) and mark your calendars for Back-to-School Night, which is scheduled for Thursday, September 12th at 6:30 PM.  Please note that BTSN is our one adult-only event of the school year.

·         Arrival:  Students enter the building at 8:45 AM (unless arrangements have been made with a teacher). Only students who are eating breakfast or are in kindergarten will be allowed to enter the cafeteria beginning at 8:30 AM.  In the event of heavy rain, students will be allowed to wait in the cafeteria.   There will only be supervision on the blacktop, near SE Rex, and in the cafeteria, so please coordinate an appropriate arrival time. In addition, students should not be on the playground before school unless supervised by an adult. All students are expected to be in their classroom by 8:50 AM.  Thank you in advance for helping make the morning routine as smooth as possible.  Adults are welcome to accompany their child into school; however, you must be out of the building by 9:00 AM unless you are volunteering or have other business at school.

All visitors, even those who spend lots of time at Duniway, must still sign-in at the office and wear a visitor/volunteer badge.  PPS will be rolling out a new system to help track volunteers and visitors.  The first time you enter the school as a visitor or volunteer you will need to present government ID to the office staff.  The ID will be scanned and your profile will be entered into the system.  Look for additional information in the coming weeks. In addition, if you plan to volunteer, in any capacity, you must complete a background check.  In order to do this, please go to https://www.pps.net/Page/149
 

Pick-Up:  Students are dismissed by their teachers at 3:00 PM.  It is very important to us that dismissal goes calmly and smoothly.  Please make sure your child is aware of their after-school plan.  It is very challenging for the office to deliver last minute changes to after-school plans.  Please contact the office if there is a situation that arises that is out of your control.  We know these things happen from time to time.  Students will not be allowed to use the office phone to make after-school plans – please make all arrangements ahead of time.  All students will be walked outside by their teachers to a designated spot.  Parents can pick-up their child at that location.  Please contact your child’s teacher to verify this location.  Staff will check off students who are taking the bus as they board.
 

After School Plan:  We all lead busy lives and the safety and well-being of each student is of the utmost importance.  Therefore, it is vital that we know your child’s after-school plan and routine.   The after school plan form will be in the beginning-of-the-year packet and helps our office staff track the busy after school lives of our students.  While we fully understand that things come up and emergencies happen, please do your best to minimize changes to the form.  Please make sure your child is aware of their plan on the first day of school, especially if they are riding the bus.
 

·         Supply lists:  As with last year, there are no set supply lists for the 2018-2019 School Year.  Families can make an optional donation of $35.00 per student. Staff will use funds to purchase all needed materials.  Students will need to supply their own backpack and water bottle.  If you are able to send a box of tissue and disinfectant wipes, that would be greatly appreciated.  Payments can be made on-line through Konstella.  Cash and check (made out to Duniway School) payments can also be sent to the office.

Communication:  Our goal is to do our best to keep our community informed.  You will receive the weekly e-newsletter, “The Duniway Update” from school and each teacher strives to keep you posted on the goings-on in the classrooms.  In addition, you can find information on our PPS web-site, www.pps.net/schools/duniway and follow us on Twitter @duniwayschool.  Please alert office staff if you are not receiving email from the school.


Konstella:  Our PTA is thrilled to bring back Konstella.  Konstella is a secure and private parent communication platform for all Duniway families. The platform, accessible on any computer or mobile device, will be used for school-wide announcements, classroom updates from parents, event reminders, volunteer sign-ups, a searchable directory, and more. In order for the system to reach its fullest potential, we need all families to register.  Please go to https://www.konstella.com/cd/m8oASs and register today! 

On behalf of the entire Duniway staff, I want to again welcome you to the 2019-2020 school year.  The first day of school is always very special and I am excited to see all 1st-5th grade students on the 28th and our Kindergarten students on the 3rd.  Enjoy the remaining days of summer. 

Warm Regards,

Matt Goldstein
Principal