Dear Scott School Families,

We were thrilled that the weather cooperated so we could have our outside Halloween parade yesterday, and it was exciting to have so many families in attendance to see the creative and amazing costumes our students and staff wore.  It was an exciting day and students demonstrated personal best behavior while enjoying the festivities.  Thank you, families, for supporting our respectful and safe Halloween costume expectations.

Next week we are hosting two nights of Parent-Teacher Conferences.  The first evening (11/6) is designated for in person conferences, and the second eventing (11/7) is designated for online conferences.  We moved to this format a few years ago to accommodate busy family schedules.  If you would like an in person conference and all the time slots are filled with your child's teacher, please reach out to the teacher and request an in person conference on night two.  We want to be flexible to meet your needs.

All my best,

Linda Reha

Scott School Principal

Each week every classroom at Scott School has a Panther Pride drawing from all Panther Pride slips earned by students for demonstrating respectful, responsible, safe, and bucketfilling behavior.  Lucky drawing winners are invited to a special Panther Pride event at the end of the month with Mrs. Reha and Mrs. Schwarz, which was Panther Pride recess this month. 

We are excited to introduce our new positive attendance incentive program, Present Punctual Panthers, designed to foster a culture of excellence by encouraging students to attend school regularly and on time. At the end of each trimester, we will recognize and reward students who achieve perfect attendance. All students with perfect attendance will receive a certificate and entered into a drawing to receive a special prize generously donated by local businesses if they are randomly selected. Our first drawing will occur the week of November 18th, 2024.

As this is a new initiative that we are piloting this year, adjustments may be made to enhance its effectiveness and ensure it best serves our school community. Our goal is to minimize the impact of absences on learning, inspire consistent attendance, and celebrate student dedication.  We do understand and appreciate when parents and guardians keep their student home to help mitigate the spread of illnesses. We also are grateful to the commitment to having students in school regularly.  Thank you for your support!

Next week, we will be hosting Parent-Teacher Conferences.  An email with a SignUp Genius link was shared with families on Friday, October 25 to choose a date/format and time that works best with your schedule.

• In Person Conferences:  Nov. 6 from 4-7:30 p.m.

• Virtual Conferences:  Nov. 7 from 4-7:30 p.m.

It's time to remind drivers to be respectful and avoid blocking driveways and mailboxes of our neighborhood home owners.  When we are short bus drivers and routes are canceled, there is an increase of students who get dropped off and picked up on designated weeks.  This increases the volume of traffic and vehicles coming and going from Scott School.  Thank you for reading  and adhering to the following information about this which was also shared in Scott Spotlight newsletters at the beginning of the school year.

Scott is a neighborhood school, and we have many wonderful neighbors who support our school.  However, a community concern is vehicles blocking driveways at the beginning and end of the day when drop off and pick up occurs.  Please be respectful of our neighbors by refraining from idling (or parking) your car in front of any driveway while waiting in the car loop line.   Allowing space for driveway access for all property owners is important and helps us maintain positive relations with our friendly neighbors and demonstrates respectful driver etiquette.   Also, vehicles cannot stop in the intersection where the stop sign is located south of your building.  We are fortunate to have support from our local law enforcement to keep our students, community, and school safe, so please know these traffic violations could result in police issuing tickets. In addition, please follow road rules by parking in legal spots when needing to enter the building, and do not park in front of mailboxes of our neighboring homes.  Using other areas besides the drop off and pick up loop is strongly discouraged.  Please follow our driving guidelines so pick up and drop off times are safe for everyone by preventing an unfortunate accident from occurring and helping us keep good relations with our neighborhood community members.  Be sure to follow the turn sign when exiting the loop.  Vehicles must make a righthand turn only to keep traffic flow steady and to avoid an accident.  Lastly, please keep in mind that our staff need to be on time to work to teach and support your child, so please allow staff access to the staff parking lot when they arrive to work each day. Thank you for your attention to these concern areas. 

Below is a message from our DeWitt PTA.

Conference Cuisine Update
We’re continuing to collect food and monetary donations to provide meals for teachers during Parent-Teacher Conferences throughout November. Thanks to your generosity, we’re almost at our goal! Let’s keep up the momentum and show our appreciation for our amazing staff. To contribute, visit this link: https://tinyurl.com/fallcc2024 

Denim and Diamonds 
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has contributed to our Denim and Diamonds event so far! Your support has helped us plan an exciting fundraiser that will fund essential programs and grants for our students and staff.

Online Auction:
The Online Auction for Denim and Diamonds opens for bidding on Sunday, November 3rd at 10 am! Bid on Silent Auction items donated by local and national businesses, exclusive sports memorabilia, curated classroom baskets, and unique experiences with beloved Teachers, Staff, and Coaches.

Live Auction and Event:
The in-person Denim and Diamonds event is coming up on Saturday, November 9th! Grab your tickets to bid on exclusive big-ticket items in the live auction and enjoy exciting raffles like 50/50, Pick of the Auction, Heads or Tails, and Lucky Diamond.

To view live auction items or purchase tickets, click here: https://app.givebacks.gives/dewittdenimanddiamonds
Thank you for supporting our schools!

Amanda Wolff

Secretary

DeWitt Elementary PTA 

Please follow these guidelines to help make high school football games safe and enjoyable for all who attend.

1. DeWitt students must remain on our side of the stadium.

2.  Students must leave all footballs, balls, flying objects (ie. frisbees, etc.) at home.  Playing catch, games, etc. is not acceptable with so many spectators in the stadium and causes safety risks and distractions to those who paid to watch the event.

3. It is an expectation that elementary students are chaperoned. The concourse (common area between the stands and concessions) is not a play space.  Elementary aged students must be accompanied by their adult and not be left unsupervised to play or congregate inside or outside of the stadium.  

Have you considered working in a school before?  Do you enjoy working on a team?  Does working with children interest you?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, please consider applying for our open non-instructional assistant postion, or pass this information along to others who may be interested.  We are looking to fill a 1.5 hour/day lunch assistant position and would love to have you join our amazing Scott School team!  Please contact our main office at 517-668-3400 during school hours to learn more about this position and how to apply.

Below are the dates for Collaborative Learning Time (CLT) and professional development this year.  Thank you in advance for supporting these days which allow our teachers to participate in training and be continuous lifelong learners to support student success.

• August 20 & 21 - Full Days for Professional Development (before school starts)

• August 26 - Early Release for CLT (dismissal at 11:42 a.m.)

• September 27 - Full Day Professional Development (no school)

• October 16 - Early Release for CLT (dismissal at 11:42 a.m.)

• November 5 - Full Day Professional Development (no school)

• February 14 - Early Release for CLT (dismissal at 11:42 a.m.)

• March 19 - Early Release for CLT (dismissal at 11:42 a.m.)

• May 14 - Early Release for CLT (dismissal at 11:42 a.m.)

Student safety is a priority.  Please bring proper identification each time your child is picked up from school.  Here are some ways adults picking up students can be identified:

• Physical ID (ie. driver's license)

• Personal ID by office staff

• Other identification proof such as utility bills or other statements, credit card, etc., AND answer personal information that we have in Infinite Campus (ie. phone number, child's birthdate, etc.)

There are some Scott students who have health-threatening nut allergies in our building.  Scott School is a 'No Nut' building.  Pack items that do not contain nuts for your child's lunch and snack.  It is critically important that we provide a safe learning environment for all students, and your help with this is needed and appreciated.  Please always contact your child's teacher if you have a concern about an allergy or other health condition related to your child that they should be aware of.  Also, if your child has a medical need, including food or other allergies, don't forget to update your child's Medical Management Plan by completing and submitting the district forms to the office before school starts so we can follow protocols to keep your child safe.

School breakfast and lunch are available and free to all students.  Additional information will be provided to families soon about how to sign up for this opportunity with additional information about our food service program.  Menus can be found here and will be updated soon.

In order for Scott School personnel to administer medication to your child when we return to in person instruction, you must:

• Submit a completed district medication form to our office. 

• Be sure all medications are brought to and stored in our office. 

• Be sure prescription medication is in its original container accompanied with a physician’s signature. 

• Be sure non-prescription medication is in its original container accompanied by a parent’s signature. 

• Please communicate with your child's teacher if he/she takes medication daily at school. 

• If your child has a medical condition, please be sure to complete a Medical Management Plan for your child and turn it in at the office.

Medication and other medical forms can be found on our DeWitt Public Schools website.

Our school social worker, Mrs. Schwarz, is always willing to assist students and families in any way possible.  In addition to working closely with your child's teacher, consider reaching out to her if you have questions or need support.  She is truly amazing at what she does!  She can be reached at 517-668-3446 or schwarzdea@dewittschools.net.