Dear Scott School Families,

Oh me, oh my, time sure does fly!  We have just over a month left in the 2025-26 school year, but there's still plenty to do before we wrap up and head into summer vacation.  We are excited celebrate Staff Appreciation Week and showering our staff with love, appreciation and gratitude with the help of our DPS Elementary PTA.  Interested students are encouraged to dress up to join in the fun.  Students will also take the NWEA reading assessment next week and the math test the following week.  That will conclude our spring testing aside from a few make up test sessions aftewards for students who need to finish one or both assessments.  Families can expect DIBELS and NWEA reports shortly thereafter.  Unfortunately, MSTEP results are received by school districts in the fall, so if you have a third grader, you'll receive their report from Herbison Woods next school year.

Our students are thrilled about Field Day scheduled for June 1st and end of the year celebrations.  Second graders will close the year with a fun Lugnuts Stadium trip on May 27th to watch our local professional minor league baseball team play.  Third graders will be celebrating with an end of year trip to Binder Park Zoo on June 2nd.  Place based experiences provide rich and authentic learning opportunities including making connections with various local and nearby organizations, museums, and businesses as well as making connections with classmates at school and citizens in our community.  We aim to help our students grow and develop academic, social, and emotional skills through classroom and school experiences as well as off site ones too.  We've discovered these opportunities enhance learning in many ways.  Thanks again to families who donated to our Fun Run this year to make off site experiences possible for our students.

Cordially,

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.

Spring testing at Scott School has started.  Thank you for helping your child be prepared by doing the following:

• Get a good night of sleep before each testing day.

• Eat a healthy breakfast.

• Attend school on testing days and be on time.

• Encourage perseverance and best effort practices instead of unintentionally creating pressure to do well.

• Bring headphones or earbuds for testing (2nd grade needs a pair for the NWEA Reading and Math assessments.)

Remaining Spring Testing is as follows:

• NWEA Reading:  5/4-  5/7 (Classroom teachers will communicate the two dates their students will test in this window.  All second graders must have headphones or earbuds for this test.)

• NWEA Math:  5/11 - 5/14 (Classroom teachers will communicate the two dates their students will test in this window.  All second graders must have headphones or earbuds for this test.)

Below is a communication from Kevin Robydek that will be going out to all DPS families this afternoon regarding free school meals for the current school year.  

Dear DPS Families,

We’re excited to share some wonderful news! The Michigan Legislature has approved the 2025–2026 state budget, which includes continued funding for the Michigan School Meals Program. This means that all DeWitt Public Schools students will continue to receive free breakfast and lunch this school year, regardless of household income.

While this funding remains in place, the State of Michigan now requires every family to complete the Education Benefits Form each year. This form is quick and easy to fill out, and it plays a crucial role in helping our district qualify for important state and federal funding. These funds support classroom instruction, technology, student support services, staffing, and our school meal programs.

You can now easily complete the Education Benefits Form online at dewitt.familyportal.cloud simply click “Apply for Benefits” to get started. Please complete the form as soon as possible to help us secure essential funding that supports classroom instruction, technology, student services, and more. Even though all students receive free meals, submitting this form is important for maintaining these valuable programs.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to reach out to our Food Service Director, Megan Haase, at meganhaase@dewittschools.net.

Thank you for partnering with us to maintain these valuable programs and ensure that every student has access to healthy meals and strong educational support.

Sincerely,
Kevin Robydek, Ed.S., Superintendent

DeWitt Public Schools will continue to offer free breakfast and lunch to students this year.  Although this is a cut that legislators are considering within the education budget that has not yet been approved, DPS is committed to offering this important food program to students with hopes this continues to be funded by our state.  Menus can be found here and will be updated soon.

We are grateful to families and our community members who donate healthy, no nut snacks to classrooms and our snack pantry which also provides our students brain and body fuel throughout the day.  Your partnership in removing hunger as a barrier to learning and child development makes a lifelong impact.  Thank you!

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.

In order for Scott School personnel to administer medication (including cough drops) to your child, a parent guardian 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.