Hello Parkwood Families,

This is your principal, Ms. Fearrington with your weekly message.  The first quarter is completed and we are heading into second quarter with great momentum.  Our students were able to participate in the first PRIDE Party of the year and we all had a great time!  Here are some reminders and important information as we head into the next week:

Teacher Workday:

This Monday, October 31st is a teacher workday for all traditional calendar DPS schools.  Students will not attend school tomorrow.  Please refer to the district school calendar provided and linked here for important dates.

Report Cards:  The first quarter ended on October 28^th and report cards will be available on November 2^nd for all families through parent portal.  If you do not yet have a parent portal account or cannot access your account, please reach out to Ms. Joanne Brosh, our data manager at joanne_brosh@dpsnc.net and/or Ms. Jacqueline Boone, our school secretary at Jacqueline_campbell@dpsnc.net, to assist with creating or accessing your account.  Please request a paper copy through your child’s teacher if you cannot access your parent portal.  It is imperative that you gain access to your account immediately to receive future progress reports and report cards that will be available on November 2nd.

Parent/Teacher Conferences: 

All of our Parkwood teachers have started meeting with parents for parent/teacher conferences.  These conferences are being held now through November 18^th.  If you have already met with your child’s teacher, that is great and continue to communicate to ensure you know your child’s progress as we near report card time.  If you have not met with your child’s teacher, please reach out to them through email or class dojo to set up a time.  All parents should have a conference with their teacher by November 18^th.

Breakfast & Lunch:  I want to remind all of our parents that this year breakfast remains free at all DPS schools.  However, lunch is no longer free and child nutrition will be sending balances to families this month for the beginning of the year.  Lunch is currently $3.75 daily and if you do not have money on your child’s account, that balance has accumulated.  If you need assistance with lunch this school year, please fill out this link or request a form from the front office.  Ms. Jacqueline Boone, our school secretary, will be happy to assist you.

DPS New Strategic Plan:

As we celebrate the successful conclusion of DPS’s current strategic plan, we are excited to launch a new strategic planning process. Over the next nine months, DPS is partnering with RTI International’s Center for Education Services to facilitate a community driven process for creating a strategic plan that reflects the needs and goals of our students, families, and community.

With that in mind, the strategic planning team is seeking the participation of students, staff, parents/guardians, and other community members in an online questionnaire around what’s next for our schools and district. Please take 3-5 minutes to complete this brief, anonymous questionnaire to provide your insight on the district’s future direction and priorities. 

Your voice will be instrumental in establishing this new direction for our district. All feedback, ideas, and suggestions are welcome. Your participation is greatly appreciated!

Parkwood PTA:

Our wonderful PTA will be hosting a beautification day at Parkwood on Saturday, November 5^th from 9am to 12pm.  Please come and join if your schedule is free.  Also, please join the Parkwood PTA!  If you have any questions please visit https://www.durhamparkwoodpta.com/ and/or reach out to Hope Alfaro, our PTA president at durhamparkwoodpta@gmail.com.

Panthers Read to Succeed:

At Parkwood, we support any initiative that promotes early reading readiness with our students.  As a school, we want all of our Parkwood Panthers Pre-K through fifth grade to love books and to be the best readers they can be!  We know that we build great readers both at home and at school.  This weeks tip focuses on using evidence when talking about books and stories.  In our classrooms during instruction, we call this TBE, or text-based evidence.  Please encourage your children to look back in the text and find reasons to support their ideas and answers.  That is a crucial part of being a great reader!

There are many ways to stay connected to our community.  Please follow Parkwood Elementary on our Facebook page and website.

Please reach out to me if you have any questions or need assistance!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend and as always Parkwood Panthers…Show PRIDE!

Warmly,

Kimberly Fearrington, Principal