September 17, 2012
For information about parking and accessibility to the building for the disabled,
please contact John Johnson at 242-8422.
For sign or language interpreters, please call 242-7714.
From the Principal’s Desk . . .
It is hard to believe that we are already beginning our sixth week of school. Many classes are preparing for their first culminating activity. Thank you for helping make this such a wonderful start to the school year!
Downtown School Family Picnic
The Annual Downtown School Family Picnic will be held at Union Park on Tuesday, September 25, from 5:30-8:00pm. Our PTA has arranged for the Heritage Carousel to be open from 5:30-7:30pm. The PTA is paying for all of the rides that evening. Families are invited to bring a picnic meal and enjoy a relaxing evening with other families from the Downtown School.
PTA Meeting
Our first PTA meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 18 at 11:45am. We will be meeting in the DTS Library. The gates at the 19th and Grand Parking Lot will be opened at 11:30am. Additional metered parking is available on 18th Street, between Grand and Ingersoll. Handicap parking and a few other parking spaces will be available at our NE drop-off location.
Reach Out to Drop Outs
On the morning of September 22, DMPS, United Way of Central Iowa and our corporate sponsor, Aviva USA, are holding Reach Out to Drop Outs. Teams of volunteers will conduct home visits to high school students who have not returned to school . . . yet. The goal is to identify why the student did not return to school and to help them register and get back on track for a high school diploma.
Thank You!
I appreciate everyone’s willingness to take the few extra steps to use the crosswalk. Our parents serve as excellent role models!
Teaching Garden
On Tuesday, September 11, we completed the first steps in creating an American Heart Association Teaching Garden. The terraced area between Central Campus and Central Academy will be our Teaching Garden and Nature Explore Classroom. In addition to our small, but mighty, group of volunteers from Iowa Health Des Moines and parent volunteers from our Teaching Garden Committee, children helped move some buckets of top soil into the planters. This is our children’s garden area and they will have an opportunity to help with all aspects of the garden - - from designing, bringing in soil, researching and selecting of plants, weeding, analyzing various fertilizing methods, harvesting and putting the garden to sleep for the winter. Some of our initial plans include planting herbs to be used by the Central Academy Culinary Arts Program.
The goal of our partnership with the American Heart Association is to help our children understand the value of good eating habits as well as an appreciation for nurturing, growing and harvesting plants. Throughout the year the Teaching Garden will provide wonderful opportunities for nature exploration, community building and nutrition education. Volunteer opportunities will be available at various points of our growing process.
Our students are already excited about the planting and growing possibilities! Stay tuned for more information to come about this wonderful addition to our school!
2013-2014 School YearPATRON NOTIFICATION
Between District Open Enrollment
Iowa Administrative Code 281-17.3(2)
Parents/Guardians considering the use of the open enrollment option to enroll their children in another public school district in the state of Iowa should be aware of the following dates:
March 1, 2013 is the last date for regular open enrollment requests for the 2013-2014 school year.
September 1, 2013 is the last date for open enrollment requests for entering kindergarten students and those students falling under the “good cause” definition for the 2013-2014 school year. To insure that the transfer of individual students does not adversely affect the diversity plan of the District, certain limitations to open enrollment have been established. Parents of kindergarten students are therefore encouraged to make application requests prior to March 1, 2013.
TRANSPORTATION:
Parents/Guardians of students open enrolled from another school district are eligible for transportation assistance if the household income of the parent/guardian is at or below the federal poverty guidelines for household size. The two districts must be contiguous. Assistance may be in the form of actual transportation or in the form of a cash stipend. Information regarding transportation eligibility and a complete copy of the District’s open enrollment policy and procedures may be obtained from the Open Enrollment Office, 901 Walnut St., Des Moines, Iowa 50309-3506
Mark Your Calendar with These
IMPORTANT DATES
2012-13
PTA Meeting
Tuesday, September 18
11:45am
DTS Library
District Professional Development No School
Wednesday, September 26
Picture Day
Friday, September 21
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Reach Out to Drop Outs
Saturday, September 22
9:am-12:00 Noon
Downtown School Picnic
Tuesday, September 25
5:30-8:00pm
Union Park
Issues of the Downtown School Dispatch will be sent electronically, unless there is a request for a paper copy.
Check for regular updates on our web site:
http://old.dmps.k12.ia.us/schools/1Downtown/