Just a friendly reminder that our 2nd and 3rd grade concert and curriculum night is Wednesday, April 24 at 6:00 in the gymnasium. We are excited to see how hard our students have worked to put this concert together for families.
We are so excited for Career Day on May 24th. If you are interested in coming in and sharing your career, please contact Dr. Nichols at janet.nichols@schools.hermon.net or Mrs. Brookings at meredith.brookings@schools.hermon.net.
We will begin accepting registrations for PreK and Kindergarten for the 2024-2025 school year starting on February 12th. Children must be 5 years of age by October 15, 2024 to enroll in Kindergarten and must be 4 years of age by October 15, 2024 to enroll in PreK. Registration packets can be picked up at the main office or downloaded from our website. Please make sure to include a legal copy of your child's birth certificate, immunization records, and proof of residency. Please call the main office with any questions.
Today is the day! We are kicking off the WinterKids Winter Games. All students are challenged to make as many snow angels that they can at recess today--while the snow lasts! We challenge families to complete the snack badge at home.
Hermon School Community: We are filled with sorrow at the senseless act of violence that occurred last evening in Lewiston. We extend our prayers and condolences to those impacted. We know that students and staff will be affected in different ways by the events that occurred last night. Each building has counselors and other trained adults standing by who can provide support to any student or staff in need. We will continue to monitor and assess throughout the day. We thank our local law enforcement for their increased visibility in our schools. In an effort to provide a resource to you and your children, https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-safety-and-crisis/school-violence-resources/talking-to-children-about-violence-tips-for-families-and-educators. Melissa Davis
At the Duran School, one of our core beliefs is in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS. Basically, we teach appropriate and expected behaviors to students, and provide recognition to those students who are following our rules of: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Kind & Caring, and Be Responsible. This year we've changed up our recognition practices. Instead of Hawk Wings, students receive "Hawk Club" Stickers. Students write their name and teacher on the sticker backing and their names are entered into a drawing. Instead of weekly drawings, we are doing our drawings at the monthly assembly. We have loved seeing our students walking in the halls with their Hawk Club stickers!
Just a reminder that school picture day is scheduled for:
September 19: PreK - 1st Grade
September 20: 2nd - 4th Grade
Picture order forms and information went home at the beginning of the school year. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to the main office.
Next Friday (September 22) is Hermon's homecoming. Let's support the team by wearing our best Blue and Gold!
The Patricia A. Duran School received Title I funding from the federal government. This funding is primarily used to support our reading and math intervention program at the Duran School. We are holding a Title I information night on Thursday, September 21 from 6-7:00 in the cafeteria. This is a great opportunity to learn about our intervention programs! Please reach out if you have any questions.
Good morning Duran School families! It's hard to believe that school is starting soon. Linked below is the Duran School Dismissal Transportation document. We are hoping to capture plans for each student as soon as possible. Please fill out the form for each of your children. Thank you!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfYenCWUXFBjmElxlO_k7zmkjKz19D8iGpiuGtx6DQekpEziw/viewform?usp=sf_link
Attention Kindergarten Families:
I want to apologize for the recent mailing that went out. Within the letter, we switched the dates for the first day of school and sneak-a-peek. I have linked a revised letter with updated dates highlighted. We will also send out a revised mailing. I apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this has caused.
Melissa Davis
Principal
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11EntlG6h5EYgIKWg-gBMgeyxaO1GriN2smwN8R3anrk/edit?usp=sharing
While we know families are excited for summer, we understand that for some families food insecurity will be difficult in the upcoming months. For help accessing food during the summer months please consider the following resources (these programs are not affiliated with our school):
https://www.maine.gov/doe/hotlunchsummer
https://www.fns.usda.gov/.
nokidhungry.org/help or text food to 304-304
211Maine.org to access the basic needs hotline
Samaritan Inc. Hermon Baptist Church Food Pantry - 2496 Rt 2, Hermon 848-5749
As always, please feel free to reach out to us with any questions.
Some families have inquired about a possible "step up day" for students in grades K-3. We will be doing a step-up activity on June 12th in the afternoon. Here is the plan for each grade level:
PreK: PreK students will not be stepping up at this point. Class lists will not be finalized and sent home until the end of June. We are closely monitoring incoming kindergarten numbers to determine if an additional teacher is needed. Instead, PreK teachers will continue with their end-of-the-year activities.
Kindergarten - 3rd Grade: Students will find out who their teaching will be in the fall. Students will visit their teacher for a short activity and/or story. We do find that, although it sometimes makes some students nervous to meet their new teachers, that knowing who it will be and the friends in the class helps calm summer nerves.
4th Grade: Students will have an extra recess at this time, as they have already done their stepping up.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions regarding the step-up activity.
We are currently accepting applications for prek and kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year. Applications can be picked up at the Duran School main office between the hours of 8:30 and 3:30, or can be found on our school's website. In order to begin creating class lists, we would like all applications returned by April 14.
We've received several calls from parents who are unaware that Friday is a planned in-service day. We do not have school on March 17. Copies of the district's calendar can be found on our website.
This coming Thursday, March 2, is National Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss's birthday. Please join us in wearing red that day (just like the cat in the hat)!
Good Afternoon Duran School Families!
It has been an exciting week at the Duran School! Here are some updates on our week:
We had several 4th grade students compete in the Arcademics Cup. This is a math competition that tests the math skills of students across the United States. The students worked as a team to represent our school. We want to congratulate the team for their hard work:
Alban Brandmeir
Nhat Tran
Jacob Gerry
Gavin Mehrhoff
Olivia Bart
Vincent Arruda
We had our 2nd Annual Family Learn to Snowshoe Event. Thank you to all of the staff who volunteered their time for this event. We had a great turn out. In addition to the snowshoeing, Mrs. Goodrich and Mrs. Murray put together a story walk that students could read while snowshoeing. We served hot cocoa and snacks. We had fun spending time as a school community, and look forward to doing this event again next year.
The 100th day of school was today! Our younger students have been working on counting to 100 this year. Many of the students and staff dressed up today in honor of the 100th day of school, and many classes had students bring in 100 items to show their classmates. This is a fun day to celebrate--and practice cardinal counting!
Our 4th grade students finished up their work with Junior Achievement. They have enjoyed working with our community volunteers and learning about entrepreneurship. We are excited to bring this program to our 3rd grade students next!
Upcoming Events:
February 14: Valentine’s Day
February 14: PTA Meeting at 6:30 via Zoom
February 15: Concert and Academic Showcase Grades 1-2
February 20-24: School Vacation
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Melissa Davis
Principal
Patricia A. Duran School
Attention Pick-Up Parents: Due to the extreme cold predicted for today, we are changing up the pick-up procedures. Pick up students will report to the gymnasium this afternoon. Parents--please enter the gymnasium through the canopy side entrance. Doors will open at 3:00. Students will be grouped by grade level and we will still be matching kiddos to their pick-up person. Once you have your child, please exit the opposite door (closer to the parking lot). We hope that this will lessen the time that students and families are exposed to the elements! Thank you for your flexibility and cooperation