March 2011

DuVall Elementary School Newsletter

Technology Integration Continues to Thrive at DuVall Elementary DuVall Student Broadcasting Network (DSBN) Mr. David has been working with upper elementary students at DuVall for the purpose of providing enhanced technology training with a specific focus on video production. The students are currently working on several projects that have been uploaded to D-tube. The program continues to gain a lot of momentum and the DTAC committee will continue to seek funding for future technology projects at DuVall. We are now expanding the Program to 3rd through 5th grade students under Mr. David’s leadership. Several students in 5th grade that are on the current DSBN crew will be training the new enrollees in the Video Club and DSBN program. A Federal Title II Technology Grant For DuVall Elementary to support the Tech Camp on May 6th and 7th, 2011 We have once again received a federal grant, which will provide us with funding to support the enhancement of our technological infrastructure at Duvall. This will include the purchase of a new mobile computer lab. In order to receive the grant funding, we need to provide professional development training for teachers in the area of technology integration. The 2011 DuVall Technology Professional Development Camp will occur on May 6th and 7th, 2011. This project will also fall under the jurisdiction of DTAC as we look to purchase hardware and software that will enhance our broadcasting club while at the same time enhancing our educational model. MACUL conference Presentations by Mr. David and Mr. Maleyko DuVall Elementary continues to lead the way with providing students with a high quality technology integrated curriculum. In order to share in our knowledge and expertise, Mr. David

Principal’s News

Contents

Principal’s News 1

Mr. M’s Education Corner 2

Healthy Foods Presentation 2

Msg from PTA President 3

Martian Marathon 4

Programs & Assemblies 4

Family Literacy Night 4

Superintendent’s Letter 5

Tech Savvy…Parents 6

Green School Recycling 6

Calendar 7

February 2011 Cal 9

We’re on the Web! www.duvallpta.org

and Mr. Maleyko will be providing two presentations before a state level audience at the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) conference. MACUL is one of the 6th largest organizations in the area of technology education throughout the United States. Student Absences This is a reminder to please make sure you call the school office absence notification line if your child is going to be absent. If you do not inform us of your absence we will be calling you to check on the status of your child. You may call the following number at 313-827-2751 or email muthc@dearborn.k12.mi.us Blood Drive on March 10th We will be holding our second Red Cross blood drive on March 10, 2011. We hope that you sign up for a donation in order to support this great cause. DuVall Student Achievements Congratulations to Lauren Leadbetter who performed during the 4th grade field trip to the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra on February 23rd. Lauren did a fantastic job. Congratulations to Sean Peacock, Kaelyn Burnett and Reagan Rankin who were winners and finalists for the Dearborn PTSA reflections competition. Their entries will now be entered into the state level competition.

Thank you,

Glenn Maleyko, Principal

-------------------------------------------------- Important Phone Numbers: Office: (313) 827-2750 Attendance Line: (313) 827-2751 Kid’s Club: (313) 827-2759

Gle nn Ma leyko , Pr i nc i pa l

Upcoming Events

♦ Healthy Foods Presentation, Tues Mar 15 6:00pm

♦ March PTA Meeting, Tues Mar 15 7:00pm

♦ Family Literacy Night, Thurs Mar 24 6:00pm

Internet Safety Training on February 15th was a Huge Success. On February 15th Corporal Bartok and Corporal Blevins provided DuVall Elementary with Internet Safety Training for Parents. It was a fantastic presentation and learning opportunity for all who attended. It also started a wonderful dialogue about cyber safety for children. I would like to thank Jennifer Malone, Nicole Chubb and the PTA for their support of this event. A letter was sent to Corporal Blevins and Corporal Bartok, which thanked them for their service to our school community. Internet Safety Tips for Parents Dearborn Public Schools has a filter on our network, which provides safety for children who browse the Internet in school. However, when children are at home and in other locations when they access the Internet, they might not have the same safeguards. Listed below are some safety tips for parents. There are steps parents can take to protect their children who use the Internet. Some are listed below: General rules for ensuring Internet safety. - Educate yourself about the Internet. - It’s important to be knowledgeable about the Internet, because even if you don’t have a computer at home, your child can access it at school, at a friend’s house, or at your public library. -Create a family agreement for Internet use, including hours of use, which sites can be accessed and which ones shouldn’t be. -Place your computer in a central, open location, like the living room, so Internet use can be supervised.

Mr. Maleyko’s Educational Corner

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Guiding your child online - Look at the sites your child visits. - Look into software or online services that filter out offensive material. Check with your Internet service provider (ISP) for any blocking features they might offer. - Consider installing a children’s search engine, like Yahooligans. - Create a special folder of “bookmarks,” or “favorites,” for your child on your computer’s browser. Preserving your family’s privacy - If you have a web site, avoid putting your personal information on the site. - Teach your children to never give out identifying information about any family member. This includes: names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, passwords or credit card numbers. - Encourage them to tell you if anyone is pressing for personal information. - Teach your children that talking to a stranger on the Internet is no different than talking to a stranger on the street. Minimizing possible risks Talk to your children about potential online dangers such as giving out personal information to strangers. Chat room acquaintances are strangers and your child should never arrange to meet them in the real world unless you give permission and/or know who they are. Better yet, if your children are young, steer them away from chat rooms. Older children should only participate in chat rooms you approve of.

News

Healthy Foods and Fitness Presentation Healthy Foods and Fitness: Data Analysis and Student Presentations on March 15th at 6pm in the cafeteria. We are very proud to have DuVall students present about health and fitness at 6pm in the cafeteria on March 15th. This has been a long process but a wonderful learning experience as students had to complete the following tasks: develop a survey instrument, administer the survey, tally the results, enter the data into excel, analyze the data, export the data into a power point presentation, present the data to their class, discuss the data with their class, come up with solutions to enhance healthy diets and fitness, and then work on a final product that will be presented before the parents and students throughout the school. The final product will allow participants to provide input into with the process. The students are very excited to provide this presentation and I am thinking about creating a data and statistical

analysis club at DuVall that focuses on technology integration. There are many areas where research and data analysis could be useful to the school community and it would be a fantastic experience for our students. I would like to thank Mrs. Alabakoff for taking the lead on this along with the teachers at DuVall for their support with the survey. I would also like to thank the DuVall faculty, students, and parents who do a fantastic job at promoting health and fitness throughout the school community. -- Mr. Maleyko

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Welcome March and goodbye snow! Here’s hoping! Well, I have survived the first month of being PTA President and it wasn’t too bad. The support around DuVall has been wonderful. Thank you, thank you, and thank you... On to business! Internet Safety was extremely informative and also eye opening. Please see the “Internet Safety” segment for some great tips. Thank you, Colleen Brehm, for bringing these ideas to our attention. We had our first homeroom parents meeting; it went very well. The homeroom parents are in the process of getting with the teachers and finding out their wants and needs. We are hoping that this program will fill in the information gap between PTA, teachers, and parents, including parents that can’t be in the school frequently. If you have any question or ideas regarding this program you can contact Kelly Mathis (kellydmathis@comcast.net) or me (mjmalone1003@comcast.net) Coming this month: We are in the midst of Spirit Week - Go Penguins! (If you need spirit wear for Friday, check out the website and contact me) Do you like coffee or tea? DuVall-themed Biggby travel mugs are on their way – with lots of benefits! Friday Fun Nights – Every Friday night in the Gym from 6:30-8:30. It’s fun and it’s free! Book Bingo – Friday, March 4th, that Fun Friday will be 5th graders and DuVall Alum only Save the Date!! Family Literacy Night - March 24th - Information and fun for the whole family. Turn off the TV Week - March 28th through April 1st - look for details coming soon! On the horizon: “Great Scenes from Shakespeare” practices are in full swing and we look forward to the Performances – Thursday, April 7th in school, Friday, April 8th in the evening, and Saturday, April 9th matinee. April 30th - Mom to Mom Sale at DuVall - Saturday April 30, 2011 from 9:30 am to 1 pm – DuVall is hosting its first ever Mom 2 Mom sale! More details to come in the next couple of weeks. Pencil us in! If you are SOOOOO excited and can’t wait, please e-mail questions, etc., to Sabine Aytes at fundraising@duvallpta.org. I would like to spotlight the DuVall website, www.duvallpta.org. We now have a store! You can see the items that the PTA has to sell. You can help support the PTA and show your school spirit at the same time. Please contact me if there is anything you would like to purchase. Don’t forget, if you have anything that you would like to see on the DuVall PTA website e-mail newsletter@duvallpta.org. Want to know what is happening in your child's school in the planning stage? Come to a PTA meeting! They are held at 7:00PM in the cafeteria, the dates are as follows: March 15 - Everyone in attendance will be entered to win a DuVall Sweatshirt for your child! April 12 May 17 If you have any questions, concerns, comments, ideas please let me know! Thank you, Jennifer Malone, PTA President

A Message from the PTA President … Jennifer Malone

Literacy Night in Support of “March is Reading Month”

The students have a lot going on this month! You might start hearing about students watching and reading "A Riddle in a Bottle" soon. This book and short movie will kick off an assembly about the flow of water, conservation and filmmaking at 9 and 10 AM on March 3rd. Forms for purchasing an autographed book or DVD will be coming home with the kids after the presentation. Students will have a busy week in mid-March when they make up their science assembly on March 15th and have a Leadership Assembly by Detroit Lions' staff on March 17th. The Lions' assembly will be followed by an after school football camp and forms will be heading home soon for sign up. Finally, students will be learning about the writing process along with the idea of community service when local author, Sharon Ottenbreit, discusses her book "Only One Toy Allowed" on March 31st. Also .... watch for information on various Reading Month activities happening in March!

Programs and Assemblies in March

We are planning to have a Literacy night for DuVall families on March 24th from 6pm until 7:30pm. We plan to have multiple activities and educational learning opportunities for families. This is a great way to support your child’s education by learning more about the “Daily 5 and CAFÉ literacy model” that is being implemented across the school district. The DuVall elementary faculty is doing a fantastic job with the implementation of that model and our school is a leader in this area. The PTA and DuVall faculty are going to operate this wonderful event. Nicole Chubb, Tracie Varitek, Sandy Hevener, Glenn Maleyko, Jacki Alabakoff and Patsi Burke are part of the planning committee. More information will be forthcoming via the Principal Blog. Please remember that you can visit Mrs. Hevener’s blog on the DuVall website to learn more about the Daily 5 and CAFÉ literacy model. http://blog.dearbornschools.org/hevenes/

News Page 4 DuVall Newsletter

Martian Marathon Dear Martian Marathon Participants, Are you ready to run?!! Registration for the April 2 Martian Marathon must be completed by March 1st. To do this, go to martianmarathon.com. You must include “DuVall Running Club” on the registration in order to pay the discounted fee of $10.00. If you would like to purchase a DuVall running shirt, order forms can be found on the bulletin board near the preschool doors. This year the color is royal red. The graphic design can be seen on the previous t-shirts on the same bulletin board. A DuVall parent, Mr. Aytes, created it! These t-shirts are NOT required to purchase. However, it makes a great statement out on the course with a large group of DuVall shirts running together. They are $9.00 each, long sleeve, 100% pre-shrunk cotton. Parents, you can buy one too to wear on the sidelines! T-shirt orders are due on Wednesday, March 16. If your child wishes to run with me after school, we will begin Thursday, March 3. We will run every Thursday after that until March 31. We will run from 3:45 to 4:30. The plan is to run a few paths around the neighborhood if the weather cooperates. If not, we will run around the gym or the hallways. This is not mandatory, but if your child does run with me, a waiver will have to be signed. These permission slips can also be found on the bulletin board outside the preschool room. Parents will need to pick their children up at 4:30, unless the waiver form states they can walk home or they go to Kid¹s Club. I WILL NEED ADULTS TO ASSIST ME!! If you are able to run, man a corner, or drive the blocks in your car, we could definitely use you. The kids run at different paces and it is difficult to watch over all of them. If you can make any of our practices, please come. Please note that running solely with me after school will not give the kids the 25 miles they need to log before the race. They must do some running on their own as well. Make sure the kids pack appropriate running clothes for running in the snow! They must have real athletic shoes in order to participate, not cute, rubber soled shoes! Also, having an energy-boosting snack to eat before we run would be a good idea. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at rosenaa@dearborn.k12.mi.us --Anne Rosenau

DuVall Newsletter Archives This is a reminder that all DuVall newsletters are archived on my blog site. Thus if you miss the post you can simply go to my blog for the information: http://blog.dearbornschools.org/maleyko/about/, or the DuVall PTA website, http://www.duvallpta.org.

February 21, 2011 Dear Supporter of Education, Now that Governor Snyder has presented his budget proposal, the debate in Lansing will continue for several weeks as legislators work out the details. In order to better understand how this plan will impact our classrooms, I would like to take a moment to provide the following summary of the key components of the Governor’s budget proposal.

Impact on District Per-student funding reduced by $470/student $8,695,000 31a At-Risk funds eliminated $4,900,000 Section 41 Bilingual funds eliminated $435,000

Total $14,030,000

In addition to these cuts in revenue, the district may face as much as a $5 million increase in the amount paid to the State’s pension fund. As concerned community members, it’s important that you voice your opinion on the Governor’s cuts. Every parent, business owner, homeowner, and community member should contact Governor Snyder at: Governor Rick Snyder P.O. Box 30013 Lansing, MI 48909 (517) 373-3400

Rick.snyder@michigan.gov Explain to the Governor that:

Reductions in funding at this level will be devastating to our classrooms. Dearborn students across the district will see reductions in staff, resources, and

services. These budget recommendations hit Dearborn harder than other district due to the

elimination of needed funds for “At-Risk” and bilingual students. Reductions in funding will mean fewer resources, human and material, needed to

help students achieve the new state mandated college-ready test scores. I highly encourage you to contact the Governor’s office and explain the impact these cuts will have on our students, your children. Fortunately our representatives in the state house and senate are aware of this situation and are working to help Dearborn students. We thank them for their support and caring about our students. Despite several years of declining state revenue, the Board of Education and the administrative team have remained committed to timely budget planning and being fiscally responsible to the citizens living in our district. Working with our staff and community, the district will continue to take a proactive stance on budget issues and maintain our commitment to devote available resources that meet the academic needs of students. As state lawmakers move through the budget process, we will continue to provide you with information on any changes that could impact funding for Dearborn Public Schools. Although school districts do not have the ability to raise revenue locally or control spiraling state retirement costs, we will work to preserve quality instructional programs so that all students will continue to be successful in the classroom. Sincerely, Brian J. Whiston Superintendent of Schools

Learning For Life

18700 Audette Dearborn, MI 48124-4295 Office (313) 827-3022 Fax (313) 827-3137

Office of the Superintendent

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Be Tech Savvy … Advice for Parents from Parents Removing Geotagging and Geo Location from Smart Phones Most of us do not think twice before putting our picture on Facebook or Twitter. Geo-tagging and Geo-location are technologies that are built into many smart phones and some digital cameras. These newer technologies imbed the location information into the photos. It does this by adding the latitude and longitude location to the JPEG photo file data. With this data, one can find the location the photo was taken, within about 15 feet accuracy. Take a look at this video link: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/video?id=7621105. iPhone To disable geo-tagging images using iPhone device, do the following:

1. Navigate to Settings > General > Reset > Reset LocationWarnings on your iPhone. 2. Press RESET WARNINGS, enter passcode if you get prompted for the password. 3. Now confirm on settings, open any app that uses location data. You can Open Camera App on your iPhone. You

will get the following message: "Camera would like to use your current location. Photos will be tagged with location where they were taken."

4. Click DON'T ALLOW to disable adding geo tags. Android (by default this setting should be off) To disable geo tagging images using Android device, do the following:

1. Navigate to Camera > Select Menu > Select Settings 2. Scroll down to >Uncheck Geo-tag phones and uncheck. 3. That I all you need to do.

Informational/Educational Web Site for Parents A good resource for parents regarding information and education on media and technology is the web site http://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/our-mission. -- Colleen Brehm Green School: Plastic and Can Recycling DuVall has the ability to recycle plastic bottles, batteries, and cans. We are not asking the community to bring bottles or cans in from their homes, however, if you are in the school and you have cans or bottles please place them in the recycle bins found in the cafeteria or playground lobby entrance. Feel free to continue to bring paper from home and place it in the recycle bin since DuVall does receive a small stipend for re-cycling paper. Thank you to Jerry Hisala from Junk n Go for providing us with the plastic bottles, battery, and cardboard recycling. Junk N’ Go phone: 313-516-2600, http://www.junkngo.com

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March 2011

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Sat/Sun

1 2 3 Nature Conservation Assembly, 9 A M (K-2), 10 AM (3-5)

4 Book Bingo, 6:15PM

5/6

7

8

9 LATE ARRIVAL, 9:35AM: No Kindergarten Classes all day

10 BLOOD DRIVE AT DUVALL, 2:00PM

11 FAMILY FUN NIGHT, 6:30-8:30

12/13

14

15 Science Assembly Rescheduled Healthy Foods Presentation 6:00PM PTA Meeting, 7:00PM

16

17 Detroit Lions Leadership Assembly, 2:30PM

18 FAMILY FUN NIGHT, 6:30-8:30

19/20

21

22

23 24 Family Literacy Night, 6:00-7:30PM

25 FAMILY FUN NIGHT, 6:30-8:30

26/27

28 Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser

29

30 31 Author Ottenbreit Assembly

For current updates, please see: http://blog.dearbornschools.org/maleyko/duvall-calendar/

DuVall Elementary School Calendar