Dear Panther Families,
It’s official that spring is here! I trust that the Easter bunny was good to everybody. In my house, the candy is already put away because the kids can’t handle having candy in the house. That and they will eat all the Reese Eggs before I get a chance to freeze one.
April has quickly approached, and at schools across Ohio, that means the start of state testing season. Please be on the lookout from your buildings as to the schedule for your child’s testing dates. We are making that final push to prepare our students as best as we can for the state tests. At home, you can help by making sure your son or daughter get to bed on time and get a good breakfast before coming to school. I also know that’s not as easy as it sounds!
At the beginning of the school year I told you we would have a push to decrease our chronic absenteeism rate. I want to thank you for your cooperation and for your support at home on this. While we don’t have official numbers from the state, we see that our absenteeism rate has been improved, and we see the battles some of our families fight to encourage their child to get to school. It is noticed and appreciated!
I want to share with you that our Portrait of a Panther process is almost final and complete! The four competencies the committee of parents, teachers, administrators, and local business people selected were Communication, Adaptability, Critical Thinking, and Responsibility. These key skills and mindsets were selected after meetings where we discussed the changing workforce landscape and what attributes we believe our students need to possess to thrive in the future. There is a lot to unpack in the four words we narrowed all of our discussion down to, however, we believe that if our students master these four competencies, they will be well on their way to be enrolled, enlisted, employed, or entrepreneurs. I want to thank everybody who has helped participate in the meetings and in the surveys to bring this process to life!
We’re down to the final 8 weeks of the school and these weeks always fly by. We have some wonderful events planned for this spring. Please make sure you mark your calendars!
Go Panthers!
Jon Burke, Superintendent
PDY Schools
Upcoming Events:
April 3 – Board of Education Meeting – 6:30 PM at DHS Auditorium
April 5, 6 & 7 – DHS Musical – “Mean Girls” (Please know this is a PG-13 performance)
April 8 – No School Due to Solar Eclipse Event
April 27 – FFA Banquet – 6PM
April 30 – DES 2nd Grade Musical – 7 PM
May 4 – DHS Band Concert & Banquet – 5 PM
May 7 – DMS Band Concert – 7 PM
May 8 – Planned 2-Hour Delay for Staff Professional Development
May 9 – FFA Farm Day
May 11 – DHS Prom
May 13 – DMS Choir Concert – 7 PM
May 14 – DHS Choir Concert – 7 PM
May 15 – DMS Field Day
May 16 – DES Spring Arts Festival
May 17 – DMS Awards Assembly & DMS Talent Show
May 19 – DHS Graduation
May 22 – DMS 8th Grade Promotion
May 22 – Last Day for Students
Thank you,
Jon Burke, Superintendent