Delta Center Elementary Weekly Newsletter

November 17th, 2023

*Today is a half day with dismissal time at 12:10 pm

Upcoming Dates

Nov. 20-24   No Students - Thanksgiving Break

Nov. 27   Classes Resume

Dec. 22-Jan. 5   No Students - Winter Break

Jan. 8    Classes Resume

Jan. 15   No Students - MLK Day

Jan. 17   PTO Meeting  6:30 pm

Feb. 7   PTO Meeting  6:30 pm

Feb. 14   Student Count Day

Feb. 16   Half Day / Release at 12:10 pm

Feb. 19   No Students - Presidents' Day

March 6   PTO Meeting  6:30 pm

March 11   Begin Third Trimester

March 12  Conferences / 5:00 - 8:00 pm In person

March 13  Conferences / 5:00 - 8:00 pm / In person

March 15  Half Day / Confernces / 1:00 - 4:00 pm / Virtual

 

School Hours

9:00 am -

3:55 pm

 

Please do not

drop off before

8:40 am

 

Pick up no later

than 4:05 pm

 

Thank you! 

 

From Our Principal

As we head into this Thanksgiving holiday, I want to express how grateful I am to be part of the team here at Delta Center. Our team includes a strong partnership with you as well. Your dedication to your child's education is truly commendable, and I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt thanks. Their educational experience and achievements are a testament to having a strong school-home partnership with you. I appreciate the efforts of our dedicated teachers and support staff; their endless work to help our students is incredible and appreciated. Every day, I am thankful for the parents and community members who help to support our school; your unwavering commitment does not go unnoticed. Our PTO would like to help give back with our Twelve Days of Giving which will begin on December 4th. Detailed information can be found below as well as on Delta Center's PTO Facebook page. 

 

We are sad to report that one of our Delta Center families experienced a horrific house fire and lost their home. All of us at Delta Center would like to do what we can to help our family; therefore, during the entire week of November 27, we will host a PENNY WAR along with a popcorn sale. All proceeds will go directly to the family.

In the spirit of being Thankful, we are excited about our second annual Twelve Days of Giving during December. Our third-grade teachers and students combine this community effort with our social studies curriculum and will organize and track all donations. Last year, we were able to donate the food items to The Greater Lansing Food Bank. It was reported these items totaled over 5,000 pounds and provided over 1,800 families with meal items. Ken's Closet and Blessings in a Backpack will also be recipient organizations this year.

I wish everyone a wonderful, restful, and safe Thanksgiving break! As always, if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Teresa Dyer

More School News

ONE TEAM, ONE SHIRT

Thanks to our PTO, we have the opportunity for every student in the school to receive our new STAR T-Shirt for only $3.00 each. Order forms are going home today. Please fill out the form and send it back to us by December 1st.  

*This is for student's only.  We will have adult options coming soon!! 

Thank you families and thank you PTO!! 

New Times for our PTO MEETINGS

January 17th - 6:30 pm

February 7th - 6:30 pm

March 6th - 6:30 pm

April 10th - 6:30

May 8th - 6:30

We meet in our Library and offer free childcare!  We would love to have you join us! 

 

We are excited to announce the date for our International Day (formerly International Night) celebration which will be held on Saturday, April 13th at Beagle Middle School.

Times will be announced in the near future. Please save the date.

 

 

Author visiting Delta Center December 1st!

Author /Illustrator Aaron Zenz will be visiting our school on Friday, December 1st with fun sessions on writing stories and creating art. If you would like to order copies of his books, he would be happy to sign and personalize them for you. Return this form with payment before/by Tues Nov 28 to receive your copies the day of his visit. (checks can be made out to Aaron Zenz). 

Thank you! 

Makerspace needs your help!

We are looking for parent volunteers to help run
makerspace on Monday’s during lunch recess!

Here is the link to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040B49A4AA2CAAF49-44694387-makerspace 

Birthday Treats

Our classes do not have students bring in birthday treats.  We have a number of food related allergies across the building so that is a practice we have not done for quite a number of years now.  If your child wants to bring something for the class, it can be non-edible items like bookmarks, pencils, etc. Thank you for helping to keep our students safe.

 

With the winter months coming, it is always helpful when student's have a change of clothes. Please send the extra clothes in a clear ziplock bag with your student's full name on the front.  

Thank you for all you do! 

PE Amazon Wish List: 

PE At Delta Center is a WONDERFUL place to be and I am so proud of our school and students! I love getting to know all of the students and learning with them  to be physically fit and have fun too!  Being new to Delta Center (and the PE position), I am finding that we have many equipment needs -  old equipment is falling apart and new equipment for new experiences is necessary! Please view THIS PE AMAZON WISHLIST to see the things we are hoping to add to our gym.  Thank you so much for your donation, it will be GREATLY appreciated!

Donations Request:

1. DONATION REQUEST - ATHLETIC SHOES 

Clean, gently used OR New child-sized shoes for students who do not have appropriate shoes for gym class are greatly appreciated!

2. DONATION REQUEST - PLASTIC 20-25 ounce SIZE, CLEAN, COFFEE CONTAINERS

 

Dear Delta Center Families,

I wanted to send along my sincere thanks for the purchases that have been made from my Amazon Wish List for PE at DC! How amazingly kind and generous! I am so thankful and look forward to using the new equipment with our students! We will have so much fun  I am proud to be a part of such a kind and thoughtful school family, thank you again!

Sincerely,

Lynley Watters

Here's hoping you have a great Thanksgiving! As we return to school, we will be embracing the cold and the change of seasons by diving into our winter projects. We'll be covering new artists like Charley Harper, new techniques like paper collage, mixing up some color theory, and even adding some sparkle with glitter (I apologize in advance ).  

And REMEMBER...Ordering Art Keepsakes is Still a Go!

Original Works is a great opportunity to turn your kid's art into great keepsakes that the whole family will enjoy! Our ordering window has ended but that doesn't mean we've closed shop! If you missed the initial opportunity or forgot to get something for your Great Aunt Sally, you can still order from Original Works during our "Second Chance/Late" ordering window!

This window starts now and runs through December 1st and 8th. For artwork that is already in our online Gallery, ordering is still the same using the website, our school code, and your student's code to locate and place orders. You can even share the links and codes with family and friends and they can place their own orders! The last day for online orders is December 8th. For artwork that was not scanned or for new artwork, please return the artwork and order form to me by December 1st to allow for shipping. Please note that delivery dates for late/additional orders are not guaranteed for specific arrival dates, but I will keep you updated as often as possible of their potential delivery in January. 

Dates to Remember:

"SECOND CHANCE/LATE" DUE DATE (ONLINE): Friday, December 8th. 

"SECOND CHANCE/LATE" DUE DATE (MANUAL): Friday, December 1st. 

DELIVERY DATE (online/manual | initial deadline): Products already ordered are currently scheduled to arrive by Thursday, December 7th. Stay tuned for more info regarding an evening pick up opportunity at the school!

DELIVERY DATE (“second chance” deadline): TBD. Current estimated arrival January.

BONUS: Do you have a DC alum who misses creating keepsake art? A future DC artist who wants to be a part of the fun? Let me know! I can provide paper, steps, and criteria to follow, and they too can participate as part of the manual ordering process  !

If you have any questions, feel free to email me: belldeann@glcomets.net. Don't forget to check out our Delta Center art room facebook page (Mrs. BellDean's DC Art Room) for important updates and amazing art!

As always, thank you for your continued support in our students and our school ! Have a great Thanksgiving!

 

Are You Shopping For A Ukulele?!

I have had a few people contact me asking about ukuleles for the upcoming holidays.  Yes, there are a million choices, and it is very overwhelming!  I can tell you that you will for sure want a soprano uke (not concert, tenor, or baritone size).  When purchasing for a child, there are really three things you will want to focus on:  durability, brand, and price.

Do you have younger children who might get their hands on it?  Do you think you may take it with you on trips?  How much would your child take care of their instrument?  Will it potentially be left outside?  If you tend to really relate to these questions, I would recommend a plastic soprano ukulele.  They are more durable than the wood, tend to stay in tune a bit better when faced with the outdoors, and if it happens to be left outside, it will probably withstand the elements.  However, if you do not think those questions really apply, then definitely go with a wood one; they sound better because the sound is able to resonate in much nicer ways, and if it is not spending a lot of time outside, it will stay in tune well (once the strings have stretched).

As for brand, Kala is really king.  I own four Kala ukes, and have yet to be disappointed.  Companies such as Fender and Ibanez (known for guitars) produce models, but they tend to be more expensive (and I think you are really paying for the brand name).  There are other cheaper ones you could get (such as from Walmart or other locations), but in my experience they tend to go out of tune quickly because the pegs or overall design is poorly made.

Now for price.  The Kala Waterman (plastic) tends to be fairly cheap and comes in a ton of colors (including see-thru and glow-in-the-dark).  If you go with this one, I would advise to stay away from the ones with lighter colored necks (like the translucent clear) because the strings are harder to see.  Our DC students are playing on this plastic model at school.  These cost around $40.

The Kala Ukadelic is a basic model that (I believe) is wood or fabricated wood-like material.  I do not own one of these, but they would be a fairly basic alternative to the plastic model.  These run around $30-$50 depending on where you can find one.  Another option is this Kala Makala, which is slightly nicer.  This one is usually around $50, and I own this model (LOVE it).

May I also suggest a tuner?  We will be learning how to use these tuners in January.  A Ukulele Clip-On Tuner around $12 will save your ears a lot of hassle.  You can view a YouTube video of how to use this HERE.

Let me know if I can help you or clarify in any other way.  Also, the links here are from West Music, which is usually the company I go through for most of my elementary music supplies, but you can get Kala brand a lot of other places, including Amazon.  If you find something and want to send me a link to check it out, I am happy to as well.  Reach out with questions!

Mrs. Lore-    lorea@glcomets.net