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Volume 1, Issue 4
SY 16-17
December 1, 2016
Principal’s Message
Diamond Elementary SchoolDiamond Elementary School
Dr. Laura LaChance
Principal
December 2016
Dates to Remember
01 Popcorn Thursday
01-15 DES Cares - Holiday Food Drive
07-14 PTO Penguin Holiday Shoppe -
PTO Room (D5/D7)
08 Gator Night
14 KG Holiday Program
15 Popcorn Thursday
15 Star Student Assembly - 9:00a
16-31 Winter Holiday - No School
Jan 4 Students Return to School
Dear Diamond Families,
It is so hard to believe that we are wrapping up the first half of the year. The children have worked so hard and done so well. I am very proud of them. We have much to do and learn for the second half so I hope they come back ready after the break.
Please enjoy the holidays with family and friends. I hope you all find some downtime to just be with each other. This is also the season for gift giving. Pardon my shameless plug, but I highly recommend giving books as gifts to your children. Books are so magical and when shared with a
parent, they become a warm memory. Some of my favorite moments with my own children are those times when we curled up and read a book together. The teachers at Diamond require that our students read nightly. While they would never assign
homework over the break, I still highly encourage reading even over the holiday. It becomes a habit when you continue to do it nightly—and the cuddle time is the bonus! Just in case you are not convinced, I would like to share the chart below that demonstrates the benefits to reading 20 minutes nightly.
Have a blessed holiday break and we will see you in 2017! Laura LaChance
Dr. Deborah Williams
Assistant Principal
UUGGGG!!!! That bug is back! Have you had the stomach and headache symptoms? Did
you know that the single most effective way to keep your family healthy and prevent sick-
ness is a GOOD HANDWASHING? Keep in mind that not all hand washings are created
equal… Are you doing it RIGHT?!! Chances are that you are not. Here are the guidelines
from the CDC:
Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn
off the tap, and apply soap.
Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be
sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and
under your nails.
Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum
the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.
Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
Teach your entire family how to wash their hands the right way
and stay healthy!!
**Reminder: DoDEA is requiring each student to be immunized against the flu this year.
It’s not too late! The flu virus is most active in December and January so there’s still time to
protect your family.
Page 2
Sherri Jones, BSN, RN DES School Nurse 912-369-1457
Nurse Notes
At Diamond Elementary School, our goal is for every student to feel safe and secure
while at school. Your feedback is very important to us to ensure a caring and respectful
environment. We truly value how our students are feeling at school and, therefore, we
are asking for your participation in completing several questions regarding your child’s
experiences with aggressive/bullying behavior at school. Click on the “Feedback Sur-
vey” link below to respond to the questions. Your responses will be anonymous and
the information will be used to help support the school’s Anti-Bullying Plan. Thank
you, in advance, for your time and feedback!
FEEDBACK SURVEY
Our December Gator Trait is CARING! Caring means to:
1. Be kind;
2. Think of others’ feelings before you speak or act;
3. Be generous with your time, talent, and things;
4. Be helpful to others;
5. Show others that you understand what they are feeling (empathy);
6. Show concern for others when they have problems;
7. Never say things that are mean or hurtful;
8. Be a good friend to others;
9. Show others respect; and
10.Be polite!
Page 3
Nicole Haws
Guidance Counselor
Diamond Elementary
Ph 912-876-6094
David Dobson
Guidance Counselor
Diamond Elementary
Ph 912-876-6094
School Counselors’School Counselors’
SpotlightSpotlight
Page 4
Pet Food Drive
The 4th Grade Muttigree Lunch Club is conducting a Pet Food Drive
for homeless pets located at the stray facility here on Fort Stewart. The
pet food drive will continue during the month of December, and end on
Wednesday, December 14th. Currently, there is a need for:
Dog or puppy food
Cat or kitten food
Leashes and collars
Toys for enrichment
If you would like to donate, please bring items to the Diamond Library.
If there are any questions, please contact Ms. Mercord at:
Every little bit helps! Let’s show how thankful we are for our four-
legged best friends this wonderful holiday season! Thank you!
FROM THE DESK OF
THE LIBRARIAN
~ Ms. Mercord ~
Gator Family Spotlight
ART
~ Ms. Mock ~
Students are in the process of completing all
“warm color” related projects. Among those pro-
jects are wise, old owl artworks with vibrant, Au-
tumn-colored sunset backgrounds for some of the
younger students. Meanwhile, the older students
are completing their very dramatic, realistic, fall
trees with bare branches, falling leaves, and moons
against a very dark night sky. We will be using
multi-mediums such as watercolors and India ink.
Students will begin winter-related arts & craft ac-
tivities and will be slowly introduced to cooler-
toned colors such as blues, greens, and purples.
They will also be introduced to one or more of the
other basic elements of Art.
The students’ art con-
tinues to amaze me!
Every single day, I am
reminded of exactly
why I am here! I am
honored to share my
love of Art with your
precious children!
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
~ Coach Marcus ~
Current Activities: Catching and Throwing;
Fitness Gram
This month, we will keep it moving with additional
catching and throwing activities. Students will al-
so be introduced to basic basketball skills which
will help them develop fundamental skills required
for successful game play. Please remember to
have your child wear gym shoes on their gym
day!
If you have any questions, please feel free to con-
tact me.
— Stay Fit!
Page 5
EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
~ Ms. Myers ~
Greetings, Gator Parents! We live in a world surrounded by technology! And we know that whatever profes-
sional field of work our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will
increasingly depend on understanding how technology works.
But only a tiny fraction of us are learning how technology works. Fewer than half of all
schools teach computer science.
That is why our entire school is joining in on the largest learning event in history: The
Hour of Code, during Computer Science Education Week (December 5-9). More than
100 million students worldwide have already tried an Hour of Code.
Our Hour of Code is making a statement that Diamond Elementary School is ready to teach these foundational
21st century skills. To continue bringing programming activities to your students, we want to make our Hour
of Code event HUGE! I encourage you to volunteer, reach out to local media, share the news on social media
channels, and consider hosting additional Hour of Code events within the community. This is a chance to
change the future of education!!
Click here Hour of Code for more details, and help spread the word!
Gator Family Spotlight
FLES/ESL
~ Mr. Cruz ~
For the month of December, students will learn
about Holiday Traditions within the Hispanic cul-
ture. In addition, we will learn about adjectives, tell-
ing the time, and seasons. We will also review num-
bers, colors, and days of the week. Like always, we
will have fun in Mr. Cruz’s class!
Page 6
FLES
~ Ms. Stewart ~
For the month of December, students will be work-
ing on learning numbers 0-31 for Kinder and 1-100
for Grades 1-6. After learning their numbers, stu-
dents will take an oral and written Numbers test. To
celebrate Christmas, students will work on Christ-
mas crafts (as time permits).
Michelle Myers School Educational Technologist 912-876-6094
Page 7
PTO is sponsoring a Holiday Food Drive from De-
cember 1-15, 2016. Donations will support United
Military Care of Hinesville. This is a classroom
challenge to see which classes
can supply the most (items in
quantity) during collection
times. Competition will be
between grades PK-2nd and
3rd-6th. Winners will be an-
nounced December 15th and
will receive their prize after
Winter Break. Good luck and
THANK YOU for your support!
Questions can be directed to the PTO Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondElementaryPTO
PTO will be hosting The Penguin Patch Holiday
Shoppe for students to enjoy purchasing gifts for their
parents, grandparents, siblings, teachers, and/or
friends. The Holiday Shoppe will be open from De-
cember 7-14, 2016. **An
opportunity to visit the
Shoppe after school will be
held during Gator Night on
December 8th.** The shop-
ping times for each class will
be provided at a later time. If
you would like to volunteer,
please contact Ms. Reeves at
(910)309-3173 or via the PTO Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondElementaryPTO
Fridays are Gator Spirit Days. . .Wear your Gator apparel to show your Gator PRIDE!!
BAND PERFORMANCE
The first Fort Stewart Elementary Schools’ band per-
formance will take place on Tuesday, December 13th,
at 4:15 P.M. in the Brittin Elementary School Multi-
Purpose Room (Gym). Band members will play vari-
ous songs from the Yamaha Advantage book.
Families and Staff are invited!!
NATIONAL HISTORY TEACHER OF
THE YEAR
Applications are now being accepted for the National
History Teacher of the Year (NHTOTY) for Elemen-
tary grades K-6. If you would like to know how to
nominate your student’s History teacher, please click
on the “NHTOTY” link below.
Click here NHTOTY
H
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PTO & OTHER PTO & OTHER
GATOR NEWSGATOR NEWS
Page 8
Cafeteria’s Monthly Menu
Important Reminders for Parents and Students:
School starts at 8:20. Students are considered tardy at 8:21 and must receive a tardy slip from the front office.
It is a DoDEA requirement that we do a 100% ID check when coming into the school and checking out children.
