DRE Dynamo News

December 15, 2025

What's Happening at DRE?

Winter Concerts

Thank you for joining us for our Winter Concerts. The students did a great job, and we are grateful to the whole staff for supporting these experiences for our students and families. There are many hours of preparation required to host events like this. We would like to extend a special thank you to Mrs. Durose and Mr. Wamboldt for their leadership of the concerts.

12 days of Christmas

Last day to contribute is Tuesday December 16th.

It's that time of year again where Davidson Road Elementary will be opening their cupboards and hearts to help our local food bank. If you are new to our community, here is the backstory to this event.

For the past 15 years, our wonderful school has organized, collected, and donated approximately 23, 000lbs of total food! The Lake Country Food Bank is always amazed, and appreciative, of our school's generosity and we hope to impress them again this year.

Here are the details of how it works:

Starting on Monday, Dec. 1, students can start donating items.
Please make sure that ALL donations are non-perishable and in their original packaging – no used or opened items.
Each day will have a different THEME to vary the donations and make it fun for the students. Please refer to the schedule on the back to ensure your child knows what to bring in on what day.

Thanks again for your continued support and let's make this year the biggest donation yet!!!

Learning Updates

Student learning updates were distributed on Friday December 12th.

Please take a moment to review the assessments so you can better understand how your child has grown this school year, and so you understand ways you might continue to support learning at home. The intention of these reports are to inform students and families of learning progress, to celebrate student successes and to set goals for continuous improvement. If you have any questions about the comments or assessments provided, please contact the classroom teacher for more information. We ask that you sign the report card envelope and return those to school as soon as possible.

For more information about the communication of student learning, please reference STUDENT REPORTING RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES from our school district's assessment website to learn more. The video also explains our district's approach to written learning updates.

Winter Holidays

The last day of school prior to the break is Friday December 19th. We will be closed for two weeks and classes will resume once again Monday January 5, 2026. Happy Holidays!

Smart Device Reminders

We shared in our previous communications that the Province has required all school districts to amend codes of conduct to restrict the use of personal digital devices in elementary and middle schools. We would recommend that devices not come to school; however, if families would like to send them, they must remain powered off and stored in backpacks during the instructional day. That includes cell phones, tablets, smart watches, tablets and any other device that is used to communicate and/or access the internet.

In some cases, students may require the support of a digital device for accessibility or health needs. In those situations, please contact the classroom teacher. Please click here for more information about these expectations in Central Okanagan Public Schools.

It's Getting Colder...

The temperatures have taken a dip recently, and with that, we are pleased to see kids arriving with warmer clothing. Thank you for helping your kids come to school dressed for the weather. We go outside multiple times per day, and it's important that students have approriate coats, mits, hats and footwear.

School Swag

Thank you to the PAC for coordinating a new opportunity for families to purchase school spirit wear and other school swag items. Families can now order products online and have them shipped directly to their homes whenever it works to them. Please see our dedicated DRE Online Store for more information. The store is now open and ready to receive orders.

How to Sign Up and Use SchoolMessenger.mp4

reporting Absences and Early departures

Please note that our Absence Reporting System through SchoolMessenger is our sole absence reporting system for school attendance. Families have three options on how they can report an absence, late, or early departure:

Use the SchoolMessenger App on your smartphone. This method is by far the easiest way to report your child’s absence. (Follow this link for instructions on how to sign up and get started (http://bit.ly/2FrTa0p).
Use the SchoolMessenger Parent Portal at go.schoolmessenger.ca
Phone the school and push "1" to report using the SchoolMessenger automated system

Visit http://www.sd23.bc.ca/SchoolMessenger for family resources to help you get started with SchoolMessenger. In the past, Kindergarten families have told us that it’s better to wait until after the school year begins before setting up SchoolMessenger in order to avoid any setup errors.

Before and After School Supervision

Please remember that adult supervision outside the school begins at 8:00am. Thank you for waiting until at least 8:00am before dropping off your child(ren). After school supervision ends at 2:45pm. We need to keep everyone safe, so thank you in advance for staying within these time frames for drop-off and pick up.

A reminder to all of our Davidson Road Community that we are an All-Nut Aware School. As we have many students and staff with life threatening allergies to nut products, we ask that families are extremely vigilant in ensuring that nuts or food containing nut products are not sent to school. This includes chocolate hazelnut spreads like Nutella. Thank you for being proactive in your decision on what your child can bring to school.

A Note About Homemade Treats

Given a number of students and staff who have serious, life-threatening allergies to nuts, we also ask that homemade baked goods, such as birthday cupcakes, are not brought to school. If families wanted to send foods on special occasions, please limit items to store-bought, pre-packaged, individually-wrapped food items. Thanks for your help in ensuring the safety of our students.

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