September 2023
These norms of behavior are how we adults interact at Donlon . If you have any questions about our norms, please reach out to Janet Gates or Danielle Tremain, your Donlon administrators.
Donlon's Meeting Norms:
Stay student focused.
Assume positive intentions.
Be open to ideas.
Communicate clearly and succinctly.
Ask and welcome questions for clarification.
Allow others to complete thoughts before responding.
Listen carefully for understanding, and respect other’s views.
Honor time limits.
IMPORTANT DATES:
Monday, September 4 - Labor Day; NO SCHOOL
**Tuesday, September 6** - Staggered Schedule Begins for 1st Graders - Group A arrives 8:00 - 8:15; Group B arrives 8:45 - 9:00 (except Wednesdays when ALL arrive 9:00 - 9:15)
Sept. 11-15: Book Fair Week
* Sept. 13: Picture Day- flyer
* Sept. 14: School Board Mtg. 6pm - Agenda - Watch Here
* Sept. 15: Flag Salute - Polka Dot Day
* Sept. 15: Book Fair & Ice Cream Social 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Bell Schedule Reminders
For safety reasons, Students should not be dropped off before the gates open at 8:00am (9:00am on Wednesday) as we have no adult supervision until then.
Students who arrive later than 8:15am (9:15 on Wednesdays) will be marked tardy. The bells determine tardiness, not the gates being open.
iOS ParentVUE and StudentVUE Issue
Users are currently unable to login to ParentVUE and StudentVUE on iOS devices. Edupoint is currently pushing an updated iOS application to the App Store to address the issue. Users will need to update the iOS mobile application to the version listed below or higher:
- ParentVUE: 11.2
- StudentVUE: 11.2
ParentVUE and StudentVUE are still accessible on computers and any other non-iOS devices.
PUSD Step Program
Pleasanton Unified students have the opportunity to learn HBCU-style stepping, a dance that uses the body as an instrument and has deep roots in HBCU Fraternity and Sorority history. It combines footsteps, claps, and spoken words to produce complex rhythms, and has roots in African dance and military marching. Stepping is a dance form full of energy, pride, and tradition.
Fliers for the 23-24 Step Program are available in the Donlon office and LINKED HERE
Our first class is Thursday, 8/31.
AAFN Dates 23-24 (5).pdfAfrican-American Family Network Dates for 23-24 School Year
African-American Family Network meets quarterly for the 23-24 school year. The dates and locations can be found on the flier at left. Quarterly African-American Family Network Meetings are the first and broadest touchpoint for African-American families in PUSD to build community in affinity space, have culturally relevant and specific activities that are social and fun, and opt into other district programs.
SEPTEMBER is ATTENDANCE AWARENESS MONTH
Getting into the habit of daily attendance is more important than ever, as it helps to:
● make it easier to connect with friends and teachers
Visit Pleasanton Unified School District’s attendance page for more information and review PUSD attendance policies here.
VOLUNTEER CLEARANCE for 2023-24 School Year
If you are planning to volunteer next school year, please see the Volunteers page of the PUSD website to review the newly created PUSD Volunteer Handbook. After reading through the handbook, apply to be a volunteer for the 2023-24 school year by using the PUSD Raptor Volunteer Application link. Please note: TB clearance is required for all volunteers.
Volunteer Clearance process - if you think you MIGHT want to volunteer in a classroom, please complete this process - you'll be ready!
Questions? Please email volunteerclearance@pleasantonusd.net
Birthdays!
Each student receives a birthday pencil from Principal Gates or Vice Principal Tremain during the month of their birthday (and they get the special happy birthday serenade!). Other birthday celebrations for children should happen at home. No food (no candy) or drinks may be distributed to students, as student allergies can be life threatening. Thank you for your understanding.
Donlon Yearbook
Our yearbook is a wonderful end-of-year keepsake. Even though it is the very start of our school year, yearbooks can be ordered now! Here's the link to order your yearbook online. (Optional, of course!)
If your family would like a yearbook, but is unable to purchase one, please send an email to Principal Gates.
Purchase your Fall Gala tickets here - they sold out last year, so order early!
Our School Plan for Student Achievement for 2023-2024 school year is attached here. Please take some time to review our goals for this school year! For a quick summary of our SPSA, click here.
School Site Council meets monthly to review data, consider options for improvement, and determine our focus for the school year. This important group of people represents and serves all aspects of our school community with 5 parents, 3 teachers, 1 non-teacher staff member, and our Principal. All are welcome to attend, and there is time allotted for comments from the community at the beginning of our meetings. Please see the Donlon Website for School Site Council meeting dates, agendas, and minutes.
STUDENT ITEMS - Anything that comes to school should have the child's name and teacher's name clearly marked ("Sharpie" pens are great for this purpose).
For parents who are dropping off items for students:
If not already marked, please clearly mark item with student's first and last name AND teacher's name.
Items left for students should be placed in the container on the cart in front of the school office BEFORE 11:30am. Musical instruments can be placed under the table inside the office door.
School policy is that classes will not be disrupted for delivery of items students forgot to take to school. Please let your student know that if they forgot something they can come to the office to see if it has been dropped off.
Our office staff works hard to manage all of the tasks necessary to keep Donlon running, and we cannot guarantee that items left for children will be picked up during the school day.
If you are PICKING UP HOMEWORK or other items that a teacher has left in the office for you, feel free to come in and grab the items from the table right inside the office door.
If your child lost an item at school, please ask him/her to check our lost and found box in the multipurpose room. We will place all lost/found items on the front lawn this first week of September. Please look for any items on Tuesday. We will gather and donate any items unclaimed as of Wednesday morning. We plan to do this each month to avoid a glut of found items.
Important Tip: Children should know the phone number of their parent/guardian, or be able to find it in their backpack or planner. Please show your children how to call your phone number on a land-line (at our site, the number "8" must be pressed first to get a dial tone, then the area code, then the 7-digit number).
Cubs in the Community!
This is a new section in the Donlon Digest - featuring our Cubs and the things that they are doing outside of their school day. Please use this form to submit information (keep it short and sweet) and a photo if you'd like. Then look for your child in our next Digest update!
Driving Safety & Effectiveness at Donlon
For those who pickup and/or drop off students in the Donlon front lot, please pay attention to what is in front of your car. Last week, one of our teachers was hit by a vehicle. We are grateful that no serious injury happened, however this could easily have been a horrible event.
As you exit the drop off/pick up lane at the front of the school, please focus all of your attention on driving (we have seen parents watch their children walk into the front gate instead of just focusing on driving). Also, note that there are TWO lanes all the way through the drop/off/pick up line. Please move all the way forward in whichever lane best suits you. Traffic does not need to merge, but people should take turns moving to the street (as there are NO LEFT TURNS onto Dorman during drop off or pick up times).