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Deerwood Elementary School

Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day!

Parent Newsletter 8-18-25

Posted Date: 8/17/25 (12:00 PM)

Deerwood Elementary Challengers logo featuring a rocket ship blasting off.

Deerwood Elementary

Weekly Parent Newsletter

August 18, 2025
The entrance to Deerwood Elementary School under a covered walkway on a sunny day.

Hello Challengers!

Welcome to this week's edition of the DWES Newsletter! We're excited to share the latest happenings and updates from our school community to keep you informed and engaged.

School Reminders

A red stamp with the words 'IMPORTANT REMINDER' in white.
School Hours:
8:20 am - 3:15 pm
Wednesdays 7:50 - 2:15 pm
Student arrival: 7:50 - 8:20 am
Visitor Check-In:
  • All visitors must check in at the front office. A valid photo ID will be required for entry.
  • Visitors will receive a visitor sticker that must be worn at all times while on school premises.
Scheduled Appointments:
  • Whenever possible, please schedule appointments in advance to minimize wait times at the front entrance.
Student Drop-Off:
  • Student arrival is through our car rider or walker/bike gates only. All gates will close by 8:15 am. Parents and guardians dropping off or picking up students during school hours must do so through the main school entrance. Staff will be available to assist with the process.
  • Students will not be permitted to be dropped off in the front office area unless arriving tardy to school.
  • Students arriving after 8:20 am must be escorted to the front door by a parent/guardian for entry into the school.
Student Pick up:
  • Must provide a valid physical id such as an identification card, driver's license, or passport.
Rainy Day Dismissal:
  • During inclement weather, walkers and bike riders will be held until safe. Please come to the front office (park in parking lot) to pick up your child. Once the weather is cleared up, we will dismiss walkers/bikers as usual.
Breakfast:
  • All students are offered free breakfast from 7:50-8:20 am. Please arrive by 8:00 if you want your child to have breakfast as we do not want them to be late to class.
Parent Portal account:
  • All parents should have an account. This is the place where you will be able to see your child' grades and sign up for technology devices, medical and media center access. If not, your child will not be able to check out a device, books or be seen by the nurse.
ParentSquare:
  • Please join our school ParentSquare to stay connected and informed of school events and important notifications right to your phone.
PBIS:
  • The goal of PBIS is to create a safe, nurturing, and inclusive environment that promotes positive behavior, academic achievement, and social-emotional well-being for all individuals. Through evidence-based practices, collaboration, and targeted interventions, we seek to prevent challenging behaviors, strengthen social skills, and foster a culture of respect, responsibility, and support. Our ultimate goal is to empower individuals to become self-disciplined, confident, and successful contributors to their communities.
Classlink:
  • All students have access to multiple resources in Classlink to work on at home to strengthen their reading and math skills. If your child does not know their password, reach out to their classroom teacher.
Birthday Celebrations:
  • Families are not allowed to bring in cupcakes or other celebratory items to the classrooms or cafeteria for students. If you would still like to celebrate your child's birthday, please send a small individually wrapped candy or candy bag to be distributed at dismissal.

School Advisory Council

SAC

The School Advisory Council logo features colorful raised hands and the text 'Get Involved'.

What is SAC?

The School Advisory Council (SAC) is a school-based group intended to represent the school, the community, and those persons closest to the students that shares responsibility for supporting the school’s continuous improvement. The district school board is responsible, by Florida law, for establishing an advisory council for each school in the district and developing procedures for the election and appointment of advisory council members.

Our 1st SAC Meeting of this school year will be on Wednesday, August 20th at 3:45 in the Media Center. Hope to see you there!
SAC Bylaws in English
SAC Bylaws Spanish

Attendance Matters!

Image with text: 'Every day COUNTS!' and 'School success starts with attendance'.
Starting as early as preschool and kindergarten, regular attendance is essential for students gaining the academic and social skills they need to thrive. Research shows that when students are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of the school year or 18 days over an entire school year), they are less likely to read proficiently by third grade, achieve in middle school and graduate from high school. In addition to the well-publicized learning losses, students also lost opportunities to develop socially and gain skills in problem-solving and self-regulation, all which are needed to grow and learn.
  • Stress the importance of attending school and being on time.
  • Stay in touch with your student's teachers.
  • Know the school’s attendance policy and the consequences for absences.
  • Upload attendance excuses directly into your child's portal or send to school.
  • 5-day for students that have been missing school will be sent home.
  • 5 tardies equals one unexcused absence.
  • Attendance will be monitored by administration, and district.
Attendance Matters @ DWES
Attendance Information
Informacion de Asistencia
Health Guidelines

Parent Portal

  • The Focus Parent Portal is a tool designed to enhance communication and involvement in your child’s education. The Parent Portal allows parents to better monitor their child’s progress in school by providing Internet access to grades, attendance, discipline academic history, graduation verification, and standardized test results in a secure password-protected environment.
  • If you already have a parent portal account, go to https://osceola.focusschoolsoftware.com/focus to log in.
  • Your username is the email address that was used to create your parent portal account.
  • Your password is the one you entered when you created your parent portal account.
  • If you forgot your password, you can request a temporary password by clicking the link below for instructions. How to Request a Temporary Password
  • If you do not have a parent portal account, go to https://osceola.focusschoolsoftware.com/focus/auth to create your own parent portal account online AFTER you obtain the parent portal PIN letter from your child’s school. Click the link below for instructions How to Create a Parent Portal Account Online.
 
A dress code policy graphic with lists of acceptable and unacceptable clothing items.

School Academic Calendar

2025-2026

A school calendar for the 2025/2026 school year, listing dates and events.
Osceola County School Calendar

Car Dismissal Procedures

A black and white QR code displayed on a light blue background.
During dismissal, please have your car rider tag hanging from your mirror. Car rider students will NOT be released to any vehicle without a car rider tag. If you do not have a car rider dismissal tag, you will be forced to turn around and check in with an ID at the front office. Please note car rider tags are NOT needed for drop off during arrival in the mornings.

The link to sign up for a car rider dismissal tag is:

Safety Reminders:
-car rider dismissal tags are required to pick up any child in the car loop line during dismissal
-all siblings will share 1 car tag number, which is based upon the youngest sibling's grade level
-car loop gates are open from 7:50-8:15 for arrival and from 3:15-3:40 (2:15-2:40 on Wednesdays); after the car loop gate closes, all families will need to drop off and pick up from the front office
-there is no supervision of students before 7:50 a.m. and after 3:40 p.m., so it is important that students are not dropped off (this includes in the front of the school) and left on campus outside of these time frames.

Bus Transportation Information

TRANSPORTATION CALL CENTER
 407-483-3673
Can be reached between 6am and 6pm on School Days.
Please have the following information ready when you call:
  1. Student Legal Name (Student Number is helpful)
  2. School Name
  3. Bus ROUTE Number
  4. Bus Stop Location (Pick-up / Drop-off)

Transportation Services
Can my Child Ride the Bus?
FAQ
ReaXium
Parent Quick Guide
 

ParentSquare

Image promoting ParentSquare, with the text 'Stay Connected!' and a colorful logo.
We are excited to let you know that for the 2025-2026 school year, the Osceola School District will be using ParentSquare to communicate with you at the district, school, and teacher levels. ParentSquare is a unified communications platform that offers a whole host of tools that allows us to more effectively communicate and engage with families.
ParentSquare account
Introduccion para Padres
Introduction for Parents

Zones of Regulation

The Zones of Regulation helps children to manage difficult emotions, known as ‘self-regulation’. Self-regulation can go by many names such as ‘self-control’, ‘impulse management’ and ‘self-management’.
We want students at DWES to grow into successful teenagers and adults. Teaching students at a young age about managing their feelings will support them in later life so that they don’t turn to negative coping strategies which affect their mental and physical wellbeing.
We aim to help students to:
  • Recognize when they are in the different Zones and learn how to change or stay in the Zone they are in.
  • Increase their emotional vocabulary so they can explain how they are feeling.
  • Recognize when other people are in different Zones, thus developing better empathy.
  • Develop an insight into what might make them move into the different Zones.
  • Understand that emotions, sensory experiences (such as lack of sleep or hunger) and the environment might influence which Zone they are in.
  • Develop problem-solving skills and resilience.
  • Identify a range of calming and alerting strategies that support them (known as their personal ‘toolkit’).
An educational chart displays emotions with colorful characters and coping strategies.
Parent Guide of Zones
 

Upcoming Events

 
8/18 - 21st Century after school program begins
8/20 - SAC Meeting @ 3:45
9/1 - Labor Day/School Holiday
9/8 - College & Career Week
9/12 - Quarter 1 Progress Reports go home
9/17 - OASIS Volunteer Orientation @ 2:45
9/17 - Multicultural Department Welcome Back from 4:30-7:00pm at Flora Ridge Elementary
9/26 - Student Holiday/Professional Learning Staff Day
Example calendar with dates pinned
 

Multicultural Department Welcome Back Event!

A colorful flyer announces a Back to School Event 2025 at Flora Ridge Elementary.

FortifyFl

Suspicious Activity Reporting App

FortifyFL is a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows the public to instantly relay information to appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials. FortifyFL was created and funded by the 2018 Florida Legislature as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. The application was named by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The Office of Attorney General, Department of Education and Florida Department of Law Enforcement coordinated its development and roll-out.

Quick and Easy Safety Tip Submission

By accessing FortifyFL, students or parents can provide a description of the threat, share pics and videos and optionally submit their contact information.

The FortifyFL app can be located in Classlink.

Screenshot of the FortifyFL app, a suspicious activity reporting tool.

Contact Information

Deerwood Elementary Challengers logo featuring a rocket ship blasting off.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.

  • 3701 Marigold Avenue, Kissimmee, Fl. 34758
  • https://dwes.osceolaschools.net
  • (407) 870-2400