Parent Update-December 14

 Hello Little River Community!

Periodic updates will be shared each week during the school year regarding school via phone, email, and text. See updates below!

Mark your calendars!

• December 7-6pm-PTO Meeting

• December 21-January 1, 2021: Winter Break

• January 4, 2021: Remote Learning Day/Teacher Workday

News you can use!

• All elementary school families now have the opportunity to indicate their preference for in-person or virtual learning during the Spring of 2021. If you have not already indicated your preference through the Ignite survey or filled out the form online, you can now do so here: bit.ly/dpsPLANB2021-intent. Our School Improvement-Leadership Team met Monday afternoon to overview the Little River Plan B program in anticipation of the potentiality of a switch to in-person instruction in January. Please reach out to Dr. Hogans or Little River parent leadership if you have questions.

• Thank you to everyone who was able to participate in the PTO event held at Early Bird Donuts as well as the PTO dining out night at Panera Bread. Thank you also to those of you who have contributed to Operation Hope, as well as other service projects. We appreciate your support and our community is served well efforts.

• Have a safe, restful winter break!

Missed this week’s Sunday phone message? Click here!

Missed a birthday announcement? Watch GMBN!

• Wednesday, December 9, 2020

• Friday, December 11, 2020

• The Carpenter’s Gift-Read by Mr. C

Please reply REMOVE if you desire to not receive these updates.

Best,

CHogans

Parent Update-December 7

 Hello Little River Community!

Periodic updates will be shared each week during the school year regarding school via phone, email, and text. See updates below!

Mark your calendars!

• December 7-6pm-PTO Meeting

• December 21-January 1, 2021: Winter Break

• January 4, 2021: Remote Learning Day/Teacher Workday

News you can use!

• PLAN B (JAN 2021)-Beginning last week through December 18, parents of DPS pre-K through fifth grade students may choose to send their child to school for in-person learning for the second semester pending the Board of Education’s approval and the reduction of community spread to less than four percent for two weeks. We are asking families to take a few moments to complete the form to update your preference for learning.  Your student will remain in remote instruction for the rest of this school year unless a form is completed with your request to return to school for in-person learning. If you submitted a form earlier this semester indicating your preference for remote learning through Ignite Online Academy and wish to remain remote, you do not have to resubmit a form. If you wish to complete the form in person, you may do so at the DPS Central Services Building in downtown Durham or the DPS Staff Development Center on Friday, December 11, Tuesday, December 15, Wednesday, December 16 and Thursday, December 17. Hours for in-person support are available on the DPS website. Full details about DPS’ return to school can be found on our website at https://www.dpsnc.net/return-to-the-classroom.

• PROJECT HOPE-Little River is looking to spread a little HOPE this holiday season, despite our challenging times. Operation Hope is a Little River service project that seeks donations for the less fortunate in our community. We are asking for gently used clothing, blankets, shoes, coats, hats, scarves, and gloves for all ages. There will be a contactless drop off in the front of Little River starting Monday 7th December.

• ART SHOW-Congratulations to our 8 Little River students who have art that has been selected to be featured in the DPS virtual art show. 

• PTO-Check PTO for information on the upcoming vendor show this weekend and other upcoming events!

Missed this week’s Sunday phone message? Click here!

Missed a birthday announcement? Watch GMBN!

• Wednesday, December 2, 2020

• Friday, December 4, 2020

• The Little Book of Giving- Mr. C 

Best,

CHogans

Parent Update-November 30

 Hello Little River Community!

Periodic updates will be shared each week during the school year regarding school via phone, email, and text. See updates below!

Welcome back! I hope that everyone had a great holiday and are ready for the push of the next three weeks to winter break!

Mark your calendars!

• December 7-6pm-PTO Meeting

• December 21-January 1, 2021: Winter Break

• January 4, 2021: Remote Learning Day/Teacher Workday

News you can use!

• As you know, the DPS Board of Education voted in favor of the possible return of elementary students to in-person learning in January, depending on COVID metrics. Middle grades will remain remote. The Board’s amendment sets two conditions. First, the positivity rate of COVID-19 cases in our community must be below four percent for fourteen consecutive days. Second, remote learning must be the default--all elementary students will remain online unless families request in-person instruction. Be on the alert for communication soon asking your preferences, and information regarding events and resources available to you to help you make your decision. Among those resources the DPS COVID-19 Data Dashboard on the DPS website.

Missed this week’s Sunday phone message? Click here!

Best,

CHogans

Parent Update-November 23

 Hello Little River Community!

Periodic updates will be shared each week during the school year regarding school via phone, email, and text. See updates below!

Mark your calendars!

• November 25-27-Holiday

News you can use!

• PTO is excited to announce that its fall PTO fundraiser will be a brand new one for Little River- Fun Pasta Fundraising! This is online only and a contactless way to support the PTO & pick up some fun dinner options and gifts for the holidays. Questions? Contact our Fun Pasta chair, Easley Schack, at easleyschack@gmail.com or email the PTO at littleriverpto@hotmail.com. 

• Details: Download the Fun Pasta Fundraiser app, or click this link to begin.

• CODE for the app: L2Z2JB

• We hope for a safe break in Beaver Nation, despite the present circumstances. Whatever manner you honor, we hope it does not dim your celebration. We also understand that even in normal times, the season can be challenging for some. We have partnered with agencies that might be able to provide support. Each offers a range of services from counseling to meals (DPS, EatNC). Let us know how we can help!

Missed this week’s Sunday phone message? Click here!

Missed a birthday announcement? Watch GMBN!

• Wednesday, November 18, 2020

• Friday, November 20, 2020

• Mr. C. reads The Recess Queen

• Mr. C. & Aubrey read Turkey Trouble 

Please reply REMOVE if you desire to not receive these updates.

Best,

CHogans

Parent Update-November 16

Hello Little River Community!

Periodic updates will be shared each week during the school year regarding school via phone, email, and text. See updates below!

Mark your calendars!

• November 25-27-Holiday

News you can use!

• Parent Portal Drop in Labs - November DPS has set up Zoom labs for parents to help families with updating or learning more about Parent Portal. These labs are open, with no appointment needed but are first come first serve. The last date in November will be Tuesday November 17th.  9:00am-11:00am Zoom Link  (recurring link)

Missed this week’s Sunday phone message? Click here!

Missed a birthday announcement? Watch GMBN!

• Wednesday, November 11, 2020

• Friday, November 13, 2020

• Grandpa's Teeth- Mr. C

• David Gets in Trouble- Aubrey

• The  Little Old Lady Who was Not Afraid of Anything-Aubrey

Best,

CHogans

Parent Update-November 9

 Hello Little River Community!

Periodic updates will be shared each week during the school year regarding school via phone, email, and text. See updates below!

Mark your calendars!

• November 9-SIL (3:45pm)

• November 11-Holiday

• November 25-27-Holiday

News you can use!

• There will be no school this Wednesday due to the holiday. Synchronous instruction will resume on Thursday.

Missed this week’s Sunday phone message? Click here!

Missed a birthday announcement? Watch GMBN!

• Wednesday, November 4, 2020

• Friday, November 6, 2020

• Mr. C reads Enemy Pie

Best,

CHogans

Parent Update-November 2

 Hello Little River Community!

Periodic updates will be shared each week during the school year regarding school via phone, email, and text. See updates below!

Mark your calendars!

• November 2-PTO Meeting (6pm)

• November 3-Teacher Workday/Remote Learning Day

• November 11-Holiday

• November 25-27-Holiday

News you can use!

• Tuesday, November 3, is a remote learning/teacher workday due to Election Day. Students are to work on asynchronous activity for that day.

• Take the Little River PTO Reading Challenge!

Missed this week’s Sunday phone message? Click here!

Missed a birthday announcement? Watch GMBN!

• Wednesday, October 28, 2020

• Friday, October 30, 2020

• I Need My Monster (Bonus Episode!)

Best,

CHogans

Parent Update-October 26

 Hello Little River Community!

Periodic updates will be shared each week during the school year regarding school via phone, email, and text. See updates below!

Mark your calendars!

• November 2-PTO Meeting 

• November 3-Workday/Remote Learning Day

News you can use!

• This past Friday report card grades were made available through Parent Portal. Please be sure to schedule a conference with your child’s teacher to overview performance and plan for the second quarter.

• We also want to stress student participation in Encore, and Discovery for middle grades. If you believe you will miss class and/or the asynchronous learning activity, please alert the subject teacher. We want to be sure that all students experience the breadth of the curriculum, despite these challenging times. 

• We hope that your child will take the Little River PTO Reading Challenge! We are challenging our students to come together and collectively read 2,020 books between now and December 31st. See our website for details and how to get books! You can even check out titles from the Little River Media Center! Check out the Little River webpage to see how your student can request up to 5 books to be checked out: parents must send an email to Mrs. Kusz stating when they will be able to pick up the books from Little River. After email is received, the books will be bagged and labeled with the child’s name and placed on a cart in front of the school during school hours. Returned books will sit for no less than 72 hours before being re-shelved! Please email Mrs. Kusz at or read the FAQ on the LR webpage.

• 2020-21 PARENT/GUARDIAN ASSESSMENT GUIDE-The 2020-21 Parent/Guardian Assessment Guide is now available in English and Spanish on the DPS website. The guide includes descriptions of all district local, state, and other miscellaneous assessments, as well as helpful resources. If you have any questions, contact Dr. Hogans.

Missed this week’s Sunday phone message? Click here!

Missed a birthday announcement? Watch GMBN!

• Wednesday, October 21, 2020

• Friday, October 23, 2020

Best,

CHogans

Parent Update-October 19

 Hello Little River Community!

Periodic updates will be shared each week during the school year regarding school via phone, email, and text. See updates below!

Mark your calendars!

• Monday, October 19, is a remote learning day as well as a teacher workday. Students are to engage the day in asynchronous learning activity. Synchronous activity will resume on Tuesday, October 20.

• Friday, October 23-Quarter 1 grades will be available in Parent Portal. Some parents have received a prompt from the school either by phone or email to update Parent Portal. All DPS students are required to have their information updated in order to best serve the needs for remote learning and when ready it will help with the return to in-building learning. For the immediate time being, having this information accurate will enable you to access your child’s report card at the end of the week.

News you can use!

• Take the Little River PTO Reading Challenge! We are challenging our students to come together and collectively read 2,020 books between now and December 31st. Log your reading here: https://tinyurl.com/LR2020Readers And check the PTO Facebook page and weekly updates on Good Morning Beaver Nation to find out how we're doing! PTO will be tracking the number of books read AND the number of pages, and classes that come out on top for either of these metrics will earn some fun rewards. And parents, it ABSOLUTELY counts if you read TO your student! Don't forget to log books that are read to younger kids in videos on Canvas, and let's see how much we can read!

• Need some new books to start our reading challenge? Did you know that Book Harvest provides FREE books? Currently, they are advertising book pick ups every Wednesday from 9am-5pm and Fridays from 1pm-5pm, but check their website to confirm these times. Also, very soon students will again have access to titles in the Little River media collection. Tune in to this week’s Good Morning Beaver Nation for more information!

• As we start the second quarter of the school year in virtual instruction, please be mindful of a few items-

• See the adjustments to our school Remote Learning Schedule here;

• Parents of Elementary Students-Please be mindful that Encore is a part of the required school day. Be sure that your child engages in the planned asynchronous activities. If you have to miss a course, please email the teacher that subject;

• Parents of Middle Grades Students-Teachers will be taking period attendance beginning with the second quarter of virtual instruction. If you child has to miss a class, please email your child’s subject teacher.

• Durham County Public Health is working with DPS and school nutrition services to celebrate the NC Crunch this Wednesday!  The NC Crunch is an annual event where people across the state bite into an apple at the same time.  Apples will be provided in school meal distribution this week. The DPS school meals program is for all students! Sites for pick-up can be found on: www.dpsnc.net/nutrition. See information flyer here- NC Crunch. Here is a 5 minute video to help connect NC Crunch to Wellness Wednesday content this week.

Missed this week’s Sunday phone message? Click here!

Missed a birthday announcement? Watch GMBN!

• Wednesday, October 14, 2020

• Friday, October 16, 2020

Best,

CHogans

Parent Update-October 12

 Hello Little River Community!

Mark your calendars!

• Monday, October 19-Remote Instruction Day/Workday

• Friday, October 23-Report Cards (in Parent Portal)

News you can use!

• The first quarter of the school year will be ending this week, so students, particularly in upper elementary and middle grades have opportunity to complete assignments this week to close the quarter strong. Have your child consult h/her teacher if any clarification or support is needed regarding final quarter assignments. Also, be sure your Parent Portal access is up to date as report cards will be shared through this platform.

• Thanks to a program recently created by the NC General Assembly, most North Carolina families with school-age children are eligible for a $335 coronavirus relief payment to help with virtual schooling and childcare costs. Please refer to www.ncdor.gov/extracredit for all information on qualifying.

Missed this week’s Sunday phone message? Click here!

Missed a birthday announcement? Watch GMBN!

• Wednesday, October 7

• Friday, October 9

Best,

CHogans