Happy Birthday to Diggs-Latham's January Babies!
- Jimmie Holmes-January 3
- Gail Hayes-January 5
- Lisette Prato-January 12th
- Alberta Perry-January 16th
- Sidonna Brown-January 17th
- Taylor Mathis-January 20th
- Suzanne Asbury-January 27th
2015 Magnet Fair...A Great Success!
As I mentioned in my email Saturday Night, I could not be any prouder of the teamwork, teacher leadership, collaboration and just plain hard work that went into the planning and execution of the 2015 Magnet Fair. Once again, our students showed great professionalism and talent. A successful on-stage performance and a display of artistic artifacts and instruments requires a lot of problem-solving, rehearsing and planning. I realize that and thank all of you for your efforts. This endeavor also took a lot of volunteerism. Thank you to everyone who came out to help with public relations, set up, student rehearsal and transportation. It took a team of people and I thank you all. We received so many compliments and have even been asked to perform at different venues. This is pretty remarkable in light of the fact that our specialists only see their students once every six days. Having the fair right after the holiday break was also a challenge. I want to thank all classroom teachers with their patience and understanding with rehearsal schedules. When you see our students perform, you will see why the Arts are so important in their lives. Balancing Academics and Arts is what we do best!
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We will be putting more photos on the website this week! Stay tuned....
Master Calendar Changes
Keeping up with the master calendar we gave you at the onset of the school year is important. It is very helpful in planning. On occasion, we need to make adjustments. We had scheduled a "Dress as your Favorite Hero Day" for this Friday. We will move that event to the following Friday in light of testing and make-ups. Talk to your students about what a hero is and does. I am sure Ms. Batten can provide some good books on heroes. They may choose a hero in their own lives or one from history. Steer the away from cartoon super heroes. New Date-Friday, January 23rd.
We will have a lock-down drill and possibly a fire drill this week. We will be very sensitive to testing schedules and not interrupt.
CONGRATULATIONS to both Miss Prato and Miss Stevenson who are newly engaged:)
Family Affairs
Please keep Miss Megan Shoaf in your prayers. Her Grandmother, Martha Shoaf passed away earlier in the week and her favorite Aunt, Judy Kaye Foster passed away at Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Center on Friday night. Megan will need your prayers and support. Aunt Judy fought a very courageous battle with cancer.
Little Emily is still in Durham and she is also fighting a courageous battle. She had been released from the hospital only to have to return two more times. Suzanne Asbury's family continues to need your prayers.
The flu is going around and I know some of you and/or family members have had it. They tell me the best defense is to keep washing your hands. Stress this with the students as well. Continue to use hand sanitizer.
Blood Bourne Pathogen Training-Mandatory for all staff will be held after school on Tuesday afternoon. I will be conducting the training and will do my best to keep it to 45 minutes or less. Our entire district is required to have this training as well as the lock-down training we did in December. If for some reason you did not have the lock-down training, contact me or Dr. Frazier.
The Magnet Fair was Awesome! I, of course, have my ideas as to why students should attend Diggs-Latham Magnet....What are your ideas? I would like to convey them to our community as we give tours the last week of January. Your thoughts matter! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe Magnet Fair was truly a rewarding experience. I feel I learned so much about our school and the arts portion of our school. So many people there exploring the options. I feel students should attend Diggs-Latham because studies confirm that the arts have a positive influence on academics which leads to happy, healthy students who have higher scores.
ReplyDeleteOur school is warm and inviting with so much happening. So who wouldn't want to be at Diggs-Latham?!!
Seeing is believing....come see the school that is teaming with staff and educations that have a shared vision of excellence both educationally and in the magnet school arts program.
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ReplyDeleteI think people need to know that a shared high standard of excellence across our whole school, and a staff that really truly cares creates our atmosphere of progress, collaboration, and a sense of home for our students and staff. It is a beautiful thing!
ReplyDeleteI want people to know that we have so many teachers who go above and beyond to be sure all of our students excel in the arts and academically. We love and care about our students and want the very best for them.
ReplyDeleteI believe Diggs-Latham is great because students have so many opportunities! It's amazing how students can be apart of so many different things (dance, PE, art, music, etc.) and find what they are great at.
ReplyDeleteI am always bragging about our school to anyone unfamiliar with us! The caring and support that our entire staff gives to all of our students is what makes Diggs-Latham a great place to be. It was my first choice when I was applying for my first job and continues to be. I can't imagine teaching anywhere else!
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading the previous comments, I was thinking that these "testimonials" would be a good addition to any brouchure we hand out. They would also make nice posters to display during the tours!
Diggs-Latham has made me feel at home as a first year teacher. All the support and love coming from the staff members is awesome. I feel as if our kids feel the same way. Every teacher cares about the well-being of each student both in and outside of school! I would tell anyone coming to tour Diggs-Latham it is an amazing home away from home.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we expect excellence from our students. This expectation really pays off in many ways. Our students did a superb job yesterday at Magnet Fair, and they pushed themselves to the limit. This is one of the reasons I really do enjoy being at Diggs-Latham.
ReplyDeleteThe Magnet Fair was amazing. What a neat experience for everyone. I was so touched to see the number of parents who came to support their children at Diggs-Latham. Great turn out, great people, great school. Specialists, kudos to you for the Golden Globe-like show!
ReplyDeleteDiggs-Latham allows students the opportunity to show their strengths both academically and through the arts. Students feel successful when they are allowed the opportunity to showcase their talents.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all above. Our school allows students to shine through their strengths both academically and through the arts. A big highlight is the fact we over art honors classes.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the arts give our students opportunities to find their talents and they are able to express themselves in a different way. Also, I think for our Hispanic parents to decide to have their children in a bilingual program is a plus. These students have the opportunity to be bilingual and biliterate which is an opportunity that will impact the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteDiggs-Latham's teachers truly care about their students and we provide so many opportunities for our students to excell in different areas. A student at Diggs-Latham Elementary is exposed to a variety of skills and experiences that they will not receive elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteAt Diggs-Latham we have high expectations for our students, which would be attractive to me as a parent. Our bilingual program is an option which is not available at most schools. Also, the fact that we are an arts-based school gives our students opportunities which are not available at all schools.
ReplyDeleteEveryone's responses encompass what I told MANY inquisitive parents at the fair on Saturday. I would like to add that I also told parents their kids would be successful at DL because of our stellar staff. We are very blessed to have the passionate teachers that go the extra mile everyday for their students. This is a quality not all schools have. The atmosphere when you walk in our doors is so inviting and nurturing that the students feel safe. They know we care about them, and for a lot of them we are the most consistent part of their early lives.
ReplyDeleteYour comments are on point. We have many special programs here from the Arts to Academics to ESL and To Developmental Bilingual to EC. Our most important asset is our faculty and the relationships we build. You all are dedicated and hard working!
ReplyDeleteI believe Diggs-Latham has a great staff which provides a variety of teaching strategies to make sure all students grow. Our specialists have so many great programs for our students which our students love to perform. Thanks for welcoming our EC program and for all you do for your kids.
ReplyDeleteThe arts team is definitely a major asset to our school. Students are able to venture out and express their many talents through the arts program. The teachers here at Diggs-Latham are also equipped with the experience, knowledge, and skills to help our students progress academically, Here at Diggs-Latham, we work together as a team to build relationships with our students and the community.
ReplyDeleteStudents should attend Diggs-Latham because we make sure students feel welcome (in the words of my own daughter)! I believe that all of the teachers here want to see all of our students achieve success and we not only say it we show it! We are not afraid of challenges and we work together just like a family to make sure our kids have all of tools needed to have a successful school year! Go Diggs-Latham Tigers!!!
ReplyDeleteI think that our school ensures that there is a place for every student. The adults make sure that they build relationships with their students and the administrators also build relationships with the staff. When a student feels like they have a place in the school they will work hard and that ultimately leads to student success.
ReplyDeleteI think anyone visiting our school could not help but notice is the nurturing and positive way in which the staff deals with the students. The students know how much they are loved and they feel safe here at Diggs-Latham. I notice when they come in the building in the morning how happy they are to be here. Happy students and happy teachers make Diggs-Latham a terrific place to be.
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ReplyDeleteSo many good points have already been said. But I think we DLES is a place students want to atetnd because we have a warm inviting environment with a staff that cares. We want and encourage our students to achieve both academically and through the Arts program which is an assest to our school!
ReplyDeleteI am confident that if you ask parents and students why they like Diggs Latham, their answers will be similiar to those mentioned above!
ReplyDeleteDiggs-Latham is the kind of school I would recommend to a parent concerned about his/her children success. Our school offers great opportunities to students and also prepares them become independent and successful. The warmth, welcoming environments, and great staff are definitely a few reasons that will make a parent choose Diggs-Latham as a second home for his/her children.
ReplyDeleteDiggs-Latham is head and shoulders above the rest for many reasons. I think students leave Diggs-Latham with a better sense of self. Our students have so many different cultural experiences that many other elementary students never get the chance to have in school. From all of the different specials, classroom teachers, and community involvement. I think there is so much value to experiencing new things with peers in order to grow and develop socially. Many of our students communicate with each other and adults in a much more mature manner than students at other schools. I think Diggs-Latham ensures students will have energetic teachers that are passionate about all students, and every staff member cares about each students success.
ReplyDeleteDiggs-Latham is an great school where each child gets the opportunity to perform. These performances give children a strong sense of self, ability to work together to trust one another, and the confidence to take the opportunities to learn in all their subjects.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with all those that commented about the atmosphere of the school. Passionate teachers that work together to create a community creates a great learning environment for our students.
The children at Diggs-Latham are given so many opportunities in the arts program. It is beyond wonderful, even awesome! I am continually amazed by what I see. However, I believe the key to Diggs-Latham is that the staff (admin., support staff, office, janitors, cafeteria, teachers, specialists) truly loves each child that walks through the door every morning and that is why you would want your kids to be here.
ReplyDeleteThe passion is evident throughout the school and it becomes contagious. Which in turn, the school is blessed and the children are fortunate with phenomenal instruction.
ReplyDeleteLearning through so many channels is great for all students, but especially our HI kiddos. Music helps them learn suprasegmental skills such as pitch, duration, and intensity which are not skills that come naturally to students with hearing loss. Also, the visual and kinesthetic arts give them another way to connect to new language and expression.
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Diggs-Latham gives students opportunity. These students are able to learn in so many different ways. Academics and the arts are both held very important within the school and what's even better is that they work together. The teachers and staff at DL are passionate and willing to go above and beyond to make the school a better place and to make learning something that students want to do day in and day out.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the comments above. I believe that we have the best team of educators here at Diggs-Latham. We have a staff that really loves and cares for our students and it shows. We are all very hard working and go above and beyond to form meaningful relationships with our students on a daily basis. We all have the same shared vision. We want to grow all of our students and have them succeed in life. We have a great arts team that does a tremendous job working with our students to build on their talents. I would tell any parent to come and see for themselves what a great school Diggs-Latham really is.
ReplyDeleteStudents should attend Diggs-Latham because it is a diverse school with many programs and opportunities to meet the needs of all students. We have a dedicated and caring staff, several community and business partners, and a state-of-the-art, 21st century facility. At Diggs-Latham, we work hard and celebrate [play] hard. Grade level and subject-area teams are strong and connected. Overall, it is a positive environment where everyone, even the teachers, continue to learn along with the students.
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