Parent Portal Opening Soon!

Calling all parents! If you have ever wanted to access your child's grades and other important information in one quick spot, your wish will be coming true very soon. Duval County Public Schools is proud to announce the Parent Portal. Soon , we will be sending information home how you can access this wonderful tool. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Save the Parent Portal link: https://dcps.mygradeportal.com/




• Make sure the school has your email account. Please call us at 745-4990 so we can update your child's records.




• We will create a system for you to receive the username and password which is required for entry into the portal.

Once the portal is open, we hope this service will be of great help to you and your child.

We're Off To A Great Start!

We're off and running for a great school year at Don Brewer Elementary School! The opening of school was a smooth success. We want to welcome those that are new to the Don Brewer family. This year, we welcome Mrs. Stewart to 3rd grade, Mr. Roberts to 4th grade, Ms. McAllister and Ms. Renfroe to our ESE team and Ms. Marty (from Merrill Road) to our paraprofessional team. We are so thankful to have these wonderful teachers to be a part of our outstanding team of educators. All of these individuals are committed to making every child successful at Don Brewer.

As you may be aware, we had to make some changes to our dismissal procedures. We added a new feature called: Park and Pick Up. This allows for parents and authorized adults to park in our parking lot and sign out students. We still have our car rider option for parents. Please make sure that you inform your child's teacher how your student will get home everyday. This allows for quicker dismissal for all students. PLEASE do not ask your child to be a walker and pick them up in the parking lot. This is a major safety concern to allow and encourage your child to walk unescorted as buses and other cars are constantly using the road between the sidewalk and the parking lot. We thank you for your attention to this matter.

Don't forget the following dates!

September 3rd @ 7:00 p.m.: Open House

September 24th beginning at 5:30: Family Learning Night

We look forward to a wonderful school year at Don Brewer!

August 24th is the First Day of School!

August 24th is the first day of school for the 2009-2010 school year. We are so excited to have you and your child as a part of the Don Brewer family. Here are some upcoming events that you will definitely want to mark your calendar to attend:

*August 20th at 10:00 a.m. "Meet The Teacher". This is your opportunity to introduce your student to your child's teacher, go to the classroom and take a brief walk around the building to acclimate your family with our building facilities. It is also the opportunity for returning Brewer Bobcats to see some of their friends. You can also join PTA while you are here. Only $ 5.00 per family member. More than one family member can join.

*August 24th: 1st Day of School. Students may arrive beginning at 8:00 a.m. We hope that all students will be in their classrooms no later than 8:30 a.m. Beginning the first day of school on time is the first step to school success!

*September 3rd: 7:00 p.m. OPEN HOUSE. We invite you all to our Open House. This will allow you to spend some time with your teachers to see what a "day in the life" of school is like for your child. There will be representative from various organizations that help support student learning at Don Brewer. We hope to see you there!

In the "Share" Box below, you will find documents throughout the year that you may find helpful. Please check back often.

I would like to personally encourage you to join our School Advisory Council. We meet the 3rd Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. Please look for our table at Open House on September 3rd.

You might find it helpful to check our website: www.duvalschools.org/donbrewer

We update this website frequently and you won't want to miss it!

Summer Time Reading

Are you looking to keep your youngster busy during the summer and keep his/her reading skills sharp? Well...here is your answer. If you click on the title, it will take you to Duval County Public School's list. It will list the title of the book, level and genre. Remember, you can add these titles when school starts in the August towards the Million Word Campaign.

Just ask your child's teacher what the requirement will be for recording reading for the Million Word Campaign. Don't forget about the Destination Success Reading and Math programs. You can find the link to these websites on our school's website under "Web Resources". Check us out at www.duvalschools.org/donbrewer. Happy Reading!

Summer Learning Opportunities

Duval County Public Schools is offering a great summer learning opportunity for your student. There are two unique programs that Don Brewer students can attend if they meet the eligibility requirements. Here are our two programs:

*3rd graders who scored a Level 1 on FCAT: If your child would have been promoted to 4th grade except he or she scored at FCAT Reading Level 1, this 6-week program is for you. (This program will also accept students who scored at FCAT Reading Level 1 and failed reading on the report card.) Students will work on a portfolio and prepare for an exit test through a rigorous curriculum and intervention plan. Attendance policy applies. All students will attend one of twelve summer school sites.

*3rd-5th graders who received an overall F on their report card for reading or mathematics: If your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade child would have been promoted to the next grade except he or she failed READING or MATH only on the report card, this 6-week program is for you. Students will be engaged in a rigorous standards-based reading or math program to prepare for a grade level exit benchmark test. Attendance policy applies. All students will attend one of twelve summer school sites.

Important Information:
*Students will attend their "neighborhood" school.
*Dates: June 22-July 31
*Don Brewer's Neighborhood Site: Fort Caroline Elementary School (904) 745-4904

What A Great School Year It Has Been!

As we come to the close of another great school year at Don Brewer, I would like to personally thank each and every parent who volunteered 5 minutes to the success of our students and therefore, our school! YOU make the difference! The next few weeks will be filled with lots of activities including play days, our final Principal's Party for the school year, volunteer appreciatoin breakfast, the 5th grade field trip to the Diamond D Ranch, and, of course our awards ceremonies. If you have the opportunity, take time to be a part of these events with your child. You will make memories that will last a lifetime!

WE ARE THE DON BREWER BOBCATS!

Welcome to the Don Brewer Elementary School Blog! We are proud to be a part of the Arlington community right here in Jacksonville, Florida. At Don Brewer, we serve students in grades 3-5. Our sister school, Merrill Road Elementary School, serves students PreK-2. We are a standards-based school who utilizes a variety of academic programs like Reader's Workshop, Writer's Workshop, Math Investigations, Everyday Math Counts and Science Investigations. We are fortunate to have Art, Music, PE and Media. We also have a computer lab for students access. Please check back frequently for new updates.