Deep Run Digest - December 8, 2025

Deep Run Digest ~ Edición de bienvenida al nuevo curso escolar
Monday, December 8, 2025

Mission: Deep Run Elementary ensures academic success and social-emotional well-being for each student by celebrating our diversity, setting high expectations, and ensuring equitable access and opportunities for all learners.

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Community Schools

A Word from You Administrators

Dear Deep Run Families,

December is a wonderful but very busy month and we are looking for ways to lift up our incredible staff and keep them energized during the final days before winter break. Each year, we organize a countdown with special activities each day. This year, for one of the days we will be holding a special teacher gift card raffle and we would love your support!

If you are interested, we are accepting any kind of gift card donations of any amount. (Please make sure individual gift cards are $20 or less.) All donations will go directly to our teachers as a small token of appreciation for everything they do. Teachers LOVE a raffle!

Please place any gift card donations in a sealed envelope labeled "Staff Gift Card Donation" and drop it off at the front office anytime before the morning of December 19th. You can send them in with your student if you wish, just be sure they know to take it out of their backpack and hand it to their teacher to give to us.

Thank you for helping us celebrate and recognize our amazing staff! Your generosity truly makes a difference.

Warmly,

Estimadas familias de Deep Run:

Diciembre es un mes maravilloso, pero muy ajetreado, y estamos buscando formas de animar a nuestro increíble personal y mantenerlos motivados durante los últimos días antes de las vacaciones de invierno. Cada año, organizamos una cuenta atrás con actividades especiales cada día. Este año, uno de los días celebraremos un sorteo especial de tarjetas regalo para los profesores y nos encantaría contar con su apoyo.

Si están interesados, aceptamos donaciones de tarjetas de regalo de cualquier tipo y cantidad. (Por favor, asegúrense de que las tarjetas de regalo individuales sean de 20 dólares o menos). Todas las donaciones se entregarán directamente a nuestros profesores como una pequeña muestra de agradecimiento por todo lo que hacen. ¡A los profesores les ENCANTAN los sorteos!

Por favor, coloque las donaciones de tarjetas de regalo en un sobre sellado con la etiqueta «Donación de tarjetas de regalo para el personal» y entréguelas en la oficina principal en cualquier momento antes de la mañana del 19 de diciembre. Si lo desea, puede enviarlas con su hijo, pero asegúrese de que sepa que debe sacarlas de su mochila y entregárselas a su profesor para que nos las entregue.

¡Gracias por ayudarnos a celebrar y reconocer a nuestro increíble personal! Su generosidad realmente marca la diferencia.

Nigel La Roche          Jerome Pickens                  Colleen Golden

Principal                     Assistant Principal              Assistant Principal

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Important Dates

December 9th-11th: CogAt Testing for 3rd Graders (9:40 am-10:55 am.)

December 10th: Virtual Family School Partnership Committee Meeting (8:40-9:05 am.) Information below.

December 12th: Pre-K Field Trip to Robinson Nature Center (9:20 am.-1:30 pm.)

December 12th: Pop-Up Food Pantry outside Cafeteria (3:40-4:15 pm.)

December 12th: PTA Winter Festival

December 13th: Centennial High School Holiday ThriftHouse (10-1 pm.)

December 15th-19th: "Hour of AI" Technology Week. See Information Below

December 19th: Pop-Up Food Pantry outside Cafeteria (9-9:30 am.)

December 19th: 4th Grade Field Trip to University of Maryland (9:30-1:30 pm.)

December 23rd: Last Day before Winter Break

December 24th-January 2nd: Schools Closed - Winter Break

December 24th-25th: Schools and Offices Closed

January 1st-2nd: Schools and Offices Closed

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Staying Connected!

DRES Spirit Days ~ Deep Run School Spirit Days-25/26 School year

All School dates are posted on our Deep Run Community Calendar located on our Website

HCPSS calendars ~ found HERE. They can be downloaded, subscribed to and/or printed out.

HCPSS Related Arts Color Calendar for 2025/26 can be found HERE.

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News and Information ~ For more information about these and other events please check out the Deep Run News listings on our website (https://dres.hcpss.org/news)

PTA Facebook Group ~ Stay Connected to all things PTA by joining the PTA Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1YyViTX3U1/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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Greetings DRES Family School Partnership Committee! 

This week is our last Family School Partnership meeting of 2025! The magic...the memories...the FSP moments will live on in the seeds planted to foster student success through engagement of our learning community! We need your help to reflect on what went well and look forward to what we can do to knock it out of the park in 2026.

We look forward to seeing you virtually 12/10/25 at 8:40am!

¡Saludos, Comité de Colaboración entre la Familia y la Escuela de DRES!

¡La próxima semana es nuestra última reunión de Colaboración entre la Familia y la Escuela de 2025! La magia, los recuerdos, los momentos de la FSP perdurarán en las semillas plantadas para fomentar el éxito de los estudiantes a través de la participación de nuestra comunidad de aprendizaje. Necesitamos su ayuda para reflexionar sobre lo que salió bien y mirar hacia adelante para ver qué podemos hacer para superar todos los objetivos en 2026.

¡Esperamos veros virtualmente el 10/12/25 a las 8:40 a. m.!

Meeting link

meet.google.com/emo-pkqh-ecp

Join by phone

(US) +1 315-810-2244
PIN: 919250670

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Counseling Corner: December 

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Click here to view the December Counselors Newsletter

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Haga clic aquí para ver el boletín informativo de diciembre para consejeros.

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The Hour of Code is returning to DRES, but with a twist! This new Hour of AI is an introduction to coding, AI and computer science. We will be asking students to participate in different activities that highlight skills needed in coding and AI identification and application. We will be hosting Hour of AI from December 15-19, but we have been prepping and introducing students to a variety of coding and AI activities.

During the hour long Media and Technology classes, all students in grades K-5 will participate in coding stations.   Students will rotate between stations with online tutorials and games, coding robots, as well as unplugged programming activities.   These activities introduce students to basic computer programming skills to develop problem-solving skills, algorithmic thinking, pattern recognition, AI identification, generative AI activities and AI simulations.

Be on the lookout for Canvas announcements from technology teachers sharing more information about the Hour of AI and how students can work on coding activities outside of school. 

Ms. Yang and Ms. Sampogna ~ DRES Technology Teachers

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PTA Winter Festival ~ Volunteers Needed

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The Annual Winter Festival is quickly approaching.  As one of our most popular events, its success relies heavily on volunteer participation.  This year's Winter Festival will take place on Friday, December 12.  A range of volunteer opportunities are available, including options for those who cannot attend the event.  If volunteering interests you, please click on the link below to fill out the form below and I will provide additional details.  Your support is crucial in making this Winter Festival an outstanding experience.

https://forms.gle/rQbnk2kVFhwkBSgF7

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HCPSS Launches Safety Net Supply Closet: Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Community

HCPSS is pleased to announce the launch of our new Safety Net Supply Closet, a vital resource designed to help families prevent elopement and wandering, especially for children with special needs. This initiative provides essential equipment to create safer home environments and offers crucial peace of mind to caregivers. The Safety Net Supply Closet is currently stocked with important protective equipment, provided to caregivers free of charge, including:

  • Door locks
  • Childproofing supplies
  • GPS trackers

Families interested in requesting these items to help prevent elopement and wandering can do so by completing this form. Thank you to our Glenelg ALS and Career and Community Exploration (CCE) students for their help in fulfilling these orders and to the Family Support and Resource Center for disseminating the orders to families. 

Acknowledging Our Partner This program is made possible through the generous support of a grant from the Joey Pizzano Memorial Fund (JPMF). The JPMF is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving the lives of children with special needs and their families, founded by Robert and Paola Pizzano in honor of their son Joey. Their mission includes a strong focus on water safety education, which is critically important in the context of wandering and elopement prevention. We believe the Safety Net Supply Closet will serve as an important layer of support for our community.

Please complete the request form above to request Safety Equipment.

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Deep Run Pop-Up Food Pantry

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Deep Run Clothing and Shoes Collection

Our Deep Run Clothing Bin accepts a variety of items. Thank you for participating in our Clothing to Cash Recycling Program. Our school gets paid for every bag of clothing, shoes and textiles placed in this bin. The bin is located in our parking lot.  Read More
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COMMUNITY NEWS & INFORMATION

Please visit the HCPSS website Community News and Programs site for upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations.

Visite el sitio web de HCPSS Community News and Programs site para conocer los próximos eventos y programas patrocinados por organizaciones sin fines de lucro.

For HCPSS Back to School Information please click on the following HCPSS Website link

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New HCPSS Resources For Families

New Resources for Families: A new webpage highlights HCPSS and community resources for families, including those related to food, shelter, financial assistance, and more. https://www.hcpss.org/supports/family-resources/

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HCPSS Supports for Immigrant Families

The following this link has just been created to support immigrant families and students. Resources will continue to be added to the page as they become available.