Principal's Message

Dear Amity Family,

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and that you filled it with great memories. We have been busy preparing for the first day of school since our students left us back in May. It's always amazing to see them return and how much they've grown in a few months' time!

We continue to strive to improve ourselves at Amity Elementary. We are excited to share that we will be adopting "Being a Reader" as our English Language Arts curriculum in grades 3-5 for this upcoming school year. We previously adopted "Being a Reader" in grades K-2 and found great success with the curriculum. We are excited to be able to build on this success with our later grades.

One small change that is important to highlight for this year is the change in our school start time. We will be starting school at 8:05 this year. Please make sure to take a look at the section below that highlights when our doors will open so you can coordinate the drop-off of your student. We will continue to dismiss school at 3:05, as we did last year.

We are excited to introduce the newest members of our Amity staff! These are hardworking individuals that look forward to supporting our students and seeing them grow and learn.

• Erica Monahan: Preschool
• Hannah Young: 1st Grade Teacher
• Jennifer Martin: 5th Grade Teacher
• Zoe Parker: Music Education Teacher
• Lindsey Keefe: Intervention Specialist K-3
• Megan Marshall: Social Worker
• Patricia Dunson: Instructional Aide
• Billie Petty John: Instructional Aide
• Samantha Cataline: Instructional Aide
• Brianne Hecker: Instructional Aide
• Rachel Haas: Instructional Aide
• Keri Hinkle: Instructional Aide

We also have some familiar names and faces that are in new roles.

• Nic Huster: 2nd Grade Teacher
• Julia Schroer: 3rd Grade Teacher
• Conner Singleton: 4th Grade Teacher
• Chris Acus: Head Custodian

The newsletter below outlines much of the information that parents need to know for the start of the school. Please don't hesitate to reach out via email or phone with any questions you might not have had answered!

Please enjoy your last weeks of summer, and we'll see everyone on August 15th for the first day of school!

Take Care,
Josh

Homeroom Teachers

Postcards with students' assigned homeroom teachers will be mailed on Wednesday, August 2nd. Please check your mailboxes for this exciting information! In the event that you believe the postcard was lost in the mail, homeroom teachers can be seen by checking your child's Schoology account. If you are unable to access your Schoology account and do not receive your postcard by Monday, please feel free to reach out to Diane Daily (daily.d@dpccsd.org) or Beth Teague (teague.b@dpccsd.org) regarding homeroom placements. We are also available by phone at 513-891-5995.

Amity Elementary Kindergarten Staggered Start Information

Dear Kindergarten Families,

The first day of school is an exciting time for our teachers, students, and families, especially our kindergarteners.  In order to best serve our students, and help them become acclimated to their teacher, classroom and new school, we will have a "staggered start" for our kindergarten students only.  

Students with last names beginning with A-L will report to school on Tuesday, August 15th, but stay home on Wednesday, August 16th.  Students with last names beginning with M-Z will have their first day on Wednesday, August 16th.  All kindergarten students will report to school on Thursday, August 17th.  

We hope that by doing this, we will get our Kindergarten students off to a great start to the year!

2022-23 Amity School Times:

Arrival Times:

• Students eating breakfast can arrive between 7:35-7:50 a.m. at the cafeteria entrance.  
• All doors open at 7:50 a.m.  
• School starts at 8:05 a.m.  

Dismissal Time: 

• All students will be dismissed at 3:05 p.m.

Preschool Arrival and Dismissal Times:

• Morning preschool starts at 8:30 a.m. and dismisses at 11:00 a.m.

Drop Off and Doors Open for Arrivals:

Breakfast: Enter through the open cafeteria door facing Linden Avenue.

Car Riders: Car Riders can enter through either our East entrance, which are the main office doors, or through our West entrance off the playground.  We recommend kindergarten students be dropped off at the East entrance for easy access to their classrooms. 

Walkers: Walkers not attending breakfast can enter through any of our three open doors.

*** We ask that parents say goodbye to their students in the car or at the doors of Amity. We will have plenty of staff members to help get them into their correct classrooms daily. Check in conversations with teachers can be scheduled through email or phone calls to the school.  

***1st Grade students will report to the courtyard for the 1st week of school so that teachers can help get them into their classrooms. The courtyard can be accessed by the student by entering the East entrance (Main Office) of the building. If it is raining during the first week, they will report to the gym from the East entrance of the building. ***

Breakfast Entrance To Amity That Is Open From 7:35-7:50 Map

Morning Entrances To Amity That Open At 7:50 Map

Kindergarten and 1st Grade Dismissal 

• Kindergarten and 1st grade will be dismissed to the East Parking lot off the main office entrance.   

• East Parking Lot Dismissal Map- Kindergarten and 1st Grade

• Car Riders- We ask that parents have a  Student Pick-Up Card to help speed car rider pick up.    Please remain in your car during pick up and your student will be brought to you. 
• Walkers- Parents walking to pick up their students need to wait in the designated walker pick up zones to help ease congestion.  Your student will be brought to you in this area. 
• Shuttle Riders/Day Care Buses- These students will be taken to designated areas within the building and loaded onto the buses for dismissal. 
• All Kindergarten students will be dismissed on the East side of the building.   All older siblings will come down to meet them on the East side of the building before departing. 
• 1st grade students with an older sibling in grades 2nd-6th will be brought to their older sibling and exit to the west side of the building using the 2nd-6th grade dismissal process described below. 

2nd-6th Grade Dismissal 

• 2nd-6th Grade walkers and car pick up will be brought to the West side of the building off the playground.     
• Car Riders- We ask that parents have a  Student Pick-Up Card to help speed car riders pick up.  Please remain in your car and pull all the way up to increase the number of cars we can get in our parking lot.   Students will be staged by grade in these areas. 

• Walkers- Parents walking to pick up their students need to wait in the designated walker pick up zone outside the southwest corner of the building by the big tree.   Students will be brought to you in this area. 
• Shuttle Riders/Daycare Buses- These students will be taken to designated areas within the building and loaded onto the buses for dismissal. 
• In the event that we have heavy rains, we have a plan in place for our West (playground) parking lot.   Students will be housed inside the building in the classrooms and will be radioed to when their cars enter the recess parking lot.  Students will then come down stairs to be released to the cars.   Typically traffic patterns will be followed, but loading will require patience, as the distance students are traveling to get into cars will increase. 

West Parking Lot Dismissal Map- Grades 2-6 (and 1st grade siblings) 

2nd-6th Grade Walking Routes Map

Shuttle Bus and Transportation: 

On July 28th, the district sent communication to our families that we will be bringing back the shuttle bus for this upcoming school year.  You can find out more information about our shuttle as well as a link to the shuttle bus application here:

Shuttle Bus Registration Information

Lunch/Recess Times: 

Below are posted lunch and recess times for the 2023-2024 school year.     

Grade	Lunch Times	Recess
K	10:50-11:20	11:20-11:40
1st	11:00-11:30	11:30-11:50
2nd	11:20-11:45	10:55-11:20
3rd	11:30-11:55	11:00-11:30
4th	12:25-12:50	12:50-1:10
5th	12:15-12:35	11:50-12:15
6th	11:55-12:15	12:15-12:35

Amity School Supplies

Please be sure to check out the school supplies necessary for each grade by using this link:

Click Here

Non-Food Birthday Treats At Amity

We know how much each birthday means to our students and we want them to have their special day!  If you plan on sending in treats for your students class, please make sure they are non-food related.  We have students with a variety of allergens and we want to keep everyone safe.  If you need ideas of what type of treats these might be, please click the link below:

Click Here

Cell Phone Policy

We understand that students are starting to get cell phones in the later grades within Amity. Please help us in talking to your student about the following expectations prior to the start of school. This year Amity Elementary students will be expected to turn their cell phones off when they get to Amity in the morning and keep them off until the end of the day. This is a change from last year. We believe this will help eliminate distractions throughout the academic day. Because all students are issued a chrome book at the beginning of the school year there is not a need for students to access their cell phones during the school day for academic purposes. If students need to connect with you during the school day, they are welcome to use the phone in the front office to call you.

Save the Date: Back to School Bash | August 11, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

The Deer Park School Back to School Bash has returned for the 2023-24 school year! The Bash will take place on August 11 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Deer Park Jr./Sr. High School.

Once again, community volunteers and Deer Park staff will be grilling up hot dogs, hamburgers, and brats! For $2, you will get a ticket for one grill item, one bag of chips, and a cold drink! Afterwards, we'll have a Kona Ice available for purchase! This is a cash only event.

Amity Meet and Greet

We will have an “Amity Meet and Greet” for all of our students to meet their teachers on Friday, August 11th from 1:30-3:30 p.m. This will be a great time for families to get into the building to say hello to their teachers, see their classrooms, and drop off school supplies before the first day. We look forward to welcoming you back into Amity this school year!

Final Forms

We will continue to utilize Final Forms in an effort to help simplify your life!  Please login to Final Forms at https://deerpark-oh.finalforms.com to update any new information or to confirm that there are no changes for the 2023-2024 school year. If you do not have a home computer, please use one of Amity’s computers during the Meet and Greet or visit the local library where computers are available for public use.

Schoology

The Schoology Learning Management System offers a tremendous amount of information in a user friendly version. You will be able to communicate with your child’s teachers, check homework and grades, and find teacher resources through teacher Schoology pages.

Schoology Link

2023-24 PDF District Calendar

Each year, the Deer Park Board of Education approves the district's yearly calendar, which can be found on the Deer Park Schools website. This calendar includes official school dates, holidays, and breaks. Additionally, a printed event calendar will be sent home with your student during the first week of school. For your convenience, you can access the PDF calendar using the link provided below.

View the Calendar

Communication

There are multiple ways to stay connected to Amity Elementary School.

• Email Newsletter: All parents who have completed FinalForms should receive Amity Weekly Newsletters. If you are not currently receiving them, please register for the email communication. To register, simply go to www.deerparkcityschools.org and click on the button on the bottom of the page that says “Subscribe to District News”. From there, you will send an email requesting that you be added to future email communication from the district.
• Twitter: Follow Deer Park Schools for the most up-to-date news and happenings at @DeerParkSchools or @DeerParkAmity
• Facebook: follow us at Deer Park Community City Schools.

Looking Ahead

Please mark these important dates on your calendar:

• Back to School Bash: Friday,, August 11th | 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
• Amity Meet and Greet: Friday, August 11th | 1:30-3:30 p.m.
• 1st Day of School: Tuesday, August 15th, 7:35 a.m. (Breakfast), 7:50 a.m. (No Breakfast), 8:05 a.m.-3:05 p.m. (School Day)
• Kindergarten Last Names M-Z 1st Day of School: Wednesday, August 16th
• Amity Parent Information Night (K-3): Wednesday, August 30th,  5:00 p.m. (2nd Grade) 5:30 p.m. (3rd Grade), 6:00 PM (Preschool and Kindergarten), 6:30 p.m. (1st Grade)
• Amity Parent Information Night (4-6): Thursday, August 31st, 5:00 p.m. (5th Grade), 5:30 p.m. (6th Grade), 6:00 p.m. (4th Grade)

I look forward to working with you this school year to help your student become an inspired and empowered learner! If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Josh Drouhard

Amity Elementary Principal
drouhard.j@dpccsd.org | (513) 891-5995

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Inspiring & Empowering Lifelong Success

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