The Amity Weekly Minute: October 5, 2028
What's New?
From the Desk of Mrs. Warman
Dear Amity families,
Thank you for another amazing week at Amity! Your support and partnership make all the difference.
A quick reminder: Thursday, October 9 is our annual Harvest Night, starting at 6:00 PM here at Amity. We can’t wait to see everyone enjoying the activities—and we hope you’ll stay for our Third Grade Concert in the gym at 7:00 PM. It’s always a highlight!
This week in technology class with Mr. Heaton, our students are practicing and improving their typing skills. They’re learning proper finger placement, building speed, and growing comfortable with the keyboard to strengthen their overall digital literacy.
Let’s make it a great week—and we look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday at Harvest Night!
Warmly,
Laura Warman
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Amity Weekly Photo Gallery
This is the Amity Weekly Photo Gallery
Full Gallery
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Picture Retake Day – Wednesday, October 8th
If your child needs to have their school picture retaken, Picture Retake Day is scheduled for Wednesday, October 8th. This will be the only day that School House Photos will be at Amity for retakes.
Please be sure to send a ClassDojo message or a written note to your child's teacher to let them know you would like your child to have their picture retaken.
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Deer Park School Lunch
Reminder each school year families have to reapply for Free and Reduced Lunch. There are applications in the front office at Amity. Please reach out to Diane Daily with any questions 513-936-6275.
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Student Safety Training
As part of the district’s ongoing focus on school safety, we continue to review, update, and practice our school building crisis plans and procedures. Meant to help guide staff and students in the event of an emergency, these plans and procedures offer instructions on a multitude of safety issues, natural disasters, inclement weather, and building security.
In an effort to improve the safety of students and staff at Amity Elementary, our teachers will be training our students on procedures to use in the event of school lockdown. A school lockdown can be used for a variety of situations. An active intruder inside or outside the building is the most intense and will be the focus of the training.
To train our students, our teachers will be using a script that is designed for grades K-6 to introduce and discuss what the class would do in an intruder lockdown situation. I want to assure you that this script does not go into specific detail regarding the violence that has occurred in schools from intruders, but rather enforces the lesson of listening to the teacher in the event of an emergency. Listening to the teacher is the same practice used in fire drills and tornado drills.
The script will introduce students to the terminology recommended by the Department of Homeland Security of “Run, Hide, Fight” and can be used in community situations as well. Following “Run, Hide, Fight” in that order helps students to keep themselves safe. The last measure—“fight”—describes barricading doors or throwing items to disorient the intruder as a last case measure. We are not teaching students to seek out or take down an intruder within the building. Students will be taught they should always look to run and hide with the help of their teachers in this situation.
I know that these are heavy teaching lessons for our students to start learning at a young age. Our teachers know our students best, and will go through this script in a way that is tactful and informative. I wish we didn’t have to teach our students these things. The reality though is that as a school, we need to prepare our students to react and follow teacher directions in the event of any emergency.
Our students will be trained the next two weeks by their homeroom teachers. Following these training sessions, we will practice a safety lockdown once during the month of October. It will be announced over the PA that we are conducting a lockdown drill prior to the drill occurring, and will consist of the students locking down within the classroom. The drill will only last 5-10 minutes and then we will resume with our academics as usual.
Please feel free to reach out to our teachers or members of the administrative team should you have any questions.
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Deer Park Holiday Food Drive
The 2025 Deer Park Holiday Food Drive Sign Ups are now open.
If your family will need assistance this holiday season please follow the QR code to a sign up.
Please see the attached flyer for more information or contact Patty Hadden @ 513-936-5937.
Help for the Holidays-Sign Up
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Deer Park Youth Basketball Registration
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Counselor & Social Worker Newsletter — October
We’re thrilled to launch our brand-new Counselor & Social Worker Newsletter, crafted to keep our Amity community informed, connected, and empowered! Each edition will bring you valuable insights, updates on school programs, mental health tips, and resources tailored for students and families. Whether you’re seeking strategies to support your child’s emotional well-being or curious about upcoming wellness initiatives, this newsletter is your go-to source. Be sure to check it out and stay tuned for the latest from our counseling and social work team.
View the Newsletter
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“SOCK”-tober
During the month of October, the Amity staff and students will be collecting NEW socks for the Deer Park Clothing Room located in the Holmes Building. Students, staff and community members are invited to drop off new pairs/ packages of socks. We are in need of infant, child and adult sizes.
We are looking for… sports socks, fun socks, fuzzy socks, any kinds of socks.
If you would like to donate please send the socks in with your child, they will then drop them off in the 4th grade ELC.
To end the “Sock”-tober collection, students and staff will have a “CRAZY SOCK” day on October 30th.
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Our Commitment to Student Growth:
MTSS in Action
Our district uses the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to make sure every student has what they need to succeed. MTSS is a proactive way we monitor academics, behavior, and social-emotional progress so we can offer the right support at the right time—whether that’s extra help, skill-building, or enrichment.
If your child is invited to a support or intervention group, it simply means we’ve identified an area where additional instruction or practice could help them grow. These supports are flexible and can change as student needs evolve.
We appreciate your partnership as we work together to provide the best possible learning experience for every student.
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No School Friday October 10th
There will be no school on Friday, October 10th. This will mark the end of the 1st Quarter. Teachers will be participating in Professional Development.
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Community Resources from Linder Center of Hope
Upcoming event: Join us for Supporting a Child with School Needs Symposium on Friday, November 22, 2024.
Click here for details and to register.
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Harvest Night
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting our Fall Harvest Night on Thursday, October 9th. Harvest night runs from 6:00-7:30 with a variety of events spread throughout Amity Elementary. From 6:00-7:00 there will be literacy games and activities at each grade level run by our teachers. Our book fair will also be open that night for purchases which benefit our Amity Library. At 7:00 the 3rd grade class will hold a performance in the gym. This event is free for all, so please mark your calendars.
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October Lunch Menu
Due to supply issues, lunch menu options change frequently based on availability. The most up-to-date menu is below, however, please continue to check the Deer Park Food Services website for the latest information.
Visit the Website
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Looking Ahead
Please mark these important dates on your calendar:
- Harvest Night: Thursday, October 9 | 6 p.m.
- Last Day of 1st Quarter (NO SCHOOL): Friday, October 10
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In Case You Missed It
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Arrival & Dismissal Reminder
Just a quick reminder to please be mindful and respectful of our neighbors during arrival and dismissal. Our shared goal is to make sure every student gets to and from school safely. Thanks for helping us keep things running smoothly!
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Interested in Dance?
Deer Park Schools is sharing a great opportunity from the Deer Park Dance Program! While registration has ended, you can still visit www.deerparkdance.com for more information. You can also reach out to the program directly at thedeerpark.danceprogram@gmail.com with any questions.
Classes are available for students in Preschool through 12th Grade.
View the Flier
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Registration for Student Wildcat Packs
Wildcat Packs is a Joshua's Place program that gives food to kids to take home on the weekends. To qualify for a weekly Wildcat Pack a student must be signed up for free and reduced lunches and elect to receive the pack by filling out the linked form. The Wildcat Pack is given at no cost to your child.
Students will receive their packs on Thursday’s from their teacher.
The first Wildcat Weekend Packs will be sent home on Thursday, October 9th.
Learn More
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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.
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FinalForms
We will continue to utilize FinalForms in an effort to help simplify your life! Please login to FinalForms at https://deerpark-oh.finalforms.com to update any new information or to confirm that there are no changes for the 2025-26 school year. If you do not have a home computer, please use one of Amity’s computers during the Meet and Greet located in the PDC or visit the local library where computers are available for public use.
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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
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2025-26 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
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Staying Connected
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.
- X: 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.
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Inspiring & Empowering Lifelong Success
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