Please take a moment before school begins on Wednesday to read over some basic information about your child's school day. The same information is linked and available below.  Thanks!

School Day Information

Dear DY Intermediate Families,

This letter is a brief overview of what your child’s day will be like at DYI.   This communication only aims to be a brief overview and not an introduction of each teacher’s classroom.  Each teacher will surely reach out to you regarding expectations in their classroom.

Pick Up & Drop Off

The school day is 8:00-2:42.  Students on buses should arrive between 7:50-8:00 and will be sent for dismissal beginning at 2:42.  If you are interested in dropping off before school, you may drop off as early as 7:20.  You do not need to sign up for early drop off, your student can simply walk into the school and he/she will wait with staff in the cafeteria.  There will be a staff member meeting your child at the Kenneth Jenks Entrance door.  If you are dropping your student off or picking up before/after school, enter at the Station Avenue entrance, pass by the turf fields, take a left at the playground and you will see staff to greet you during standard pick up and drop off times.  A map for parent drop off is linked here as well.

Academic Classes

Students will begin the day with a Morning Meeting similar to your child’s K-3 school.  After Morning Meeting, students have Literacy  for at least 90 minutes a day, Math for at least 60 minutes a day, Related Arts (explained below), Social Studies and Science.  Science and Social Studies classes meet at least two times a week.   When students are placed in a class, there are many factors that go into the decision such as recommendations of teachers throughout the district, Special Education plans, English Language student needs, and instrument choices are just some of the factors. We end the day with a Response to Intervention (RTI) Block that provides students with academic assistance or an enrichment opportunity.  At the same time, we also schedule our group rehearsals for Chorus.

Related Arts

Students will be grouped with students from their grade level team for their Related Arts classes.  The Related Arts (RA) classes consist of Physical Education (PE)/Health, Art, Library, Music and STEM.  Students remain in the same RA class for 15 school days and then switch to a new Related Arts class with the same group of students.  For Physical Education, there are two PE teachers/Health teachers.  Each one of the PE teachers also leads a Health class.  Once a week, students have one of their Related Arts classes twice in one day.  During the double RA block, we schedule our group rehearsals for Band and Orchestra.  When there is a double PE class, students have a Health class instead.  Overall, by staying in the same class for 15 days, the students who have instrumental lessons will not miss too much of their RA class.  By the end of the school year, your child will have been in each of the 6 different Related Arts teacher’s classrooms twice.

Teaming

In Grade 4, a team of two teachers share Science and Social Studies responsibilities.  This breaks down to students changing classes with a neighboring teacher two times a week for one period.  Often the teachers change rooms and the students stay in their homeroom class.  In Grade 5, a team of two teachers share English, Math, Science, and Social Studies.  In this scenario, students switch with a neighboring teacher. At times in Grade 5, the teacher team will keep the homeroom the same yet change the homeroom group up when the students go to the different academic classes based on the needs of the student and class.  The idea of teaming in upper elementary school is a common practice in classrooms throughout the Cape and Islands and over the bridge as well.  Click here for a list of the teacher teams at DYI.

iPads/Chromebooks

Students in Grade 4 will receive a Chromebook and Grade 5 students receive an iPad. It is important for families to review the electronic device loan agreement in the DYI Student Handbook and district website so students understand the responsibilities of having an electronic device. The agreement is linked here.  It is up to each individual teacher if students bring their IPad/Chromebook home for school work only. Families will soon receive a digital user agreement they need to sign in order to continue using the iPad/Chromebook.  You will also receive a prompt to pay for iPads.  The cost for iPads is $20 or $40 depending on whether or not the student would receive free or reduced lunch.  Even though all student lunches are free, qualifying for a free and reduced lunch for a reduction in fees is a different qualification.  The link to pay for the electronic device is linked here. Once at the link, on the sidebar menu, click on technology fees.

Breakfast/Lunch/Recess

When students arrive at school, free breakfast is available for all students.  Students will pick up breakfast outside of the cafeteria on their way to their classes. Students will have at least 25 minutes for lunch (school lunch is free for 2025-2026) and at least 25 minutes for recess each day.  We strive to get students out daily.  The “feels like” temperature is our guide to whether or not students go outside for recess.  As long as the “feels like” temperature is at least 20 degrees and it's not raining (a lot), then we head outside.  When it starts to get colder outside, we check our phones hoping the “feels like” temperature is at least 20 so students can get outside.

Please reach out to us or your child’s teacher regarding any questions or concerns with the topics explained above.  We look forward to a successful school year!

Sincerely,

Mr. Blake, Dr. Greeson, and Mrs. Cleary