Return from the Holidays
We hope that everyone enjoyed the holiday season and the chance for an extended break from school. In our experience, students can return from the long vacation and have a difficult time settling back into the routines of school. These dark, wintry days can have an impact on how all of us are functioning – students are no different. We encourage the usual, best practices for students to help them transition back into school. These include: good sleep and diet choices, establishing schedules for addressing homework and their other interests, and limited amounts of time on social media or gaming. Most students are adjusting well, but if your child isn’t, please focus on these general directions and contact their teachers if they continue to struggle.

2023-24 Calendar Proposals
We have been working on calendar options for next school year and have reduced the number of possibilities down to two. The Governing Board will be presented both options for consideration at its meeting on January 19th. In an effort to help inform the Board’s decision-making at the February 2nd Meeting, we have prepared a short survey for you to provide your input. The link is included here, and it is also available through all of our social media platforms and on our website. We welcome your input on what the 2023-24 calendar will look like, so please take the time to complete this very short survey. See the survey on the dixonusd.org site or on social media.

Kindergarten and TK Registration
For those of you with children who will be in Transitional or traditional Kindergarten next year, you should know that the registration and enrollment process opens on January 23rd. You will see widespread publicity between now and then, and strongly urge you to enroll your children early. Those interested in the Two-Way Bilingual Immersion Program operating at Gretchen Higgins should be especially attentive and participate in some of the options to learn about the program that will be provided by the site. Students from the Anderson and Tremont attendance areas are eligible to participate in the Bilingual program – it is not limited to students from the Gretchen Higgins boundary area only. If you do not have children who will be starting school in the District next year but know families that do, please let them know to get the enrollment process started. It is very important that we have accurate information on how many students we will have in these grades so that we can hire the correct number of teachers and paraprofessionals needed. Registration packets may be picked up at each of the elementary school sites beginning on January 23rd.

Inclement Weather
It has been many years since we have experienced such a lengthy and significant period of rain and wind. We have been fortunate not to have experienced conditions that would require a closure of any or all of our schools. Nearby districts have had to take these actions due to flooding. Should we face conditions that would force us to close – which is very unlikely – we would provide notification through phone calls and email. In the meantime, please try to leave for school a little bit earlier as there are more cars dropping children off these days, creating some traffic backlogs and tardies for students.