Principal Update

Smith ES Parents and Sponsors,

No School Monday, May 27, 2025. Federal Holiday, Memorial Day,

Field Day this Friday, May 30, 2025.  This is an exciting week for our students because on Friday we will Celebrate our Annual Field Day starting at 0815.  This year the Field Day is sponsored by our PTO and with the assistance of volunteers from various commands, this year parents who wish to participate are welcome to join us.  Participating parents will need to sign in before joining classes, and very importantly, parents will need to bring their own lunch as the cafeteria is preparing lunch for students only for field day.  The Field Day consists of 15 different activity stations rotating about every 15 minutes throughout the day, lunch on the playground, a few relays in the afternoon, a cool snack for students and the event will end at 1330.  Parents, please make sure your student has appropriate footwear for the event, i.e. tennis shoes w/laces are highly encouraged. No Crocs or shoes without a closed heal.

For safety reasons, the UPK/Preschool students will NOT participate in Field Day, but will have their own celebration activity from 0830-1030 on June 6, 2025.

Congratulations to our New PTO Board for SY25/26 elected this past Wednesday evening. Incoming for SY25/26 is President-Keila Benitez, Vice President-Serena Castellanos, Treasurer-Geri Walker; Secretary-Ingrid Carmona, Faculty Advisor-Ms. Linda Yates, Publicist-Melani George, Volunteer Coordinator-Sydney Blizzard-Bailey.  I would like to thank the outgoing PTO Board members for the many volunteer hours dedicated to serving on our Bulldog Student and Teacher this school year, thank you to our outgoing President-Jasmine Jackson, Vice President-Denise Colwell, Treasurer-Serena Castellanos, Publicist-Kendra Robinson, and Volunteer Coordinator-Amanda Vargas. 

The School Advisory Committee met this week to complete the EOY reporting.  There were no new agenda items, and the meeting ended without electing new board members as there were no nominations for new committee members. We will continue to take nominations through the summer and the start of SY2025/2026.  Our next SAC meeting will be on Monday, October 1, 2025.  During the meeting we will be nominating leadership positions for SY 25/26, conduct annual training.  If you or someone you know are interested in serving as President, Vice President, or Secretary on the School Advisory Committee, please email sacsmithes@gmail.com to make a nomination.  

USAJOBS - Job Announcement Substitutes are Needed NOW for SY25/26.  The job of a substitute is to stand in the place of the classroom teacher executing the daily instructional plans, to maintain good order and discipline in the classroom.  Smith ES is also in need of new Substitutes who are Nurse Certified.  If you, or someone you know are interested in working as a substitute teacher/nurse at Smith ES, please log into USAJobs.gov and apply today.  USAJOBS - Job Announcement  We generally pull applications and interview candidates at the first of each month.  The process can take a while to complete a background check so apply early to be ready to begin when school starts in August 2025.

UPK Enrollment/Registration – If you have a family in your unit asking questions about preschool registration, let them know they can register their new student online by accessing the DoDEA Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program page on the DoDEA website.  There is a link in the information to the registration page.  I will facilitate a special UPK Open Forum with introductory information in the Smith ES Cafeteria at 1430 on Tuesday, June 3, 2025.  Please help us spread the word about Preschool Enrollment.  If you have specific questions concerning enrollment, please reach out to Robert.Woods@dodea.edu.

Go Bulldogs!

 Richard Dye

Principal, Smith ES