The Expect Respect Character Trait for November is Kindness: District teachers and staff will take the lead on teaching grade appropriate lessons on responsibility this month. Students, parents, and staff are encouraged to take the pledge and commit to the activities as well as fill out your pledge cards:       

• Expect Respect Student Pledge Card       
• Expect Respect Staff Pledge Card       
• Expect Respect Parent/Stakeholder Pledge Card     

School Winter Coat Distribution This Week: The Office of Homeless and Foster Care along with community partners have winter coats and essentials for families in need of this type of support.

Beginning this week, Nov. 1-Nov. 4, four DPSCD schools (Bethune, Schulze, Earhart and Durfee) will hold coat distributions to ensure students stay warm in body and spirit. The schedule for the schools is:

Bethune - November 1, 11a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Durfee - November 2, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Schulze - November 3, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. (Noon)

Earhart - November 4, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Examination High School Workshops: To prepare students for the High School Exam, there are several activities planned, see below:

• Open House at Renaissance (Wed. Nov. 2, 5 p.m.-7 p.m.);
• A webinar for 9^th graders on (Thurs. Nov. 3, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.)
• A one-on-one virtual support sessions to assist students and families with their exam high school applications on Tuesday’s (5 p.m.-7 p.m.), Thursday’s (9 p.m.-11 p.m.) and Friday’s (5 p.m.-7 p.m.).

More information on these and other upcoming activities can be found at  detroitk12.org/examschools.

School Spotlight Mackenzie Elementary-Middle: Educating students in Pre-K through 8^th grade, Mackenzie is a west side main stay that prides itself on intentional instruction, technology integration, foreign language offerings such as Spanish as well as robust athletic programs and whole lot more! The Mackenzie team is ready to serve students and families. More information on Mackenzie can be found by clicking here.

November 8^th Election: Next Tuesday is the general election; school will be closed. Students who are eligible to vote were provided transportation to voting precincts to vote early, sponsored by Board Member Sherry Gay-Dagnogo. Catherine Tomkins, grade 12, Ben Carson said she was disappointed to learn many do not come out to vote, and she enjoyed learning about the process and having that experience. She said she will encourage her family and friends to vote because she knows it will make the city better. Read about Catherine’s experience by clicking here.

REMINDERS:   
Stay updated weekly, by visiting DPSCD's Family Newsletter, an updated weekly version is sent every Monday at 6 p.m. by SMS text and posted to the web: detroitk12.org/families Don’t miss a robo call/text -- If you opted out of receiving text messages but would like to receive them, please text START to "60680" from the phone line that has been opted out for non-emergency messages. Reply START to "54968" for emergency message.