Programs and Spaces

Dec. 10 Dragoneer Updates

Fall Festival

A big shoutout to our wonderful teachers, staff and volunteers that made this year’s Fall Festival a fun success! Thank you!

Dragon Fire Update

Drum roll please…. This year’s Dragon Fire no-fuss fundraiser raised over $10,200! Thank you to everyone who donated. All of your contributions go directly toward supporting our school. It’s never too late to give. You can contribute by giving cash, check (made payable to Douglas PTA, Paypal, or PTA Givebacks Site (formerly called Memberhub). Your continued support is truly appreciated!

Pie a Teacher

As part of our Dragon Fire campaign, students participated on this year’s spin of our annual Coin Wars. Students could place their coins in the buckets of teachers they wanted to see get a pie in the face! This year’s “winners” were Ms. Faison-Bullock, Mr. Steltenpohl, Ms. Bache-Wiig, and Mr. McDonald. Thank you for being great sports!

Art Competition Douglas Yearbook Cover Contest

Ms.. Edgerly will be hosting a yearbook cover contest for the 2023-2024 school year. Students are encouraged to create an original piece of art that represents this year’s theme: Diary of a Dragon. All grades are encouraged to participate. If your child is interested, please click on this link.

Carpool Casanova

Douglas was nominated and chosen to have Mix 101.5 Carpool Casanova visit our carpool this past Friday. Bryan Lord from MIX Mornings transformed into the “Carpool Casanova” and entertained our students, staff, and families in the carpool line with his silky vocal notes of perfection! Members of the PTA decorated the entrance and students, staff and parents showed support by dressing in every shade of pink. You can watch a recording of the event on the Mix 101.5 Facebook page.

2023-24 Teacher of the Year

Congratulations to Ms. Saleh, Douglas’ Teacher of the Year, and to Mrs. Hagemann, Douglas’ Teacher Assistant of the

Spirit Night

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Spirit Night at Chick-fil-A last week. We raised a total of $72.09! Save the date for our next Spirit Night on Monday, Dec. 18 at Salt and Lime Cabo Grill in the North Ridge Shopping Center located on Falls of the Neuse Road. More details coming!

Winter Concert Performed by the Douglas Elementary Creative Arts & Science Magnet School Chorus

Finally, a huge round of applause to our very own Douglas Elementary Creative Arts & Science Magnet School Chorus, who performed their Winter Concert at the Cardinal Senior Center Thursday night, as well as two performances on Friday for our students and staff. The Douglas Elementary Chorus winter concert celebrated December holidays as they sung about special preparations for the seven principles of Kwanzaa, the miracle and lights of Hanukkah, the festive atmosphere of Las Posadas, and the traditional music of Christmas. The songs shared the universal messages of peace, hope, and goodwill in our school and community. You can find the complete program here. Many thanks to our Chorus Director, Ms. Zelasky, and Douglas parent, Kevin Johnson, for accompanying on piano!

Halloween Storytime with ‘Artists in Schools’ Local Author

The following event is not sponsored by the PTA, however, we would like to support a future Douglas Magnet Elementary Artists in Schools author.

Michael Beadle is a poet, author, and writer-in-residence living in Raleigh. Since 1999, he’s taught thousands of students in poetry and creative writing workshops and performed poetry at schools, churches, and festivals throughout North Carolina. A former journalist and English teacher, he is the author of 11 books, including the poetry collections What Makes a Giraffe Laugh?. January 8-12, Michael will come to Douglas Magnet Elementary School as part of an Artists in Schools poet residency for the third grade — funded in part by the PTA!

You can catch Michael sooner than that this coming Saturday, Oct. 21, 10:30 a.m. at Quail Ridge Books for a special, spooky Saturday morning storytime of Does Your Goblin Have a Problem?. You’ll take a trip with hungry mummies, glamorous ghosts, and mischievous monsters in this Halloween-inspired collection of rhyming poems written by Michael Beadle and illustrated by Arianne Hemlein. Meet Skeleton Jones, Cemetery Larry, the Shoeless Horseman and a cast of devilishly delightful characters who share thrills, chills and silly skills. These tales from the grave and beyond are sure to tingle the spine and tickle the funny bone for children of all ages.

Halloween costumes are encouraged and spooky treats will be provided. Books will be available for purchase at the reading. Click here to register for the free event.

Douglas Dragons Treated to ‘Didgeridoo Down Under’

From Apex to Zebulon and everywhere in between, The United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County (United Arts) partners with businesses, individuals, foundations, and government to reach over 1.2 million people across Wake County annually through its grants, programs, and events. United Arts, a nonprofit organization, has worked for more than 30 years to build a better community through the support of and advocacy for the arts.

Their flagship program, Artists in Schools, places professional teaching artists in K-12 schools for curriculum-based performances, workshops, and residencies. These programs help students learn to problem-solve, work together, and seek creative means toward common goals. Thanks to the Artists in Schools program, more than 130,000 Wake County school children experience arts programming in a school setting each year.

The United Arts Council awards noncompetitive grants to Wake County schools to help provide the Artists in Schools programs for staff and students. The funds support performances, writer residencies, and workshops that are geared toward the school curriculum. This year, Douglas has been awarded $1,800 in grant funds, with our PTA funding the balance of the costs to bring in several artists right to our wonderful school! This is just another reason why your PTA membership (only $12!) and donations (tax deductible!) are critical to bringing a broad range of talented artists in the disciplines of visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, and interdisciplinary arts to our deserving students.

Our first artist arrived on campus on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Didgeridoo Down Under. The Didgeridoo Down Under (DDU) Show is an energetic fusion of Australian music, culture, comedy, character building, anti-bullying, storytelling and audience participation. The didgeridoo has been played by Aboriginal Australians for at least 1,500 years, and is known for its otherworldly sound. During the show, DDU performer Rob Thomas played a variety of exotic didgeridoos and worldly percussion instruments, demonstrating various playing styles and upbeat rhythms. Rob also uses a multitude of props — puppets, artifacts, artwork, motivational signs and more — to deliver educational lessons and empowering messages. The program was very participatory, and several segments involved students playing instruments, dancing or acting out a story. DDU motivated our students to appreciate world music and art, respect multiculturalism and diversity, get excited about learning and reading, think creatively and imaginatively, act with kindness and acceptance, stand up against bullying, protect the environment, and become better global citizens. The DDU Show was interactive, educational, motivational and super fun for all ages!

Stay tuned for more United Arts Council programming throughout the year! There will be an additional performance, a writer residency for the third-grade classes, and a fifth-grade art project — all scheduled after January.

Rent the Rock!

The Douglas Spirit Rock is now available for rental and painting! For a suggested donation of $25, rent the rock for a day and paint a message of support for a Douglas student, teacher, staff member or event!

rent the rock

Calling all student artists for PTA Reflections!

Do you enjoy art, music and dance or have an interest in writing, producing films or taking photos? Then join us and have fun unleashing your inner artist with PTA Reflections!

This year’s theme, “I Will Change the World By…,” calls for your own unique interpretation through the arts. Submit your entry form and artwork by Oct. 15.

Check out this video for more information. And this flyer has all the details and important links.

If you have any questions, please contact douglasreflections@gmail.com.

We can’t wait to see your creativity at work!

Come Help Paint Tables for our Dragons!

Thanks to a generous donation of tables from a Douglas family, the PTA was able to add tilting umbrellas and create multiple outdoor seating areas like the one pictured above in our K-1 outdoor space.

Another set of tables is set to arrive soon, and we need your help painting them on Saturday!

We are hoping to have at least 12 volunteers, but more are definitely welcome as there are a few other projects around campus that could use a helping hand — and we would graciously accept that help on this National Day of Service.

Thank you!