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Originally delivered on 11/23/2025 6:07 pm

SUBJECT: The Gator Blast: November 23, 2025

The Gator Blast

November 23, 2025

Brought to you by the Davidsonville Elementary School (DES) Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)

Information From Your PTO

Celebrate our school!

Congrats to our amazing community of DES staff, parents, and students on earning a well deserved 5-Star School rating by the Maryland State Department of Education!

Students and staff celebrated this achievement by attending a special school-wide spirit day last Friday when some very brave staff volunteers were introduced to some new cold-blooded friends by Michael Shwedick from Reptile World!

DES PTO Coat Drive

Our annual Coat Drive has started off strong, with an amazing 25 coats already donated! Thank you to those who have already contributed to our AACPS community!

There is still plenty of time to clean out those closets of new or gently used kids' coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and snow pants through Tuesday, December 9.

Donations can be dropped off directly to DES or on the porch of our generous PTO Treasurer. Reach out to Jill Rosato with any questions or the address for porch drop-off.

Fall Schoolyard Cleanup

On Saturday, our School Beutification Committee was hard at work cleaning up our school grounds and transforming our entrance into a welcoming winter scene.

A great big thank you to the team for all of your hard work raking, cleaning up stray sticks, and tidying up the garden spaces to keep our school grounds clean and beautiful year-round!

Fundraising

Chick-fil-A Spirit Day: December 2

Join us for food and fun at Chick-fil-A Edgewater on December 2! Come support the DES PTO and a percentage of sales will be donated. The best part? It runs all day so no matter if you want breakfast, lunch or dinner, we have you covered.

Participants must mention this fundraiser prior to completing payment or opt-in to the mobile Community Cares Event using Code: Gators. View the full instructions in English or Spanish.

Skate Night Success

Thanks to everyone who came out to our school Skate Night. Because of your participation, we raised $955!

Save the date for our next one: February 5 from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Holiday Shoppe

DES Holiday Shoppe

This year's Holiday Shoppe will be Tuesday, December 9, from 4:30-7:30 p.m.

We are recruiting parent volunteers and elves to help with the event. If you are a parent interested in helping, or a parent of a fifth-grader who wants to be an elf, please click here to sign up.

If you have any questions, please email Sophia Celino.

We will have Benny's Pizza Truck joining us outside with some tasty options you can plan on grabbing while you wait or take home for dinner 🍕

Bake Sale

We're asking for help to make our 2025 Holiday Shoppe Bake Sale a huge success! Please use this form to sign up to contribute in any way that you can. We love all types of treats (homemade, store-bought, snacks, drinks, whatever!). Treats should be individually packaged.

All donations need to be dropped off at the front of school by 3 p.m. on Tuesday, December 9.

Mystery Bags Running Low

Add some excitement to your holiday season with a DES Mystery Bag! Each bag is $25 and filled with fun surprises and special experiences — from unique school privileges and event perks to gift cards from local businesses, Gator Gear, and more. Every bag offers something different, so you never know what amazing treat you’ll unwrap! Get yours before they sell out!

New Packages Added to Basket Drawing

Have you seen our new special drawings at the Holiday Shoppe? Tickets are $10 each and you can pick what prize you want to take your chances on. The more times you enter, the better your chances! And we've added two new student experiences:

Art Experience: Mrs. Wuest will host a special 90-minute art session after school in the new year for a student and four friends.
PE Assistant for Kindergarten: Two lucky 3-5 graders can be a special assistant during Kindergarten PE for one week (two classes).

Get Your DES Ornaments

Pre-order a 2025 commemorative ornament to celebrate the holiday season and support DES for $7. A limited number of ornaments will be sold and are available for pickup at the Holiday Shoppe on Tuesday, December 9. Makes a great gift for your favorite Gator(s)!

Volunteering

Picture Retake Day

Help is needed for Picture Retake day!

Help escort students to and from their classroom to the gym for picture retakes on December 3, from 8:15-10:15 a.m. Please sign up to help out if you are able!

From the Community

Muddy Creek Artists Guild Holiday Pop-up Art Show & Sale

Looking Ahead

Sunday, November 23