Ship's Log - School Update

Cultivating Minds and Hearts
It's a privilege to assist our teachers and parents in cultivating the young minds and hearts of our students. As an alumna of Dawn Treader Christian School and a former teacher, it's a full-circle experience to observe the many facets of education, such as admissions, academics, classroom instruction, assessments, and academic competitiveness.
Student and Academic Growth
We're grateful to have experienced growth in admissions this year. Our student body has increased to 117 students, and we're planning for more growth in each grade level in the months and years to come. With growth comes the responsibility to steward our learners, and our staff members are extremely excited and eager to instruct our students.
Not only are they utilizing smartboards and Chromebooks in the classroom for instruction, visual aids, and classroom management, but students also have after-school activities available, such as classes in Coding, Math Enrichment, and STEM. Making STEM available to our students has been one of our top priorities as we train them to advance in their academics and beyond.
Preparing for the Future
As we prepare our students for middle school and high school, we use I-Ready Diagnostic Assessments and standardized testing tools to help teachers and parents understand the strengths and challenges of our students. Last year, we implemented an I-Ready Pep Rally to help ignite excitement in reading and mathematics. During each round of I-Ready, every class experienced growth in both subjects, and students were celebrated for their efforts. Our eighth-grade learners are also in the process of preparing for high school applications, open houses, and shadowing opportunities, which is always exciting.
Extracurricular Enrichment
This year, a plethora of events are planned for our students, including Hispanic Heritage Presentations, participation in the Northern NJ Christian School Spelling Contest, the annual D.T.C.S. Christmas Concert, Black History Month Presentations, Read Across America, and our annual Spring Concert, to name a few.
We're looking forward to an exciting year full of growth and success for our students and staff. Thank you for your partnership and willingness to sow into the lives of our students as we help them tap into their God-given potential. We pray that the seeds that have been sown into Dawn Treader Christian School will, in turn, bless you richly.
Ms. Taneka Darby
Dean of Students and the Admissions Contact
