DRMS Principal's 1.26.20 Message
Hello Durant Road Middle School Dolphins!
This is Kristen Faircloth, principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your 1.26.20 message. We hope you had a wonderful holiday and restful track out with family and friends. We are so excited to welcome our Dolphins back on Monday, January 27, 2020!
Our Dolphins have been busy in the month of January. Our basketball players have been practicing, playing games and persevering throughout the season. DRMS had one student, Trevor O., make the Central Region Jazz Band which is extremely reputable. Durant Road Middle School will be well-represented at the Eastern Central District Honors Band! We had SIX students make the bands: Elizabeth G., Trevor O., and Jake T. made the top band and Claire M., Amanda O., and Kira L. made the second band. The band will rehearse and perform on January 31st and February 1st. The DRMS Cheerleaders competed in the WCPSS Cheer Championship on Friday, January 24, 2020 and not only won first place in the Non-Tumbling Division but also brought home the Grand Championship trophy for the second year in a row! The DRMS Cheerleaders will compete again Saturday, February 1, 2020 at the State Cheer Championship.
DRMS will be welcoming a few new staff members to the Durant family! Stephen Gold is joining the Healthful Living Department as a Physical Education Teacher. Carolyn Mercer is joining the Arts Department as the new Art Teacher. Denise Smith is joining the seventh grade team as an ELA teacher. Marian Devine is joining the Special Education Department as an Instructional Assistant. Maha Dihar is joining the Special Education Department as an Instructional Assistant. A sixth grade teacher has been recommended for employment and will be joining the DRMS family within the next two weeks.
In an effort for our learning to be more effective and efficient, our bell schedule will change slightly during second semester. Smart Block will now be a 30 minute period instead of a 40 minute period. 6th and 7th grades will be split into one of two lunch periods instead of one. Several of our students who take a CA class will now receive the instruction during an elective course instead of the Smart Block period. We look forward to seeing the growth during second semester.
As we begin our second semester, administrator presentations will be conducted with all students as a way to encourage a successful semester, review expectations as well as D.R.M.S. behavior. We are looking forward to kicking off the semester in a positive manner and setting students up for success.
We are excited about the opportunity we have been given to conduct a benchmark assessment in ELA and Math called Illuminate. The benchmark assessment, Illuminate, will help our teachers collect data and drive their instruction. DRMS students will participate in the math benchmark assessment Thursday, January 30 and Friday, January 31 during their math core class.
Save the Date: Our next Spirit Night is February 5, 2020 at City BBQ and it lasts ALL day long! From 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM, a portion of all sales to DRMS families and friends will go toward supporting our school. Be on the lookout for more details.
Thank you for supporting DRMS,
Kristen Faircloth
Principal