DRMS' Principal Message
Hello Dolphins! This is Kristen Faircloth, principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your May 17, 2020 Family Message.
We hope you had a wonderful weekend and are preparing for the upcoming week of virtual learning. We continue to be impressed by both our staff and students during these challenging times. Their perseverance and willingness to engage in meaningful activities during COVID-19 is to be commended. Just this past week we saw over 50 seventh grade students participate in a virtual field trip at the Carolina Tiger Rescue, an increase of sixth grade students participate in the 6th Grade Sync-Up, and our morning announcements by eighth grade students continue to brighten our days. Please encourage your child to finish the year strong and engage in their daily learning as well as the extra activities whenever possible. Don't forget to stay in close contact with your child's teachers, visit their websites, and the Durant Road Middle School website often. As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
DRMS Olympics Week: This week the Elective Olympics will be taking place at Durant! The elective teachers have come together in the spirit of the Olympics to present a special week for you! Each day of the week a different elective team will have their Olympic themed lesson shared with all students. Monday is PE day, Tuesday is CTE day, Wednesday is Arts day, and Thursday is Spanish/ESL day. Students, all you need to do is log in to your electives' Google Classrooms/Canvas/Weebly like you normally would each day for lessons. Don't be alarmed if you see your band teacher posting a lesson from PE, or your Spanish teacher posting a lesson from CTE! You're in the right place and your teachers haven't gone crazy...yet! All elective teachers will be posting lessons from outside their discipline to ensure that you receive all 4 lessons. If you have any questions, please watch this screen cast, read this Olympic Week directions page, or ask one of your elective teachers. Have fun!!
DRMS Grading Updates: This past week, WCPSS sent a message that outlined grading updates for the 3rd Quarter, 4th Quarter, and final grades. You can find the full and summary guidelines in the following links. Summary of Guidelines, Full Guidelines Final grades will be uploaded in PowerSchool by June 4, 2020. Therefore, we are asking our Dolphins to do their best to have any work completed to improve their 3rd Quarter grade submitted by May 29, 2020. If more time is needed, please communicate with your teacher. Don't hesitate to reach-out with any questions or concerns.
Remote Learning Parent Survey: WCPSS would like for families to provide feedback on their students’ remote learning experience so far. This will be the first of two surveys designed to gather information that will be used to help us improve remote learning for students. Please complete the survey by May 20: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N985N68
Closing Year Procedures: With school abruptly ending in the middle of March due to COVID-19, DRMS students and staff still need to conduct some end-of-the-year closing procedures. You will receive more detailed information in the coming weeks, but please put Saturday, June 6, 2020 on your calendar for the event. While we will be sharing the specifics with you soon, the event will include: dropping-off items (school-owned materials) and picking-up items (from lockers, student art work, PTSA fundraiser prizes, yearbooks). Additionally, we will adhere to all COVID-19 safety procedures during this process.
Food Distribution Services: In observance of Memorial Day, food distribution services will be canceled on Monday, May 25. Extra food will be distributed on Friday, May 22 for students and families for the holiday weekend. Most weekend food service sites will still operate on a normal schedule Memorial Day Weekend. Please make arrangements now to secure additional food for your family, if needed, on Memorial Day. You can view a list of sites, dates, and times at wcpss.net/food.
Thank you for being a part of the DRMS community,
Kristen Faircloth
Principal