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DRMS' Principal Message

Hello Dolphins!  This is Kristen Faircloth, principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your June 14, 2020 weekly family message.

 

Wow, I can't believe the 2019-2020 school year is over!  While it wasn't the traditional ending we all were hoping for, the successes during 2019-2020 can't be understated.  As a community, we persevered, worked together and came out more united and stronger than ever.  We hope your children found Durant Road Middle a space to thrive, a place to make new friends and that their experiences this year will be positive ones forever etched into their hearts.  While information for the 2020-2021 school year will be shared throughout the summer, please take this time to celebrate with your family and use the summer as a chance to relax.

 

As we conclude the 2019-2020 school year, the events in our society have taken center stage.  Not only are we navigating a world with new safety measures around COVID-19, but also seeing the impact that racism has on our Black and Hispanic/Latino families, friends, colleagues, and students through the George Floyd murder in Minnesota.  At Durant Road Middle School, we know there is much work to be done and are committed to setting the foundation to combat racism in the classroom and to provide our students with a safe space to learn.  We recognize the urgency of working towards creating an equitable school as the most important thing we can do at this moment.  Educating ourselves on ways to eradicate social and racial injustice in our school is a priority, not just right now, but forever.  

 

As principal, I love our school, I love our staff, I love our community, and most importantly I love ALL of our students.  I am hopeful that as a community we can use the devastating current events to enact change.  

 

Virtual Celebrations:  As this year comes to a close, we were excited to have an opportunity to celebrate the many accolades and accomplishments of our Durant Road Middle School Dolphins!  Our students have been resilient through the variety of learning and we could not imagine a better way to cap off this unique year than to recognize them in our End of Year Virtual Celebrations!  

 

While students watched these celebrations with their teams on June 10 and 11, we are excited to offer recordings of these ceremonies for family members to view and celebrate the students’ many accomplishments.  

 

Links to the specific grade-level celebrations have been made available through team newsletters and the DRMS Parent School Messenger.  

 

Out of respect and safety for all of our students, we ask parents and family members to please watch the ceremonies through the links provided and not post them on social media platforms.  Thank you so much for your consideration in this matter.



Item Pick Up June 15-17, 2020:  We still have many student items left at the school.  Any student who was unable to access the building on our previous “open” days, will have a FINAL opportunity to retrieve items left at school.  Student items not retrieved will be discarded after June 17, 2020.

 

From Monday, June 15 through Wednesday, June 17 (9 AM to 4 PM), parents may park in the front parking lot (nearest the front office doors) in order to retrieve student items.  Please ring the doorbell, give the staff member your child’s name and a bag will be handed that contains any items left in the student’s grade-level locker as well as "Day of Awesomeness" prizes.  Also, if students ordered a yearbook but were unable to pick it up on June 6, those will be available as well.  

 

Please note, parents and students will not have access to the building, classrooms, lockers or any other areas of the school on these particular days and times.  

 

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION IF YOUR CHILD IS NOT ATTENDING A WAKE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL NEXT YEAR…

 

If your child is not attending a WCPSS school for the 2020-2021 school year and you were supplied a chromebook and/or WiFi hotspot from the school, those must be returned 

June 15-17, 2020.  Please stop by the school between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM, drop off the technology materials and let the staff member know your child’s name. 

 

Please note, this process is ONLY for students not attending a WCPSS school for next year.  If you are attending another WCPSS school (DRMS, high school, a different WCPSS middle school), students and parents should keep chromebooks and WiFi hotspots supplied from the school until further directions are provided.

 

If you have any specific questions or requests, please work with your child’s grade-level administrator from this school year.

 

 

Message from the DRMS PTA:  This week, the Wake County school board will have some important discussions regarding the 20-21 school year. At 11 a.m. Monday, June 15, the board will hold a special work session on various options for reopening schools safely.  And starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, the board will consider a proposal allowing single-track year-round schools like DRMS to remain year-round instead of converting to a traditional schedule. The proposal would allow our school to begin Aug. 17 and follow the same schedule as Track 4 on the multi-track year-round calendar. Both of these discussions can be viewed on the WCPSS YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/WakeCountySchools.  As always, please don't hesitate to contact durantroadmiddlepta@gmail.com with concerns or questions, or if you are interested in serving on the PTA board or any of its committees next year. Thanks as always for supporting DRMS.

 

Best of luck to the 8th graders and families moving on to other locations.  For those Dolphins returning, we look forward to seeing you in several weeks as we aim to make the 2020-2021 school year the best year ever!

 

Sincerely,

Kristen Faircloth

Principal