Hello Dolphins!  This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your November 8, 2020 Family Message. 

It has been a beautiful weekend!  We hope you have had a chance to get outside and enjoy the weather with family and friends. The time has finally arrived!  We are so excited to welcome our Plan B Cohort 3-C Dolphins to campus on Monday, November 9, 2020.  The DRMS faculty and staff have been working very hard to make the transition smooth and safe for students.  Our campus is prepared with all the necessary safety measures and we have established processes to support all students and staff.  Like with anything we do, we will continue to evaluate and make adjustments to help make things run as smooth as possible.  Please take a moment to read the Family Message below to ensure you are prepared and set up for success.  We are here to support you, so please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or needs.  

Cohort 3-C Students:  This is a friendly reminder that Cohort 3-C students return to the building beginning Monday, November 9, 2020.  Cohort 3-C students should remember to bring the following items:

• A Face-Covering Mask
• Water Bottle
• Charged Device and Charger
• ELA/Math Materials
• Student Agenda
• Signed Forms (Attestation, BYOD, & Accountability)

Facts with Faircloth:  Thank you to those who attended Facts with Faircloth on Monday, November 2, 2020.  We enjoyed connecting with you, answering questions, and sharing the plans that have been made for students return to campus.  If you were unable to attend, please see the video of the presentation here.The slides that were presented are available here.  We have also created a FAQ from the chat and you can find that here.

DRMS Resources:  Two resources have been created and available for families regarding students returning to campus.  Please review the resources to help prepare your child and answer any questions you may have:

• DRMS Procedures:  Important DRMS Procedures for Families
• DRMS Health and Safety Manual:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1axJI2abwrY-uy4ufeopssx3rPI75jiOwcQarzuscjAQ/edit?usp=sharing

Forms To Turn In:  There are three important forms that must be submitted for Plan B students returning to campus.  These forms were located in the 2nd Quarter Materials packet.  We will be collecting the forms in your child’s homeroom at DRMS.  Please see the information below for more details:

• Attestation Form (bus riders):  You are required to submit the attestation form stating that you and your child will abide by all health and safety protocols for bus ridership.  You can fill out the form online or complete a printed form. Printable forms can be found at wcpss.net/busform. Students are not permitted to ride the bus until this form has been submitted. You will need to submit a form for all of your children who plan to ride the bus during the 2020-21 school year. 

• Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Form:  Parents can choose to allow or not allow their student to bring their personal device. All students who bring a personal device to school are required to have a signed copy of the BYOD Consent Form (Spanish) on record. 

• Accountability Form:  Families are required to sign the Student Accountability and Required Health Protocol form.  Please view this site for details around these expectations and another copy of the signature form: https://www.wcpss.net/studentaccountability.  This form indicates students will comply with face covering, daily screenings, social distancing measures, student behavior and more.  

Medication Drop-Off:  If your child is a Plan B student and you have medication to drop off at school, please do so prior to your child's first day on campus.  Please remember to turn in the 1702 form with the medication.  Thank you for following the health guidelines when dropping of the medication.  

Virtual Academy Notification:  Please be aware that notification will be sent this week verifying if you have recently signed up for Virtual Academy in the spring.  This notification will come through email.  

DRMS Yearbook:  We have created a website for the DRMS 2020-2021 Yearbook! The website has information on purchasing your yearbook, submitting photos, purchasing ads for 8th grade students, and following the DRMS Yearbook on social media! The link for the DRMS yearbook website is: https://sites.google.com/wcpss.net/dmrsyearbook/home

Do you want to be featured in the yearbook? Do you have pictures of you on your first day of school? How about you playing sports, working on classwork, enjoying the outdoors, practicing self-care? Want to show off your favorite track out activities or adventures? Do you have candid photos from this year's remote learning experience or photos from our virtual spirit week? How about pictures of your pets? If you'd like to submit any photos to be used in the yearbook, please use this link to submit the photos: https://images.jostens.com/415464879

Do you have an 8th grader at DRMS? This has been a year unlike any other! Treat your 8th grader to something special to commemorate this unforgettable year by purchasing an ad for them in our DRMS 2020-2021 yearbook. Congratulate them on their successes, wish them luck for their future, or tell them how proud you are! Having a personalized ad in your 8th grader's yearbook will make this year all the more meaningful by creating a special memory for them. Purchase your ad for your 8th grader here: https://www.jostens.com/yearbooks/students-and-parents/yearbook-ads

Please follow the DRMS Yearbook on our social media platforms! We are @DrmsYearbook on Twitter and drms_yearbook on Instagram! This is a great way to stay up to date with yearbook information and tag us in any photos you’d like to see in the yearbook!

This school year is one that none of us are going to want to ever forget. It's filled with new challenges, surprises, and adventures around every corner. We are all adjusting to our new normal. One great way to commemorate this unforgettable school year is by ordering your 2020-2021 DRMS yearbook. The link to directly place an order is here: http://jostensyearbooks.com?ref=A01095208