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DRMS' Principal Message

Hello Dolphins!  This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your November 29th Family Message.

 

As the Thanksgiving holiday week comes to a close, we hope you found this time restful and relaxing.  With so many challenges we are facing this school year, it is important to be intentional with our gratitude as well as family and friends.  This week we are preparing to welcome students in Cohort 2-B into the building for the first time.  We are looking forward to another successful week of students at Durant Road Middle School!

 

If there is anything we can do for you or your family, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  We want you to feel as comfortable as possible with all things Durant Road Middle School.  It is always best to reach-out and ask clarifying questions rather than be frustrated.  We are in this together as a Dolphin community.  We hope you have a wonderful week!

 

WCPSS Turns Pink!:  WCPSS is turning pink the week of November 30th - December 4th in the fight against cancer! Collectively, we’ll raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society.  Please join the DRMS staff in wearing pink on Friday, December 4th to show our spirit and support.  You are also welcome to make a donation.  If we all give a little, we can make a big impact:  https://bit.ly/wakecountypublicschools 


 

Cohort 2-B - THIS WEEK!:  This is a friendly reminder that Cohort 2-B students are returning to the building beginning tomorrow (Monday, November 30th).  Please remember to bring the following items with you:

 

  • A Face-Covering Mask
  • Water bottle
  • Charged Device & Charger
  • ELA/Math Materials
  • Signed Forms (Attestation, BYOD, & Accountability) Highlighted Below

 

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:

 

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.  

 

Free Breakfast/Lunch for All:  The cafeteria is offering free breakfast and lunch for all students for the 2020-21 school year.  There is no action needed on your part.  When students come to the cafeteria for breakfast or order lunch from their classroom, they will just need to go through the service line and our amazing cafeteria staff will serve them!

 

Asynchronous Day Reminders: Please be reminded that December 2nd, December 16th December 21st, and December 22nd are Asynchronous Days between now and the winter break.  The specifics around these days are found below:

 

  • WCPSS determined
  • No students come to the building
  • Teachers will provide learning opportunities/activities for students
  • No live instruction
  • No new content
  • Attendance taken through assignment completion or a form
  • Teachers can still request to work with small groups of students or 1:1 by inviting them to a Google Meet (focusing on concepts, work completion, intervention, progress monitoring, focusing on learning goals, etc).  
  • Teachers will schedule/load all assignments at the beginning of the day.  This will allow students, who choose to do so, to complete all their work earlier to take a break from screen time for the remainder of the day.

 

DRMS Learning Commons:  The DRMS Library Learning Commons is sponsoring two book clubs this year for all students virtually. Students interested in joining can complete the Google Form on the websites linked to join the respective Google Classrooms.
  • Choose Your Own Book Book Club: Unlike most book clubs where everyone reads the same thing, at C.Y.O.B.B.C., you pick the titles you want to read. Each month, we will choose a new theme (mystery, banned books, pets, etc.) and then YOU choose a title to read and discuss. November's theme is FOOD. We'll talk about how food plays a role in whatever book you chose to read.
  • Battle of the Books: Run as a quiz bowl/trivia style competition based on the official list of 22 titles from North Carolina School Library Media Association, Battle of the Books this year will be open for more discussion and creative productions. We will have time for practice and competing virtually with other middle schools.

 

DRMS Yearbook:  Yearbook needs your help! Do you have pictures of playing sports, enjoying the outdoors, and participating in your favorite fall activities? How about pictures of your pets, your artwork, or your hobbies? Do you have a picture of something that you cannot live without? Please submit any and all photos you have to be used in the yearbook! Use this link to submit photos and don’t forget to include a description/caption: https://images.jostens.com/415464879

What is something that you can’t live without? Think outside the box! Is there a book you can't live without, a movie, an app, a place, a person, an animal, a food etc? We need 60 total and have 7 already, so get yours in as soon as possible! Submit your answers and photos here: https://forms.gle/PCahaQQukykTx4oC9

 

Do you have an 8th grader at DRMS? Treat your 8th grader to something special 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! Purchase your ad for your 8th grader here: https://www.jostens.com/yearbooks/students-and-parents/yearbook-ads

 

We have created a website for the DRMS 2020-2021 Yearbook! The link for the DRMS yearbook website is: https://sites.google.com/wcpss.net/dmrsyearbook/home 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!

 

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

 

Thank you for supporting DRMS,

Kristen Faircloth

Principal