Happy Super Bowl Sunday Dolphins!  This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your February 7, 2021 Family Message.

We hope you have had a restful and productive weekend.  There continues to be a lot going on at Durant Road Middle School over the next several weeks.  Please take the time to read through the Family Message below.  Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions and/or needs as we are here to support you and provide the best learning experience for your child possible.  

Return to In-Person Learning:  The Wake County Board of Education approved a plan Tuesday evening calling for students not enrolled in the Virtual Academy to return to schools on a rotation schedule beginning the week of February 15, 2021.

The plan calls for the following:

• Pre-K through Grade 3 and Special Education Regional Programs, K-12: Daily in-person instruction
• Grades 4 and 5, and All Middle and High School Grades: Students will return in three-cohort rotations, starting with Cohort 2 per the school calendars.

We will continue with the posted rotation schedule through at least the end of the third quarter. If changes are made to the cohort rotations for the fourth quarter, we will share that information as soon as it is available.

The Asynchronous Learning Day schedule remains the same. Feedback from staff and the community will be reviewed on this topic. We will share updates as they become available.

We look forward to the return of our Dolphins to our campus. WCPSS will share information that is critical to a successful transition throughout the week. Be on the lookout for future updates regarding child nutrition, transportation and health guidelines.

As always, if you have questions about the return of your student to campus, please don’t hesitate to reach out as we are here to serve and support you.

Remote Learning:  All students will remain in remote learning the week of February 8th - 12th and continue to follow the web based schedule.  Please click here for the DRMS Web Based Schedule.  Starting February 15, 2021, Virtual Academy and Non-Virtual Academy students not on campus will continue to follow the web based schedule.  Cohort 2-B will return to campus for the week of February 15, 2021.  

Non-Virtual Academy Student Schedules:  Non-Virtual Academy Student Schedules will be shared with students by the end of the week.  Students should be on the lookout for a message from their homeroom teacher regarding their in-person and web based schedule/teacher assignment.  

Meal Benefits Application:  Parents, please consider applying for meal benefits by February 26, 2021. For every student that turns in the free and reduced lunch application and qualifies, the school receives federal funds that benefit the student and teachers at the school. These funds provide additional teachers and staff for the school which means more services for students, especially students that are struggling in reading or math. These funds also are used for materials and supplies for students and teachers. These are valuable resources that teachers can use to improve student achievement.  

Yes, meals will still be free for all students through June 2021 but we still need you to complete a meal benefits application so our school can be eligible for this extra funding next year. Information about applying for Meal Benefits for the 2020-21 school year can be found at www.wcpss.net/Page/1849 . Help our school receive this funding by completing an application online at MySchoolApps.com. Paper applications can be requested by calling 919-588-3535. 

Black History Month:  At Durant Road Middle School, we value Black lives, joy, accomplishments, and excellence.  As an integral part of American history, Black history is celebrated throughout the school year.  However, as the month of February is nationally recognized as a celebration of Black History, DRMS teachers and students look forward to honoring the historical and present-day accomplishments of Black thought-leaders, movements, entrepreneurs, and artists through classroom discussions and activities.  

Lunch & Learn:   We are pleased to share that the DRMS Student Services Team will be hosting virtual meetings (Lunch & Learn) for parents and caregivers twice a month.  The Student Services Team will provide topics on supporting social & emotional wellness during remote learning and will also be open to provide support in areas you may need. Our first session is on Tuesday,  February 9, 2021 at 12:00 PM. The topic is “Signs of Stress & Stress Management.”  The format will be a Google Meet.  Please sign up using the following link: Lunch & Learn Parent/Caregiver Sign Up Form. A link for the google meet will be emailed to families who register.  We hope you find this community engagement session informative!

• February 25th - Cohort 3-C
• March 4th - Cohort 1-A
• March 11th - Cohort 2-B

Virtual Academy students have the opportunity to sign up for an appointment on any of the three days.  Virtual Academy students interested in having their picture taken on February 25, 2021 should sign-up using the following link:   https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C4BAEAE2FA3FE3-100134.  Links for March 4, 2021 and March 11, 2021 will be shared at a later date.