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DRMS' Principal Message

Hello Dolphins!  This is Kristen Faircloth, proud Principal at Durant Road Middle School, with the May 2, 2021 Family Message.  

 

We hope your family has had a chance to take advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend.  Thank you to all of our families that provided food, drinks, gift cards, and well wishes to our staff for the upcoming Staff Appreciation Week May 3-7. We are all so fortunate to be a part of the Durant Road Middle School community. We look forward to celebrating our staff all week and showing our appreciation for their dedication, hard work, perseverance, and heart for our Dolphins. Below, please find a few important announcements for the upcoming weeks. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns as we are here to help.  

 

Virtual Academy 2021-22 School Year: The registration window for the WCPSS Virtual Academy will close Sunday, May 2 at 5 PM. If you are interested in registering for Virtual Academy, please visit Wake County’s Virtual Academy Website and complete the survey by the 5:00 PM deadline. 

 

2021-22 EOG/EOC Testing Updates: The state is requiring that all students take the EOG/EOCs in person. Virtual Academy families were asked to complete a form stating their intentions on coming on campus for the exams. Thank you to those that completed the form. We will be providing more information to all families prior to the testing window.  Please see the tentative testing dates below:

  • 6th Grade:  June 1st & 2nd
  • 7th Grade:  June 3rd & 4th
  • 8th Grade:  June 7th, 8th & 9th
  • Make Ups:  June 10th & 11th 

 

Lunch & Learn:  As we approach the end of the school year and EOG testing around the corner, parent have some pressing questions about testing. We have done our very best in compiling answers/best practices to parent questions, including tips & strategies. These questions will be discussed in this presentation, as we work together to support our students.

Lunch & Learn DRMS English(EOG's, Questions, Tips and Strategies)
Tuesday, May 18 · 12:00 – 1:00pm
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/nek-zjgn-nkn
 
 
Lunch & Learn DRMS Espanol(EOG's, Questions, Tips and Strategies)
Tuesday, May 18 · 12:00 – 1:00pm
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/npt-vfqu-equ
 

End of Year Celebration Updates: We are in the planning stages of developing end of year celebration plans for each grade level.  The end of year celebrations will be a drive thru event.  Please note the date change for our events below.  We will continue to share more information as details come together.  

  • 6th - 8th grade celebrations will take place on June 22, 2021
  • 6th - 8th grade celebrations will be held from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • Last names ending in A-H invited 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
    • Last names ending in I-P invited 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
    • Last names ending in Q-Z invited 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • 6th & 7th grade celebrations will be held in the staff parking lot
  • 8th grade celebration will be held in the bus loop parking lot

 

Winter Sports: Winter sport families, this week's skill sessions will take place on May 3, May 4, and May 6, right after school until 4:30 PM. This week's group attendance includes all cheerleaders, all girls basketball players, and the DURANT boys basketball group. Virtual academy families, health screenings are no longer required prior to entering the building, but please screen your student athlete prior to bringing them to school. All virtual academy students should be dropped off at the front of the school between 3:05 PM -3:20 PM and enter the school after the 3:05 PM bell. All families have received an email alerting them which group they are in and the dates they can attend. If you have any questions, please email Trina Mauder at tmauder@wcpss.net.
 
 
8th graders interested in cheerleading at Millbrook High School 2021-2022: If you are interested in participating in cheerleading and are going to Millbrook High School next school year, please refer to this flyer for information about summer workouts. Summer workouts are a great way to learn new skills & routines, practice & perfect skills you already have, get to know the coaches, and get to know other Millbrook students. Please note that you are not eligible to attend June 14 or June 15 because you are still a middle school student at that time. You will be allowed to attend starting the evening of June 21. The cheerleading coaches at Millbrook have already been made aware of this from Mrs. Mauder.
 
8th graders who are going to Wakefield High School and interested in football: Wakefield HS will host a Meet the Coach Night for Rising Freshmen on Thursday, May 20th at 6:00 PM in the Main Gym. This is an opportunity to meet with coaches and hear from athletic administration, sports medicine, and the booster club. Attendance is limited to the student-athlete and 1 parent this year. Contact the Athletic Director, Chancey Wolfe, at cwolfe@wcpss.net with any questions. New student-athletes can also sign up to receive communication from coaches at the link below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfucvOEty77BcmpPstPPgUX73Wl9NMMmiSC19Xs_1dIc3fiLQ/viewform
 

Health & Safety:  As a reminder for parents, please do not send your child to school if they are sick.  If your student stays home due to illness or is sent to our school’s Care Center and you pick them up from school, the student is considered to be “experiencing a symptom of illness” and should follow the mandated requirements to return to school.  The requirements for students experiencing a symptom of illness can be viewed here.

 

Unless a student has a negative COVID-19 PCR test or alternative medical diagnosis confirmed with a doctor’s note, they must be out of school for 10 days.  If that is the case, please contact the front office for learning options for your student during that time.  

 

Symptom Screening:  Students should not be in school if they are diagnosed with COVID-19, exposed to someone with COVID-19, instructed to quarantine, or if they are sick or experiencing any of these symptoms:

  • 100.4 fever or higher
  • Sore throat
  • New cough
  • New shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Diarrhea or vomiting
  • New severe headache

 

What health measures will be in schools in 2021-22 for students attending in-person?  The health and safety of our students is always our top priority. We will continue to adhere to any health measures required by the NC Department of Health and Human Services and consult with Wake County Public Health to determine what precautions are needed in our school to keep our students, staff, and community healthy in a safe and welcoming environment. There is no way for us to know at this time what their guidance will be or what health precautions will be required in July and August, when we’re preparing to start the next school year. We recognize the difficult challenge this creates for families needing to make an informed decision now about how their student will attend school next year. Whether you choose to attend school in person or remotely through the Virtual Academy, we are committed to providing every student with relevant, rigorous, and meaningful learning every day that aligns with North Carolina’s grade-level standards.

 

Message from the PTA: Staff Appreciation Week starts tomorrow, May 3rd!  We are still collecting goodies to help show our amazing DRMS staff some love and appreciation. Please check out our signup sheet here to see how you can help. You or your student can also send words of appreciation by submitting a Staff Shout Out here - congratulations to Mrs. Duryea, our awesome band teacher, on this week's Shout Out. Thanks as always for supporting DRMS!

 

Thank you for supporting DRMS,

Kristen Faircloth

Principal