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DRMS' Principal Message

Happy Sunday Dolphins!  This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your May 16, 2021 Family Message.

 

We hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and enjoying the beautiful weather.  We also hope everyone has remained safe and able to navigate the "gas shortage."  Thank you for your flexibility as we quickly transitioned our learning on Friday, May 14 into a remote learning day.  The next weeks are going to move quickly.  We have 5 weeks remaining in the 2020-21 school year and a little over 2 weeks remaining until end of year testing begins.  We have received a lot of questions regarding EOG and EOC testing for this year.  If you have outstanding testing questions, please attend the Lunch & Learn on May 18 and review the information below.  Please do not hesitate to reach out if we can support you in any way.

 

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 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 is around the corner, parents 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.  *Please note the time change.

 

Lunch & Learn DRMS English(EOG's, Questions, Tips and Strategies)

Tuesday, May 18 · 12:30 – 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 · 12:30 – 1:00pm

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/npt-vfqu-equ

 

Asynchronous Day:  This is a friendly reminder that Wednesday, May 19 is an Asynchronous Day for all students.  On Wednesday, May 19, students will not have any live Google Meets, but should complete work from their Google Classrooms by 3:00 PM to be counted Present-off-Site.  Please encourage your child to use their time wisely while at home completing assignments.  

 

Virtual Academy 2021-22 Opt-Out Information:  If you have enrolled your child in Virtual Academy for the 2021-22 school year and would like to consider opting out for the upcoming year in light of the new vaccination information, please contact the DRMS (Kim Anderson) no later than Wednesday, May 19.  

 

Winter Sports: Winter sport families, this week's skill sessions will take place on May 17, May 18, and May 20, right after school until 4:30 PM. This is the final week of sports this school year! This week's skill sessions are for all girls basketball players, all cheerleaders and the boys basketball DOLPHINS 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.
 
High School Athletics 2021-2022:
 
Millbrook High School Cheerleading: 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.
 
Millbrook High School Football: Are you interested in playing football at Millbrook High School? There will be a football interest meeting on Tuesday, June 1 at 7:00 PM via WebEx. During the meeting you will learn about physicals, summer workouts, tryouts and more. Go to www.MillbrookFootball.com and click on the yellow button to be added to their email distribution list. 
 
Millbrook High School Volleyball: Are you interested in playing volleyball at Millbrook High School? Summer workouts begin June 29. Tryouts are August 2-3. Make sure you follow us on twitter @mhswildcatvball to get all the latest updates. Fill out this form as well to receive information about volleyball and get added to our interest list. 
 
Wakefield High School Meet the Coaches Night: Wakefield HS will host a Meet the Coach Night for Rising Freshmen on Thursday, May 20 at 6:00 PM in the Main Gym. All sports & coaches will be present on this night. This is an opportunity to meet with coaches, hear from athletic administration, sports medicine, and the booster club, and receive information about workouts and tryouts for all sports. Attendance is limited to the student-athlete and 1 parent this year. Contact our 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:
 

Return EL Novels:  We are asking all students to return the following EL Novels.  In-Person students should give these to their ELA teacher.  VA students may drop these books off to our front office.

  • 6th Grade - The Lightning Thief, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!, World Without Fish
  • 7th Grade - Lyddie, A Long Walk to Water
  • 8th Grade - Inside out and Back Again, A midsummer Night's Dream

Students May Keep Chromebooks But Must Return Hotspots by End of School Year:  Any student who has a WCPSS-issued hotspot must return it to their school by the end of the school year. Students who have a WCPSS-issued Chromebook will keep their Chromebook through the transition to the 2021-22 school year. Students who are graduating or leaving WCPSS are required to return all devices to their school on or before their last day.  Read more.

 

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

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

Message from the PTA: Congratulations to 8th grade Math/Science teacher Mrs. Howell on this week's Staff Shout Out! You can see all our Staff Shout Outs or submit one here - it takes just a minute to share a compliment that will make someone's day. Thank you as always for supporting DRMS!

 

Thank you for supporting DRMS,

Kristen Faircloth

Principal