Happy Sunday Dolphins!  This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your August 22, 2021 Family Message.

 

We hope you and your family have enjoyed a wonderful weekend and spent some time outside.  It has been another great week at DRMS!  The first few weeks of a school year are always exciting and exhausting at the same time.  Our Dolphins are settling in to their new routine and doing a great job with the processes and procedures that are in place.  We are proud of everyone's hard work.  There is no doubt the 2021-22 school year is going to be the best yet!  Please take some time to read through the Family Message below and don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions as we are here to serve you.

 

DRMS Administration Updates:  Friday, August 20, 2021 was Ms. Hartman's, 8th grade assistant principal, last day at DRMS.  Ms. Hartman and her family are moving to Maryland to be closer to family.  Ms. Hartman will be serving as an assistant principal at an elementary school starting September 1, 2021.  We wish Ms. Hartman the best of luck with her new journey.  A thorough search to find a qualified candidate has already started.  Until an individual has been recommended for the position, Mr. Jeff Kleiber will be serving as the 6th and 8th grade assistant principal.  

 

We are excited to welcome Mr. Ralph Chew as the 7th grade assistant principal starting Monday, August 23, 2021.  Mr. Chew is looking forward to joining the DRMS family and brings many strengths and experiences with him.  

 

SAVE THE DATE! THE AWESOMENESS IS COMING NEXT WEEK!: We are excited to offer a way to give back to DURANT ROAD MIDDLE SCHOOL! On 8/30/2021 we will be kicking off our fall fundraiser to help benefit our students and staff. Our STEP IT UP fundraiser, more specifically, will help with funding Classroom supplies and learning tools and Future Field Trips, Student Activities, Student Recognition, and School Assemblies.

 

It is going to be AWESOME; and we are excited to get started!

 

A few things to note:

• This fundraiser will be very easy for you. It only requires about 10 minutes of your time.

• Your students can earn great prizes, just for their effort. No money required!

• This is an online, donation-based fundraiser, and the donation requests can go to people you know anywhere in the world. That means, no direct pressure on your shoulders.

 

Students will be bringing home more information next week after our Launch Party Assembly. Please help your student register and complete the Golden Ticket assignment THAT VERY NIGHT! All students who complete the Golden Ticket assignment will receive fun PRIZES and it does not require any money to register. We will also be doing some fun drawings for an Amazon Gift Card and 4 Mini Party Fridges stuffed with CASH!

 

I will be sending a few more emails throughout the two-week fundraising period. Please contact me directly if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your support!

 

2021-22 Yearbook Staff:  Are you interested in joining Ms. Robertson on the yearbook staff? Yearbook staff members will work to capture and document life at DRMS through pictures, write captions and editorials, and help to market the yearbook and meet sales goals. Yearbook staff will have the option of meeting before or after school one day of each week to get their weekly assignments, complete projects, and ask questions. If interested, please complete a yearbook staff application. The application is on the yearbook website, which is linked on the DRMS homepage. Please email Ms. Robertson with any questions!

Yearbook Site: https://sites.google.com/wcpss.net/dmrsyearbook/home

 

Dreambox:  Monday August 23rd marks the kickoff of our DreamBox initiative for all DRMS students! DreamBox is a digital support for math instruction that tailors itself to your individual student’s learning needs. Weekly, students are asked to complete a minimum of 4 lessons in the Dreambox platform -- but the more the merrier! To support this work the staff at DRMS has developed a reward system for students who are regularly completing their weekly lessons. Students who have completed the four weekly lessons by Friday will be entered into a drawing for a prize. 

 

FCCLA:  Are you interested in being a part of FCCLA (Family, Career, Community Leaders of America)?  FCCLA equips members with real world skills through Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) education by preparing members for careers through its four Career Pathways: Human Services, Hospitality and Tourism, Education and Training, and Visual Arts and Design.  In middle school FCCLA members will participate in STAR events. A STAR event is a project in anyone of the FCCLA subject areas. The projects are presented to a table of judges and scored. If you make the top 3 you move on to nationals!!  If interested in learning more - email Ms. Lee (mlee7@wcpss.net) for more info on the first meeting!!

 

Athletics Updates:

 

Fall Sports Ticket To Play:  If you are interested in a fall sport (football, volleyball, girls soccer, & cheerleading) please complete this form no later than August 25. This form will let our athletic trainer, Mrs. Mauder, know that you are interested in trying out for a fall sport on August 30th and this will begin your ticket to play process. In order to receive your ticket to play, which will be in the form of a wristband, you must be academically eligible and have all of your athletic paperwork submitted through DragonFly. Mrs. Mauder will verify your eligibility and athletic paperwork. If you pass both of those requirements, you will be given a wristband to wear on the first day of tryouts. This wristband is your ticket to play and will prove to the coach that you are cleared to be on the field/court/mat. No wristband = No tryout, no exceptions! This form and all paperwork must be submitted no later than August 25. Wristbands will be distributed to in person students the week of August 23. Virtual academy students will receive their wristbands on the first day of tryouts from their coach. If you have any questions about DragonFly or the ticket to play process, please email Mrs. Mauder at tmauder@wcpss.net. We are looking forward to seeing our Dolphins play again this year!

 

Attention Football Players: To help prepare for football tryouts on Monday, August 30th, there will be a football helmet fitting on Thursday, August 26. Students will stay after school and report to the PE hallway when they hear that they are dismissed on the after-school announcements. If your child is enrolled in the virtual academy, please drop them off at the front of the school at 3:00pm. Please be prepared to pick up you student in the bus parking lot at 5:00pm that day. 

 

PodSquad: PodSquad membership is due on FRIDAY, AUGUST 27. By joining the PodSquad, students will be able to attend all HOME games for free! They also get a t-shirt! T-shirts will be distributed in September. Cost to join is $25, and this money goes straight to the Athletic Boosters to help fund all of our athletic teams. When PodSquad students attend games, they will need to go to the ticket table and give their name to the ticket taker. Ticket takers will have PodSquad members on a list and will grant them free entry. If families have any questions, please contact the Athletics Booster Club at dolphinathleticboosters@gmail.com 

 

After School Activity Bus: Due to the bus driver shortage taking place in the county, transportation has suspended the after-school activity bus. Parents, if your child is trying out for a sport, or makes a sport team, you will need to provide transportation home daily until the after-school activity bus is running again. Please make sure you are able to pick your child up in the bus parking lot no later than 5:30pm each day. We will notify families when this service is provided again for after-school activities. 

 

Instructional Time:  Please help us minimize interruptions to instruction by making sure your student has everything they need before they leave each morning, including lunch, face masks, water bottles, and WCPSS devices. 

 

School Safety:  COVID-19 safety guidelines are still in place for the 2021-22 school year.  All students and staff will wear a mask that always covers the mouth and nose except when eating and drinking.  Students will be provided opportunities to wash their hands frequently.  Students should stay home if sick and let the school know if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.  

 

Immunizations:  NC State Law mandates that all rising 7th graders have their TDAP and Meningococcal vaccines.  Please return immunization records showing TDAP and Meningococcal vaccines as soon as possible.  Immunization records may be emailed to kanderson7@wcpss.net.  

 

Thank you for supporting DRMS,

Kristen J Faircloth

Principal