Welcome back Dolphins!  This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your October 24, 2021 Family Message.

We hope everyone has had an enjoyable and restful track out with family and friends!  We are looking forward to seeing our Dolphins on Monday, October 25th!  It is hard to believe we have completed the first quarter of the 2021-22 school year.  It has been wonderful to have our students back on campus and to have some semblance of pre-pandemic life.  We recognize that the past 18 months had an impact on all of us.  During the first 9 weeks, most of our students were tasked with relearning how to be in-person students again.  We have made great strides during this time.  We still have work, academic and non-academic, ahead of us.  We have no doubt if we all work together we will have the best year ever with positive student outcomes.  Please take a minute to read through the Family Message below and don't hesitate to let us know how we can support you.

Track-In:  Student track in on Monday, October 25th.  Students can begin arriving on campus at 7:45 AM with instruction beginning at 8:15 AM.  Dismissal begins at 3:00 PM.   

• Monday, October 25:  Wear DRMS attire!
• Wednesday, October 27:  Wear PINK for breast cancer awareness!
• Friday, October 29:  Wear ORANGE for bully prevention!

Report Cards:  Report cards will go out on Friday, October 29th.  In-person students will receive a hard copy of their report card.  Virtual Academy report cards will be mailed.  

Winter Sports Ticket To Play:  If you are interested in trying out for a winter sport (girls & boys basketball) please complete this form no later than November 9th. This form will let our athletic trainer, Mrs. Mauder, know that you are interested in trying out for a winter sport on November 15th 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 court. No wristband = No tryout, no exceptions! This form  and all paperwork must be submitted no later than November 9th. Paperwork turned in after November 9th may delay the start date for your child's basketball tryout. Wristbands will be distributed to in person students the week of November 8th. 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. If you have any questions about athletics, please email our athletic director, Kutter Miller, at kmmiller@wcpss.net. We are looking forward to seeing our Dolphins play again this year!

COVID UPDATES:  DRMS continues to follow district guidelines and prioritizes the health, safety, and well-being of our students.  To minimize the spread of COVID-19, the district adheres to all COVID-19 health measures required by the NC Department of Health and Human Services and consults with Wake County Public Health to determine what precautions are needed in our schools to keep our students, staff, and community healthy in a safe and welcoming environment. Here is what we are presently doing to try to keep our students and staff safe:

• Masks worn appropriately at all times while in the building unless eating. 
• All students facing in the same direction in the cafeteria.
• One Way traffic in our halls during class changes
• Additional hand sanitizer stations being provided.
• Frequent announcements reminding students of our guidelines

We appreciate our families support in reinforcing the importance of wearing masks appropriately, frequently washing hands or using hand sanitizer, and letting us know if a student has tested positive with Covid or feels ill.  Our students are doing a great job following these guidelines and your encouragement and support of the guidelines helps tremendously.

Check out the latest information from WCPSS here.

Thank you for supporting DRMS,

Kristen J Faircloth

Principal