Happy Sunday Dolphins!  This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your December 19, 2021 Family Message.

We made it!! Three days until the winter break and track out! We hope everyone enjoys the holiday season with family and friends as well as a restful track out.  The last day for students is Wednesday, December 22, 2021.  Winter Break/Track Out will begin Thursday, December 23, 2021.  We are asking parents to work with their child to ensure their school work is caught up and there are no missing assignments prior to the winter break.  Don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher(s) if there are any questions.  It is important to us that your child puts forth their best effort and are successful.  

Please take some time to read through the Family Message below to ensure you are updated on what is happening at DRMS.  Don't hesitate to reach out with any needs as we are here to serve and support you.

Social Media Hoax Threat:  Many of you are aware of the social media threats that some schools have received.  It is important for you to know that Durant Road Middle School did not receive any direct threats through social media on Friday, December 17.  Please know that we take school threats of any kind very seriously.  WCPSS Security and law enforcement agencies investigate all threats and evaluate their validity.  We also work with law enforcement and the courts to prosecute anyone, adult or student, responsible for making a threat or perpetrating a hoax to the fullest extent possible under the law. 

We ask your support in the following ways:

• If you or your child sees a threat of violence posted on social media, report it immediately to our school administration or local law enforcement. 
• Remind your child not to share or forward until law enforcement has had a chance to investigate. Sharing threats spreads misinformation and causes panic, and could result in consequences for your child. 

We encourage you to have a conversation with your child(ren) around social media and Tick Tock specifically. This year has been a challenge for many reasons. Tick Tock and student decisions around Tick Tock have been at the forefront.  We are continuing to see more and more students make poor decisions based not on rational thought, but on how many people will follow them on Tick Tock. This is not good. We will continue to work to educate our students on the positive and negative impact social media can have on them. 

Code Yellow Lockdown:  Thank you for everyone's support during our code yellow lockdown on Friday, December 17.  At about 10:30 AM on Friday, DRMS went into a code yellow community lockdown due to police activity in the area.  In a community code yellow lockdown, students are permitted to move between classrooms and the school operates "business as usual" with the exception of no outside activities.  

On Friday, we worked closely with the Raleigh Police Department who communicated with us when it was safe to lift the code yellow. Our code yellow lockdown was lifted around 2:30 PM and we moved back into code green.  We greatly appreciate the relationship we have with law enforcement and the WCPSS Security in responding to such situations.  They work closely with us to ensure the safety of our students every day.  

Again, we ask that you have a conversation with your student regarding their use of cell phones.  Where we understand your concern for your student's safety, it makes it very difficult when students are texting, sometimes inaccurate information, during class, etc.  Our promise to you is we will communicate situations and updates as quickly as possible making sure you are informed.  

Spirit Week:  It is SPIRIT WEEK at DRMS! Please see more information about Spirit Week here.

• December 20 - Team Together Monday
• December 21 - Tree Topper Tuesday
• December 22 - Ugly Sweater Wednesday

DRMS Beta Club:  The DRMS Beta Club conducted their annual Candy Cane sales for a charitable organization "Toys for Tots."  The sales ran for two weeks, December 1-14, and the students did an amazing job stepping into leadership roles and helping the Beta Club surpass their goal.  The Beta Club sponsors, Ms. Deen and Ms. Echstenkamper, thank everyone for their support in making this year a success after the pause in candy cane sales last year.  The Beta Club could not have done it without you.  What a great feeling knowing that children somewhere will be blessed with your support.  Wishing everyone a happy holiday season.  

Second Semester:  As we move into the second semester of the 2021-22 school year, we are making some adjustments to our school’s schedule offerings.  Some of these changes include our DRMS Virtual Academy Program for 6th and 8th grade students ending.  6th and 8th grade students in the DRMS Virtual Academy program will either return to in-person instruction or become part of the WCPSS Virtual Academy Program.  As of right now, our DRMS 7th grade Virtual Academy Program will continue into the second semester.  

We are excited to welcome some of our 6th and 8th grade students to return to in-person instruction!  Since we will be welcoming more students back on campus, this will require us to adjust student schedules to reflect the addition of new in-person class offerings.  Please know that in-person students (regardless if they were part of the Virtual Academy Program or not) may see an adjustment with their schedule for the second semester to support this change.  All schedules will be updated in PowerSchool and all students will receive a hard copy of their schedule on the first day of second semester, Monday, January 24, 2022.  Additionally, we hope to communicate with families who will experience a schedule change prior to the first day of school.  Thank you for your patience, understanding, and support throughout this process.  

2022-23 School Assignment:  Each year, students receive their school assignment notifications that inform parents of a student’s school assignment for the next school year, the level of transportation the student is expected to receive, as well as a timeline of upcoming important dates.

Families with a Homebase PowerSchool account: Your student will not receive a hard copy of the assignment notification. Families should sign into their PowerSchool account and access this information by clicking on the Next Year Assignment tab. Questions? Contact Zaquana Diggs, DRMS' data manager.  Any parent/legal custodian that needs support with their PowerSchool account should contact Kim Anderson at kanderson7@wcpss.net.  

Families of students in Virtual Academy (that do not have a PowerSchool account): Your student will receive their assignment notification via the mail. These will be mailed out prior to the December winter break.

Families of students attending in-person learning the week of December 13, 2021: Your student will receive their assignment notification at school if your student is scheduled to attend classes the week of December 13, 2021.

Club JV Baseball Team:  A spring club JV baseball team is being assembled by two very excited DRMS dads!  The coaches are looking for 12-15 interested 6th and 7th grade DRMS students.  If interested and to learn more, please see more information in the link here.

Virtual ESL:  Clases de Ingles basico para padres

Meal Benefits:  Parents, PLEASE take a minute to apply for meal benefits as soon as possible. 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 this school year 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 2021-22 school year can be found at www.wcpss.net/meals. Help our school receive this funding by completing an application online at MySchoolApps.com. Paper applications can be requested by calling 919-588-3535. 

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 Faircloth

Principal