DRMS' Principal Message
Hello Dolphins! This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your February 20, 2022 Family Message.
We hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. The WCPSS School Board of Education will be holding a special meeting on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 to review the updated mask guidance from Governor Cooper. While we do not know the outcome of this meeting, we will soon have updated protocols on what to expect about wearing masks in our building moving forward. Regardless of where people's viewpoints on masks lie, we appreciate our students and visitors continuing to adhere to whatever the guidance is. The DRMS community has navigated this year with outstanding compassion. We are confident we will continue to do so as we move towards the successful completion of the 2021-22 school year.
Please take a moment to review the Family Message below and don't hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have.
WCPSS Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist!: We are so excited to announce that our very own, Ms. Trina Mauder, has been named as one of the twenty WCPSS Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalists. Ms. Mauder is one of our Healthful Living/Physical Education teachers and our Athletic Trainer. Our students and staff are so lucky to work with Ms. Mauder every day.
DRMS Chorus: Congratulations to a group of our chorus students who participated in the All County Chorus performance on Saturday, February 19, 2022. The students did an amazing job and represented DRMS well. In the following link: Sisi Ni Moja Video Link the All County Chorus is singing a powerful song, "We Are One." Shout out to Ms. Kaitlyn Moore, choral director, for leading our students and providing great opportunities.
Purple Star Award: We are pleased to share that Durant Road Middle School is one of 6 WCPSS schools who have earned the Purple Star Award Designation for the 2021-2022 academic year. The Purple Star Award is earned based on our dedication to our military-connected student population.
Quarter 3 Interims: As a reminder, Quarter 3 Interims are available on Monday, February 21, 2022. Please log into PowerSchool to view your child's mid-quarter progress. Don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher(s) with any academic and/or behavioral questions.
8th Grade Families: Mark your calendars for the DRMS 2022-2023 High School Registration & Transition Info Session, directly followed by: Early College Planning Webinar for Middle School Parents. This will be a virtual event - Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 6:00 PM. All 8th grade students and families are encouraged to attend. See flyer for more!
Instructional Hours: Punctuality at school and class is essential for a student’s academic success. Students who are late and/or tardy miss and disrupt instruction. A student is considered late if he/she is not in his/her assigned area at the designated time. Students who arrive at school ,via carpool or walkers, after 8:15 AM should report to the front office with a note to sign in and get an admission slip. Late buses will be handled on a case-by-case basis depending on their time of arrival.
Single Subject Acceleration (SSA): The SSA test request window is from April 18, 2022 - May 3, 2022. Students meeting qualifying criteria can take advanced academic content in select mathematics or English Language Arts courses through Single Subject Acceleration (SSA). If you are interested in having your child tested to skip grade level content, please contact Ms. Dunbar at edunbar@wcpss.net for more information. The WCPSS SSA website outlines the windows when test requests can be made and when testing will occur. All applications are due by March 25, 2022.
Spring Sports Tryouts: We are excited about the start of our spring sports tryouts (Track and Field and Boys Soccer) beginning Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure a girls softball coach this school year. Therefore, Durant Road Middle School will NOT have a girls softball team this year.
DRMS Yearbook: The deadline to pre-order your 2021-2022 DRMS Yearbook is February 25! This is the only way we can ensure your yearbook will be delivered by the end of the year!
Pricing information: $50.00
Purchasing online is the way to go! You can purchase your student’s yearbook and accessories here: http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A01095208
Submit any and all pictures you have from this school year, both inside and outside of school, to the yearbook here: https://images.jostens.com/416224537
Contact Ms. Robertson at sdrobertson@wcpss.net for any further questions!
Wake Up and Read: Wake Up and Read is an organization that collects books and returns those books to high-need WCPSS schools. A student in our community (Greg Lavallee, a former Dolphin and class of 2024) is collecting - with a goal of 2000 books. We have a box in the lobby to collect any books. Any contributions are greatly appreciated. This includes used books. Greg will be collecting up to February 28.
Meal Benefits Application: A HUGE thank you to the parents who have applied for meal benefits. If you have not had an opportunity to do so, please take a minute to apply for meal benefits as soon as possible, and no later than mid February. By submitting a qualifying application, families will also support Durant Road Middle School in qualifying for additional funds to support students and learning through additional teaching positions and materials! Also, the NC Department of Health & Human Services is collecting student free and reduced lunch and attendance data from WCPSS to determine any additional Pandemic Electronic Benefits (P-EBT) that will be issued in the coming months! By not applying for these meal benefits, you will miss the potential opportunity to receive direct P-EBT funds for your family!
Yes, meals will still be free for all students through June 2022, but we still need you to complete a meal benefits application so our school can be eligible for this extra education funding next school year. Also, this ensures your student is covered for the first few weeks of school next year. Information about applying for Meal Benefits can be found at www.wcpss.net/meals. Help our school continue to receive this funding by completing an application online at MySchoolApps.com. Paper applications can be requested by calling 919-588-3535.
The quickest way to complete the meal benefits application is electronically through the link above. However, we mailed hard copies of the application to assist those who prefer to complete it by hand. If you completed a hard copy of the Meal Benefits Application, please have your child turn it in to their homeroom teacher on Monday or this week! What's in it for you? All students who return a completed meal benefits application to their homeroom teacher or submit documentation that a meal benefits application was completed online and emailed to Durantrdms@wcpss.net will be entered in a drawing for a variety of gift cards!! Who doesn't love a gift card? Raffles will take place February 14, 2022 and February 28, 2022.
Thank you for supporting DRMS,
Kristen J Faircloth
