Happy Sunday, Dolphins! This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your September 11, 2022 Family Message.
It has been a rainy but relaxing weekend. I would like to take a moment to honor and remember the events and people impacted on September 11, 2001 and beyond. Our students and staff participated in a moment of silence on Friday, September 9, 2022. It is hard to believe that we are 21 years removed from this day. I have no doubt we can all remember that horrific day like it was yesterday. Let us continue to allow these events to shape us to be the best versions of ourselves.
Please take a moment to read through the Family Message below, as well as the grade level newsletters, and do not hesitate to reach out if there is any way we can support you.
Lock Down Drill: Safety is a top priority at DRMS. Therefore, it is imperative that we practice in the event of an emergency. DRMS engaged in our first Lock Down Drill on Wednesday, September 7, 2022. The students and staff did a great job taking the drill seriously and following the established protocols.
Important Message for ALL Parents: Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in vapes being present in our school, particularly among our 8th grade students. This issue not only causes a huge disruption to the learning environment, large amounts of time taken away from instruction, but also a danger to student's health. After spending time researching ways to help support this concern, I found a text that I encourage ALL our parents to read. We are here to partner with you and to create a village to ensure your child is safe and successful.
Athletic Updates: Congratulations to all of our Dolphins that tried out for our fall athletic teams and to those students that made their respective teams. We had well over 150 students try out for the 4 fall teams. Students received an email thanking them for trying out and the outcome of the tryouts.
Practices begin this week. Be on the lookout for information from the fall coaches, including athlete expectations and a possible fall coach's event. If you have any questions, please contact Gianni Esposito (Athletic Director) or Tim Capel (First Responder) at the following emails listed below:
Gianni Esposito - pesposito@wcpss.net
DRMS Student Council: Student Council Association, SCA, is beginning the application process for the school year! SCA is our student government here at DRMS, which started last year. Students who are interested in joining the program can apply during the window/by September 12 with the opportunity to become school leaders. Students learned about this opportunity this past week in their social studies class and have access to the
Slideshow link for additional information. A huge shout out to Zeke Bailey, 8th grade teacher, for serving as the SCA Sponsor.
Eat at City Barbecue on Sept. 29th to Benefit DRMS Chorus!: DRMS Chorus Boosters Club is having a fundraiser at City Barbeque Raleigh, 9424 Falls of Neuse Road, on Thursday, September 29th. Enjoy some BBQ that day for lunch or dinner, and we'll get 20% of the sales! If ordering in person,
present our group’s flyer or social media post with code FundA visible, either by pulling it up on your phone or presenting a printed copy. You can find the post on our Instagram page, @drmschorus. When ordering online,
enter our fundraiser code (FundA) in the promo code box. Thank you in advance for your support of the DRMS Chorus Program!
Academic Achievement: We are excited to celebrate our student's academic achievements throughout the school year. We will recognize students for their academic achievements for each quarter as well as overall recognition at the end of the school year. Quarterly recognitions will be based on students earning ALL A's (Principal's List) and ALL A/B's (Honor Roll) in each of their classes. Continue to encourage your students to set a goal to earn these achievements this school year by staying focused and doing their best.
Picture Day: Our Fall Picture Day is Friday, September 30. You can order picture packages online by visiting our DRMS website. Information will also be sent home closer to picture day. Students will take their pictures during their elective classes.
7th grade Dolphin families: Throughout the month of September, Mrs. Warren, our 7
th grade School Counselor, will be joining our 7th grade Health classes to facilitate a lesson required for 7th graders in WCPSS called Signs of Suicide. It is a research, evidence-based suicide prevention program geared for adolescents. Our Health teachers have distributed parent letters to students to bring home, informing you of this curriculum and providing you with the opportunity to “opt-out,'' if you feel that is best for your child. This information has also been previously shared in our weekly DRMS newsletter. For your reference, you can find the
English version of that letter here and the
Spanish version here as well. All students will participate in the lesson unless a parent/guardian signs the letter and returns it to Mrs. Warren, choosing to "opt-out." Thanks, and take care!
Meal Benefits: During the 2021-2022 school year, all students received free school meals supported by federal funding due to the pandemic; however, this funding ended on June 30, 2022. In order to receive free or reduced-price meals for this school year (2022-2023), families need to submit a meal benefits application.
All families must complete an application for the 2022-2023 school year starting July 1 in order to receive benefits. Please allow 10 business days for processing.
For every student that turns in the free and reduced meals application and qualifies, the school also receives federal funds that benefit the students and teachers at the school.
We need you to complete a 2022-2023 meal benefits application so our school can be eligible for extra funding next year. If you have not completed a free or reduced-price meal application and think your child may be eligible, pick up an application at your child’s school or
apply online.
A student’s status from the 2021-2022 school year will roll over to this current year; however, it only carries them forward for the first 30 operational days or until a new application for the 2022-2023 school year has been processed.
Meal prices for the 2022-2023 school year are below:
- Breakfast - $1.75
- Lunch - $3.25
DRMS PTA Updates: There are so many ways for parents to get involved with the DRMS PTA and support their child and Durant Road Middle School!
- We are in need of approved WCPSS volunteers to help during the Day of Awesomeness on September 23, 2022. An official signup sheet will be sent via email.
- If you are not an approved WCPSS volunteer, please email Karen Bograd, data manager, at kbograd@wcpss.net
- Mark your calendars! DRMS PTA will hold their first PTA General Session on September 20. The meeting will take place virtually. See below for details on logging in.
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Mark your calendars! DRMS PTA will be hosting a
Schoolyard Cleanup on Saturday, November 5, 2022, from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM at DRMS. An official signup sheet will be sent out via email.
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General Meeting information:
Topic: DRMS PTA General Session
Time: Sep 20, 2022 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
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Passcode: 108748
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Thank you for supporting DRMS,
Kristen J Faircloth
Principal
