DRMS' Principal Message
Good afternoon, Dolphins! This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School with your November 13, 2022 Family Message.
Happy World Kindness Day! World Kindness Day is an international holiday that was formed in 1998, to promote kindness throughout the world and is observed annually on November 13 as part of the World Kindness Movement. It is observed in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and the U.A.E. World Kindness Day presents us with the opportunity to reflect upon one of the most important and unifying human principles. On a day devoted to the positive potential of both large and small acts of kindness, try to promote and diffuse this crucial quality that brings people of every kind together. Let's show some kindness Dolphins!
We hope that you have enjoyed this long weekend. Friday, November 11 was Veterans Day. On this day we celebrate, honor, and thank all the men and women who served the United States in distinct military occupations and service branches. Let's give a special salute and shoutout to all our Durant Road Middle School community that served in the military.
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.
Quarter 2: We have several teacher workdays, early release days, and holidays in Q2. Please place the following dates on your calendars:
- November 23-November 25 - Thanksgiving Holiday
- Monday, December 5 - Early Release Day @ 1:00 PM
- Wednesday, December 21 - Early Release Day @ 1:00 PM
- Thursday, December 22 - Begins Holiday and Track Out
TSI-AT Designation: Durant Road Middle School, has been designated as a Targeted Support & Improvement Additional Targeted Support (TSI-AT) school and has been designated as a low-performing school by the North Carolina State Board of Education. Please read more about this designation in the following letter; TSI-AT and LP Letter to Parents
Student Led Conferences: DRMS will be hosting Student Led Conferences this Tuesday, November 15, 2022, with hour time slots offered between 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM. Please park in our school’s bus loop for the event.
Students will walk parents through data and information for each of their classes to share their progress, success, and areas where they may need extra support. Since students are leading the conference, they must attend the event with their parents. While most of our teachers will be available, it is important to note, this is not a parent/teacher conference event. After the student-led conferences, if you would like to schedule a separate time to speak specifically to your child’s teachers regarding concerns, please reach out to your child’s Core 1 teacher.
If your child is part of our ECS program, please reach out to Mrs. Hoke or Mrs. Jamieson about details for this event prior to signing up.
If you plan on attending student-led conferences, please sign up by visiting the site:
https://bit.ly/DRMSstudentledconferences
DRMS Student Clubs: Students have been given the opportunity to rank their club choice over the past week. Students will participate in their club hosted by DRMS staff members starting Friday, November 18th, based on their feedback. Make sure you ask your student about their club experience!
Winter Sports Information: Winter Sports (Girls/Boys Basketball and Cheer) tryouts begin this week on Thursday, November 17, 2022. Parents will need to complete the Health History, Concussion, Participation, and Release, and Eligibility forms electronically on DragonFly. Those forms must be completed annually. The Physical Examination Form and Medical Eligibility Form (2 separate forms) should be filled out by the doctor and uploaded to DragonFly by scanning or taking a picture of the form. If you turned in a physical from last year that is still eligible, you will still need to upload a copy to DragonFly. Doctor’s Physicals are valid for 395 days. Please use the resources on DragonFly’s Parents' Guide found HERE. If you have any questions, please email Mr. Esposito at pesposito@wcpss.net.
Steps for Registering for DragonFly:
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Visit dragonflymax.com and click the ‘Log In/Sign Up’ button.
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Click ‘Sign Up for Free’, then follow the prompts to create your Parent account with your own email address.
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Verify your account with the verification ID sent to your email address.
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Click ‘Connect to your school’ to select ‘Parent’ as your role and search for your child’s school.
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After selecting your child’s school, click ‘Join’ to request access. An administrator at your school will approve your request.
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Click ‘Set up your children’ and follow the prompts to add your kid(s) and fill out their participation forms.
Dates:
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Winter Sports Season – The first tryout/practice day is November 17th, 2022. The first regular season playing date is the week of December 8th, 2022.
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Spring Sports Season – The first tryout/practice day is February 27th, 2023. The first regular season playing date is the week of March 13, 2023.
Eligibility:
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Student athletes must meet all eligibility requirements to try out for sports. Please click this link to view all eligibility requirements for middle school students.
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We would like to highlight 2 of the requirements:
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Students must pass (60% or above) 3 out of 4 core classes.
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Students must not have more than 14 absences from the previous semester.
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For Winter Sports, students must meet initial eligibility based on the Spring 2022 semester and continue to meet eligibility after first semester grades and attendance is finalized in December.
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For Spring Sports, students’ eligibility is based on this current semester’s grades and attendance.
DRMS Baseball Opportunity: We are excited to share that a DRMS 8th grade parent will be coaching a varsity baseball team. More information can be found in the following flyer; DRMS Baseball Flyer
DRMS PTA News: Can you believe how quickly this year has flown? We are already planning holiday gifts for 96 faculty and staff at DRMS! Please consider donating. Here are a few ways to contribute:
- Make a monetary donation by clicking this link. All monetary donations go towards the purchase of gift cards.
- Purchase an item from the Amazon Staff Wishlist to be sent directly to DRMS.
Thank you for supporting DRMS,
Kristen J Faircloth
Principal