DRMS' Principal Message
Happy Sunday, Dolphins! This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your August 27, 2023 Family Message.
We have had another successful week at DRMS! It is hard to believe we are 4 weeks into the 2023-24 school year and almost halfway through the first quarter. Our students and staff are working hard and settling into healthy routines. Please continue to talk with your students about what they are learning, check PowerSchool often, and encourage them to follow healthy habits and the Durant Way!
Please take a moment to read through the Family Message below, as well as the grade level newsletters, and do not hesitate to contact us if there is any way we can support you.
Important Transportation Updates
On Monday, August 28, traditional calendar schools begin and buses will be navigating multiple routes each day. Please view the most updated bus times through this website.
Several routes are scheduled to arrive at DRMS prior to 7:45 AM or be picked up from DRMS between 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM. For students who have an early arrival or late pick-up, staff will supervise students by hosting a “Learning Lab” where students will work on homework, missing work, Dreambox, CommonLit, etc. while they wait for the school day to begin in the morning or for their bus to arrive in the afternoon to take them home. The Learning Lab is only available for students who ride WCPSS bus transportation and their route arrives prior to 7:45 AM or after 3:30 PM.
There will be days that a route is unable to be covered by a driver. Once the school is notified about this change, we will post on our social media and correspond with parents through Talking Points. If a route is uncovered, please make arrangements to pick up your student in carpool between 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM.
Interim Grades
It is hard to believe that we are already half way through our first quarter of school. Our Quarter 1 Interim date is Monday, August 28. On our scheduled Interim date, parents should view PowerSchool for their child’s current averages in each class. Parents may request a printed version of their child’s interim to be sent home. These requests must be emailed to the individual teacher by the scheduled quarter interim date.
On August 28, please access PowerSchool for your child and review each of their courses. Be sure to look at the Q1 average as well as click on that average to see the specific assignments and grades for that class. To give parents time to access PowerSchool, no changes will be made to PowerSchool August 28-29. After then, teachers will continue to update and key in grades for the quarter. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the individual teacher.
If there are any parents that still do not have Powerschool access, we strongly encourage you to set this up in order to be able to access your child’s grades and help support them through their academic progress.
Fall Athletic Coaches
As we gear up for tryouts beginning on September 5, it's time for a “who's who” of athletics! Click on each head coach's name for a quick introduction:
Athletic Director: Health & PE Teacher Gianni Esposito
Athletic Trainer: Health & PE Teacher Tim Capel
Cheerleading Head Coach: 7th Grade Teacher Brittany Dion - first year, congrats!
Football Head Coach: Baine Martin (not a DRMS staff member)
Football Assistant Coach: Logan Bennett (not a DRMS staff member)
Girls' Soccer Head Coach: CTE Teacher Morgan Lee
Volleyball Head Coach: Aurora Davis (not a DRMS staff member) - first year, congrats!
Volleyball Assistant Coach: CTE Teacher Jana Hunter - first year, congrats!
DRMS Athletic News
We are excited to announce when fall athletic tryouts will be held at Durant Road Middle. The tryout process and days will vary from sport to sport. Please pay attention to the following schedule below of when tryouts will begin:
Football: Tuesday, September 5th
Girls Soccer: Wednesday, September 6th
Cheerleading: Tuesday, September 5th
Volleyball: Tuesday, September 5th
As a reminder, all student athletes will be responsible for a ride home. We do not provide transportation home from tryouts. If you are wanting to learn more information on the specific sports, please visit our athletics website https://wakecountyathleticzone.com/durant-road/.
DragonFly information & Deadline:
In order to play on any athletic team at Durant Road Middle School, a student athlete must create and fill out a dragonfly form. If help is needed, please see Mr. Esposito or contact him (pesposito@wcpss.net). Dragonfly hard copy forms may also be distributed to students who need help creating accounts. These forms can be picked up from the school. Dragonfly accounts must be submitted, with all proper paperwork, by Friday, September 1st in order to be eligible for the fall season. Once paperwork has been submitted to 100% completion, on September 1 and September 5, student athletes will receive a wristband that will deem them eligible for fall tryouts.
Football Workout (Optional):
On Monday (August 28) & Wednesday (August 30) we will be hosting our final football workouts. The workouts will take place from 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM after school and will give students the opportunity to participate in skill development. Our head coach and assistant coach, Baine Martin and Logan Bennett, will be attending and running the workouts together. This is not mandatory for all student athletes wanting to play football this season, but it is a good opportunity to practice some skills before tryouts begin. Please sign up by putting your name on the posted sheet outside of the gymnasium doors this week. Also, in order to attend, students must have 100% complete dragonfly accounts.
Volleyball Workout Dates (Optional):
On Tuesday, August 29 we will be hosting our final volleyball workout. The workout will take place from 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM after school and will give students the opportunity to participate in skill development. Our head coach and assistant coach, Aurora Davis and Jana Hunter, will be present and running the workouts. This is not mandatory for all student athletes wanting to play volleyball this season, but it is a good opportunity to practice some skills before tryouts begin. Please sign up by putting your name on the posted sheet outside of the gymnasium doors this week. Also, in order to attend, students must have 100% complete dragonfly accounts.
Fall Sports Athletic Parent Meeting:
Our fall sports athletic parent meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 30 from 5:00 PM - 5:45 PM. The meeting will take place inside of the school auditorium. This will give parents and/or student athletes an opportunity to learn what the expectations are for student athletes, logistics for each sport during the fall season, a chance to ask questions about the athletic season, and an opportunity to see where the Durant Road Middle School athletic program is heading.
2023-24 Yearbook
The 2023-2024 DRMS Yearbook is on sale now! From now until the end of September, the yearbook will be on sale for the lowest price all year! Along with the lowest price, students can get four free icons to personalize their yearbook! Use this link to purchase: https://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A01095208 Please reach out to Mrs. Robertson, the yearbook advisor, with any questions at sdrobertson@wcpss.net
8th Grade families, your student is in their last year of middle school! Celebrate their achievements and accomplishments with a yearbook ad specifically for them. To purchase an ad, go to www.jostensadservice.com/student.
Reach out to Mrs. Robertson (sdrobertson@wcpss.net) with any questions!
PS: don't forget to order your yearbook too at www.jostensyearbooks.com
School Garden Grant
We are excited to share that DRMS has been selected to receive a school garden grant through the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation! The vision is for the garden to provide opportunities for accessible, hands-on, FUN learning for all students at DRMS.
On Saturday, September 23, Sprouts will be hosting a garden workday from 8:00 am - 12:00 pm to help get our garden started. Some key projects we hope to tackle are:
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Assembling 8 raised garden beds
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Putting together 4 picnic tables
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Setting up 1 storage shed
If you are free on Saturday, September 23, we would love to have you join us!
Canvas
Families can view their student's course content and progress by creating a Canvas Observer Account. If you have multiple students, you can link all your students under a single Observer account. Parents can click on the following link to connect in Canvas.
https://www.wcpss.net/Page/51339
Meal Benefits
Apply for free and reduced-price school meals
To receive free or reduced-price meals for the 2023-24 school year, families must submit a meal benefits application online at MySchoolApps.com. Paper copies will be available at your school’s office. For families who completed the 2022-23 meal benefits application, the benefit continues for their student's first 30 school days of the 2023-24 school year. At elementary schools, full-paid breakfast will be $1.50 and lunch will be $3.25. At middle and high schools, full-paid breakfast will be $1.75 and lunch will be $3.50.
All families must complete an application for the 2023-2024 school year 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 2023-2024 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 2022-2023 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 2023-2024 school year has been processed.
7th Grade - Important! Immunizations Required
NC State Law mandates that all 7th-grade students have their TDAP and Meningococcal (MCV) vaccines by the start of their 7th grade year. 7th grade students who have not submitted their immunizations will be suspended starting Wednesday, August 30, 2023 based on policy. Please return immunization records showing TDAP and Meningococcal (MCV) vaccines if you have not already done so. Immunization records may be dropped off at the front office or emailed to kbograd@wcpss.net. We appreciate your attention to this mandate.
Child Abuse and Neglect
NC Legislators passed a law last year that requires all secondary schools across the state to inform students in grades 6-12 each year about important resources related to child abuse and neglect. It also requires schools to have this information posted in each middle and high school.
THIS attached document is for your information that contains important information and resources available in our community. WCPSS is committed to the safety and well being of children in our community. If you have any questions about this information, please reach out to your school social worker, SAP, or school counselor.
DRMS PTA
JOIN THE Durant Road Middle School PTA
Your school PTA is working hard as the school year begins and we need your help. Why should I join the PTA? Membership dues help support your child by helping us with funding for essential education and curriculum needs. Our board is small but made up of parents and community leaders who want to help our school support our children to the best of our abilities.
Right now, we are focused on membership and looking to raise our membership in our school. Our goal is 100 parents and 100% faculty membership.
If you have not joined, please join now.
We have a raffle for all members who join now at the beginning of the year. A Yeti Cup raffle for parents and for faculty. Your name will be entered and one parent/community member and one faculty member will each be selected. We will draw winners the last week of September, before track out.
We look forward to working hard this year for our DRMS families and welcome all to DRMS.
PARENT/GUARDIAN QR Code and Link to join PTA for 2023-2024
https://drms.memberhub.com/store/items/12672
Thank you for supporting DRMS,
Kristen J Faircloth
Principal