DRAGON DIGEST
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 21 / MAY 11, 2018
PRINCIPAL'S LETTER
Dear DeSana Parents,
I don’t know about you . . . but for me, this year has come and gone in a blink of the eye!! It seems like it was not too long ago that we were welcoming our new 6th graders and their parents to the Dragon’s Lair at Dragon Camp, and holding Open House for our returning 7th and 8th grade students and their parents. But my calendar tells me that was about 9 months ago!!
But one thing I do know for sure, this school year at DeSana has been another absolutely awesome year from my perspective!! We have carried out many of the new traditions that we started last year and had a fabulous time with them, all the while exploring new possibilities and opportunities! Our students have made me so proud!! Some of them have soared to new heights and gathered accolades for themselves and for DeSana. They have continued to work hard in their studies and in working diligently to continue to build a school culture here that exemplifies kindness, respect, and helpfulness. And many have found the courage to get out of their comfort zone and try new things.
As these last two weeks of the school year wind down, there will be no shortage of special activities and events for our young Dragons to participate in and enjoy (check out our school calendar on the DeSana webpage for the many activities and events, as well as this edition of the Dragon Digest). It is a great way to finish up what has been a wonderful school year on every front!
One very special tradition that was started last year and one that we are looking forward to the last week of school is our DeSana Day of Good Deeds, or D3 Day, for short. On Monday, May 21st ALL of our students, staff and many of you --- parent volunteers --- will join together in a morning of “doing good deeds” that will serve 25+ charitable and non-profit organizations in our wonderful community. This day will be another terrific opportunity for our students to understand what it means to give of themselves --- their time, their talents and their hearts --- to help a common and greater good. More importantly, the day will be about people . . . helping people . . . and the acts of kindness . . . compassion . . . helpfulness . . . and the infinite power of kids and adults coming together - - - all working side-by-side to make a difference in our community and in this world. This Day of Good Deeds is an extraordinary and huge undertaking for us, as a school. But it is one that is so worth the effort! With our enthusiastic volunteers, committed students and staff, and supportive sponsors, it is certainly a day that will create long-lasting memories and hopefully kindle a passion for helping others in many a young Dragon. And this is a tradition we plan to carry forward for a very long time!
Thank you, parents, for putting your trust in me and all of our teachers and staff once again this year. Thank you for your continuous support throughout this year, even when we did not always get it right. And most of all, thank you for allowing us the privilege and the pleasure of working with your young Dragons throughout this school year. They are wonderful and fabulous young people, and they continue to capture our hearts in so many ways!!
Here’s wishing you and your family a fantastic summer break!! Take care and stay safe!
With warmest regards,
Terri A. North
Principal
DESANA DAY OF GOOD DEEDS
D3 DAY IS ALMOST HERE!
D3 Day is Monday, May 21st! Both 7th and 8th grade students have received a permission form that MUST be returned by May 16th, or the student will not be allowed to travel to the field trip destination. Some students also require a secondary waiver that also MUST be returned by May 16th. For a copy of the permission slip and a list of those requiring a waiver, please click here.
On a practical note, please be sure that your student wears closed-toe shoes and sun screen if he/she is going to be outside!
VOLUNTEERS!
Please remember to attend the MANDATORY volunteering training meeting for D3 Day (attend one meeting). Reminder emails went out to the Monday evening volunteers and a reminder email will soon be sent to the Thursday morning volunteers. Please attend the meeting that you signed up for on the google doc. Please email Dawn@bourgs.com if you need to change your meeting date.
Meetings are
Monday, May 14th at 6pm in the cafeteria
Thursday, May 17th at 8am in the media center
COOKIE TIME!
It is time to TREAT THE TROOPS! We are no where near our 3,000 cookie goal! We need more bakers.
Please start your ovens and begin baking cookies for D3 Day. We need over 3,000 cookies to make this project successful!
Please sign up and tell your friends and neighbors! There is no such thing as too many cookies. All instructions are on this sign up genius. Thank you in advance for your support! Click here to sign up.
PTO NEWS
WE NEED YOU!
Attention Dragon Parents! The PTO is seeking 2 Vice Presidents for the 2018-2019 board! The deadline to nominate yourself or a friend has been extended to May 18th. Please consider applying! We meet once a month and help plan activities such as Open House, Fundraising, Staff Appreciation, Hospitality, Book Fair, 6-8 Grade Socials and Picnics, and lots more! It is incredibly rewarding! Please click here for the form and e‐mail it to Kari Souder at karisouder@yahoo.com or leave it at the front desk for pick up by May 18, 2018! Thank you!
The PTO will have a short 10 minute meeting before the band concert on Tuesday, May 22 to vote in the 2018-2019 PTO board members. Please be sure to come a few minutes early! Thank you!
ACADEMICS
RISING 6TH GRADE STUDENTS AND ADVANCED STUDIES COURSE
DeSana’s Administrative team will host rising 6th Grade Advanced Studies Information Sessions for 5th grade students and parents who will be coming to DeSana next year. So if you have a neighbor or friend who has a rising 6th grader, please share this article with them. The following are the upcoming meeting dates and times:
Saturday, May 12th, @ 9:00 AM
Monday, May 14th, @ 6:30 PM
Wednesday, May 16th, @ 6:30 PM
Tuesday, May 22nd, @ 6:30 PM
Wednesday, May 23rd, @ 6:30 PM
Wednesday, May 29th @ 6:30 PM
All meetings will take place in the DeSana media center. We are offering multiple sessions to hopefully accommodate families and their busy schedules at this time of the year, and we highly recommend our parents and students attend one if they are interested in taking an advanced studies course next year. These sessions are designed for both parents and the students. At each session, we will discuss the reasons why your child may consider taking an advanced studies course(s), the benefits of your child challenging himself/herself academically, and the procedures for registering for Advanced Studies Courses here at DeSana.
Any student may sign up to be in an advanced studies course. Advanced studies courses at DeSana are for students who are in the gifted program and for students who are not in the gifted program. Students who attend DeSana Middle School are not placed into advanced study courses. The child and the parent choose to enroll in an advanced study course(s). The decision for enrolling should be based on the child’s motivation to do more challenging course work with an “I can do it” attitude, along with a commitment to the time it may take for completing assignments both inside and outside of class.
If you are unable to attend one of our information sessions, the PowerPoint with all of the information presented, the Readiness Guides, and the Registration Form are all posted on our DeSana website now. Our rising 6th graders need to have their registration form turned into the front office here at DeSana Middle School by June 1st at 6:00 PM. Parents are given a receipt for their records once they turn in their registration form. The June 1st by 6:00 PM deadline is a very firm deadline. No late registration forms will be accepted.
We hope to see many of our rising 6th graders and their parents at our remaining Advanced Studies Information Sessions!
SUMMER LIBRARY HOURS AND SUMMER READING
Summer Reading!! Our Summer Reading Program has something for everyone! Click here for ALL of the details! Questions? Contact Ms. MacMillan at tmacmillan@forsyth.k12.ga.us
DRAGON ACADEMY FOR THE 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR
Dragon Academy is an opportunity we offer students on a couple of Fridays per month, from 4:15 – 6:15 for completing, taking or re-taking formative and/or summative assessments (i.e. unit tests, projects, essays, quizzes. etc.). Dragon Academy will happen at least two times a month --- on Fridays with teachers and an administrator supervising each session. It is a fantastic opportunity for students to drastically improve both their learning and their grades. Students will be invited by their teachers . . . or they may invite themselves . . . to attend Dragon Academy if they are missing work or need to re-take an assessment to show better mastery of the standards or complete a project. Although students will have about two hours to complete their work, once they complete all that they came to accomplish, students will be able to call their parent to come pick them up. Snacks and drinks will be sold for a very reasonable cost so students may focus on their work, not on their gurgling stomachs! Any necessary school supplies will be provided for students to use to complete their work, as needed.
Please mark your calendars now for these Dragon Academy dates for the rest of the school year:
· May 18
ATHLETICS
FOOTBALL
The football team ended a successful Spring with their annual Spring Game. The Grey team and the Blue team both finished with 21 points and a tie. Congratulations to both teams and all players on a great Spring. We are looking forward to next year’s season. Go Dragons!!!
POWDER PUFF GAME
We will have our inaugural Powder Puff game on Thursday, May 17th at 2:30pm on the football field. All students will be on the field to watch and concessions will be sold. Be ready to cheer on the 7th and 8th grade girls as they compete against each other and stay tuned for the special half time cheer from our 7th and 8th grade boys.
TRACK AND FIELD BANQUET
The Track and Field season is over but there is one more thing we have yet to accomplish, and that is our end of season Track and Field Banquet. This year’s banquet will be a small and private affair with parents, siblings, coaches and athletes reminiscing about their season over pizza, drinks, desserts, a video production of photos and an awards ceremony to cap off the evening. Though we are still building as an athletic force, we had some superior accomplishments, personal bests, and school records broken. The coaches are very proud of the athletes and you should be too.
I strongly encourage all grades athletes and parents to find running and training programs in the area that will develop their talents for the following season. The best athletes are the ones training year round not only in running, but other disciplines as well. Take a moment to Google search “running programs clubs Alpharetta Cumming” and you will find something for the summer and beyond. Thank you parents for a great season and I hope you all will continue to support Desana Middle School athletics in the future.
THE ARTS
ART COMPETITION WINNERS
At the annual CFUMC Festival of Art Competition, DeSana students excelled once again. Congratulations to 7th grader Kelis K. who won first place in the middle school division at the competition. 7th grader Jacob A. won the audience choice award which was voted on by all attendants. 8th grader DeAnna C. won one of fifteen honorable mentions. These three dragons’ work was selected from over 200 pieces of artwork from every school in the county. 20 students from DeSana had work chosen for exhibition at the competition and show. Please join me in congratulating these dragons for sharing their talents through this highly competitive venue.
BAND NEWS
We have had a great year in our DeSana Band Program this year. So many wonderful performances both individual and group. Our concert Bands have wowed the crowds all year with their performances and in March of this year at our LGPE (Large Group Performance Evaluation) our Concert Band earned a split SUPERIOR/EXCELLENT Rating with a SUPERIOR in Sightreading and our Symphonic Band earned STRAIGHT SUPERIORS at this event on level 3 music. Comments from the judges were very inspirational. “JUST AMAZING!” “A FLAWLESS PERFORMANCE” “CONGRATULATIONS ON A VERY MUSICAL PERFORMANCE!” These comments were only a few of the many given at this year’s festival. Kudos to the band kids for achieving this level of performance for only being a 2nd year school!
Our individual performances happened in April at the Annual Solo and Ensemble Festival. This year the GMEA Hosted the event at Riverwatch Middle School and we had 63 entries perform for judges throughout the state. Incredibly, ALL 63 were judged SUPERIOR!!! THE HIGHEST AWARD and rating. This goes to show the level of dedication of our kids and how they want to be the very best of the best!
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and this year is no exception. Our final concert will be on May 15th at 7pm in the DeSana Gymnasium. The concert is free and open to EVERYONE!!!! Please come out and support the band!
Our final activity for the year is our Annual Awards night in the Gymnasium as well. We will be having a social in the Cafeteria from 6:30-7:00pm with hor d’oeuvres for all parents and students. We will move to the gymnasium at 7pm for the awards ceremony. All students will receive awards and many will receive superlative awards for outstanding work throughout the year.
Thank you all again for supporting our band program. It has been a great 2 years with many more to come.
ART CLASS VISITS ASSISTED LIVING
Advanced 8th grade art students attended their Art Show at The Phoenix Assisted Living on May 3rd. Students worked to create collaborative artworks with the residents in April and completed the art to display at our joint art show. The show was such a success! The chorus performed their pop song covers, refreshments were enjoyed, and a good time was had by all. Thank you to all who helped make this event run smoothly!
8TH GRADE ADVANCED ART
All rising 8th grade students who applied for Advanced Art have been tentatively accepted. Official acceptance will be contingent to scheduling other yearlong and semester classes.
ACTIVITIES
6TH GRADE FIELD TRIP TO TELLUS SCIENCE MUSEUM
The Field Trip to the Tellus Museum will be Monday, May 14. Permission slips should already have been turned in for all students attending.
6TH GRADE END OF YEAR ACTIVITIES
6th grade has a very fun last week of school planned! We will have a variety of indoor and outdoor activities to culminate our fantastic first year in middle school.
- Monday, May 14: 6th Grade Field Trip to Tellus Science Museum
- Monday, May 21: D3 Day
- Tuesday, May 22: 9:30-11: Soccer Tournament; Initial locker cleanout during literacy; 12:45-2:30 Game Room Rotation (board games, Bingo, etc. with various teachers hosting)
- Wednesday, May 23: 9:15-11 Game Room Rotation (board games, Bingo, etc. with various teachers hosting); Student advice and reflections for rising 6th graders
- Thursday, May 24: Final locker cleanout and yearbook signing during literacy; Academic wrap up in courses
- Friday, May 25: 9:15-11 Field Day; Yearbook signing in literacy; 12:45-2:30 movie
- Finals:
- Science: Double formative over yearlong material on May 18th
- Social Studies: None
- ELA: None
- Math: None
7TH GRADE END OF YEAR ACTIVITIES
7th Grade Activities for the Last Week of School and Finals Dates:
- Wednesday- Friday (May 9-11) - Arends will be giving a final
- Thursday (May 17) - West, Hannel, and Strader are all giving a final
- Friday (May 18) - Dockter is giving a final and Stavropoulos and Jones are giving a test
- Monday (May 21) - D3 Day
- Tuesday (May 22) - Yearbook signing day and locker cleanout
- Wednesday (May 23) - Field day. Students should bring money to have the opportunity to dunk some of their 7th grade teachers in the dunk booth. Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Gooch, Mrs. Strader, and Mr. Jones will be the lucky teachers to be dunked
- Thursday (May 24) - PRIDE Awards during 1st period and movie day in the afternoon
- Friday (May 25) - Last day of school!
8TH GRADE END OF YEAR ACTIVITIES
Eighth grade teachers and students are gearing up for a variety of exciting and celebratory end-of-year events and activities. One of the highlights for the students is the dance. Ms. Kilgore, Ms. Nixon, and their committee of students have been working hard to organize an unforgettable night for the students. Tickets are $12 and will be available for purchase on the 8th grade hallway every morning starting Monday, April 30 until Thursday, May 17th. It will be an evening full of dancing, laughing, and enjoying those last few days being a middle school student! In addition to the dance, a variety of other events and activities are planned; a schedule of many of these is posted below.
- Wednesday-Friday, May 9-11: Savannah Overnight Field Trip
- Tuesday, May 15: Advanced ELA Final Exam
- Friday, May 18: 8th Grade Dance, 7-9:30pm
- Monday, May 21: DeSana Day of Good Deeds (D3 Day)
- Tuesday, May 22: Spanish Final Exam
- Wednesday, May 23: Locker Clean-out
- Thursday, May 24: 8th Grade Picnic, Field Day and Class Video
- Friday, May 25: 8th Grade Awards Ceremony, 9:30am
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
NOTES FROM THE NURSE
State law requires that all children entering the seventh grade have a second MMR (mumps, measles, and rubella), a second varicella (chicken pox) vaccine, one dose Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis), and one dose MCV (meningococcal conjugate vaccine). Students who are not current on these immunizations received a letter from Nurse McWalters. She must receive documentation of these vaccinations for all rising 7th graders. Students will not be assigned a class schedule until this immunization certificate is complete and received by the school.
All medication in the clinic must be picked up by a parent no later than Friday, May 18th. Any medication not picked up by this date will be thrown out.
LOST AND FOUND
Attention Dragons! We have a large collection of items that do not want to be left here alone over the summer. Please take a moment to check out our Lost and Found table (Located in the Hex) for any items that may belong to YOU! All items that remain unclaimed at the end of the school year will be donated to charity. Parents are welcome to check in at the front office and receive a visitor’s pass to look for items that their student may be missing.
SUBSTITUTE LICENSED NURSES
Forsyth County Schools are looking for substitute licensed nurses. Do you know a licensed RN or LPN who would like to work the same hours as when their children are in school? Please ask them to contact Connie Trent at 770-887-2461, ext. 202336 or ctrent@forsth.k12.ga.us.
FROM THE MEDIA CENTER
NEXT WEEK--DOLLAR BOOK BONANZA!
Does your child need some books for summer reading? Do you like bargains? Our media center will be hosting a gently-used book sale the week for May 14-17th. Every book is ONE DOLLAR! There are previously owned books of all genres, for all ages--paperback and hardback! Students will visit with their ELA classes (7th and 8th grade) or with their Literacy class (6th); students may also visit before school. We have over 1000 $1 books to choose from, so there should be something for everyone!
BOOKS DUE THIS WEEK
All books should be returned to the media center by May 17th! Please pay all fines as soon as possible, or take advantage of our Cans for Fines program—for every can of food your child brings in, we will take off 50 cents of his/her fine!
FROM THE CAFETERIA
As we approach the end of school, the School Nutrition meal accounting system will not allow negative meal charges for student accounts after May 1, 2018. Students without funds will be offered a courtesy meal of sandwich and milk.
Please check account balances to determine the funds needed for meals for the remainder of this school year. To ensure your child can continue to enjoy school meals or to clear your student’s account of any negative balances, please send a payment (cash or check) to the school, or visit www.MyPaymentsPlus.com, to make a payment online.
Remember to note your child’s Student ID on your check or to include it with cash in an envelope. We accept Free and Reduced Applications each school day.
Options for account balances: Money on customer accounts will automatically carry forward to the assigned school for the new academic year. However, funds on student accounts may be donated to help other students (often elementary) afford a school meal, transferred to a sibling’s account or refunded via a check. For the Donation/Transfer/Refund procedure: go to http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/page/396.
ATTENTION PARENTS OF WALKERS AND BIKE RIDERS
In order for us to maintain safe procedures for those students who have permission to walk or bike to or from school, parents need to complete a permission form entitled Walker and Biker Permission Form and return to a secretary in the front office. The form is available in the front office or by clicking here.
Students will not be permitted to walk/bike to or from school until DeSana Middle School has a signed permission slip on file.
All students walking or biking home along James Road must exit the front of the building, walk along the sidewalk on campus, and cross only at designated crosswalks.
Each morning, please make sure your child knows how they are getting home that day. Students are allowed to check for parent text messages only at the end of the day.
SERVICE MAP FOR CHILDHOOD HEALTH AND EDUCATION IN GEORGIA
Sometimes it can be difficult for parents, caregivers, and others who work with children and families to navigate and access the various services that are available in Georgia. To address this challenge, the Georgia Department of Community Health developed the Service Map for Childhood Health and Education in Georgia.
PARENT 411 - HELPFUL LINKS FOR YOU
Forsyth County Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or gender in employment decisions or educational programs and activities.