Bulldog Drool Newsletter
May 27, 2022
In This Issue
News to Know
- A Note From Your School Counselor: Grief and Traumatic Stress
- Congratulations DEF Top Ten Finalists
- 8th Grade Families-Slideshow Pictures Needed by Tomorrow!
- 8th Grade Laptop Buy Back
- Highly Capable Testing
Student Spotlight
- Chopped Club Champions!
Message from the District Nurse
- End of Year Strong Finish
- Tdap Vaccine Required to Start 7th Grade
- Department of Health Guidance
Covid Testing for Students with Symptoms-Updated
Free Covid Home Tests
- May / June Menus
Weekly Attendance
Community Resources
CALENDAR
May
** FOR SPORTS PLEASE SEE NTMS WEBSITE ATHLETICS CALENDAR**
30: Memorial Day - No School
31: Welcome Back!
June
1: ACE DAY LATE START 9:45AM! / Homework Club in the HUB 2:20 - 4p / ELA Help 2:20-3p rm 102 / Robotics (Koosmann)
2: Morning Homework Club 7a rm 158 / Homework Club in the HUB 2:20 - 4p / MATH Help 2:20-3p rm 157
3: NTMS PTSA PINK DAY! Wear Pink & bring a $1 for a treat at lunch! Happy Friday!
6: Victory Tour - Former Dieringer Graduates visit NTMS
6 - 7: 6th Grade Camp
9 - 10: 7th Grade Camp
14: Choir Concert 5p
14: Band Concert 7p
20: Last Day of School for 8th Graders & early release for all @ 10:50a
20: 8th Grade Graduation @ BLHS 6p
21: Last Day of School for 6th & 7th Grades - early release at 10:50a
A Note From Your School Counselor: Grief and Traumatic Stress
School staff, administrators, students, and families have experienced heavy hearts and a wide array of emotions this week as we learned of another horrific school shooting in Texas. This event is one in a series of tragic and challenging events our nation has faced in the course of the last few years. Cumulative stress is being felt by many, if not all, of us. Please know that we are here, as a school community, to support our students, families, and each other as we process recent events. It is good to review safety procedures with your children for home and school to help reassure them. Additionally, let them know to speak up and report to a trusted adult if they see or hear something that seems unsafe or dangerous. If you believe your child is in need of further support, reach out to your child’s teacher, school counselor, or medical or mental health provider. Below you will find resources that may be beneficial to you as you navigate these challenging times.
“Over the course of the last few weeks, reports of mass violence and shootings have plagued the news. Although people are resilient and often bounce back after difficult times, these events nearly always interrupt our sense of order and safety. The impact often extends to individuals who live far outside of the affected area with no personal connections to the event. This is especially true when the event is human-caused with the intent of harming others.” American Counseling Association, counseling.org/knowledge-center/coping-in-the-aftermath-of-a-shooting
Resources:
Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers
Managing Your Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting
Age-Related Reactions to a Traumatic Event
Pierce County WA Youth Mental Health and Crisis Resources
Jennifer Roscoe
North Tapps Middle School
School Counselor
Congratulations DEF Top Ten Finalists
Congratulations to the following 8th graders who were selected as the top 10 finalists for the Dieringer Education Foundation's Pat Keaton Community Scholarship (no particular order):
The finalists are:
Violet D.
Ella D.
Rayden H.
Sophia H.
Truman J.
Hailey M.
Jaslyn S.
Kaitlyn S.
Maylee S.
Lauren W.
Their next step is an interview with the DEF Scholarship Board on June 8th, and the two students will be awarded at graduation.
8th Grade Slideshow Photos Due TOMORROW, MAY 28!!
8th grade families,
The parent volunteers putting together the 8th grade slideshow for the graduation party need your student’s photos by TOMORROW, MAY 28th!!!!
Email 1-5 photos of your child to NTMSClassof2022@gmail.com by May 28th. If you do not send a photo/photos, your student will not be in the slideshow!
Photo ideas:
- doing something they love (hanging out with friends, sports, skiing, hanging out with their animal, reading, etc.)
- individual photo
- photo of when they were little
- photo of them with 8th grade friends or Dieringer teachers growing up, etc.
Please send your photos in full image size and add your child's name to the subject line.
Thank you,
Your NTMS Class of 2022 Parent Volunteers for 8th Grade Slideshow
*** This message was accidentally sent out to all grades today and should only have gone out to 8th grade. Families of 6th graders & 7th graders, please disregard this message, it is only for our graduating 8th graders.***
8th Grade Laptop Buy Back
8th Graders can purchase their laptop, charger, and protective case, (not bag), for $20. Payments can be made between May 31st and June 10th online to the North Tapps website under the “Online Payments” tab (click here to pay online) or in the main office.
8th grade students still need to return their laptop, charger, protective case, and bag at the end of the school year with the other grades, so that the laptop can be inventoried and reformatted. All student data (files, images, videos) will be purged so that the laptop can be sold. Therefore, if students want to save any of their data, they need to save it to a thumb drive before they return it.
Purchased laptops will be available for pick up at 8th grade graduation.
Highly Capable Testing
There will be one more Highly Capable assessment opportunity this spring. The nomination window will be open from June 1st - June 10th.The links for parents are on the district website and will "go live" during the open window. All forms are completed electronically. Teachers and parents may nominate and submit documents during this window. Evaluations will take place June 13-17th for all students who have completed nomination packets.
Student Spotlight
Message From the District Nurse
End of Year Strong Finish
Dear Dieringer Families:
We are nearing the end of the school year, just a few short weeks to go. Our staff, students, and families have shown amazing dedication and resilience for the past two years.
Since last spring, our top priorities have been to maximize in-person learning and slow the spread of Covid-19. Our community has come a long way since the beginning of the school year, however Covid is still present and impacting students and staff in our schools.
Covid case numbers have been going up in our community, and hence in our schools, for the past couple of weeks. We would like to maintain a strong finish to the school year with healthy students and staff as much as possible. With that in mind, please remember the following to minimize the spread of the virus:
Wash hands frequently, and keep students home when they are sick. Test them for Covid with any of the following symptoms not caused by a known chronic health condition. You may call your school’s nurse or health technician for more symptom-specific guidance:
Fever
Chills
Cough
Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
Muscle or body aches
New loss of taste or smell
Unusual fatigue
Congestion/stuffy nose
Runny nose
Sore throat
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
If your student develops symptoms while at school, we can test them here with a rapid antigen test. Curative also has a PCR testing site at Auburn Memorial Stadium, 801 4th ST NE. The current hours are 7:30 am -1:30 pm Monday through Friday, and rapid PCR tests are available. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit https://book.curative.com/sites/34106 . Appointments are preferred but not mandatory.
*Please note: the Auburn testing site at 2400 Perimeter Road will close effective June 1st.
We have had some outbreaks in classrooms in our district. Our goal is to slow the spread of Covid. It is possible that if we continue to see outbreaks, we may need to reevaluate our requirements, always consulting with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. Please remember that masks are optional, but strongly recommended when exposed to help minimize the spread of the virus.
Thank you,
Terry Woodall, BSN, RN
District Nurse
6th Grade Families: Tdap Vaccine REQUIRED to Start 7th Grade
Dear 6th grade families:
-Per Washington State law, all students attending grades 7 through 12 must have one dose of Tdap vaccine.
-Tdap is a booster vaccine which continues to protect your child against the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis diseases they were immunized against as young child. For students in 7th grade, the Tdap vaccine must be given at or after age 10 to be accepted for school entry.
-To update your child’s Tdap immunization record at the school, you will need to turn in a medically verified immunization record. Your child’s health care provider can print this for you, or you can print it from MyIR, which is a free Department of Health online tool that allows families to view and print their official immunization records themselves. Go to https://wa.myir.net/register to begin the sign-up process.
-You may email proof of vaccination to Kristin Liedtke, NTMS Health Tech, at kliedtke@dieringer.wednet.edu
-Make appointments early to avoid the summer rush!
*If your student has a Certificate of Exemption on file for the Tdap vaccine, this is still valid.
Terry Woodall, BSN, RN
District Nurse
Department of Health Guidance
Covid Testing for Students with Symptoms
We can accept either a negative PCR test or negative antigen/home test for students with symptoms. If your child has just one of the following symptoms which resolves within 24 hours (stuffy nose, runny nose, headache, fatigue, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) your child may return to school without a test. However if your student’s single symptom lasts >24 hours, they have two or more of these symptoms, or one of the following symptoms (fever of 100.4 or greater, chills, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, muscle or body aches, new loss of taste or smell, cough), they will need a negative Covid test to return to school, and symptoms must have significantly improved (including no fever for 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medication). Please call the school and email a copy of your student’s negative test results to your school’s nurse or health technician. (Your child may not need testing if symptoms are from a documented, chronic health condition. Please check with your school’s nurse or health technician).
*If your student has tested positive for Covid in the past 90 days, please use the rapid antigen test option, as a PCR test may show positive for up to three months.
If your student develops any of the above symptoms while at school, rapid antigen testing may be available. A parent will be notified first, and a Test to Stay/Testing Permission form must be completed. If the test is negative, students are still required to go home and may return when symptoms have significantly Improved and no fever for 24 hours without taking fever reducing medication, per Department of Health guidance.
Free Covid Home Tests
Did you know that you can order free Covid home tests from the federal government and from Washington State? Here are the websites to order free tests for your family:
Federal Government: https://www.covidtests.gov/
Washington State: https://sayyescovidhometest.org/
Terry Woodall, BSN, RN
District Nurse
Dieringer School District
Lake Tapps, WA
Food Services
May Menus
Weekly Attendance
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration for the 2022-23 school year is now open!
Please call the Dieringer Heights office for registration details at (253) 826-4937.
Child Find
Community Resources
Text Support Line - 741741
Pierce County Crisis Line 1-800-576-776 (24 hours)
National Suicide Prevention - 1-800-273-8255
Sumner Food Bank
NO appointment is needed at this time.
"That's right, no appointment needed and no identification needed. Just show up and shop like any grocery store... and we'll take care of the rest. We serve all... EVERY address, EVERY city, EVERY zip code."
Food Distribution Hours:
- Mon-Fri : 10:00am-1:00pm
- Thurs: 5:00pm-7:00pm
Client Information Link: 253-863-3793
Food Bank Address: 15625 Maine Street E. Sumner, WA
Contact Information
Principal: David Uberti, duberti@dieringer.wednet.edu
Asst. Principal: Tyler Borden, tborden@dieringer.wednet.edu
Counselor: Jennifer Roscoe, jroscoe@dieringer.wednet.edu
Tech Coach: Dietrich Baker, dbaker@dieringer.wednet.edu
Website: https://ntms.dieringer.wednet.edu/
Location: North Tapps Middle School, 12th Street East, Bonney Lake, WA, USA
Phone: 253-862-2776