Cougar Connection
AUGUST 18, 2022
From Principal Dr. Barnette
Dear Cougar Families,
We did it!! The first week of the school year is in the books. This week, much of our focus has been on developing positive relationships, practicing routines, and communicating expectations. Your children are delightful. We are so enjoying getting to know them.
Thank you for your patience with before and after-school traffic. The first week is always the most hectic as families experiment with different drop-off/pick-up times and locations. I promise that things will ease up in the coming weeks. You’ve probably noticed that over 300 of our students ride their bikes to school each day. We will be offering bike safety workshops in the coming weeks. More on that soon!
Our awesome assistant principal, Mrs. Kramer, met with every single physical education class this week to review safety and behavioral expectations. Here is a link to the presentation slide deck. We emphasized that Diegueño Middle School is a safe place to make mistakes. Kids this age often learn where the boundaries are by stepping over them. That being said, there are several infractions that, based on the education code, will result in a mandatory suspension. We shared those with the students with the hope that they will not test those particular boundaries. Again, I refer you to the slide deck for details. Mrs. Kramer and I are both happy to answer any questions you might have.
I hope you’ll follow our school's Instagram and Facebook accounts so you can see photos of the learning and fun that is taking place throughout our campus every day. We’ve included a few snapshots below.
Finally, please mark your calendar for our Back to School Night on Thursday,
September 1 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. We can’t wait to have you back in our classrooms again, after two years of virtual sessions. Look for more details soon.
Go Cougars!!
Dr. Celeste Barnette
Principal
Upcoming August/September Events
- Monday, August 29 - Late Start - School starts at 9:45 a.m.
- Thursday, September 1 - Back-to-School Night 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. More information in next week's Cougar Connection.
- Wednesday, September 7 - Bagels w/Barnette - 8:45 a.m. in the Learning Commons.
From Assistant Principal Kramer
ATTENDANCE CORNER
· Report all absences to the Attendance office. Parents/guardians have 48 hours following the absence to verify and clear absences. After 48 hours, any unverified absences will automatically be considered truant.
· Call or email 24-48 in advance for an “Off-Campus” pass, if picking up students early for appointments. Students will need to pick up a pass before school on the day of their appointment.
· For the safety of our students, a Parent or Guardian will need to sign out a student through attendance in the administration building. Students cannot walk or ride their bikes/e-bikes home.
Thank you for your cooperation
We partner with the Boys & Girls Club (Griset Branch) of Encinitas to provide sports programs, after-school activities, and other support for our students throughout the year.
From our Counseling Office
Welcome to the new year! It has been great to meet all our new students and see our returners. Thank you for your patience as we start the new year. Please remember our doors are always open and we are here to support you!
Mrs. Martin, Mr. Brown, and Ms. Carolyn
ASB & Student Announcements
PURCHASING PE CLOTHES
Diegueño's PE clothes are now for sale on our Diegueño Webstore. PE clothes purchased online will be distributed in your student's PE classes this week and next week. Please allow a few days for processing and distributing once purchased. You can also purchase with cash (exact change) or check (made out to Diegueño MS) in your student's PE classes.
At this time we will only be selling our shirts, shorts, and PE bags. Later in the fall, we will begin to sell sweats. All items are adult sizing (S-XL). Pricing can be found below:
PE Cotton Shirt $10.00
PE Dry Fit Shirt $15.00
PE Shorts $10.00
PE Bag $5.00
If you are purchasing your clothes online, you will need to create an account. The instructions are on the webstore. When creating the account, please make sure to follow the formula provided based on your student's information as it appears on Aeries (your student's legal name). The website is particular, and if it is not what appears in Aeries, it will not allow you to make an account.
For those purchasing with cash or check, please print out and fill out this form. Your student will need it to be able to purchase their items.
Questions can be directed to Mallory Reeves at mallory.reeves@sduhsd.net.
Replacement stylus or chargers
Students who need to replace their stylus or chargers can purchase new ones in the front office with Ms. Mallory. She will be selling these items before school and at lunch only. Please provide cash or check (made out to SDUHSD) with the exact change. We have only received a small supply to start off the school year but will be expecting more shipments throughout the school year.
Stylus replacement: $25
Charger replacement: $28
A few words from our Diegueño PTSA
Thank you to all of you that signed up for our first fundraiser. It is now sold out! For those of you who were able to RSVP, remember to bring cash or checks. Since the funds go directly to our school they're not able to take cards. We will see you at Mendocino Farms on Monday!
Please help with joining the Diegeuño Parent, Teacher, Student Association (PTSA) to support programs that directly benefit your child! If you would like to join in supporting your Cougars, please go to the DNO PTSA website
and donate now!
To see some of the amazing events that PTSA has sponsored this year, please check out their events page. For archived events please see the PTSA Events page for more details.