December Dragon Digest

Dear DeSana Families,

As we close out the Second Quarter and end the semester, I would like to thank you all for your continued support of our school and our vision to foster a safe, connected, and thriving learning community. Every December, I have asked our families to take a few moments to send a quick email to your child’s teachers to thank them for their hard work and dedication. A quick handwritten note or email can be a simple, yet impactful way to express your gratitude and appreciation for our fabulous teachers!

I want to remind you all that Tuesday, December 19th is an early release day and that there is no school for students on Wednesday, December 20th.

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season!

Sincerely,

Principal Sargent

• December 4th: Winter Chorus Concert at Denmark High School at 7:00pm

• December 7th: DeSana Spelling Bee

• December 11th: Winter Band Concert (7th & 8th Grades) at DeSana from 6:45-8:00pm

• December 18th: Winter Band Concert (6th Grade) at DeSana from 7:00-8:00pm

• December 19th: Early Release Day for Students

• December 20th - January 3rd: Winter Break

For our student and staff connection, we would like to highlight the food pantry that our students, families, and staff made possible this month. Thanks to the generous donations from our stakeholders, we were able to provide resources to several families in need before Thanksgiving break. We are always appreciative of the opportunity to give back to our community, and we are so grateful for your support in this endeavor!

We would also like to share our appreciation for all those who attended our Diwali Bash in November. This was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the festival of lights with food, fun, and dance with our families. Thank you to those who organized, contributed to, and attended this fantastic event!

Tuesday, December 19th is an early release day for students. Students will not be allowed to check out after 12:55pm and the car rider line may pull forward at 1:00pm. For students bringing lunch to school, we ask that you please try to pack items that do not require the use of microwaves.

Attention 8th Grade Families: please see the transition timeline from Denmark High School below (or click here). Note that there are rising parent sessions on January 18th at 12:00pm (virtual) and 6:00pm (in the DHS cafeteria).

This year’s Lanier Regional Technology Competition will be held at Whitlow Elementary School on January 20th, 2024. This is a wonderful opportunity to challenge and empower students to become leaders in the digital age.

Students are able to choose from 14 different project categories based on their interests. They should be prepared to present an original project to a group of judges on the day of the competition; they will be judged based on originality, clarity, documentation, appropriateness, and design. If your child is interested, please register using this link by January 5th. If you are asked for an advisor name, you can put Ms. Hubbard (ehubbard@forsyth.k12.ga.us). For any additional information and to see the full list of project categories, you can visit this site. If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Hubbard.

More details will become available as we get closer to the competition date.

Families, please help us by talking with your child about claiming items they may have left behind and are now being held in our lost and found. The volume of unclaimed items we are collecting daily has quickly added up to hundreds of items being stored. We simply do not have the capacity to maintain our lost and found beyond 30 days. All unclaimed items will be donated to The Place on Monday, December 18th. Families are welcome to search our lost and found Monday-Friday from 9:00am-3:45pm. Teachers will also allow students to visit lost and found during the school day.

Dragon Academy is a great way for students to get additional help after school and make up missed assignments. Please reach out to your child's classroom teacher(s) to inquire about future Dragon Academy dates.

The Media & Learning Center is a Winter Wonderland!

Added features for our students in December:

• DeSana Gift Giving Center - See HERE for updates and information!

• December Reading Tic Tac Toe - students create a tic-tac-toe of the books they read and earn a ‘wristband eraser’ - and get the gift of reading many new books!

• More new - and featured - non-fiction reads. Adding Nonfiction Genre of the Month to our Genre of the Month thanks to our hard working Student Aides

• Mrs. Bryson ‘reads’ station - sharing my books read each month.

• Sora Overdrive now in Classlink:- One Minute Intro Video

Congratulations to our new MLC Aides!

All of the following students will be joining the team in January:

6th Grade: Fouzia A., Vahin R., Bianca C., Anvikka M., Ishitha V., Gitansh P., Riva V., Pragna P.

7th Grade: Mazzy O., Ayshe G., Shreya A.

8th Grade: Veniya G., Shreyas V., Carter C.

They will be joining our current team, and I know will be helping to create and support wonderful happenings in the Media and Learning Center!

Your student may have noticed a new friend on Classlink - SORA Overdrive! This houses free books under the Forsyth County button and will soon have $2,000 worth of our online books - thank you Lollipop Board and Book Fair!

Highlights

• Students can change font and background to help their reading comfort and comprehension

• Dyslexia font is available

• Teachers can assign books and have access to each student’s reading records

• Students can earn reading badges - the more they read, the more they collect!

• Connection to Libby, the public library app, has been applied for - meaning we will have a wonderful opportunity for all of our students to expand book availability in the most equitable way!

Coming Surprisingly Soon!

Our next Book Fair will happen in late February - and we will be working with a new company, Bedford Falls. Our Amazon Wish List is already up and running as we collect our prizes for the lollipop board and prepare to make this our best fundraiser EVER! The volunteer schedule will be posted early next year, so please keep an eye out for it! As always, your support is greatly appreciated.

Save the dates: 2/27/23 - 3/6/23

During December, we have set a school goal to help families less fortunate than ourselves…and we know that you and your students will want to be a part of it!

Here’s how it will work:

1. A list of requested items will be put together and disbursed to students and staff so that we can start collecting. The list will be posted on Monday, 4 December

2. Donated items will be brought to the designated collection area in the MLC - each grade level will have their own area - clearly signed - in the MLC!

The winning grade level students will earn a donut party

The winning grade level teachers will have a pizza lunch

- and, best of all, get to put their ELF ON A SHELF!

Elf on a Shelf?

Yes! The grade level administrator of the winning grade will dress up as an ELF on the last day of school as we celebrate our Winter Break together!

We will start collecting December 6th and the last day for donations will be December 15th.

Don’t miss out on celebrating a great school year with us! Order your Yearbook before they run out.

$50.00 NOW - and guaranteed availability until the end of December.

To order: https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/job/25646

Help us to make your student a star in the Yearbook! Do you have great photos from sporting events? Were you snapping pictures at Diwali? Drop your photos in the shared folder and make sure we share your great moments!

We know many of our families are planning on traveling during the month of December. Please note that we cannot excuse absences from school for travel-related reasons. Please click here for the Board's policy regarding student attendance.

All games begin at 6:00 PM unless otherwise noted.

7th Grade Tournament Championship Games will be held at Forsyth Central High School on January 20th.

8th Grade Tournament Championship Games will be held at South Forsyth High School on January 27th.

Any student interested in Golf should reach out to Coach Peyton Rich. If you have any questions about golf, please email Coach Rich at f41974@forsyth.k12.ga.us.

Attention all 6th grade families! Please begin making plans with your physician to ensure that your child's immunizations are up to date before the beginning of their 7th grade year. Current 6th graders are required to have been vaccinated with Tdap and meningococcal vaccines before the 24-25 school year. We wanted to communicate this information early and often to our 6th grade families to avoid any disruption at the beginning of next school year.

All parents/guardians of 6th grade students are responsible for ensuring that their students’ immunizations are updated prior to attending middle school next year (24-25)

• Rising 7th grade students are required to have been vaccinated with Tdap and meningococcal vaccines.

• Remember that your child will NOT be able to attend school next year until an updated immunization form (3231) is on file.

• Please check with the school nurse or your physician if you are not sure that your child’s immunizations are current.

Recommended vaccinations according to the CDC:
English version
Spanish version

PTO MEMBERSHIPS

Please sign up to join our PTO! We have only about 8% of our families represented on the PTO and we would appreciate more support. We have some great schoolwide initiatives being developed to give back to DeSana Middle School students, which is not possible without the support of parents, families and our community. PTO Memberships are only $35 per family and you can register here

Need to contact us? Email your PTO Board at desanadragonspto@gmail.com!