October Newsletter
🍁 Happy Fall/Halloween DHMS Families! 🎃
Drexel Hill Middle School
Principal: Jill Palladino
Assistant Principals: Jen Rosen, Ron Cole, Gretchen Cammiso, Pete Schiller
3001 State Road
Drexel Hill, PA 19026
(610) 853-4580
What's going on at DHMS?
Upcoming Events:
October 16- First Student Council Meeting
October 18- Fall Movie Night, 6:30PM
October 19- Early Dismissal Asynchronous Thursday
October 20- Spirit Day, 6th Grade Social, 6:00PM
October 26- Early Dismissal Asynchronous Thursday
November 2- Early Dismissal Asynchronous Thursday
November 3- Last Day of Marking Period 1
November 9- Regular Early Dismissal (No Asynchronous Work)
November 16- Early Dismissal Asynchronous Thursday
November 17- 7th Grade Social, 6:00PM
November 20/21- Parent-Teacher Conferences and 12:15 Dismissal
November 22- Turkey Trot, 9:00AM and 11:50 Early Dismissal
🙌 Student Highlights! 🎉
Student of the Month
September (Theme: Responsibility)
October's Student of the Month Theme is KINDNESS!
🎃 6th Grade Fall Social 🍁
Click here to sign up to attend the social!
Vote for Upper Darby Royals Football! 🏈
The Royals' Thanksgiving Day Game vs Haverford could be broadcast live by 94WIP! Please nominate us to be the 94WIP SportsRadio Turkey Bowl Live game this year!
Click the picture to vote!
Our Fall Movie Night was reschedule for next Wednesday, October 18, 2023, starting at 6:30 PM. We will have the students vote for the movie that they want to watch during Citizenship on Tuesday 10/17/23.
All students are welcome to attend, but must sign up using this link. Students that have not signed up in advance will not permitted to enter. No exceptions.
Guests may bring a snack, but I am asking that the snack be appropriate for the stadium, such as bagged chips or pretzels. No glass bottles, gum or sunflower seeds are allowed in the stadium.
Students that are found in violation of the code of character may be asked to leave prior to the end of the evening. Any student who is suspended or absent that day will not be welcome to attend.
Students must stay until the end of the event unless their parent communicates with an administrator.
Get to Know the Teachers and Staff!
6th Grade Teacher Spotlight:
Meet Mrs. Stewart!
Mrs. Stewart has been a teacher at Drexel Hill Middle School for over 20 years! Mrs. Stewart was once a math teacher, she has also taught both 6th and 7th grade but her current position is a 6th grade special education teacher! Mrs. Stewart grew up local to Drexel Hill and attended Episcopal Academy. Mrs. Stewart earned her Bachelor's degree from Catholic University of America in Washington DC and her Master's degree from St. Joes in Philadelphia! Mrs. Stewart, her husband and two children enjoy cheering on the Philadelphia sports teams, especially the Phillies. They also enjoy going to the beach and concerts also! Mrs. Stewart and her family also have a four legged member - their dog, Charlotte (also known as Charlie!), she is a sweet and sassy Cavapoo puppy!
If you need to reach Mrs. Stewart, please email estewart@upperdarbysd.org!
7th Grade Teacher Spotlight:
Meet Ms. Mattis!
Ms. Mattis is not only in her third school year as a teacher, she is a K-12 Upper Darby Alumni! Ms. Mattis went to Hillcrest, Drexel Hill Middle School and Upper Darby High School. Ms. Mattis is actually teaching 7th grade math in her own 7th grade math classroom! After Ms. Mattis graduated from UDHS, she went to Widener University where she earned her Bachelor's degree. Shortly after she went to the University of Pittsburgh and earned her Master's Degree. Ms. Mattis still lives locally in Delco with her husband and son and coaches softball in the Drexel Hill community! They enjoy going to the zoo, spending time with their families and watching all Philadelphia sports teams! Ms. Mattis has three dogs, Iris (a Brittany spaniel), Otter (a chocolate lab) and Hera (a German Shepard). Despite being a die-hard Taylor Swift fan, Ms. Mattis did not make it to the Era's Tour this summer but being a WWE Fan, she will be attending WrestleMania this spring!
If you need to get in touch with Ms. Mattis, please email cmattis@upperdarbysd.org!
8th Grade Teacher Spotlight:
Meet Mr. Brown!
Mr. Brown was also raised in Upper Darby School District. He has a sister who is an elementary coach in the district. Mr. Brown and Mrs. Carafides both attended Bywood Elementary School, Beverly Hills Middle School and Upper Darby High School. Mr. Brown then went to St. Joe's University where he earned both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Mr. Brown has been a teacher at Drexel Hill Middle School for 22 years. Mr. Brown currently teaches 8th grade English Language Arts. Mr. Brown and his family are Birds Fans and enjoy watching the Eagles games together. Mr. Brown and his family do not have any pets which makes it easier for them to spend time together down at the shore!
If you need to reach Mr. Brown, please email tbrown@upperdarbysd.org!
Related Arts Teacher Spotlight:
Meet Mrs. Pusey!
This is the start of Mrs. Pusey's fourth school year at DHMS but her 15th year teaching! Mrs. Pusey grew up in Interboro School District then received her Bachelor's degree from West Chester University and completed a graduate program at Widener University. Mrs. Pusey is a technology education teacher here at DHMS in addition to other electives. She is also the cheer/step coach for the school! At home, Mrs. Pusey lives with her husband, her dog and her fish. Her dog, who is a beagle, is named Dina. Dina has a lot of personality, she loves going for daily walks and makes sure no one ever misses feeding her a meal! Mrs. Pusey is a fish mom to lots of goldfish as well! Mrs. Pusey and her husband enjoy going on different adventures. Some of their favorite activities include the movies, traveling, scuba diving and theme parks with their nieces and nephews!
If you need to get in touch with Mrs. Pusey, please email epusey@upperdarbysd.org!
Support Staff Spotlight:
Meet Mrs. Kitzinger!
Mrs. Kitzinger is the 6th grade school counselor this school year and will follow our current sixth grades until they ! This is the start of Mrs. Kitzinger's fourth school year! She's following the footsteps of her mother who is a middle school principal and choosing a path in education! Mrs. Kitzinger attended West Chester University for both her undergraduate and graduate program. She has a Master's degree in School Counseling. At home, Mrs. Kitzinger lives with her husband, their 1 and a half year old daughter and their dog, Murphy! Mrs. Kitzinger and her family enjoy making pizza together. While they enjoy their creation, their dog loves snacking on his favorite treat, carrots!
If you need to contact Mrs. Kitzinger, please email mkitzinger@upperdarbysd.org!
Community Relations
Our personal behaviors reflect the pride we have in ourselves and the respect we have for those around us. Unfortunately, time and again, schools are asked to step in and intervene when student behaviors that occur outside of the school day are a poor reflection of our student body. If I could walk by everybody’s side all the time, I would. In the meantime, there are some common standards of behavior that we teach in school and are expected within the community, especially as students visit the nearby businesses, including our friends in the Bond Shopping Center, Barclay Square, Garrett and Burmont Roads, and the Shops at 69th Street.
Please review the following expectations with your children:
Vaping/Smoking - This is prohibited inside of all shops and businesses.
Littering - Please take pride in your community and use a trash can.
Outside food and drink - Please do not enter a business with outside food and/or drinks.
Obscene language - Use kind words and do not use vulgar, curse, defamatory, threatening, abusive, or hateful words.
Unsafe Acts - Do not participate in any physical act that is unsafe, including fighting, slap-boxing, standing on furniture, or crowding in a small space. If the employee asks that you leave, please respect that directive.
Dress and attire - Do not enter a business with your face concealed. Sunglasses are appropriate outdoors but not indoors. Increasingly, businesses are prohibiting hoods on jackets or sweatshirts when worn indoors.
Lastly, sometimes it’s the crowding that feels the most unsafe. Children are often attracted to the center of action in an event. For example - If two children are arguing, there may be dozens of children who are watching, under the impression that they are not doing anything wrong other than watching someone else’s poor behavior. These large crowds that form make it very difficult to separate good intentions from negative behaviors. Additionally, sometimes our more impulsive children join into negative behaviors when it seems normal within a larger group. As you speak with your child tonight, they may not be involved with vaping, littering, smoking, or cursing, and they may feel that these topics are irrelevant to their experience. However, please explain your expectations for what they should do to be a positive influence when and if they happen to be in a space where a large crowd is forming and the behaviors of others are starting to become negative. Some good suggestions include: choose an alternate route, report any unsafe acts, threats, or crimes to a responsible adult, find a new social activity.
If your child has seen something unsafe and wants to report it anonymously, they can always use the 24 hour anonymous tip line at Safe2Say - Safe2Say LINK. Police or school officials will receive these tips and respond appropriately to help us to improve our community!