Dragon Digest
Volume 1 Issue 5
PTSA
DeSana PTSA would again like to thank you for your huge support of the Fundraiser. We were able to raise $8,000 for our school! AND the pick up of the product went extremely smooth on Wednesday thanks to the kids and awesome parents. The money is already starting to be given to teachers in the form of mini grants! THANK YOU! Also, a special thank you to all the parent volunteers who signed up to help- - - we could not have done it without you! The Glow Dodge Ball Party will be on October 17th during lunch. Students will receive their cumulative prizes at the party.
Limo ride winners will go to Stars and Strikes for bowling and lunch on October 18th. Please stay tuned to morning announcements for more specific info regarding the Glow Party and limo ride for those students who qualify for both or just the Glow Party.
ACADEMICS
PARENT CONFERENCE DAYS
The mid-semester - - - or nine week - - - juncture of this first semester is right around the corner. So that means Parent-Teacher Conference Days are soon to follow. Wednesday, October 19th and Thursday, October 20th are our school system’s two fall conference days, with middle school students attending school on these two days for half a day and being released at 1:30. This is an excellent time for parents and teachers to devote specific time to talk about your young Dragon and how he/she is progressing in his/her academic work thus far.
Team teachers will send out conference notices about available conference times beginning Thursday, October 6th. While parent-teacher conferences are not a “have-to”, we do want to honor all parent requests for a conference. Many of you keep up-to-date with your child’s academic progress daily through Parent Portal. Some of you may just feel the need to “touch base” with your child’s teacher(s) through an email or phone call. Any and all of these ways are quite fine to stay connected to DeSana and to keep on top of your child’s academic progress. So if you feel that you are very much “in the know” about how your child is performing this year, then you may not desire a face-to-face conference at this time. However, for those who wish to have a conference we will be happy to schedule one for you.
In order to accommodate as many parents as we can during the conference day afternoons, teachers are scheduling 20-minute time slots. We know that time does go by quickly during these conferences, and that it is hard for parents and teachers to discuss everything. Therefore, we encourage you to prioritize the items you would like to discuss. Our teachers will do the same. Should you leave the conference with unresolved concerns or questions, or you think of something else after you leave, please do not hesitate to let the teacher(s) know so that they may arrange some more time to discuss these with you.
Parent-student-teacher conferences --- in whatever format you choose and whenever you desire to have one --- are an important piece of our home-school communication. As always, we appreciate your support!
Counselors' Corner
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month and the counselors will be going into 8th grade classrooms to teach students the importance of cyber safety! Technology is a great addition to our lives and it is important that our students understand how to handle it responsibly. Remember to tell your kids to not share their location online and make sure they have pass codes on their technology and any online accounts so no one can access their personal information. We will have announcements on Friday mornings during October that give students tips to be safe on the internet.
ATHLETICS
Lady Dragons Basketball
The Lady Dragons basketball team will hold open gym sessions on October 10th and 12th from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. Players must have the 8-page packet completed, including the physical completed by a physician, turned into Coach Fogg in room 1117 before participating in any open gym session or tryouts. Tryouts for the Lady Dragons basketball teams will be on October 17th and 18th from 4:30- 6:30 pm with results posted by 8:30 pm on the Lady Dragons basketball tab under the Athletics page on the DeSana School website page. For any questions please contact Coach Fogg at sfogg@forsyth.k12.ga.us.
Boys Dragons Basketball
Basketball tryouts will be begin on October 19th from 6:30-8:30 am. To be able to participate in tryouts, you must have all physical documents turned in. The blank forms and full information about open gym dates can be found by clicking here.
ACTIVITIES
Hat Day!
Support the Lady Dragons basketball team by wearing your favorite hat on October 14th! The cost is only $1.00.
Red Ribbon Week
The counselors are getting ready for Red Ribbon Week, which will take place on October 24 through the 28. Red Ribbon Week is held in memory of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena who was kidnapped, tortured, and killed by a drug cartel while on assignment. This week we will have various activities which the students may participate in to teach them about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. We will also have a banner hanging outside of the cafeteria for students to sign showing their promise to be drug free!
MEDIA CENTER FUNDRAISER BEGINS THIS WEEK (Donations accepted through December)
DeSana Middle School is incredibly fortunate to have a brand new media center filled with lots of natural light and gorgeous furniture. As a new school, however, the number of books per pupil is lower than the ideal. We would like to add many more books to this opening collection, with an emphasis on student-requested books, high-interest nonfiction, graphic novels, and books in the humor genre. This is the purpose of our fundraiser, and you can help!
We are asking parents, grandparents, and friends to donate any amount they can, but if every family donated just 10 dollars, we would blast right through our goal and be able to add even more books. With your help, we can continue to build our collection and assure that students have current, topical, and desired resources available to them during their years at DeSana.
EACH FAMILY DONATING 20 DOLLARS OR MORE WILL BE RECOGNIZED WITH A DECORATIVE LABEL HONORING YOUR STUDENT INSIDE ONE OF OUR NEW BOOKS!
HOW TO DONATE
Simply click this link to make your contribution online with a credit or debit card using our campaign code D6E5 (website opens this week—keep checking back). All contributions will come with an e-mailed receipt when a valid e-mail address is provided. THANK YOU for supporting our media center!
Chick-Fil-A Biscuits Sale
Be sure to help support the Math Club as they sell Chick-Fil-A biscuits in the car line on Thursday, October 20, 2016. Biscuits will be sold to parents, starting at 7:30, as they are dropping students off. The cost will be $4.00 per biscuit. It is the perfect way for our students to start off a Thursday morning before a three-day weekend!
8th Grade Savannah Class Trip
If you chose to make payments to your student's trip account, the 2nd payment is due by Friday, October 28. The amount due is $100.00. Please send cash, check or money order made out to DeSana Middle School. All checks must include student name and parent phone number. If you have any questions about the trip please contact Mrs. Wood at erinwood@forsyth.k12.ga.us or 770-667-2591 Ext 492216. You can also find information about the trip by clicking here.
ALTRUISTIC ENDEAVORS
Dragon Day of Good Deeds (D3 Day)
The D3 Day Committee is currently searching for members who are interested in either taking a committee head position for D3 Day or playing a supporting role. We need dedicated individuals to step up and help us to organize our inaugural D3 Day. This CAN NOT happen without your help. Please consider helping. If you own a business and feel you can sponsor D3 Day please get in contact with me or if you would like to do a family donation. Also, remember if the company you work for does charitable matching we would be happy to get you everything you need to make this happen. Please email me at dawn@bourgs.com if you feel you can commit yourself to this altruistic endeavor.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
STUDENT HOLIDAY ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21ST
Students will have an extra-long weekend starting Friday, October 21st as this day is a professional learning day for ALL FCS teachers and staff. Teachers will be involved in professional learning sessions, training sessions, and collaborative planning meetings throughout the day while students enjoy a day away from school. There will be no extra-curricular activities taking place at DeSana on this day. Enjoy the long weekend!
CELEBRATING OUR WONDERFUL BUS DRIVERS!!
Monday, October 17th is National Bus Driver Appreciation Day, which gives us all an excellent opportunity to pause and say a tremendous THANK YOU to ALL of our DeSana bus drivers - - - the first school personnel who see our kids each morning and the last to see them in the afternoon!! Our bus drivers are charged with such a critical job each and every day . . . to safely transport our young Dragons to school and back home every day, all the while dealing with heavy traffic, different weather elements, and with their backs to middle schoolers throughout the ride. Our DeSana bus drivers do a wonderful job of getting our young Dragons to and from school safely each and every day! I hope you will join our staff the week of October 17th in saying a BIG THANK YOU to our awesome DeSana bus drivers!