The Panther Post
January 24, 2022 Volume 2
Principal's Corner
Hello Panthers!! Discovery Middle School is in full swing now 3 weeks into the Spring semester!! We continue what promises to be an amazing second semester full of hard work, learning, and success! I encourage everyone to be thankful for the journey and control the controllables!! We look forward to seeing what 2022 has in store for our wonderful school and school community! DMS admin are in and out of classes and in the halls daily. We assure you that amazing things are happening instructionally in the classroom!! Please do not forget that we are the #1 ranked middle school in the state of Alabama for many reasons, OUR teachers, staff and students!! For this, we will have a few Super Exciting visitors in the coming weeks!! I am beyond excited that our Alabama State Superintendent, Dr. Mackey, AND several prominent guests will be visiting our school on Tuesday, February 8th at 9:00 am. He and his entourage are visiting our school due to being recognized as the #1 middle school in the state of AL for 2022.
To our student body, we ask that you take time to reflect daily on your goals and strive to do your very best each day. Feel confident that DMS administration, faculty, and staff are here to support and encourage you as you explore different opportunities and continue to grow as learners. Start by being in class and in your seat on time each block!!
To our parents and community, it is essential that you continue to take an active role in our students' success. It is important that we maintain parent involvement as we begin the second semester of our school year. Please remember that our instructional school day begins at 8:15 am daily. Having our students at school and in class on time daily leads to success for all. See updates for how you can get involved in our PTA section. We have applied to be a National PTA School of Excellence in 2022. I will be reviewing School of Excellence survey results soon in the hopes of designing a plan of action. In addition, and as we continue to strive for excellence on a local, state and national level, we will be going through our 5-year district accreditation process March 7-10, 2022.
Beginning, Thursday, Jan.27, we will change to a virtual platform for all students. Students will return for in-person learning on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. All of these virtual days will be asynchronous. For the virtual day scheduled for Friday, Feb. 4, students will return in person.
Weekly rotation schedule for January 24-28, 2022: DECAB
Advisory schedule Tuesday, Jan 25 - "Perseverance" is our focus this week!
Go Panthers!
Discovery Middle School: A place for excellence, innovation and discovery.
Current/Upcoming Events
- Please be on the lookout for 2022-2023 registration packets to be coming home within the next few weeks. Our 8th graders are preparing to visit Bob Jones to see all there is to offer and begin working on their 4-year plan. Panther Prowl and Parent University, for our rising 6th thru 8th grade students/parents, scheduled for Feb 4, Feb 7 and Feb 8 respectively has been RESCHEDULED!! Stay tuned for updated information!
- Journey Middle School waivers are on hold...In light of a potential deferred opening, the transfer and waiver process for rising 7th and 8th grade Journey students is being suspended until we have a better understanding of the completion status. The student preference forms were sent home last week with rising 7th and 8th graders zoned for Journey for 2022-2023. Waivers were scheduled to be returned no later than January 21. This process is on hold until further notice. If students have turned in these forms, they will be held at the middle schools until further notice and will not be considered binding as a decision at this time.
Celebrations
- January is School Board Member Recognition Month. We are blessed in Madison to have a very dedicated group of Board members. These servants volunteer for Board service and spend an incredible amount of time in service to our district solely on a volunteer basis. They are very dedicated to our MCS staff and students.
- Discovery Middle School is extremely proud to announce that one more member of our faculty has earned National Board Certification in their area of certification! Congratulations to Art Teacher Judy Bagwell for earning her National Board Certification! National Board Certification is a voluntary, advanced teaching credential that goes beyond state licensure. NBC has national standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. The National Board certifies teachers who successfully complete its rigorous certification process. DMS now has 8 NBC teachers in Judy Bagwell, Stacey Humes, Adrienne King, Dr. Kate Wade, Lisa Kiss, Tonya Breeding, Sara Baragona, and Kelsey Cooper.
- Please also join me in celebrating the advanced graduate success of our Assistant Principal, Kate Wade, as she has successfully defended her dissertation and is now Dr. Kate Wade!! Congrats!!
Scholars Bowl - District champs going undefeated. Headed to State in February!!
DMS 8th grade Girls Basketball earned Madison County Runner-up...Congrats on an amazing season!
During the first tournament at Liberty, the Archery team scored a team total of 2828 which is very good for the first tournament. The top 3 shooters were: Caleb Cooke 265, Isaac Lockhart 255, and Malcolm Phillips 254. Congrats to our top archers!
The middle school track team recently competed at the Middle School Gold Championship Indoor Track Meet on January 20. Kaleb Christopher finished in 2nd place for the Boys Long Jump with a time of 17-02.25 and single-handedly got the Bob Jones mens team 12th place in team ranking. Alivia Urrutia finished 2nd place with a meet record in the Girls 400m with a time of 58.83. Kalah Christopher, D'Ashia Lewis, Ava Lee Curtis, and Alivia Urrutia finished in 3rd place in the Girls 2 x 400m Relay with a time of 1.58.34. Kalah Christopher finished 1st place in the Long Jump with a time of 16-02.75, 2nd place in 60 m Dash with a time of 8.33, and 3rd place in the 4x 200. She is the new championship meet record holder and the female athlete MVP of the championship. Kalah and Kaleb both 8th graders made us proud today . FYI they are twins. Congratulations to the athletes and coaches!
Yearbook Pre-Order
Final call to pre-order yearbooks! If you'd like to be guaranteed a yearbook, purchase now until January 28th for $45!
8th grade Panoramic Class Photo
FCA
January 28th
February 18th
March 11th
April 15th
May 13th
We will meet at 7:30 AM in the library! Everyone is welcome! We would love to have you! See Mrs. Cooper if you have any questions.
National Junior Honor Society
Important Reminders
- Please ensure that your students adhere to the dress code. All clothing must meet appropriate guidelines as noted in the DMS Student Handbook and MCS Code of Conduct. Also, students may bring a jacket or sweater if they are cold; however, blankets and stuffed animals are not allowed as a cover at school.
- Attendance is very important. Please be sure to send absence notes to dmsattendance@madisoncity.k12.al.us whenever your student is absent from school.
- Students should arrive to class on time and be in their seats when the tardy bell rings.
Lost and Found
- Please encourage your students to check the DMS Lost & Found near the front office if they have misplaced any items.
- The Lost and Found will be cleared out on the first day of each month and unclaimed items will be donated to a worthy cause.
PTA
- We have 436 PTA members to date. Last year’s total membership was 412.
- Mar. 1 deadline - Receive Oak Tree Award (20% increase in last year’s membership). We only need 59 more members to achieve this goal
Discovery Middle School
Website: https://www.madisoncity.k12.al.us/discovery
Location: 1304 Hughes Road, Madison, AL, USA
Phone: 256-837-3735
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverymspanthers/