DMS March Newsletter
March 28, 2024
DMS Talent's Shine Bright
DMS hosted a talent show on Friday March 8th. The audience was treated to some amazing performances of singing, dancing, poetry and art. We are so proud of the DMS students that shined bright in this event and appreciate everyone who came out to support them. DMS is lucky to have such amazingly talented students.
W.E.B. Wednesday
6th Grade W.E.B. Wednesday
Our 6th grade students talked about the character trait of consistency. We talked about the importance of handling stress in healthy and positive ways and how being consistent with our goals can lead to less stress. We had to brainstorm things that stressed us out and our W.E.B. leaders wrote them on a board. We then split into two teams and they wrote one of our stressors on a balloon or things that made us feel angry or gave us anxiety. Eventually each stressor we listed ended up on a balloon that we had to work as a group to keep off the floor. As we kept adding balloons we talked about how having a lot of stressors at once can affect our lives and we talked about ways to deal with these stressors. At the end we got to pop the balloons with our stressors on them. This was a fun activity.
Written By Ryan B.
7th Grade W.E.B. Wednesday
Our 7th grade students talked about how important it is to make consistently good decisions. We had to brainstorm ideas about what it takes to make consistently good decisions. Then we each were given "In A Pickle" cards that had different types of scenarios and situations on them. Some examples included a situation like "If you hear a rumor that isn't true what would you do to stop it?" or "What would you do if your friend is mad at you?" We discussed these situations as a class. We learned how to solve different problems and think about how our decisions can make a situation better or worse. Every day, we are faced with thousands of choices to make! Some of those choices might be small, but they impact us now and in the future. It’s important to be able to make decisions and solve problems on our own.
Written by Andrew U.
8th Grade W.E.B. Day
This month the 8th grade class talked about the character trait of consistency. Consistency is defined as the quality of behaving or performing in a similar way with accuracy and dedication. Staying consistent in our daily lives is important to our individual routines and character. Consistency also plays a major role in the decisions we make on a day-to-day basis. Some classes watched a short movie and talked about making good decisions. We then split into three teams to face off in a game of Jeopardy! As a team, we answered questions that had to do with decision making and consistency. This lead to some good class discussions.
Written by Emily C. & Torrey S.
ECMEA's
DMS was well represented during the All County Music Festival held on March 9, 2024 at Kleinhan's Music Hall. These students spent multiple days practicing with students from schools across Erie County. We are so proud of Samatha, Logan, Henry, Archie, and Gabriella for their hard work and dedication.
DMS was also fortunate to have three 6th grade students audition and perform with the ECMEA All County Elementary Chorus on March 16, 2024. Congratulations to Morgan, Catalina and Gemma for their hard work and for earning this amazing opportunity.
We are so proud of all of our students who represented Depew Middle School!
Mr. Uhteg's Killer Whale Projects
Students in Mr. Patrick Uhteg's sixth grade English classes had the chance to learn about killer whales in a hands-on assignment. Using funding from a mini-grant from the NYSUT Retirees of Western New York, the students constructed a 15.5-feet long, 8-feet tall and 8-feet wide killer whale from start to finish. The 6th grade students took 3 weeks to complete a paper mache orca. We used chicken wire, cardboard, and insulation to build the killer whale frame. The orca's eyes were made from plastic balls and clay. After it was built we painted the orca with black and white paint. Multiple students stayed after school to help Mr. Uhteg with this project.
Mr. Uhteg's 6th grade students also studied books on orcas, seals and great white sharks. We answered non fiction questions about them. The questions were on the 5WH sheets (Who? What? When? Where? How? and Why?) based upon the information on killer whales presented in several sources. The students also drew vocabulary art which is a drawing of the orca surrounded by 10 describing words about the animals. Then we used the answers to those questions and the vocabulary to write an essay draft and then made revisions and completed a final copy of the essay.
The classes had a parent night where the students' parents could come in to see what their child had been working on in class. We also created a time-lapse video to show the project start to finish. This was a fun project!
Written by Primitiva S., Julianna H., and Catalina A., 6th grade students
Mrs. Robinson's STEM Challenges
The students in 6th grade Homebase have been working together on STEM challenges this semester. So far students have built towers and bridges out of spaghetti, marshmallows, and other supplies. They also had a paper airplane flying competition where the winning airplane flew for almost 40 feet. The most recent task was to create a parachute and holding container for an egg. Students worked in teams to protect their egg from the big drop. Several eggs survived, some smashed, and a lot was learned!
Caleb G., Towseef S., and Nathaniel S.
De'Mario B
Jazlyn T., Towseef S., Delaney B., and Kendall P.
DMS Represents at the Regional Spelling Bee
On Saturday 3/9/24, David E. (8th grade) along with Ashley E. (7th grade) represented Depew Middle School at the 14th Corning Rotary Regional Spelling Bee. Ashley did well in the competition as she was presented with tough words like typology. David E., our own spelling bee champion,
ultimately placed 8th out of 85 beating out representatives from Lancaster, Clarence, and Nichols among others. David made it to the fifth round of this thrilling competition. There were 50 schools represented from the southern tier, Buffalo and northern Pennsylvania. Some of the words kids were asked to spell included words like antechamber and other difficult words I barely knew existed. It was thrilling and interesting to watch and Davis and Ashley did a great job representing DMS!
Written by Noelle E., 6th grader
David E.
Ashley E.
"The Sound of Music" DMS Stars
We had some of our DMS students performing in lead roles. Archie H., one of our 8th graders was sister Diana, Henry J. an 8th grader played Friedrich, Avery L. a 6th grader played Marta, Jillian M. a 6th grader played Gretl, and Thomas N. a 6th grader was Kurt. We also want to congratulate other DMS students who took part in the musical. Please see the list below of our thirty talented DMS students who took part in the musical.
What's It's Like to be a Middle Schooler in a High School Musical?
It's kind of hard to be a middle schooler in high school musicals. It's a huge commitment and you need to be prepared. To be honest when practices started I felt really out of place but in a very short time I warmed up to everyone and now Mrs. Lovelace's room is like my second home. I am so grateful and happy that I get to be a part of the beautiful family that is the cast, stage crew, set designers, technicians, pit performers, Depew Crew, teachers, seamstresses, choreographers, and so many other amazing people that work so hard every year to make a spectacular and stunning show. The late night practices can be hard to manage but overall it's an amazing experience and I can't wait to see the new batch of theater kids who join this amazing community next year.
Written by Casper A., 8th Grade
I am Katie, I am a middle schooler who was part of the Depew high school musical. The musical auditions were very nerve wracking. But even more nerve wracking was waiting for the cast list to be posted. When I finally saw the cast list, some of my nerves went away. Mrs. Lovelace is the director of our musicals and she works hard to ensure everyone has a place in the show. She is really nice, sweet and supportive. When I first started the musical rehearsals they were 3-4 hours. We would go over all of the dances with the choreographer. After that, most of the time was spent playing games and interacting with other performers waiting for our scene to be called. It was a great way to meet new people with the same interests. Sometimes we would do funny dances on stage waiting for Mrs. Lovelace to do her thing. When it got closer to the show, Mrs. Lovelace became more strict but always in a nice way. Rehearsals were long as we got closer to the show but overall the experience of being part of a great show and meeting great people was worth the time and effort I put in.
Written by Katie F., 8th grader
📯 Festival of Bands 🎺🎷
On March 27, DMS band students were able to take part in the Depew Festival of Bands Concert. This was a unique experience as we were able to see band students in all three buildings perform. It was a great way for families and students to see the progression of learning that takes place in band over their school years. Our 6th grade band performed Handclap and rocked the auditorium. Our 7th and 8th grade combined band mystified the audience with their rendition of Highlights from Harry Potter. In addition Mrs. Serrano did a great job promoting our wonderful band program to Cayuga band students. It was a great event.
Erie 1 BOCES Summer Camp Opportunity
The Solar Eclipse is Coming
Each DMS student should have come home with a pair of solar eclipse glasses on Wednesday 3/27. We are excited that our students can experience this amazing event. The full solar eclipse will occur on Monday April 8, 2024 from 3:18 until 3:22 PM. To learn more about the solar eclipse please check out The Buffalo Museum of Science webpage.
Modified Spring Sports Updates
Spring modified sports practices are underway. We are looking forward to the games and meets that will be coming up after the spring break. Congratulations to all of our middle school students who are playing at the JV and Varsity level. Please see the link below for the most updated schedules.
In addition, an email is sent out each day with the daily announcements to all students. Please make sure you child checks these announcements daily so they do not miss upcoming fall sports meetings.
Depew Athletics Game Schedules linked below:
After School Help
If your student is struggling with getting homework done, needs some help with organization or study skills we have Homework Helpers available Monday through Thursday from 2:20-3:10. Students staying after for homework helpers are eligible to ride the late bus if needed.
Health Office Updates 👩⚕️
This time of year the weather can be unpredictable. Please remember to have your child layer clothes for comfort. Also have your child bring a water bottle so they can stay hydrated throughout the day.
Remember to keep your child home if they are not feeling well to help control the spread of germs and viruses to other students and staff. Students who are experiencing fever, diarrhea or vomiting need to remain home for 24 hours with no symptoms and no medication before they can return to school. Please remember to send in a note with your child when they return to school.
If you have any health related questions please contact Lynne Martin, DMS School Nurse at x5042.
Upcoming Events
3/29 - 4/8 - Spring Recess - No School
4/12 - 6th grade Band BOP Field Trip
4/13- Music Department Craft Show @ DHS 10:00-3:30
4/17 - 4/18 - NYS ELA Assessment grades 6th, 7th, 8th
4/30 - 5/1- NYS Math Assessment grades 6th, 7th, 8th
5/3 - DMS Spring Dance
5/8 - 5/9 - NYS Science Assessment grade 8th
5/9 - Middle School Concert
NYS Assessment Information
NYS Assessment Letter
Dear Depew Middle Families:
I hope this letter finds you readying for some warmer weather and seeing more signs of spring! Below you will find some details for the upcoming New York State Assessments in English Language Arts, Mathematics and Science (Grade 8 only) at Depew Middle School.
In response to both educator and family feedback, the Board of Regents has limited the number of days of student testing on the Grades 3-8 English Language Arts, Grades 3-8 Mathematics, and Grade 8 Science to two (2) sessions for each assessment. Assessment administration dates for Depew Middle students are as follows:
NYS Assessment
Grade 6, 7, 8: English Language Arts: Wednesday, April 17th and Thursday, April 18th
Grade 6, 7, 8: Mathematics: Tuesday, April 30th and Wednesday, May 1st
Grade 8: Science: Wednesday May 8th and Thursday May 9th
These NYS Assessments provide us with valuable information about each student, about our school, and about our academic programming. These assessments also let us know what areas we have done well in and what areas we need to grow in as a school. The state uses this data to determine our school’s academic performance. This information is also a factor used to help our school district plan professional development offerings to faculty and staff over the summer and throughout the school year. All this data will help us to better educate your child.
As these NYS Assessment dates approach, please offer words of encouragement to your child. Let them know that they have worked hard this year and encourage them to do their best. Also, try to keep discussions about these assessments casual and non-confrontational. Your child’s teachers, counselors, and administrators are always available to answer any questions you or your child may have.
For these NYS Assessments, make sure your child has a good night’s sleep. See that they dress comfortably, arrive at school on time, and have a wholesome breakfast. A nutritional breakfast is provided each day in our cafeteria free of charge. We will make sure students have all the necessary materials for these assessments.
Your DMS team looks forward to partnering with our parents and students to raise the number of DMS students taking the NYS Assessments this year. Please feel free to reach out to your child’s teachers, counselor or myself with any questions.
Sincerely,
Bernadette Krumpek
Depew Middle School Principal
DMS Clubs & Activities
There are so many clubs and activities to get involved with at DMS. Club dates and times are posted outside the Counseling Center, during announcements, in student emails and on our Depew Middle Website under events. Monday through Thursday we have a late bus that leaves around 3:15 PM. Joining clubs can be a great way to meet new people with similar interests. We hope to see you there.
- Art Club
- Board Game Club
- Computer Club
- Family & Consumer Science Club
- Foreign Language Club
- Jazz Ensemble
- Math Club
- Newspaper, Depew Voice
- Science Club
- Show Choir
- Social Studies Club
- Technology Club
- Yearbook
DMS Important Phone Numbers
Depew Middle School Main Office
- (716) 686-5045
Attendance Office
- (716) 686-5055
Health Office
- (716) 686-5042
Counseling Center
- (716) 686-5055
Transportation
- (716) 686-5155
Athletic Office
- (716) 686-5078