DISCOVERY DETAILS
August/September 2021
Contact Information
Email: email.disco@vansd.org
Website: https://disco.vansd.org/
Location: 800 East 40th Street, Vancouver, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 313-3300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverymiddleschoolvancouver
Twitter: @discowhipple
CALENDAR DATES
AUGUST
Thursday, 8/26 - Back to School Night
Alpha by last name A-M 5-5:45/N-Z 5:45-6:30 (masks required)
Monday, 8/30 - 6th Grade Kick Off
Office Hours resume regular hours: 8am-4pm
First day of Fall Sports practice
Tuesday, 8/31 - First day for 7th and 8th graders
SEPTEMBER
Monday, 9/6 - School Closed - Labor Day
Wednesday, 9/8 - Orchestra Parent Night 6pm
Thursday, 9/9- Band Parent Night 6pm
Thursday, 9/23 - Curriculum Night 6-7:30pm
PRINCIPAL MESSAGE
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT
We invite you to join us for Back to School Night on Thursday, August 26th. Students and their parents are invited to come pick up schedules, walk the building to locate classes and meet their teachers. To allow for social distancing, please limit the number of family members attending. Last name A-M should attend from 5:00-5:45. Last name N-Z should attend from 5:45-6:30. Masks are required for anyone 5 and older regardless of vaccination status. Families can access student schedules via the Skyward app if you would like to skip the schedule line. If you have children with different last names, please attend the earlier session. https://www.smore.com/mqrj4t
6TH GRADE KICK START
6th graders will begin school one day prior to the 7th & 8th graders. This will give our new students a chance to navigate the building on their own as they become comfortable with middle school. 6th Grade Kick Start will be on Monday, August 30th. School hours will be 9:15-3:45. Transportation, breakfast and lunch are provided. Students will follow their full schedule just like a regular school day. Teachers will be running community building activities.
1st DAY OF SCHOOL
The school year begins on Tuesday, August 31st. Our school hours are Mondays: 9:15-3:05/Tue-Fri: 9:15-3:45. Breakfast and lunch are provided daily. We can't wait to welcome back all our students!
2021-2022 MEALS
Through a partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), school meals will be available to all VPS students at no cost. While each student will continue to have a food service account, students will not be required to enter their PIN (personal identification number) to access school meals. No cash, checks or online payments will be accepted by Nutrition Services Staff this school year since all meals are served at no cost to families. Parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to submit a Meal Application even though all school meals are available at no cost. Families qualifying for free or reduced-price meals may be eligible for waived or reduced fees to participate in other school or community programs. The district also receives additional funding to meet our students’ needs, based on the number of eligible students confirmed by these applications. Meal Applications can be downloaded from the district website or are available in each school office. Additionally, families may complete a Meal Application online. Parents only need to complete one Meal Application for all students in their household. For further information, please contact VPS Nutrition Services @ 360-313-1190 or email Nutrition.Services@vansd.org.
SUPPLY LIST
Students should have the following items for this school year: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WxH25u5qnrlnRuHPzuFNVh8QXF44SjVP1cy_oOJzt10/edit?usp=sharing VPS does not use lockers in buildings. Students should have a backpack to carry their belongings from class to class. Bringing school supplies should not create a hardship for your family. If you are in need of resources, please contact our FCRC at amalia.franco@vansd.org.
COVID PROTOCALS
All staff and students must wear face coverings or masks indoors and on school buses regardless of vaccination status. Masks are not required outdoors. Health screenings and temperature checks are not required under the new guidance. While daily health screenings and temperature checks are no longer required, please keep your child home if they are running a fever or experiencing other symptoms of illness. We understand there are many questions related to COVID safety as we return to school. Please see our district FAQ's here:
https://vansd.org/back-to-school-2021/#news-faqs
FALL SPORTS
Registration for Fall Sports is open, and all practices will begin on Monday, August 30th. For the fall season, we offer Cross Country (6th-8th grade), Volleyball (7th-8th grade girls), Flag Football(6th -7th grade), and (8th grade) Tackle Football.
Here’s what you can do to ensure your child is ready on August 30th:
•Register your child through Family ID
•Determine if your child’s sports physical is up to date:
◦Check their status on Family ID, or
◦Contact our business office clerk, Jennifer Burleson at jennifer.burleson@vansd.org
The last day to clear for fall sports is Friday, September 3rd, at 3:30 pm. Remember, all sports are "no cut", so everyone makes it on a team and participates in games equally!
DISCOVERY PTO
We are pleased to introduce Jennifer Austin as our PTO President and Madison Tucker as our PTO Vice President. We are still in need of additional PTO officers. Please email wildcats.pto1@gmail.com if you are interested in helping out with PTO. Our PTO plans dances, teacher appreciation events, fundraisers for teacher grants and the 8th grade celebration. This hard work cannot happen if we don't have amazing parents to take the lead. Our first PTO meeting is September 16th at 6:00 PM via Zoom.
FCRC
Our Community Partner, Trinity Lutheran Church, is holding a School Supply drive-thru event for Discovery families on Saturday, August 28th, 2021. For more information please see flyer here: School Supply Event If there is any questions or concerns please contact Amalia at Amalia.franco@vansd.org
TRANSPORTATION
Bus information can be found at this site once the routes have been finalized: https://vansd.org/buses/
6th GRADE COUNSELOR NEWS
Welcome to Middle School, 6th Graders! You are now officially Wildcats! I'm excited to meet you all, and even more importantly support you on your awesome journey through Middle School because I am, and will be, your counselor for the next 3 years. Let the fun begin! Steve.Dutelle.vansd.org
7th GRADE COUNSELOR NEWS
Welcome back wildcats! I am excited to see you all soon! As a reminder, you can contact me if you would like help transitioning your student back to middle school or have any questions or concerns as we prepare for the first day of school. You can review much of this info by watching my end of the year video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpe3owkZ7F8 . Also, a back to school video will be coming to your email boxes soon with a tour video of the 7th grade floor and more! Megan.Bledsoe@vansd.org
8th GRADE COUNSELOR NEWS
Hello 8th Grade Wildcats, Parents, and Caregivers! I'm excited to start the year in-person and work with you to make sure the transition to high school goes smoothly. We have some very important tasks to catch-up on that were delayed from our school closures that last two years: The High School & Beyond Plan modules! You can always get a jump start on the modules now by loggin into ClassLink and Xello. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me by email (jeffrey.causey@vansd.org) or phone (360-313-3324). Best, Mr. Causey
7th GRADE TDAP REQUIREMENT
All incoming seventh graders are required to have had a Tdap booster PRIOR to the first day of school. Parents should be planning ahead so there are no delays to their child starting school. If there are questions about this requirement they can contact the school nurse: tracey.knotts@vansd.org.
DISTRICT SURVEY
Our district sent out a survey in early August to collect your instructional model plans of 5 full days in person or VVLA (Vancouver Virtual Learning Academy). If you did not submit a response, you should expect a call from our staff to verify your plans. At this point, district-wide, 5% of students have selected VVLA and 95% of students are planning to attend 5 days a week in person. Thank you for letting us know your intentions so we can plan accordingly.
OPTIONAL STUDENT ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURACE 2021-2022
Some families have little or no financial resources to fall back on during an unexpected emergency. Uncovered costs of medical care following an injury or illness may be a serious problem for families. MYERS-STEVENS & TOOHEY plans can provide useful insurance
protection for your children. They can even be used to assist with the high co-insurance, deductibles and other cost sharing requirements common to many of today’s health plans. To assist you during unforeseen emergencies, and help expand your choice of provider, your school has partnered with us to offer voluntary coverage for accidents or illnesses.
https://www.myers-stevens.com/enrollment-page/
AFTER SCHOOL DANCE
VaPA is glad to announce that we will be having the FREE After School Dance this year. Sign up deadline is September 10th. Flier is attached below.