DRAGON DIGEST
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 15 / FEBRUARY 9. 2018
PRINCIPAL'S LETTER
Dear DeSana Parents,
I absolutely love working with our young adolescent Dragons! I love their different perspective on things . . . I love their spontaneity and boundless enthusiasm . . . I love watching them stretch and grow as they try new things and develop their minds and mature . . . I love watching them as they have those “ah-hah” moments . . . I love seeing them take it all in as the world opens up to them in so many different ways . . . and I absolutely love it when they find their passion, follow it, and act on it! And many middle schoolers do find their passion at this age . . . or perhaps, one of several passions that they will keep with them for a life time.
I’ve been observing the middle school learner now, for over 35 years, and one thing I find quite interesting about our young adolescents is their enthusiasm for taking up a cause. It’s seeded in that “world opening up to them thing”. As they begin to think more abstractly about the world (not just concrete thinking anymore!), they begin to see things in a different light. This thinking, fueled by their heightened sense of fairness and justice . . . especially when it comes to their own wants and needs, OR something/someone/some organization that they have discovered needs help . . . is many times just the right combination to motivate a middle schooler to take up a cause. For some, the cause may be fast and fleeting . . . here today and gone tomorrow . . . and right when you, as their parent, are making plans and helping organize how they could follow through on their cause they seemed so passionate about three days ago. Welcome to the short attention span of a young adolescent! For other middle school aged kids, the cause they discover runs deep or hits home in some personal way, and it many times becomes a passion of theirs that they must act upon.
While I have seen more of the former than the latter with middle schoolers, those that have found a cause that becomes their passion have done some pretty amazing things. And it has been quite humbling and mesmerizing all at the same time to watch an 11, 12, 13, 14 year old visualize/plan/organize/coordinate/implement/act upon/follow through with a project that affects other kids and/or adults in such profound ways.
This . . . is exactly the reason why we have our DeSana Day of Good Deeds (D3 Day, for short)! It is for the former and the latter middle schooler I talked about above. This day is about giving all of our young Dragons the opportunity to see what it is like to give of their time, their talents, their energy, and their hearts to a cause that helps others. It is about joining with others . . . kids and adults . . . to see a different perspective of the world than what they are used to abiding in, perhaps. It is about seeing if they can truly make a difference, and do they want to make a difference in the world of others, and what does that feel like. And it is about seizing the opportunity to show compassion and kindness to complete strangers.
For many of our young Dragons, it will be fast and fleeting . . . three or so hours spent on our D3 Day morning helping others in the community. And they may talk about their experience that morning some with their friends or with their parent(s) when they get home, but then it’s over. But maybe . . . just maybe . . . with three years of D3 Days under their belt, and a little more maturity settling in, our young Dragons will begin to see the infinite power of people of all ages coming together --- all working side-by-side --- to make a difference in our community and even in this world. And then, what if, our young Dragons continue to commit themselves to finding a cause . . . maybe even a passion . . . that they can continue to give of themselves to . . . for the rest of their lives?
That is my vision. That is exactly what our DeSana Day of Good Deeds is all about! Helping our young Dragons see that no matter how old they are, they can make a difference in the lives of complete strangers . . . that giving of themselves, their time and their talents, and showing kindness and compassion to others feels quite good; like no other feeling in this world.
So parents, might this be your vision for your young Dragon? If so, we need your help! Plan to sign up as a volunteer and come work with your young Dragon and others on D3 Day on Monday, May 21st. Model by example. We need 100 volunteers to help make this day the kind of day we want our kids to experience. That means we will need you! Be watching for the online sign up within the next month. I can’t think of a better reason to tell your boss you need to take a day off and come light the way for our young Dragons!
How else can you help make our DeSana Day of Good Deeds a day for our young Dragons to always remember and never forget?
· Consider a sponsorship for our D3 Day by your business or as a family. With many of the 50+ service projects our kids will be involved in on this day, we provide all the supplies needed as another donation to the non-profit organizations we will be working with. And of course, these supplies cost money. Every sponsorship helps . . . no matter how big or small! See details below under the D3 Day Section for information on how you can become a sponsor for this day of service.
· Make sure you keep up with our monthly D3 Day Food Drives. We are having food drives during the months of February and March. For February, we are collecting Mac & Cheese. For March, we will be collecting Peanut Butter & Jelly. All of the food collected during these food drives (and with the help from our feeder Elementary Schools --- Big Creek, Brandywine and Midway --- who are also collecting food items for our D3 Day!) will be sorted and boxed on D3 Day and then donated to The Place and Bald Ridge Lodge, two big food pantries in Cumming.
· Make sure you purchase your young Dragon a D3 Day t-shirt. It only costs $5, and they are mandatory for each student and volunteer for safety reasons on D3 Day. Forms to purchase a t-shirt were sent home with students last week in Dragon Time. If your middle schooler has not brought his/her form home yet (imagine that!), click on the link below under D3 Day T-Shirts for another one.
When I was 13, in Junior High School, I had to give a speech to all my classmates and their parents. So I looked for some quotes (I guess that is when my love of quotes began! J). And I found one that has never left me. It made a huge impact on me then, and it continues to do so in my life today. And it pretty much sums up what our DeSana Day of Good Deeds calls us all to do. It is by Edward Everett Hale, and it goes like this:
I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still, I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
Parents, I invite you all to join us for our 2nd Annual DeSana Day of Good Deeds on May 21st, and do the something that you can do.
With warmest regards,
Terri A. North
Principal
DESANA DAY OF GOOD DEEDS
THE LATEST D3 DAY NEWS!
FOOD DRIVE: The D3 Day food drive has begun! We are collecting MAC and CHEESE. The last day for Mac and Cheese collection is February 28th. The Dragon Time class with the most collected will win a donut party and the teacher will also win a prize (winners will be determined based on a percentage calculated by items and number of students in the class). The March Collection will be Peanut Butter and Jelly.
D3 Day T-shirts! T-shirt forms have been sent out via Dragon Time. If you have not seen the form, ask your students or click here for another one. We are asking for a $5 donation per shirt to cover the cost of the shirt (thereby allowing us to use contributed money on charitable projects). You will also have an opportunity on the form to be a $50 family donor and get your family name on the t-shirt! T-shirts are mandatory for each student and volunteer. They are important for safety reasons on D3 Day.
Sponsorship: If you own a business or know someone who owns a business we would love to talk to you about sponsorship of D3 Day! The donation is tax deductible and your business will be a part of something big and important...planting the seeds of altruism in our young Dragons! Contact dawn@bourgs.com if you are interested in looking at our Sponsorship Packet.
ACADEMICS
PARENT SURVEY
On January 11th our students participated in the state student health survey for DeSana Middle School. The state uses the results of three different surveys (student, staff and parental) along with some other school data to compile a climate rating for each school throughout our state. The feedback we receive from these three surveys is valuable in guiding our future work to improve DeSana Middle School in order to give our students the best education possible. If you would please take the time to complete (less than 10 minutes) the parent survey located at https://gshs.gadoe.org/parents , we would be grateful.
4 1/2 WEEK REPORTS
Parents, how is your young Dragon progressing so far this second semester in all of his/her classes? Wednesday, February 7th was the 4 ½ week juncture of this second semester, and thus, is a great time for parents to take note of how their middle schooler is starting off this second semester in each class. While parents (and students!) may check their child’s grades daily/weekly via Parent Portal . . . and we highly encourage you to do so . . . we sent home with students a paper copy Progress Report for some or all of their seven classes on Wednesday, February 7th. This gives you and your student an opportunity to see how he/she is progressing in each class.
For our 6th Grade Students: Students were given one Progress Report Sheet from each core class (Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies) that tells their average thus far and how they have done with each formative and/or summative assessment. These Progress Report Sheets are teacher-generated. For Connections classes and Literacy classes, Progress Reports are given only to those students with a present grade of 75% or below. Work Habits were not assessed.
For our 7th & 8th Grade Students: Only those students with a present grade of 75% or below in their core academic classes (Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Spanish for 8th graders who take it) received a paper copy of their grades (formative and summative assessments) to take home to show their parents. These Progress Report Sheets were teacher-generated. For Connections classes and Literacy classes, Progress Reports were given to those students with a present average of 75% or below. For students who did not receive a paper copy of their grades, the expectation is that parents will check their child’s grades on Parent Portal. At any time a parent may request a hard copy of their student’s grades by contacting the teacher directly. Should a family not have access to the internet to check their student’s grades on Parent Portal at Progress Report time, please notify your child’s Dragon Time teacher. Work Habits were not assessed.
We encourage each parent to take a few minutes to sit down with his/her young Dragon to go over and discuss his/her academic progress thus far this second semester. Let us also give you a word of caution as you look at the averages for your child’s classes at this 4 ½ week juncture. A student’s average at this point may include few or not any summative assessments, which will count as 80% of his/her total average for the semester. Thus, your child’s course average may be a bit skewed, one way or the other, depending on how many formative (which count 20% of a student’s total average for the semester) and summative assessments have been given, and how your child has performed on any of the assessments given thus far.
Parents, please do not hesitate to contact any of your child’s teachers should you have any questions or concerns about your young Dragon’s academic progress for these first 4 ½ weeks of the new semester. Please know we want and need you involved in your child’s education during these important middle school years. We appreciate your support so very much!
TRANSITION INFORMATION FOR 8TH GRADE STUDENTS AND PARENTS
Important Dates To Remember:
Alliance Academy for Innovation– Parent/Student Information Night is Feb. 27th from 6:30 – 8:00 PM at Lakeside Middle School
Denmark High School – Online Q&A Registration Question Sessions on Feb. 20, 21, 22, and 27 from 6:30 – 7:30 PM Stay tuned for more information about the link and directions coming your way this week.
All students, no matter which high school you will be attending:
- The FCS Registration Portal opens on February 21st at 8 AM and closes February 28th at 4 PM. We encourage parents and students to log into the portal together. The instructions for doing this were given to students by each high school. This is where students will sign up for their elective course(s) preferences.
- Another important item to pay attention to while in the Registraton Portal is to see what courses core academic teachers here at DeSana recommended for your child for next year. If your child and/or you do not agree with a teacher’s recommendation, you will need to follow each individual high school's waiver process. The process for waivers and the waiver itself are located on the website for the school your child will attend. Waivers will be accepted by each high school from March 5th through March 12th.
DRAGON ACADEMY FOR THE 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR
Dragon Academy is an opportunity we offer students on a couple of Fridays per month, from 4:15 – 6:15 for completing, taking or re-taking formative and/or summative assessments (i.e. unit tests, projects, essays, quizzes. etc.). Dragon Academy will happen at least two times a month --- on Fridays with teachers and an administrator supervising each session. It is a fantastic opportunity for students to drastically improve both their learning and their grades. Students will be invited by their teachers . . . or they may invite themselves . . . to attend Dragon Academy if they are missing work or need to re-take an assessment to show better mastery of the standards or complete a project. Although students will have about two hours to complete their work, once they complete all that they came to accomplish, students will be able to call their parent to come pick them up. Snacks and drinks will be sold for a very reasonable cost so students may focus on their work, not on their gurgling stomachs! Any necessary school supplies will be provided for students to use to complete their work, as needed.
Please mark your calendars now for these Dragon Academy dates for the rest of the school year:
· February 23
· March 9 (Early Release Day so it will be 1:30 – 4:00), 16 & 30
· April 27
· May 4 & 18
PARENT SESSIONS FOR SPANISH SPEAKING FAMILIES
DeSana Middle School is very excited to host parent sessions for our Spanish-speaking families to help parents have a better understanding of the school system, our school, and their role in their student’s academic life! We will start the parent sessions on Tuesday, February 6 and have one session every Tuesday until April 17, when parents will participate in a graduation ceremony from the program. Parents will learn about topics like structure and function of the school and school district, parent teacher partnership, the road to college, strengthening communication skills and moderating and participating in productive meetings. The sessions are from 6 pm to 7 pm in the DeSana Media Center and all sessions will be given in Spanish. Refreshments and snacks will be provided during the sessions. We will also provide childcare to families with young children so parents can attend the sessions while the kids are monitored by our staff in a separate room. Flyers will be sent home this week to families. We are looking forward to presenting these sessions to our parents!
DeSana Middle School está muy entusiasmada con las sesiones de padres para que nuestras familias hispanohablantes ayuden a los padres a comprender mejor el sistema escolar, nuestra escuela y su papel en la vida académica de sus estudiantes! Comenzaremos las sesiones de padres el martes, 6 de febrero y tendremos una sesión todos los martes hasta el 17 de abril. Al final los padres participen en una ceremonia de graduación del programa. Los padres aprenderán sobre temas como la estructura y función del distrito escolar y la escuela, la Asociación de padres y maestros, como preparar para la Universidad, el fortalecimiento de las habilidades de comunicación y la moderación y participación en conferencias académicas. Las sesiones son de 6 a 7 en la tarde en la biblioteca de DeSana Middle School y todas las sesiones se darán en español. Durante las sesiones van a ver bebidas y aperitivos. También va a ver cuidado infantil a las familias con niños pequeños para que los padres puedan asistir a las sesiones mientras los niños está monitoreados por nuestro personal en una habitación separada. Información serán enviados a casa esta semana a las familias. ¡No podemos esperar para presentar estas sesiones a nuestros padres!
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN (AOL) TIME
Has your child learned everything in their life the first time it was presented to them? Does your child really like to come in for early morning help sessions? Does your child really like to stay after school for help sessions? If the answer to any of these questions is “no” then Additional Opportunity to Learn (AOL) time will be great for your child. AOL is a 50-minute block of time that will happen first thing in the morning on Thursdays, and on some Wednesdays (9:00 – 9:50) beginning this second semester on Thursday, January 25th. During this block of time, students have the opportunity to receive re-teaching from their teachers should they need it. If your child is struggling in a class or if they have received a low summative score, please encourage him/her to take advantage of AOL time! Ask your young Dragon each Wednesday evening/Thursday morning where he/she is going for AOL time on Thursday. Then ask him/her Thursday evening what teacher they went to that day for extra help. Below are the dates for AOL time during this second semester. Thanking you in advance for your help in making sure our young Dragons take advantage of this learning opportunity during AOL time!
Wednesday, February 14
Thursday, February 15
Thursday, February 22
Thursday, March 1
Wednesday, March 7
Thursday, March 8
Thursday, March 15
Thursday, March 22
Wednesday, March 28
Thursday, March 29
Thursday, April 12
Thursday, April 19
Thursday, April 26
Wednesday, May 2
Thursday, May 3
Thursday, May 10
Wednesday, May 16
Thursday, May 17
ORATORICAL RESULTS
Congratulations to all of our orators- they did a great job presenting Tuesday, February 6!!
Girls:
1st Shirin D.
2nd Adhira C.
Boys:
1st Gavin S.
2nd Ameya J.
Our 1st place students will compete at the county level on March 1st. Please make sure to wish them luck!
DMS STUDENTS SHINE AT THE REGIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR!
Big congratulations go to our DeSana students who competed in the Georgia NorthWest Regional Science & Engineering Fair on Saturday January 27th at South Forsyth High School. These student earned top honors at our 1st Annual DeSana Science & Engineering Fair in December, which qualified them for the Regional Fair. These competitors include 7th grade students Eeshan M., Srirag T., Pravith R., Rishit S., Sid S. and Shreyas G.; and 8th grade students Krish W., Varsha S., Shreya S., Asher W., Eli W., Shirin D., Siya S., Neha D., Neha S., and Shreyashi D.
Three of the projects received 2nd or 3rd place ribbons in their category, and a remarkable 6 projects received 1st place ribbons and have qualified to compete at the State level on March 22--24 at the University of Georgia in Athens. The winning students and their projects are:
- Eeshan M. & Srirag T.: Electrical Desalination
- Varsha S. & Shreya S.: The Better Solar Oven
- Asher W.: Water Brakes
- Pravith R. & Rishit S.: How Temperature Affects Electromagnets
- Shirin D.: Reducing the Growth of Bacteria by Altering the Design of Toothbrush;
- Siya S.: How Does Microwave Radiation Affect a Plant?
Congratulations, Science Dragons, for working so hard and making us proud! Good Luck at State!
ATHLETICS
BASKETBALL SEASON CONCLUDES
The 2017-2018 basketball season was a successful one. We had three teams win more games than they have won before and we also had three teams win playoff games. Our 7th grade boys team made it all the way to the semi-finals, where they lost a close game to Vickery Creek. Congratulations to all the students and coaches on a great season! A big thank you to all the parents and other supporters who came to the games and cheered the teams on. It really meant a lot to the players. Be on the look out for Basketball Summer Camp info!
THE ARTS
BAND STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN THE ANNUAL GMEA DISTRICT HONOR BAND
Three of our outstanding band students auditioned back in December and were selected for the 2018 Georgia Music Educators Association District Middle School Honor Band.
On February 2nd at Dawson High School with only 12 hours of rehearsal time, these outstanding band students performed for a crowd of over 1,000 excited parents and directors. The concert was amazing and our students represented our school very well. We are very proud of Selena C.-Clarinet, Saahil G.-Clarinet and Thomas P.- Trombone for their attitude, abilities and their love for making music.
Again, congratulations to these fine young musicians!
ACTIVITIES
6TH GRADE VALENTINE'S SOCIAL
The DeSana Middle School Fine Arts Department is sponsoring a Valentine’s social for 6th grade DMS students on Tuesday, February 13, 2018. The social will begin at 4:15 p.m. and end at 6:00 p.m. and will be held in the cafeteria. Entry is $5 and concessions will be available for purchase.
HOOPS FOR HEART
DeSana will participate in Hoops for Heart for the second year in a row this Thursday, February 15. During connections, students will participate in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament with all the proceeds going to the American Heart Association. Last year, we raised over $600 and we are looking to surpass that this year. So come out on Thursday and support this great cause.
7TH GRADE FIELD TRIP
7th grade field trip Final Payment is past due. The 7th grade overnight field trip is coming up quickly. Final payment is past due. Georgia Aquarium Participant forms are also due at this time. Please have your student bring all forms and payment to Jessica Strader, room 2207, on the 8th grade hallway.
A BIG THANK YOU TO ONE OF OUR WONDERFUL BUSINESS PARTNERS- - - MARVEL SOCCER!
It is only fitting that we give a great BIG shout out and a HUGE “thank you” to our wonderful and very generous Business Partner, Marvel Soccer and owner, Jayson Seltzer, located on Hwy 9 in the shopping strip across from the Midway Meal House, for donating soccer equipment to DeSana!! With our intramural soccer program gearing up for their season, Marvel Soccer’s very generous donation of 2 soccer goals, plenty of brand new soccer balls, and DeSana soccer jerseys will ensure that we now have all of the equipment that we need to make this intramural soccer season a more competitive and fun one! We are soooo grateful to Jason for all of his support of our kids and our intramural soccer program! We hope our parents will take a few minutes and stop by Marvel Soccer, and tell Jayson just how appreciative they are for his very generous support!
CHICK-FIL-A BISCUIT SALE
ChicK-Fil- A Biscuit Day is coming once again! Please help support our Desana Health Occupations Students of America Jr. Club on Friday, February 23, in the car rider line. Chicken biscuits will be sold for $4 each and plain biscuits will be sold for $3.
AGENDAS ON SALE
One of the top New Year’s resolutions is to be more organized. Has your student lost his or her agenda? Or maybe it would just be nice to begin with a nice new agenda for 2018? Your student can purchase a new agenda for just $5 in the front office. Checks should be payable to DeSana Middle School.
6TH GRADE FIELD TRIP
Field Trip Permission Forms went home with all 6th grade students last week. Students can return to their science teacher their signed permission form, along with $30 cash or check written out to DeSana Middle School. The Field Trip to the Tellus Museum will be Monday, May 14.
WANT TO OWN A 2017-2018 DESANA YEARBOOK?
Don’t miss out on the best memory book created by the BEST yearbook staff.
Go to: balfour.com and click: shop your school. Students may also bring cash or check to Mrs. West on the 7th grade hall.
The price is $35 and will go up after March 31, 2018. On-line sales will END March 31st.
PARENT 411- HELPFUL LINKS FOR YOU
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
ATTENTION THEATER LOVERS!
Are you a Wicked or Wizard of Oz fan? The Forsyth County Public Library is looking for students to help out with their Wicked/Wizard of Oz family event by providing artwork, music, or performances related to Wicked or The Wizard of Oz. The event will be held March 1st at Forsyth Central High School. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please see Ms. MacMillan in the media center as soon as possible for details and to get signed up!
OUR FEBRUARY BREAK IS HERE!
All FCS students and staff will be out of school on this Friday, February 16th and next Monday, February 19th (President’s Day). Our DeSana office will be closed on these two days. Students will also have a day out of school on Tuesday, February 20th as teachers and administrators have a professional learning day. That means our young Dragons will have a very long five day weekend to enjoy! We hope all of our young Dragons and their families, whether traveling near or far, stay safe. And we look forward to seeing all of our young Dragons back with us on Wednesday, February 21st, ready to rock and roll with their learning!
FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE
There has been a fair amount of illness, including the flu, among students at DeSana. If your student is not feeling well, please refer to these guidelines to know whether or not to send your student to school. If your student has been sent home from school due to illness, please do not send them back until they are well. Nurse McWalters would appreciate a quick email at rmcwalters@forsyth.k12.ga.us if your student is diagnosed with the flu. Click here for some helpful information about the flu. Please encourage your students to wash hands frequently too!
Forsyth County Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or gender in employment decisions or educational programs and activities.