DMS Newsletter

February 7-12, 2021

Dates to Remember

February 15th--President's Day, No School

February 19th--Parent Meeting (Title I and SubSAC) at 11:30 (Link to join)

From the principals banner
Karen Newton

Ms. Newton's Notes

Hello DMS Families!


We have just begun the second semester and second half of our school year. Thank you for your continued efforts of supporting your children at home and the efforts we are making at school. MAP testing finished today. We will send home results soon. This is a great way for us to track ongoing progress and pinpoint individual areas of need for each student. If you have any questions please reach out.


Title I/SubSAC Parent Meeting

You are all invited. Even if you have never been to one, please come! It will be Friday, February 19th from 11:30-12:00. We will discuss how we have used our Title I money, upcoming projects, and any ideas you have for school improvement! Here is the link to join.


Karen Newton

Assistant Principal

Karen Newton
A Note from the Principal: Angela Saunders

A Note from the Principal: Angela Saunders

We have begun our second half of the school year and are halfway between Winter break and Spring break. As we move into the semester, our Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports teams are analyzing student data to make sure that our students are progressing as they should. As they look at the data, if there are any concerns about student participation, grades, or progress, they will be reaching out to you to partner in developing interventions and supports. With the dual programs happening, Brick and Mortar and ILE, we need to make sure that our students are able to progress toward their IEP goals. Their updates on their goals have gone home with report cards. Know that if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s progress or need help accessing information on your child’s grades in Skyward, please contact the school office and we will be happy to assist. Always looking for ways to help our students do more, be more, and achieve more together with you!

A Note from the Principal: Angela Saunders
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Celebrating Birthdays

Did you know, we celebrate student birthdays in the cafeteria but having the entire school sing to them? This tradition accidentally started last year and hasn't stopped since. This week we celebrated Amado and Nate. Happy Birthday!
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Throughout the month of February, Gregg Hall staff will be focusing on teaching our students the PBIS goal of Compassion. They will be expanding on the topic of having compassion for others and why is it important. We cam up with a fun idea, we told our students that we will give the winner who is the most compassionate student in the dorm, pizza at the end of month. The students were hyped!

Super Bowl Sunday, we had a fun party, ate pizza, ice cream and hot chocolate. The girls stayed up late until 10:30pm. We made a bet with one of our students, Amorita, that if her NFL team Kanas City lost the game, we will put toothpaste on her face and take a picture. We had the student’s parent permission! The picture is below - hilarious! We all are looking forward to Valentine’s Day party next week!

The McLane Hall staff met with the boys about how gossiping can be negative and spread false rumors. Staff and students discussed the possible negative effects of gossiping. We discussed kindness, respecting others and how to use positive language to support others.


The students enjoyed participating in a Super Bowl party. The students showed wonderful positive behavior the week before the game and earned the chance to stay up a little later and watch the whole game. For dinner, they had chicken wings, pizza, ice cream and soda. The boys socialized and enjoyed chatting and guessing who would win. Many boys volunteered to help clean up and were very cooperative. The boys had a lot of fun and were thankful for the party.

We celebrated the cold weather and positive behavior in the dorm with hot chocolate bombs. The hot chocolate bombs were made of shells of chocolate with hot chocolate mix and marshmallows inside. The boys practiced on their listening and responding techniques as staff taught them how to make the hot chocolate in the new way. Staff supervised the students and helped them pour warm milk over the chocolate bombs and watch as they dissolved and made delicious hot chocolate. The boys did a good job with helping clean up and following directions.


We had some new students join the dorm recently. Staff and students welcome the new students. Some boys put in extra effort to be hospitable to the new students and help teach them about the dormitory routine and general rules. It is a gradual change for the students, but they are doing well with the help of their new friends.

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Balancing Love and STEM

Balancing Love and STEM

Attention FSDB Deaf Elementary and Middle School families. Want to learn more about STEM? FSDB Parent University will be hosting Balancing Love and STEM event on Saturday, February 20, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. for Elementary and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for Middle School.


You must RSVP for this event by February 4. Visit bit.ly/RSVPParentU and fill out the registration form.


The zoom link for the event is bit.ly/FSDBParent-University

Balancing Love and STEM
Parent Virtual Sign Language Class Flyer

ASL Classes Continued

FSDB Parent University is hosting two virtual sign language classes for FSDB families starting in January and continuing weekly through March. Beginner (ASL I) and intermediate (ASL II) classes are available via Zoom. Please contact the teacher if you are interested in attending.


Beginner Class (ASL I)

Day: Thursday, 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Dates: Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28 | Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25 | Mar. 4, 11

Link: https://bit.ly/3igMrJr


For more information, contact Janelle Berry via email at berryj@fsdbk12.org


Intermediate Class (ASL II)

Day: Monday, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Dates: Jan. 4, 11, 25 | Feb. 1, 8, 22 | Mar. 1, 8

Link: https://bit.ly/3ltsno7


For more information, contact Sonia Garcia-DeKnight via email at garcias@fsdbk12.org

Parent Virtual Sign Language Class Flyer
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February 19, 2021

Transition for Secondary

https://www.fdlrs.org/free-parent-webinars-fridays-fdlrs

Links

Contact Us

Contact Us

Contact Us

DMS Office

PH: 904-827-2530

VP: 904-201-4600

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Health Care Center

PH: 904-827-2410

VP: 904-201-3910

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Transportation

PH: 800-992-8747

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Gregg Hall (Girls Dorm)

PH: 904-827-2628

VP: 904-201-4506

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McLane Hall (Boys Dorm)

PH: 904-827-2624

VP: 904-201-4562


Parent Services

PH: 904-827-2212

VP: 904-201-4527


Campus Police

PH: 904-827-2315

207 San Marco Avenue, St. Augustine, FL, USA newtonk@fsdbk12.org fsdbk12.org/deaf-middle-school