DRAGON DIGEST
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 12 / FEBRUARY 8, 2019
PRINCIPAL'S LETTER
Dear DeSana Parents,
I believe that one of our greatest strengths here at DeSana is our vibrant diversity of cultures, languages, and ethnicities among our students and their families, as well as our staff. Last night, at our very first DeSana Cultural Arts Night, we celebrated the richness of our diversity in song, art, dance, food, conversation, and new knowledge from countries and cultures around the world that represent our DeSana family. In essence, we spent a wonderful evening celebrating who we are at DeSana!
Sixteen countries from around the world were represented by DeSana families, all who brought in home-made, delectable treats from their native country, along with trinkets and other items to adorn their table and tell a story about their country’s heritage and culture. Student-created, beautiful pieces of artwork from a variety of different countries and different artistic styles lined our main hallway. And accomplished musicians and dancers --- both kids from DeSana and professional artists --- amazed us with their performances! It was truly an evening when many different cultures, representative of our DeSana students, families and staff, merged with the arts to provide us all an awesome experience like none other before at DeSana! How do I know this? Many of you told me so last evening! You made it a point to seek me out and share with me how delightful this evening was in so many different ways.
American writer and artist, Robert Alan, once said:
“Cultural differences should not separate us from each other, but rather
cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all of humanity.”
Last night’s event was one more stepping stone added in helping us shape our collective strength at DeSana and bringing our DeSana Family a little closer together. For we have an incredible and unique opportunity here to “model the way” in showing respect and acceptance – not just tolerance -- for the richness and the greatness of the diversity that we have . . . an opportunity that could very much benefit all of humanity. And it is our kids --- our young Dragons --- who are leading the way!
I hope you will join me in making a promise to yourself and to your young Dragon that you will continue to do your part to “model the way” in showing respect and acceptance for the rich diversity that makes up the fabric of who we are at DeSana. Let us continue to build upon our collective strength!
Thank you for your continued support of our activities and events here at DeSana! We could not do it without you!!
All the Best,
Terri North
Principal
DESANA DAY OF GOOD DEEDS
FOOD DRIVE
FOOD DRIVE began on February 1st! Food collected for The Place of Forsyth, Jesse's House, and Bald Ridge Lodge.
February: Mac and cheese
Winning class in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade will gain possession of the coveted Food Drive trophy and enjoy a candy extravaganza!
PTO
8TH GRADE DANCE
Dragon Parents - The 8th-grade dance will be held in May and the PTO is seeking additional committee members to work alongside the chair and Board. This involves working with the Board to staff and help manage the event (i.e. coordinating parent volunteers for set up and break down, obtaining the DJ, decorations, other rentals as needed, food/drinks, and all supplies necessary for the event.). The 8th graders will choose the theme, and the 8th-grade teachers will chaperone and handle ticket sales.
Please consider volunteering to help make this event a success! This is the first year the 8th graders will have gone through all three years at DeSana and we want this to be an extra special experience for them all! Please send an email to desanadragonspto@gmail.com if you are able to help. Thank you!
OFFICERS NEEDED FOR 2019-2020
The DeSana PTO Board has openings for a President, 2 Vice Presidents and a Secretary for the upcoming 2019-2020 school year. Please give consideration to participating. It is such a wonderful way to be involved in the life of the school! Officer nomination forms are available here.
ACADEMICS
4 1/2 WEEK PROGRESS REPORTS GO HOME WITH STUDENTS TODAY!
Parents, how is your young Dragon progressing so far this second semester in all of his/her classes? Today, Friday, February 8th is 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 are sending home with students today a paper copy Progress Report for some or all of their seven classes. This gives you and your student an opportunity to see how he/she is progressing in each class, thus far.
For our 6th Grade Students: Students will receive 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 Reports are teacher-generated. For Connections classes and Enrichment classes, Progress Reports will only be given to those students with a present grade of 75% or below. Work Habits are 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) will receive a paper copy of their grades (formative and summative assessments) to take home to show their parents. These Progress Reports are teacher-generated. For Connections classes and Enrichment classes, Progress Reports will be given to those students with a present average of 75% or below. For students who do 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 are not assessed.
We encourage each parent to take a few minutes to sit down with his/her young Dragon and 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!
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST FOR NATIVE SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES
Does your child fluently speak another language? Are they currently a 7th or 8th grader at DeSana? Would they be interested in earning high school world language credit by taking a proficiency test rather than having to take the class?
If you answered “YES!” to these questions, then we would like to tell you more about an opportunity we are making available to our current 7th and 8th grade students at DeSana Middle School who are native speakers of languages other than English. Forsyth County Schools uses a proficiency test to assess a student’s mastery of reading, writing, listening and speaking capabilities in 12 different languages - Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. Depending on how a student performs on the proficiency test, they could earn high school credit and move into higher level language courses to be challenged more appropriately.
If you want to learn more, we will have an informational meeting for students in the media center right after announcements on Monday, February 11. We will also have an informational meeting for parents and students on Thursday, February 21 at 6:00pm in the media center. Please plan to attend the parent meeting to find out more about this exciting opportunity!
Any student interested in signing up to take the proficiency test in their native language, should do so by March 1st by clicking here. The testing dates will most likely be March 12-13 in one of our computer labs at DeSana and testing should only take 2-3 hours. This is a test of students’ current language abilities and does not require studying ahead of time for the test.
If you have any questions, please contact Mike Sloop, Assistant Principal, at 770-667-2591 (ext. 491507).
HIGH SCHOOL TRANSITION INFORMATION
DENMARK HIGH SCHOOL TRANSTIION INFORMATION
On January 23rd and 24th, Denmark hosted Rising 9th Grader Student/Parent Information Sessions. One session was recorded and is available on their school’s website.
There are two important dates approaching. Saturday, February 9th, is 9th Grade Great Dane Experience at Denmark from 9:00 – 11:00 AM and Friday, February 22nd, 8th Grade Student Visitation Day at Denmark for 9:30-12:00 PM.
9th Grade Great Dane Experience will be an opportunity for you to explore Denmark, pick up a registration packet (if you do not already have one), meet coaches, club sponsors, counselors and school staff to learn more about all the opportunities that Denmark has to offer.
8th Grade Student Visitation Day will be a field trip where we transport students by bus to Denmark and they will have another opportunity to tour the facility and experience a day in the life of a Denmark student.
In early February, DeSana teachers will do recommendations for the three core required classes of English, Math, and Science. On February 27th at 8:00 AM, the parent/student portal on infinite campus will open and it closes on March 6th at 4:00 PM. During this time, you will need to follow the instructions found in the Denmark Course Registration Packet and sign up for a total of 7 courses and a minimum of 3 alternates. Also at this time, you will see what recommendations for core classes our DeSana teachers made regarding your child. If you are not in agreement with this recommendation, you may follow Denmark’s wavier process found in the Denmark Course Registration Packet. The on-line wavier opens Monday, March 11th at 8:00 AM and closes on Monday, March 18th at 4:00 PM.
Ms. Bell and Mrs. Moore will be working with our students on February 6th, 7th and 8th during classroom guidance to help students develop their individual graduation plan. This will outline courses for registration based on pathways and their requirements for graduation. Our counselors are here to help your students in this process; so, please do not hesitate to contact us, Ms. Bell at abell90@forsyth.k12.ga.us for last names A-L or Mrs. Moore at cmoore29@forsyth.k12.ga.us for last names M-Z.
Click here for an Information Flyer about transition activities for Denmark High School.
ALLIANCE ACADEMY of INNOVATION TRANSITION INFORMATION
The above information about course registration for Denmark holds true for the type of registration process for Alliance Academy of Innovation. Below are special dates they have shared:
Avenger Orientation Night – January 31st 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Avengers Assemble 2023 Date – February 22nd 9:00 – 11:00 AM
Parent Portal opens/closes – February 27th through March 6th
Waiver process opens/closes – March 11th through March 18th
Course verification – March 26th -March 28th
Avenger Day – July 24th
GEORGIA PARENT SURVEY
It is time to let the Georgia Department of Education (DOE) know what a great school DeSana Middle School is! Each year, the DOE asks schools to survey students, parents, and school personnel to collect perception data on the climate of every school in the state. We have completed the student and school personnel surveys and are now reaching out to you to get your feedback on how we are doing serving your children at DeSana. The survey is only 24 questions, so please take about 3 minutes to fill out the survey. Click here to access the survey or you may fill it out the next time you are in our building checking out your child. Thank you so much for taking the time to fill out the survey!
PARENTS: REVIEW GA STUDENT GROWTH MODEL REPORTS
The 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Georgia Student Growth Model (GSGM) Student Reports are now available to parents in the SLDS Portal. Please read the GSGM Parent Letter for more information regarding GSGM reports. Accessing these downloadable reports through Parent Portal provides parents with individual student performance information. For information on accessing GSGM reports through SLDS Portal, please see the instructions below. For additional information on navigating the SLDS Portal, please refer to the SLDS Parent Portal Guide.
How to Access the Georgia SLDS Portal
Parents can access the Georgia SLDS Parent Portal by following these steps:
- Sign in to Parent Portal.
- Click the SLDS Portal button at the bottom of the list on the left side of the student’s page.
- After clicking the SLDS Portal button, the Parent Portal Welcome Page will open. If you have access to more than one child in the district portal, you will see a dropdown box containing the name of each child.
- If needed, watch the linked video Accessing your Child’s GSGM Reports – Video Tutorial
- For information on reading GSGM reports, watch the linked video Understanding Your Child’s GSGM Reports – Video Tutorial (Spanish)
If you have any questions, you may contact one of our assistant principals, Ms. Sharon Epperson or Mr. Mike Sloop.
DRAGON ACADEMY FOR THE 2018-2019 SCHOOL YEAR - - - AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ADDITIONAL LEARNING & ASSESSMENT TIME FOR STUDENTS!
Dragon Academy is an opportunity we offer students throughout this year 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 happens 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 are 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 have about two hours to complete their work, once they complete all that they came to accomplish, students are able to call their parent to come pick them up. Snacks and drinks are sold for a very reasonable cost so students may focus on their work, not on their gurgling stomachs! Any necessary school supplies are 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 22
· March 15 & 29
· April 19 & 26
· May 3 & 10
THE ARTS
Aztec Dance Performance at Cultural Arts Night!
Mrs. Bryson shows off England's finest!
The Marachi Band entertained the food samplers!
DOODLE FOR GOOGLE
The annual Doodle for Google competition has begun! Want to win a $30,000 college scholarship, a $50,000 Google for education package for DeSana, and your artwork to be featured on the google homepage for a day? See Mrs. Petit for an entry form and more information. Entries are due to Mrs. Petit March 14th or you may enter on your own by March 18th.
FESTIVAL OF ARTS COMPETITION
The Festival of Arts is fast approaching and first place for the middle school division wins $500! DeSana had three students place last year with one student winning first place! Anyone interested should submit artwork to Mrs. Petit by March 8th.
NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL ART SHOW
Northside Hospital is hosting an art exhibit of middle school and high school artwork. Work will be on display from February 12th – February 28th. There will be a drop in reception on Thursday February 13th from 5-7pm. Take down: February 28th
ACTIVITIES
FROM THE MEDIA CENTER
Attention Parents! Does your child LOVE Rubik’s Cubes? The media center is sponsoring a Rubik’s Cube contest next week, February 11-14! Students can come try their luck with the cube in the mornings—the fastest time of the week will get a Target gift card as well as bragging rights for the entire year!
PARENT 411 - HELPFUL LINKS FOR YOU
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
OUR FEBRUARY BREAK IS ALMOST HERE!
All FCS students and staff will be out of school on next Friday, February 15th and the following Monday, February 18th (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 19th 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 students back with us on Wednesday, February 20th, ready to rock and roll with their learning!
LOST AND FOUND
Our LOST AND FOUND is overflowing with jackets, sweaters, lunchboxes and water bottles. Please encourage your student to check all of the collection areas to claim lost items:
- The bins on each grade level hallway
- The table in the Hex, and
- With Ms. Supple in the Counseling Office
MANY THANKS TO OUR AMAZING BUSINESS PARTNERS!
*ALL AMERICAN SPECIALTIES
*BROWNS BRIDGE CHURCH
*CHICK-FIL-A @ THE COLLECTION
*DUNKIN DONUTS
*DR. HOM PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY & ALPHARETTA COMPREHENSIVE DENTISTRY
*HI FIVE SPORTS
*MARVEL SOCCER
*MILTON DENTAL SPECIALISTS
*NORTH GEORGIA PROMOTIONS
*OMEGA LEARNING
*RBM OF ALPHARETTA
*RISPA
*VERTICAL CHURCH
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.