DMS Panther Report
Newletter for Parents, Students, Teachers & the Community
Week of Sept. 29 - Oct. 3
Discovery Middle School
Email: mbarkley@madisoncity.k12.al.us
Website: http://dms.madisoncity.k12.al.us/
Location: 1304 Hughes Road, Madison, AL, United States
Phone: 256-837-3735
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverymspanthers?ref=hl
Twitter: @mbarkleyDMS
DMS Administration Team
Principal: Melanie J. Barkley mbarkley@madisoncity.k12.al.us
Asst. Principal: Ryan Foy rlfoy@madisoncity.k12.al.us
Asst. Principal: Kevin Wilson kwilson@madisoncity.k12.al.us
Counselor: Kelle Moody kmoody@madisoncity.k12.al.us
This Week's Schedule Rotation
A WEEK is our schedule rotation for Sept. 29-Oct. 3
What's Happening This Week
DMS Spirit Week
On October 2nd, our football team will host Liberty in our annual cross-town rivalry game for the coveted Madison Cup Trophy. In preparing for this epic match, we are going to increase the spirit of our school that week by having our Spirit Week! Remember Dress Code still applies to all days.
Here are the details of the week:
Monday, September 29: Classy Day (Dress in your Sunday Best)
Tuesday, September 30 – Twin Day
Wednesday, October 1 – Crazy Sock/Tacky Day
Thursday, October 2 – Wear Pink to Pink out the Lions - Wear your shirts that support Liz Hurley Breast Cancer Awareness
Friday, October 3 – Be Patriotic for the Patriots. Girls will wear red, Boys wear white, Faculty wear Blue
Scholastic Book Fair will be in DMS Library ALL WEEK
The DMS Library will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair Sept. 26-Oct. 3, 2014. All students will visit the Book Fair with their Language Arts teacher.
We will also have our ONLINE Scholastic Book Fair available to you from Sept. 21-Oct. 11, 2014!!!
Please visit http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/discoverymiddleschool1 to place an order through the Online Fair. All books ordered through the Online Book Fair are delivered to DMS and will be labeled with your child’s name. The Online Book Fair is a Great way to allow family members that live out of town or state to purchase books for your child!!!
FCA T-Shirts are for sale this week
Fellowship of Christian Athlete t-shirts are now on sale. They are grey comfort colors t-shirts and are $20.00 each. Checks may be written (with 2 phone numbers, address, and DL number included on the check) or pay with cash. Give money to Mrs. Brooks or Mrs. Parker.
Monday, Sept. 29
- Volleyball County Tournament Begins Today @ DMS - 7th Gr Team has a bye and 8th Gr Team plays at 7:00pm vs Monrovia MS
- Links to Volleyball County T'ment Bracket 7th Grade and 8th Grade
- Lego Robotics - Team Robo Sapians (Coach Garrison) practice from 5:30-7 at STEM Academy Bldg
- Math Team (7th/8th) Optional Practice in Mrs. Goldston's Room from 3:15 until 5pm.
Tuesday, Sept. 30
- BJHS Girls GOLF Tryouts - Please contact Coach Schrimsher at BJHS more tryout information
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes will meet at 7:15am in the library
- VB County T'ment Continues - 7th Gr Team Plays winner of BMS or SMS at 5:00pm
- Cyber Security Club will be 3:30-4:30pm in the STEM Academy (Behind the school).
Wednesday, Oct. 1
- Volleyball County Tournament Championships for 7th and 8th Grade @ DMS
- Lego Robotics - Team Lucid Dreamers (Coach Horowitz) practice from 5:30-7 at STEM Academy Bldg.
Thursday, Oct. 2
DMS Football vs Liberty MS @ DMS HOME Field - 7th at 5pm and 8th at 7pm. We are expected a BIG crowd for this game so gates will open 4:00pm.
NJHS meeting for current members will be at 7:15am in the Library
Friday, Oct. 3
- Breakfast Book Club will meet in the Library at 7:40am. Any student interested in joining should see Mrs. King or Mrs. Harlow for a pass.
- Chess Team will practice from 5:30-6:30pm at the Madison City Central Office
- Lego Robotics - Team Robo Sapians (Coach Garrison) practice from 5:30-7 at STEM Academy Bldg
- Lego Robotics - Team Lucid Dreamers (Coach Horowitz) practice from 5:30-7 at STEM Academy Bldg.
Impact Aide Surveys DUE ASAP
More than one in four students in the Madison City School system qualify the district for extra federal money because a parent or guardian works on federal property. Parents and guardians play a crucial role in securing that money. Today, federal impact aid forms went home with students. Please take a few minutes to fill them out and return to the school as soon as possible.
Madison schools received more than $2 million from this fund in the last 10 years. It is essentially money the federal government pays in lieu of taxes to schools that educate the children of federal workers. The form asks parents to list their job and where they work. Simply working on federal property like on Redstone Arsenal, a federal courthouse or for TVA, will qualify the district for this money no matter if it is a military, civil service or private contractor job. One form per child is required.
Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dee Fowler and two Madison parents explain the program in this brief video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STgyNHdpvE4
Dr. Fowler joined Col. Bill Marks of Redstone Arsenal and Huntsville and Madison County school leaders today to urge completion of the forms.
The three school systems in Madison County alone received more than $1 million in federal impact aid money in 2013-14. In Madison City Schools, 2,443 of its approximately 9,500 students last year qualified the district for federal impact aid. That number could be larger this year from a boost in enrollment.
Physical Fitness Testing in the PE Dept. Continues this Week
The PE department will be starting fitness testing on Monday, September 22-October 3rd. Testing will be done during your child’s PE class this term and next term. All students will be tested twice a year(Fall and Spring). Please make sure your child brings the appropriate clothes and shoes for the testing. The students will be tested on cardiovascular endurance (PACER), muscular endurance (push ups), Flexibility (v-sit), and curl-ups.
Students still have time to join Destination Imagination
Attention DMS students: our award-winning Destination Imagination teams are forming RIGHT NOW and we need a few more creative students to join us! If you are a “think outside the box” kind of person and would like to try out DI, please get an application at the DMS front desk or download one from the “Clubs and Organizations” section of the DMS web site. The official due date has already passed, but we are accepting new team members until Fall Break. Your parents must sign the form before you turn it in. Please talk to Mrs. Harlow or Mrs. Wilbanks if you are interested or have questions about DI!!!
Math Tutoring Available to Students
Math tutoring is offered to any student at the following times during the week.
7th Grade Math
Graham - Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday at 7:15-7:55am
Brooks - Monday at 3:15-4:00pm
Baragona - Tuesday and Wednesday at 3:15-4:00pm
Grayson - Thursday at 3:15-4:00pm
8th Grade Math
Garner - Monday at 3:15 -4:00pm
King - Tuesday at 3:15 -4:00pm
Baragona - Wednesday at 3:15-4:00pm
McGuire - Thursday at 3:15-4:00pm
8th Grade Algebra
King - Monday at 3:15 - 4:00pm
Maxwell - Tuesday at 3:15-4:00pm
McGuire - Wednesday at 3:15-4:00pm
BOX TOPS FOR DMS
Box Tops and Labels for Education: Help support your school by clipping labels from grocery items you have at home! Box Tops and Labels for Education are accepted year-round and can be turned into your student's first block teacher or to the front office. Visit these sites to view participating products:
http://www.boxtops4education.com/products/participating-products and
http://www.labelsforeducation.com/Earn-Points/Participating-Products .
YEARBOOKS ARE ON SALE NOW
2014-2015 Yearbooks are on sale now. Cost is $45.
Cash or Checks (include Driver's License number and 2 phone numbers) can be turned into Mr. Brewer.
Washington DC 7th Grade TRIP Information
Boston, MA 8th Grade TRIP Information
The Boston Trip will be from April 13th-17th this year. Registration is available online at the EF Tour website or you may call 1-617-619-2134. Our trip ID# is 1525987XP. This is a great trip for our 8th Graders.
Elective Spotlight
This week we are highlighting our award winning Band program.
Mr. Murray arranged for a VERY special visit for the jazz band here at Discovery on Monday of last week. Mr. Ron Carter, the director for the Jazz Arts at The Lincoln Center in Washington DC, held a clinic with our jazz band. Mr. Carter, chose DMS and we were one of only 6 schools in Alabama he worked with on this tour. He was a member of Miles Davis's original jazz quartet, has been featured on over 2200 recordings, and has won two Grammies. Needless to say that we were so honored to be part of this very special day of instruction. The students learned so much from Mr. Carter and in his words "he was most impressed with our students and their work ethic."
Mr. Murray and our band students work so hard to practice and prepare for competitions and performances. The band classes include: Percussion, Concert, Cadet, and Symphonic. We definitely have something special as we are one of the few Middle School bands that march during football games. We are so proud to have the DMS band represent us in competitions and performances, Mr. Murray and his students are definitely a class act.
Teachers Take Time for Professional Development
Time Out for Teachers: Reflection and Growth @ DMS
This past Friday we had our first collaboration day here at DMS. We all gathered in the library for professional learning and sharing. Dr. Coman (our Instructional Partner) and Mrs. Barkley co-facilitated the meetings where we met in table teams to revisit and revitalize our school one-page target.
It was great to see all of the learning and collaboration in the vertical teams as they dialogued about our school one-page target. Once all 6 teams visited all of the tables and charts we ended the day with a sharing of our end products based on all of the voices in the room. These end products will give us our next phase in the rebuilding of our One-page Instructional Target for DMS. Stay tuned as we continue our journey of reflection and growth as professional learners.
WAY TO GO PANTHERS
DMS 7th Gr. Football Team has BIG win vs Monrovia MS
Congratulations to our DMS 7th Football Team. 7th Grade won 24 to 0 last Thursday!
Congratulations to Hispanic Heritage Month Art Winners
1st Place - Victoria Lee
2nd Place - Ange Long
3rd Place - Meredith Martin
They will be recognized in a Heritage Month Program on Oct. 7 at the NASA Activities Center on Redstone Arsenal.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! We had a very successful sheet fundraiser!
Our students raised over $7000 dollars!
7th Grade Class Winner – Sippel – 45
8th Grade Class Winner – West – 35
Combined (7th and 8th) Class Winner – Humes – 46 – Overall Winner!
_____________________________________________________________________________
INDIVIDUAL WINNERS—
7TH Grade—
Ellie Brown - 21
Erin Kueck-20
Parker Shewell – 19
Layia King – 15
Jacob Garrison - 10
8th Grade—
Michael Marenka – 13
Austin Ponder – 11
Laura Lewis – 10
Ashton Jah – 7
Saniya Jones - 7
UPCOMING EVENTS
FALL BREAK will be Oct. 6-10
DMS Boys Basketball Parent Meeting
Softball Tryouts for 7th and 8th Grade Girls
Softball tryouts will be held on October 16th and 17th from 3:30-5:30. Please come see Coach Wilson this week for a tryout packet. In order to be eligible to tryout, all students must turn in the following:
· a physical filled out on an AHSAA physical form
· insurance form
· a student release form
· concussion form
All these forms will be included in the packet along with a cover letter explaining each form and tryout details.
2nd Annual RUFF Trunk or Treat
Sunday, October 19th, 2014
2:00pm – 5:00pm
Discovery Middle School
1304 Hughes Road Madison, AL 35758
FREE COMMUNITY EVENT!
**R.U.F.F. is currently looking for vendors, trunk participation, and sponsors. If you are interested in being apart of this event please email agrahamruff@gmail.com or call 256-652-1790 for additional information**
Washington DC Parent Informational Meeting
Cyber Security Week is Coming to DMS
BOB JONES HS EVENTS AND NEWS
BJHS Volleyball This Week
Tuesday, Sept. 30 - BJHS Varsity & JV at Buckhorn vs Buckhorn/Arab 4:00/5:00pm
Thursday, Oct. 2 - BJHS Varsity & JV at Madison County HS 4:30/5:30pm
Saturday, Oct. 4- BJHS JV at James Clemens Tournament at JCHS
BJ Cross Country This Week
Saturday, Oct. 4 - Jesse Owens Classic at Oakville Indian Mounds
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Important Calendars for 2014-15
Menus for September
Link to Lunch Menu for September
Link to Breakfast Menu for September
Fall Sport Schedules for DMS
Still have time to join Discovery Middle School PTA
Parents Contact Forms
Parents each year we like to make sure our contact information is update. This year we have tried to make it easier for you by updating online. Please take the time to go to the following link and update your info. This is a private document that will only be seen by your child's teacher and office staff. Thank you for your help.