PLEASE TAKE THIS SURVEY
Parents, please take the survey above to give us your need back about the things you think are going well and the things we can improve. Your feedback is vital to help us to continue to grow.
Saturday School
SSsssooooo.....The Saturday School letters when home too fast with the wrong instructions for our teachers to give the letter to every parent. Saturday School is only for 6th, 7th, 8th Math and English. Today (1/8), English and Math teachers have been instructed to send home permission letters home AND SIGN THE BOTTOM OF THEM to invite your child. Saturday School is not a punishment or consequence. It is an opportunity for your child to get extra academic support. It is optional, but encouraged if your child is invited.
Post from the PTO
PTO Meetings are open to ALL: Did you know that all parents/guardians of DMS students are welcome at our PTO meetings? We would love to see you at our next meeting on Monday, January 14 at 6:00 in the Library. Attending a meeting is a great way to learn more about our school! For your calendar: PTO held on the 2nd Monday of each month at 6:00 PM in the Library. Join us!
Stay in touch on social media: Did you know that Dunbar has an official Facebook page? Search for “Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School for Innovation” to find the official one (look for the purple school seal and over 750 likes)! Then be sure to “like and follow” the page so you stay in the know! Like Dunbar Theatre? Check out the “Dunbar Theatre Connection” Facebook page and do the same. Our instagram account is paullaurencedunbarpoets . These are three active and current Facebook and instagram pages being used at Dunbar.
LCS newsletter
Subscribe to the Lynchburg City Schools newsletter to get updates about what is going on around the school division. Click here or log on to www.lcsedu.net/community and click on the Community Email Newsletters link.
OUR LAST TOUCHING BASES for the year will be on 1/31 from 3:30-6:00 PM.
Report Cards will be sent home on Friday, January 11th.
Interim reports: Will be sent home by January 30. Parents /guardians please sign them. Students are asked to return signed interim reports to their homeroom teachers.
Who takes care of whom? At DMS, our admin and guidance team divides our responsibilities based on students' last names. This is so that we can learn the students and families we will take care of, and stay with them throughout their three years at middle school.
- Admin Team: Brown A-D, Glover E-M, Grant N-Z
- Guidance Departments: Hamlett A-M and Calloway N-Z
Failures: We don't want any of our students to fail, and we want to do all we can when they struggle. In a couple of weeks we will mail home letters to parents of students who have an F for any quarter this school year. These letters will provide options to contact the school to develop a plan to help your child succeed. Our retention and summer school policy will also be included. If your child has an F in any CORE class, please reach out to that teacher to work on a plan. I will instructed our teachers to do the same, but sometimes numbers change (or voicemails are full) and they are unable to reach you.
History Fair
College Symposium
Hello 8th Grade Parents/Guardian,
On Wednesday January 9th, from 9:00am-2:00pm Beacon of Hope will be hosting their annual 8th grade College Symposium. This year it will be taking the students on the beautiful campus of Sweet Briar College. For those that are not familiar with the format of the College Symposium, it is an event to create hope, college drive and readiness for our 8th graders. In hopes that our students become interested in college or technical training after high school and that it becomes an expectation for our LCS students. Sessions will address the following: Using athletics and music as a drive for post-secondary education, what admissions look for from students and what life look likes when you are a student (residential. extracurricular activities etc). This is great opportunity for our students and I am hoping that they have a great experience!
High School Visits and Scheduling
On February 14th, rising 9th graders will be taken during the school day to ECG and HHS for a tour of their high school. ECG and HHS counselors will come to DMS during the day to register rising 9th graders for classes in March or April. The high schools usually host a Moving Up/Curriculum night in April and I will give you the dates for that when I get them.
- All District Band Auditions-7th & 8th. 1/12-2/13 - Fieldale-Collinsville Middle School 645 Miles Rd, Collinsville, VA 24078, USA
- Junior Theater Festival 1/18-21
- Junior Regional Orchestra Auditions 1/26 Jack Jouett Middle School - 210 Lambs Ln, Charlottesville, VA 22901, USA
- LAST TOUCHING BASES OF THE YEAR 1/31 3:30-6:00 PM
- Golden Poet Awards- 1/31 6:00-6:30 PM
- 6th Grade Band, Orchestra, and Jazz Band Winter Concert (make-up from December) 1/31 7:00-8:00 PM
- Academy Performance 6th grade Orchestra 2/1 6:00 at the Academy Center for the Arts.
- Always check the DMS website calendar for a complete list of DMS events
Herpetology
The Golden Poet Award
As you know, our mission at DunBAR is to "Raise the BAR." An initiative we started last year that will hopefully help our kids do just that is called the Golden Poet Award. Students can earn the Golden Poet status once per semester by achieving three out of four of the following standards: two hours of community service (must complete a community service form in the main office. See Ms. Bell for a form), no discipline referrals or behavior issues, no unexcused absences, or a positive referral. Students who earn the Golden Poet status will be recognized on the morning announcements and placed in a quarterly drawing for prizes. This is just another way for us to show our kids that doing the right thing, and going the extra mile, does pay off.
We will host a special awards ceremony to recognize Golden Poets and present them with their Golden Poet T-shirt early May in the DMS auditorium.
We will host a special awards ceremony to recognize Golden Poets and present each with a Golden Poet T-shirt on 1/31 at 6:00 p.m. in the DMS auditorium. Our superintendent Dr. Edwards will be our keynote speaker! Invitations for students who have earned this honor went go home during the first week in December.
Students in 7th and 8th grade orchestra classes are eligible to audition for this year's South Central West Junior Regional Orchestra event, held on March 22-23. Auditions are scheduled for Saturday, January 26 at Jack Jouett Middle School in Charlottesville, and LCS will be providing a bus for students who plan to audition. The deadline for students to register for auditions is next Friday, January 11. I have asked students to print and sign the 2019 Commitment Form as their official registration, which states that they are committing to the March event, should they make the audition. This form can be found in the email that I sent prior to winter break - Please read it carefully. If there are any orchestra parents who are not receiving orchestra communication via email, please let Mrs. Ayers know ASAP. :)
TEACHER SHOUTOUTS!
Encourage our teachers- We know our teachers and staff members work very hard and need a pat on the back every now and then. If you would like to recognize a staff member for going above and beyond you can. Click here to submit a positive referral using our Google Form, or email me with your nominations browndr@lcsedu.net . (Our teachers appreciate this more than you know!)
The Principal's Challenge:
Our new tradition of weekly principal challenges for our students continues! These challenges are simple and quick acts of kindness and respect toward their peers and staff. Students will NOT receive any reward or special acknowledgement for completing these challenges. It's just our way of giving them the opportunity to "Raise the BAR!" Please help us out with this by asking your child what the challenge for the week is and how they are completing it. Next week's challenge is to: Respect for your school . Take pride in and respect in your school. Pick up trash and clean up after yourself. This also shows our custodians and cafeteria staff they we respect them!
Credits:
Created with images by weedezign - "2019 happy year wood number in perspective room with sparkling bokeh wall and wooden plank floor.copy space for display of product or text." • Tierney - "Survey text with man using a laptop" • nadezhda1906 - "silhouette of little girl holding parent hand at sunset" • fgnopporn - "Social media concept.media marketing." • iQoncept - "Report Card A+ Plus Top Grade Rating Review Evaluation Score" • enterlinedesign - "History Letterpress" • Rob - "Student" • Argus - "yearbook, 3D rendering, street signs" • furtseff - " The hands of violinists in a Symphony orchestra"