I would like to extend an advance thank you to all of our service members who gave their lives in service to our country. Today, we honor the men and women who sacrificed their lives for our country and our freedom. Their selfless devotion, outstanding courage, and honor should inspire us to make their sacrifices meaningful every day.
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK was AMAZING! Thank you to our PTO and the our amazing parents for the thoughtful gifts and treats that helped make teacher appreciation week so special!
THE 8TH GRADE TRIP IS STILL ON!
THANKS TO A FEW VERY GENEROUS DONORS THE 8TH GRADE TRIP TO WASHINGTON D.C. IS STILL ON!!!
Final words from our PTO PRESIDENT
I would like to thank so, so many people for a terrific, five-year run as the Dunbar PTO President. We held the first ever "Dunbar Dash" on May 14, and reaffirmed all of the things that make Dunbar so special.
I want to personally thank a million times the executive committee, who helped plan and find sponsors: Angie Campbell, Trish Pabis, Alys Miller and Laura Bauer (all of whom also volunteered); for the guys who worked and re-worked the course (and ran) Ross Meyer and Karl Miller; Frau Brown, Mr. Potts, Ms. Rettke and Mr. Moore for being rock star teachers and supporting the PTO; and a special shout out to Rachel Mitchell, who is a Linkhorne Middle parent who helped us plan and execute a color run.
I also want to thank additional volunteers who came out: Sarah Jarrett, Jennifer Sittason, both Kim and Marc Grant, Alisa Hite, Jennifer Logan, Tim Campbell, Sheri Quinones-Partain and her sister Anne, Shaq, Asia, and another others I may have (inadvertantly left out, and I'm so sorry if I did).
Lastly: please, please go show some love to the area businesses who sponsored the event, which would not have been possible without them: Ford Mays Wealth Management, High Peak Sportswear, Justis Convenient Store, Central Virginia Orthodontics, F. Read Hopkins, Chuck Felmlee Law, PC, Radiology Consultants, Karl Miller Realty Group, Sage Tryall Salon, Patriot Builders, Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics of Lynchburg, Orthodontist Mark Blanchette, Attorney Mark Arthur, Blue Ridge Trail Runners and Meriwether-Godsey.
We were able to have a super fun afternoon, and raise thousands of dollars for the PTO. In our meeting in May, the last of the year, we voted to approve a number of teacher requests, and hope that all of you reading this will continue to support the PTO next year.
Also: Scott Pabis won the drawing for the $100 gift card to Amazon, and the biggest fundraiser ($600+), Turner Thompson, declined her $100 gift card.
We love being part of raising the bar!
~Jessie Thompson-PTO President
End of the Year Awards Assembly
Hello Poet Parents,
Principal Brown here. I just want to send a quick announcement about our end of the year awards assembly. In the past, some have used the term eighth grade graduation, which is not the case. This event is an awards assembly for the entire school. We will be recognizing student athletes, musicians, and students' academic achievements, as well as giving out character awards. All of the eighth graders are invited to "dress to impress" (this is optional) and will walk in the auditorium together one last time. I will be saying some final words of wisdom to them as they depart and go to high school. Once again, there is no official graduation for middle school. As I have stated before, the only graduations in LCS are the high school graduations, and we do not want to diminish that tremendous accomplishment. Parents are more than welcome to attend the awards assembly and we have reserved the front rows of the balcony for you. In order to attend the assembly, you will need to bring a government issued photo ID (either a driver's license or military ID) if you're over 18 so that we can check you in. Please anticipate a line in the morning as we will have a decent number of parents checking in. We will begin checking parents after 8:00 AM and the assembly will start at 8:30AM and will end no later that 10:30AM. Our ceremony is this Friday May 31st.
GO POETS
Camp Dunbar CHANGES!
1. Camp Dunbar has been cancelled for this summer. Due to a shortage of funding, we are unable to host Camp Dunbar for the rising 7th and 8th graders. If everything goes as planned and the grant is renewed next year, Camp Dunbar will return next summer.
2. Middle School Academy (MSA) will be extended to a full week. Our 6th grade transition program, MSA, will take place June 24-28 from 8am-12pm each day. We have space for 6 academic teachers (**that will be teaching 6th grade next year**) and 4 enrichment teachers. If you are interested and haven't reached out yet, please contact Annie Terry.
Dear Parent/Guardian,
To celebrate the end of a fabulous school year, the entire 6th grade class will be participating in a mini-carnival day! The carnival will take place at school and is free of charge. Students will get the chance to enjoy games, munch on snacks, bask in the sun, and catch up with friends before the school year ends. We want this day to be a fun celebration for everyone and cannot wait to play in the sun!The itinerary for the day is as follows:
- 8:00am Homeroom attendance and head outside
- 8:20am-10:50am Outdoor Fun!!!!
- 10:50-11:21am Lunch
- 11:25am-1:13pm
Movies & Games with 4th period class (popcorn will be served to all) Students stay with 4th period class for the entire time, then it is 6th & 7th period as usual. Students are reminded to dress appropriately for the weather and to follow school dress-code policy. Please send them to school with the following: sunblock, sunglasses/hat, a change of clothes/shoes, a towel, and a water bottle. Students MUST wear shoes that tie and cover their entire foot. Sandals will not be allowed (including sport sandals like Chaco.)
To be eligible for this activity, students must meet the following guidelines. If a student gets any one of the following, he/she will be ineligible to attend the carnival
- Sent out of class twice (cumulative)
- Two detentions
- One referral
- One suspension, including bus, in-school, and out of school
These guidelines began on April 22, 2019, and will be in place until the day of the carnival. All homeroom classes reviewed these guidelines with students and all 6th grade teachers have been reminding students of them regularly. Any student who is ineligible to participate will remain in the Mozee building with a teacher for the entirety of the carnival event (1-5 periods.)
If you have any other questions, please contact me between 3:05-3:30 at 515-5310.
Sincerely,
Erin Rettke & the 6th Grade Team
Optimist Club's "Excellence in Musical Accomplishment Award" Recipient Kia Styrsky
German
In April our German 1 students competed in a German writing contest with all German 1 students in Lynchburg City Schools, including high school students. Twenty Dunbar essays were submitted and judged by Professor Ron Horwege from Sweetbriar College. All students were required to write a minimum of 75 words in German, describing themselves, their families, and their activities. At an awards ceremony at EC Glass High School, eighth graders Lily Jablonski and Megan McMonagle took first and second place in the contest, above all the other essays entered. Go Poets!
French Essay Winners!
When you see Brooklyn Dop today please congratulate her for placing 3rd in the annual French writing contest sponsored & judged by the local French Alliance. There were over 80 essays for French 1.
Please also congratulate Riley Comerford. Her essay was among the top 25% entered in the contest.
Science fair results:
Carter Smith's project took 2nd place in Chemistry. He won the VA Dental Association Regional Award and was nominated to compete in the 2019 Broadcom Masters.
- Nicholas Gould, Alec Stickle, and Sian Garland won 1st place in the Physics category
- Emilie Salazar & Savannah Stetson won 1st in the Invertebrate Studies
Way to go poets!
Post from the PTO
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to our Dunbar Family for your support of PTO initiatives this year! Your financial support and individual participation has been terrific and has allowed us to make a positive impact on the school!
Want to get involved in PTO for 2019-20? PTO is always looking for a few new people who want to be involved! 6th grade level grade reps will be needed and other positions may be available. Interested? Contact our outgoing PTO President Jessie Thompson for more info at jmthompson5@gmail.com.
PTO Meetings: All are welcome at the Dunbar PTO meetings. There will be no more PTO meetings this school year.
DUNBAR SHINES!
Now our Poet Pride shines bright into the night! Thank you PTO and Parents for your generous donation that helped us install our LED Lights!
GO POETS!
National Junior Honor Society Induction: This ceremony is held in the Fall. More information will be given in August.
Updates from Art Class...
We've got our Dragon's Eye on May 31st! 6th Grade and 7th Grade Art students have drawn close up's of dragon's eyes (and can you find the ONE wolf eye? A student insisted!) and colored them in using Oil Pastels. These will be on display in the main office for the remainder of next week before going home.
Featured students:
- Alaya Andrews 6th Grade
- Jeremy Davis 6th Grade
- Aiyanna Horsely 6th Grade
- Sonyia Irving 6th Grade
- Carson Laymon 6th Grade
- Zyon Major 6th Grade
- Matei Garland 6th Grade
- Cowen Napier 6th Grade
- Elaina Naples 6th Grade
- Renya Russel 6th Grade
- Derrian Womack 6th Grade
- Alexia Huffman 6th Grade
- Taylor Jones 6th Grade
- Berkley Milam 6th Grade
- Ericka Obligacion 6th Grade
- Javon Paige 6th Grade
- Hannah Phelps 6th Grade
- Teyonna Smith 6th Grade
- Anaz Van Fleet 6th Grade
- Hajmere Jakaria 6th Grade
- Ethan Spencer 7th Grade
- Indra Velasco 7th Grade
- Anya Miller 7th Grade
Dunbar Middle School was asked again to paint another piano for the Hill City Keys! This project partners with the Academy Center of the Arts and local schools to have their art students paint donated pianos. The pianos are then tuned, and displayed around downtown Lynchburg.
Our theme was Lynchburg Virginia favorite "views". The student's picked several views of Lynchburg that seem to put our city on "the map".
Student artists are :
- Emily Young
- Anya Miller
- Jeremiah Boothe
- Leland Landes
- Iyanna Martin
- Akiya Randall
- Kristen Reaves
- Barbra Jenkins
- Chris Wood
- Jamill Miller
- Jamarius Hamlette
- Curtis Branham
- Cristel Merida
Plus various Dunbar Overtime Art Enrichment Students from the 21st CCLC program.
Led by DMS Art Teacher Ms.Shaw
STATE CHAMPS IN THE HOUSE!!!! 🥇
These AWESOME Poets are headed to National History Day in June!
Congratulations Kailyn Snyder, Faith Jacobs, and Emily Staton who not only won First place at the Dunbar and regional History Day Fair, but also won the Anne R. Worrell Junior Project Award at STATES!!! They beat out all of the other competitors from across the state in 5 categories (and they split $500 in prize money. See kids it does pay to do well in school. 😉) Awesome job Raising the BAR!!!
Go Poets!
(Photo Credit: Katie Galley Snyder & Jen Phelps Staton)
Yearbooks are coming...
Yearbooks arrive Friday! Books that were preordered will be delivered to homeroom classes. Limited copies will be available for purchase. Please contact Mrs. Clifford-Wilson for more info: cliffordwilsonre@lcsedu.net
8th graders turned in their Chromebooks on 5/23-24. Please make sure your child has returned their Chromebook to school clean, in their bag, charged, and with a charger on. If your child has damaged their Chromebook, we sent letters home with a list of damages and the amount owed and attempted phone calls last week. If damages are not covered through insurance, they must be paid OR a payment plan must be in place. Replacement chargers can be purchased through the library for around $45 or online for around $25 through this website: bit.ly/CBcharger. We hope this was a helpful tool for your child this school year!
Looking for something for your coding kids to do this summer? Check out the Tech Cats Summer Coding Day Camp at Randolph College! TC3 Kids is a week-long introduction to computer programming and robotics for rising 3rd – rising 8th grade students. Kids will learn the basics of computer programming, computer science and robotics through fun, collaborative and creative activities including Black Rocket’s exciting and innovative curricula (see above). No experience with computer programming or computer science is necessary! All levels welcome! Campers will show off their code at a Code and Cake presentation party on the Friday of the camp between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Click the link for more information http://www.randolphcollege.edu/about/visit/summer-camps/tech-cats-day-coding-camp/ P.S. Dunbar's Ms Rettke will be there for all three weeks of coding fun!
Mrs. Grant started collecting textbooks last week. If your child has a textbook or library book at home, please have them bring them to school this week and turn it in to the proper teacher. This does not mean we are done teaching, we just won't be using the books once they are collected. We have told our teachers that we will be teaching until the final bell.
Teacher Glow- Mrs. Kelly
Mrs. Kelly, who teaches 7th grade Math here at Dunbar, has been selected by her peers as the Teacher of the Year for Dunbar Middle School! It is not uncommon to find Mrs. Kelly with a room full of students during her lunch break and planning period to provide extra help or just a safe space and a listening ear. She has over a decade of teaching experience and he truly earned this honor! CONGRATULATIONS Mrs. Kelly!!!
Staff Glow- Ms. Lambert
Ms. Lambert is the DMS Support Person of the Year! We want to publicly offer congratulations to our Office Manager Ms. Lambert for always doing a million and one things for our families and staff all day everyday! She does a lot of behind the scenes work including painting the main hallways over her break, cleaning all three of our huge Koi fish tanks, and redesigning the front office. She does all this without ever expecting anything in return. We all see how hard she works!
- Memorial Day-No School 5/27/2017
- Leland Melvin Presentation 5/28
- 8th Grade Field Trip 5/29
- 6th Grade Mini-Carnival 5/29
- Talent Show 5/30
- Last Day of School 5/31 (1/2 day)
- 5/31 End of the Year Awards (Academic and Sports) Parents welcome--8:30 AM. Check-in at the main office.
- Always check the DMS website calendar for a complete list of DMS events.
Credits:
Created with images by tharun15 - "Teacher Appreciation Week text on a gold apple surrounded by alphabets" • Bill Chizek - "US Capitol 8 (Banner)" • mnirat - "Graduate" • Africa Studio - "Text Summer camp written with chalk" • okalinichenko - "park" • luzitanija - "waving colorful flag of germany." • Huebi - "Rendered french flag" • enterlinedesign - "History Letterpress" • tumsasedgars - "woman freelance programmer working from home. website code on screen."