Dumbarton Middle School 300 Dumbarton Road, Baltimore, MD 21212

410-887-3176 BCPS Lighthouse School

A National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence

Sue Harris, Principal February, 2016 Liz Heil, Assistant Principal

Cheryl Scott, Assistant Principal

Jen Burch, Assistant Principal

From the Principal’s Desk…. What a way to end January – with a huge snow storm!

The snow days also required us to adjust a number of dates and it impacted the timely distribution of this newsletter. Please note that report cards will now go home on

Monday, 2/8/16. See the DMS calendar (enclosed) for further information. The DMS registration process also begins this month for 6th and 7th graders. Preliminary registration forms were distributed. We will hold parent information meetings to clarify next year’s student schedules at 6:15 prior to both concerts (Monday and Wednesday) and again on 2/18 at 7PM after the PTA meeting. We are excited to announce that Ms. Stacie Elliott (6th grade ELA teacher) has been nominated as the DMS Teacher of the Year for BCPS. In addition, Mrs. Jill Williams (ESOL Department Chair) and Ms. Samantha Sharbonda (Math teacher and Kindness Club Sponsor) have been nominated by staff and parents to represent DMS by receiving the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Teaching Award. Mr. Sievers (Math teacher) won an award for his contributions to the John’s Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. We are very proud of all of these outstanding educators who are dedicated to student achievement and to Dumbarton Middle School. It is time for our annual stakeholder survey! Our school and BCPS value everyone’s input. Please take time to participate. Some of the questions will be specific to our school and some will be from a school system perspective. You can access the online survey at: www.bcps.org until February 29. The feedback will be beneficial in helping us meet our goal of graduating globally competitive students! Thank you for your continued dedication and support. Your interest and encouragement makes all the difference in student motivation and their ultimate determination to succeed. We enjoy working with your children each and every day. Sincerely, Susan E Harris

Principal

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PTSA News Happy February!

We hope you enjoyed the extra winter break thanks to the snow!

Kudos to the Kindness Club! The Kindness Club has been awarded a $200 grant

from the Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots program (www.rootsandshoots.org). Being

selected from thousands of applicants from around the world is an amazing

testament to the amazing work that they do!

Lions Den Events- Black Light Night will be February 5th 7-9pm.

Movie Night will be February 19th. Have your child listen to morning

announcements for information on how to vote for the movie. Additional

information and fliers for these events will be posted to our website

(www.dmsptsa.org) and our Facebook page.

Parent Education Night- On February 17th at 6:30 pm, Please join us for a

presentation of Innocence Stolen: Protecting Our Children Online, a multimedia

presentation that provides communities the necessary information to keep children

safe on the internet. The presentation will be given by Vincent DeVivo, a

Community Outreach Specialist from the United States Attorney's Office.

Tissues for Teachers Drive- Please help our teachers by saving them this expense

and donating boxes of tissues to the school!

PTSA Membership & Contributions- We are nearly at our goal of $15,000 for our

Contribution Campaign and could not have done it without the wonderful support of

our DMS families and school staff. THANK YOU!!! To date, this money has helped

provide grants to each grade level, as well as individual teachers, to support

resources that enhance the experience of DMS students.

It’s not too late to contribute. You can use our new online payment option

(www.dmsptsa.org) or send in your check (made out to DMS PTSA).

The DMS PTSA relies on contributions rather than fundraisers for its budget, and

your donations are tax deductible as charitable contributions.

Thank you for all of your support!! Aimee Freeman, PTSA President

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APPLY FOR GT ART FOR 2016-2017! (current 6th and 7th graders)

It’s not too early to start thinking about applying for GT Art for next year! Unlike other content areas, the GT Art application process and portfolio review is undertaken by the DMS Art department. The GT Art portfolio process begins with an informative meeting for students at 3:00 on Thursday, February 25th, 2016. It will be held after school in Mr. Citrano’s room (Room 119). THIS MEETING IS IMPORTANT AND ALL APPLICANTS SHOULD MAKE ARRANGEMNETS SO THAT THEY CAN ATTEND. It is crucial that all interested students clear time from their schedule (about 30 minutes) as there is much to discuss. We will demystify the entire portfolio process and we will address any and all questions students may have. Parents need not attend (information will be sent home with students).

BCPS portfolio requirements will be given to each student to take home and review. Again, we will:

provide the application

explain the process

highlight the type/quality of work expected

provide the due date for portfolios

answer all questions We’re looking forward to seeing the room packed with young artists again this year! Spread the word! All the Best,

Luke Jones

Art Teacher/ Department Chair Dumbarton Middle School Ljones16@bcps.org

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MAP Testing

The winter MAP testing window for Dumbarton Middle School has been adjusted

and will run from February 8-March 4, 2016 due to January’s mega snowstorm.

Dumbarton Middle School students will participate in testing during math and

language arts classes. Testing will take two days in each class. Last summer

Dumbarton Middle School was acknowledged by Dr. Dance, BCPS superintendent,

for demonstrating the most growth in MAP test scores. We hope to continue the

trend this year. In order to prepare for testing, students are encouraged to get a

good night’s sleep prior to testing, eat a good breakfast the morning of testing,

and put forth their best effort. Students are also encouraged to review their fall

MAP test scores and set goals for continued improvement in reading and math.

Appropriate Use of DMS Devices (for 6th grade students)

In order to ensure that students are using their devices appropriately, parents are

encouraged to review student Internet browser and download histories. The

Internet history is located in the upper right hand corner of the web browser and

the download history can be accessed in the download folder by clicking the This

PC icon. By checking these two locations we can ensure that students are accessing

sites for educational purposes only, as stipulated in the Revolve

contracts signed at the beginning of the school year. We

continue to engage our students in conversations about

appropriate choices which is part of training them to be good

digital citizens. For questions about how to access Internet or

download histories or concerns about suspicious sites, please

contact Jeremy White, DMS Daly technician, at

jwhite5@bcps.org or Cheryl Scott, 6th grade assistant principal

at scott2@bcps.org.

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From the Attendance Committee- Full Day or Half Day?

We want to express our gratitude for parents who make it

possible for students to attend school every day, on time, and

ready to learn. Regular school attendance is the key to high

school graduation and college and career readiness. We

recognize that there are times when students have to come to

school late or leave early, for example, due to a doctor’s

appointment. Students are considered present for a full day by MSDE if they are

present for 4 or more hours. A student is counted present for a half day if they

are in attendance for 2 or more hours, but less than 4 hours of the school day.

Thank you for working with the school to support regular school attendance. We

are proud to see so many perfect attendance awards going home for the past

quarter. Keep up the great work!

BCPS Stakeholder Survey

From February 1 through 29, 2016, the BCPS Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey will

be available online for Team BCPS stakeholders: students in Grades 4-12,

parents/guardians, community members, school staff, principals, assistant

principals, and central office staff. Students will be completing the survey during

Business Ed or Health classes. Parents are encouraged to take the survey so that

results will truly reflect Team BCPS. The survey may be accessed via smart phone,

tablet, or computer. It takes only five minutes to complete, is anonymous,

confidential, and is available in 15 languages. The survey has also been customized

so that there are different but related questions depending on the role (parent,

student, and school staff). If you are both a BCPS parent and a BCPS staff

member or if you are a BCPS parent with children in more than one school, you are

encouraged to take the survey more than once to reflect these different

experiences. Taking the survey is a quick way to demonstrate your support for

BCPS and to help us meet our goal of preparing and graduating globally competitive

students! The survey will be available via the BCPS website (www.bcps.org) and can

be taken using a phone, tablet, or computer. Parents also can go to their child’s

school to use a computer to take the survey.

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6th Grade Counseling Corner - Mrs. Murphy

Fall Semester In Review During the first and second quarters 6th grade students were introduced to the concepts

of S.M.A.R.T. goals {S(specific)- M(measurable)- A(achievable)- R(rewarding)- T(time-

oriented)}, career awareness, and study skills development; through classroom guidance

lessons. The lessons were integrated in order to reinforce the concept of self-awareness.

Students explored self-awareness by identifying their needs, current interests, skills,

hopes/dreams, and values. They applied these characteristics to goal setting and career

research by using the Family Connection software provided by Baltimore County Public

Schools. Please continue the important conversation of self-awareness at home. This will

help your student recognize the types of study skills that work for them and assist with

academic motivation. It will also provide a guide for students to wade through the vast

amount of career information available in today’s global economy. Begin by asking your 6th

grader to show you their Family Connection account at:

connection.naviance.com/dumbarton. Students will need their internal BCPS username

and their full numeric birthdate, DDMMYYYY (ex. 09212003) to log on.

Are you tired of the complaining, tired of the sound of

tap..tap……..tap..tap.tap. Get those little fingers moving in the right direction

by checking out this online resource. Students will develop typing skills

through a variety of simple exercises. Typing those long essays will be a

snap. http://interactivesites.weebly.com/typing.html

In the Middle of the Middle - From Mrs. Bell

This past month the 7th grade teachers have been very excited about a group of our students who

have taken the initiative to explore robotics. The VEX robotics team, Willis M., Caleb C., and

Elliot M., have built a robot capable of picking up a ball and putting it in a basket, as well as

tossing the ball over a wall, all by remote control. The boys’ creation has taken them to the state

competition which will be held on February 20th. Thanks to Mr. Rudie and Ms. Turner who have

given their time after school to give the boys a place to work on their robot. We wish the boys

the best of luck! Before you know it, spring will be here! That means out annual 7th grade Fun

Field Day will be upon us. We are always looking for parent volunteers to act as chaperones. A

date has yet to be determined. We will be sure to keep parents and students posted on the

specifics. Congratulations to the recipients of SWAG for the month of January:

Students Working to Achieve Greatness .

Clarissa H Tristan M Patsy R

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Can you believe we are now

officially in the second half of the

school year already?! There is no

doubt the quickness with which the

first half has passed can be attributed

to how engaged 8th grade has been in

meaningful and exciting learning.

Key Highlights from December:

How well do you know your geography? – Well, it appears the following students

know their geography really well! Congratulations go out to the names below for

placing in the final rounds!

Drouin’s Class: Bacon’s Class: Ian Co. Nathan Ch. Julian H.M. Ayshal R. Sela M. Ryan Q. Noah H. Aidan C. Emma B. Will S. Bailey’s Class: Kampes’s Class: Nathan Cr. Calvin B. Andrew F. Liam D. Blake H. Luke N. Natalie F. Philip D. Casimir M. Manning’s Class: Richard’s Class: Liam E. Sebastian Q. Gabby A. Sugan K. Max R. Kenny S.

Ben B. Mikayla G. Julian G.

Bell’s Class: Birnbaum’s Class: Rahaad M. Evan B. Jacob V. Cody G. Clarissa H. William K. Aaron S. Megan B. David V. Doyle M.

Check out the flyer below! – There is a list of events for our 8th grade families to look

forward to. If you have any questions, comments, and/or concerns regarding the

events listed, please do not hesitate to contact me, Jordan Birnbaum (8th grade

coordinator) via email (jbirnbaum@bcps.org) or 410-887-3176.

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Grade 8 Winter/Spring Activities Activity Date

Grade 8 Commemorative

T-Shirt Sale Stay tuned for more information

*This is not a fundraiser

Beginning of 4th

Quarter in April, 2016 (more information to follow)

Residency Re-verification prior to leaving DMS

More information will be provided in the spring newsletters and will be posted on our website.

Parents can send required documents to school with their child or bring it in themselves. BCPS requires

this occur before leaving 8th grade. Farewell tickets will be provided upon completion..

May – June 1, 2016

Grade 8 Farewell Dance Sponsored by the PTSA

Friday, May 6, 2016 7 p.m.

Grade 8 Spring Concert

Monday, May 23, 7 p.m.

Ship Trip Spirit Cruises: Tour of Baltimore Harbor

Permission slips will be distributed in April Approximate cost of tickets: $42

Friday, May 20, 2016 (during school day)

Grade 8 Trip to Towson High School 8th Grade Orientation

Friday, June 3, 2016 (during school day)

Grade 8 Evening Awards Assembly Invitations will be mailed to students who will be receiving awards. Students can bring as many family/friends as they would like to this event.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

7 p.m.

Grade 8 Farewell Assembly All students are included. Each student will be

provided with 2 tickets.(We have limited seating due to fire safety capacity restrictions.)

Thursday, June 16, 2016

(Date may change based on official last day of school)

9 a.m.

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"Innocence Stolen” Discussion for February Parent Education Night, On February 17 at 6:30 pm

Please join the DMS PTA for a presentation of Innocence Stolen: Protecting Our

Children Online, a multimedia presentation that provides communities the

necessary information to keep children safe on the internet. The presentation will

be given by Vincent DeVivo, a Community Outreach Specialist from the United

States Attorney's Office. Mr. DeVivo's presentations have been featured in the

Baltimore Sun. He said, “Online safety is a major concern for all of us, and I look

forward to providing this valuable information to the parents and staff of

Dumbarton Middle School.”

Parents, teachers and community organizations play a critical role in securing the

safety and welfare of children, and the United States Attorney’s Office is eager

to partner with us in promoting a safe and healthy learning environment in our

community.

The presentation informs adults about how best to protect young people from

negative and criminal influences online. Topics include social networking, cyber

bullying, sexting, and internet predators. The program provides prevention and

intervention strategies and internet safety resources.

For January 2016

Abbey C. Abby L.

Andrea E.A. Helen L.

Mohamad E. Juanita M.G.

Kun F. Adam R.

Ana G. Colleen R.

Maddie G. Grace S.

Arteemen J. Catesby W.

Neta K.

Ms. Sharbonda would like to congratulate the above students for

working especially hard in Algebra & Geometry.

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Nurse News

ATTENTION CURRENT GRADE 6 PARENTS

Changes in Immunization Requirements

All 7th grade students in 2016-17 (next school year) will be required to

provide proof of having received a dose of meningococcal vaccine (also called

Menactra) and a booster dose of Tdap (also called Boostrix and Adacel.) These

vaccines are in addition to the vaccines required for kindergarten. Most children

receive these vaccines at age 10 or 11.

Parents of current 6th graders are urged to:

Check with their child’s health care provider to see if the child has received

these vaccines.

Schedule an appointment for the child to receive these vaccines BEFORE

August 24, 2016.

Provide verification of the immunizations to the school nurse.

More information about these vaccines is available at the Office of Health

Services website http://www.bcps.org/offices/sss/health/ or contact Mrs.

Miedusiewski (Met-a shev-ski), our school nurse at 410 321 0496. We will be

sending individual letters home in March as another reminder.

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Spirit Week at DMS

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DUMBARTON MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENT CALENDAR February 2016 5 PTSA Black Light Dance 7:00 PM – new date 8 Grade 7 Winter Concert 7:00 PM- new date

Grade 7 Parent Registration Information Meeting 6:15 PM Distribution of Report Cards- new date 10 Grade 6 Winter Concert 7:00 PM – new date

Grade 7 Parent Registration Information Meeting 6:15 PM 15 President’s Day: Schools Closed 18 PTSA Executive Board Meeting: 6 PM

Parent Registration Information Meeting: 7PM 19 PTSA Event- Movie Night 7:00 PM 25 & 26 School Play 7:00 – new date

March 2016 1 After-School Recital 3:00-4:30 PM 4 Interims go home – new date 4 Half-Day System-wide Professional Development: Schools Close 3 Hours Early 9 Conference afternoon – new date (Also can be held at a date/time convenient for teacher & parent) 10 Spring Portrait Day 11 SGA Dance 7:00 PM 17 PTSA Executive Board Meeting: 6 PM 18 Radical Ropers: End of Season Performance 7PM 22 & 23 Hoops for Heart Event – during PE classes 24 Spring Break Begins at the End of the School Day April 2016

4 Schools Reopen

8 Third Marking Period Ends – Schools Close 3 Hours Early for all Students

13 Grade 5 Parent Orientation 6:30 PM

15 PTSA Social Event 7:00PM

21 Report Cards go home and PTSA Executive Board Meeting: 6 PM

26 Primary Election- Schools Closed

May 2016

6 Grade 8 Dance sponsored by the PTA

13 Interims go home

16 Grade 6 Spring Concert 7:00 PM

18 Grade 7 Spring Concert 7:00 PM

19 PTSA Executive Board Meeting: 6 PM

20 Grade 8 End of Year Event: Ship Trip in Baltimore Harbor

23 Grade 8 Spring Concert 7:00 PM

25 Honors Concert 7:00 PM

27 Tentative date: 8th grade Career Day

30 Memorial Day: Schools Closed

June 2016 1 National Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony 7:00 PM

3 8th Grade trip to Towson High School

8 Eighth Grade Awards Evening (invitations will be provided for those receiving awards) 7 PM

*16 New Date: Farewell Assembly for Grade 8 Students: 9-10:30 am Schools Close 3 Hours Early for Elementary and Middle School Students

*17 Last Day of School: Schools Close 3 hours early *Note: Final days of school are subject to change based on BCPS decisions regarding inclement weather

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Dear Parents and Students,

Don’t miss the opportunity to purchase this important keepsake of the school year. The 2015-

2016 DMS yearbook is in FULL COLOR and is packed full of the memories you never want to

forget. You can even have your child’s name imprinted on their yearbook cover.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Denmyer-Prenger- Yearbook Adviser Mrs. Hemling- Yearbook Adviser

Order Now, before it is too late!

Ordering Procedure This Year:

The ONLY Option: Order Online. Go to yearbooksonsale.com find Dumbarton Middle School to place your order.

Book Price:

$ 23.00 +tax

EXTRAS: If you would like extras you can add them on the site.

We will close online ordering in April. Order now, don’t get left without a book.

*If you do not get your picture taken by Lifetouch on picture day or picture re-take day in the fall then your picture will not be in the yearbook. If you miss both days please make sure that you see

either Mrs. Denmyer-Prenger or Mrs. Hemling

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