News from the Nest
Dacula Middle School
137 Dacula Road, Dacula, GA 30019 / 770.963.1110
March 19, 2021
Virtual Counseling Parent Workshop
Georgia Milestones Assessments - Digital Learner Registration
Families of Digital Learning students are invited to register their student for the upcoming Georgia Milestones Assessments.
Information about how to register, the GMAS tests, and how results will be used can be found below.
The deadline to register is Friday, March 26th.
Mark Your Calendars
End of Year Academic Awards
As spring semester is underway and spring break approaches, we want to share details regarding Honor Roll and Principal’s Honor Roll recognition for our end of year awards. You will receive 9-week progress reports noting your child’s performance through March 30th. This report will be emailed home on Friday, April 2.
Any missing student work noted on the progress report should be submitted no later than Friday, April 16. Submitting late work after the Friday, April 16 deadline will not change a student's eligibility to be recognized for academic performance.
The grades on the April 23rd progress report along with the grades on the first semester report card will determine if a student is recognized for academic performance this school year.
We encourage parents to monitor their child’s grades every week through the use of the parent portal.
Recognition at the local school this year will include:
Honor Roll - All A’s & B’s for the year (including individual connections classes)
Principal’s Honor Roll - Straight A’s for the year (including individual connections classes)
Recognition Ceremony for specialty awards will be by invitation.
We look forward to honoring our deserving students.
Should you have any questions, please contact your child's grade level Assistant Principal.
Car Rider Drop Off Reminders
Car Rider drop off is from 8:55 – 9:15 am each morning.
Parents will follow the designated path through the front parking lot.
Please do not stop early to have your child exit your car as this impedes our ability to safely unload. Parents should remain in their cars at all times and pull all the way up until the line stops.
Due to the increased volume of cars, this process may take some time and your patience is greatly appreciated.
Just a reminder
GCPS Promotion Criteria
Please remember that all students are required to meet the promotion criteria established by GCPS. We encourage all parents to review the grades and promotion criteria with your child. Please contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions.
2020-2021 Free and Reduced Meals Applications
If you have not completed a New Free & Reduced Application for School Year 2020-2021 please do so now.
**** YOU CAN NOW FILL OUT A SY 2020-2021 FREE & REDUCED APPLICATION ONLINE ****
This Free and Reduced Online Application Form is for School Year 2020-2021 Is Now Available!
The online application form is available 24/7 and is a secure environment.
Parents are welcome to complete and submit an online application form at anytime.
When you submit your online form, please make sure you receive a confirmation number.
Later, you will be able to use this number to find out the status of your child’s online application.
Please note that all online applications submitted this summer will not be processed until a few weeks prior to the beginning of school. However, your child’s approved Free or Reduced eligibility status will be available the first day of school.
If you have other questions or need this information in other languages, please contact the GCPS Free and Reduced Help Line at 678-301-6307.
Do you want more information about qualifications and/or application procedures regarding free and reduced meal prices? No need to look any further because this page contains answers to common questions, statistical data and the forms necessary to apply for the current school year. Before starting on an application, take a peek at our Free and Reduced Frequently Asked Questions.
8th Graders/Rising 9th Graders
Your students' PSAT™ 8/9 scores from the September–November 2020 administrations are now available to you in the K–12 score reporting portal.
Remind students 13 years old and over to create a College Board account so they can easily access their scores online and unlock a robust set of personalized resources to help them understand their scores. Students 13 years old and over who provided their email address on their PSAT 8/9 answer sheet will receive an email reminder to view their September–November PSAT 8/9 scores online on December 7 and 8.
If you have any questions, email us at k12reports@info.collegeboard.org.
2020 Special Education Parent Involvement Survey
Who:
Families of students with disabilities
What:
Each state is required to conduct a parent survey to measure parent/family perceptions of the success of parent engagement between home and local schools.
When:
Available January 19 - May 31, 20021
Where:
Parents can complete the survey via the survey link below. We ask that a copy of the attached letter be sent home with every SWD student participating in face-to-face instruction. Additionally, we ask that the letter(s) and survey link be posted on your special education teachers e-Class pages as well as your school website. Our goal is to ensure that all parents are aware of the survey and have the opportunity to participate.
https://survey.gadoe.org/SPEDParentSurvey/Pages/ParentSurvey.aspx
Please contact the GCPS Parent Mentors with any questions pertaining to this survey:
Dawn Albanese Dawn.Albanese@gcpsk12.org
Jackie McNair Jackie.McNair@gcpsk12.org
GCPS Middle School Counselor of the Year
Happenings at DMS
Digital Learning Reminders & Resources
Zoom Access
Students MUST be using their GCPS G-Suite Account when logging into a Zoom session for their classes.
This means they must be logged in through their Student Portal and see the GCPS logo in the top right corner. If they are not logged in correctly access to Zoom sessions may not work.
CLICK HERE for instructions to make sure everyone is logged in correctly.
Does your child need extra help for a class?
For our digital learners, morning help begins at 8:15 each day for designated subject areas.
For our Face to Face learners, help is available during ELT each day.
Monday - Language Arts
Tuesday - Math
Wednesday - Social Studies
Thursday - Science
Friday - Connections
Digital Students are expected to Zoom each day in each class period.
The only exception would be if that class's teacher has specifically notified the class that they are not meeting that day and/or working asynchronously.
Digital Must Dos:
Students need to be doing the following every day during digital learning for each of their classes (academic and Connections):
1) Log into each course's eClass page:
From the Activity Feed, review the Week at a Glance.
2) Go to the course's eClass Calendar for that day:
Log their daily attendance using the link provided by that teacher.
Use the teacher's Zoom link to attend that day's live session.
Complete that day's assignment.
Students MUST attend each class's daily Zoom sessions in order to get attendance credit!
Attendance for Digital Learners
Whether students are digital or in–person, class attendance is greatly important for the academic success of students. Currently, a digital learning student who logs in any time during the hours of 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. during the school day receives a “DL” as their attendance code. While this process provides information as to which digital learners were online that day to access lessons and resources, it did not provide details as to which students were online during class time, benefiting from live instruction and interaction with their teachers.
Digital learners who are not present during teacher-led live instruction will be marked with the code “NPD“, which stands for “Not Present Digitally.” Teacher-led live instruction is generally the first 10-20 minutes of class. Additionally, you will be contacted via automated email if your child is marked “NPD”. Students who are present during live instruction will continue to be marked present digitally with the “DL“ indication.
The new process is better-aligned to our normal attendance procedures and the expectations of in-person students. More importantly, it will help you better support your child as you can clearly see that he/she was online during class and interacting with the teacher and classmates, not just logging on to the computer at some point during the day. This information will help families as they partner with the school to maximize their child(ren)’s school experience.
Digital Learning Help:
Need student password help? Wondering what happened to the Parent or Student Portals? Need help connecting your device to your GCPS account? Have general questions regarding DLD expectations and/or DMS requirements?
Resources from our Digital Learning Schedules, Parent Guide to Digital Learning, Portal Updates, Password Resets/Activation, and MUCH MORE can be found and will be updated frequently.
Face-to-Face Learning Reminders & Resources
Any student who is a face to face learner will be counted absent if they do not attend school. Face to face learners are expected to be in attendance each day.
If your student(s) are not feeling well please remember to keep them at home.
Sick students should not be sent to school until they are symptom free to keep themselves, your family, and our school community safe.
All students and visitors must wear face masks when they are in the building.
Masks can be purchased on MyPaymentsPlus for $10 under School Fundraisers. Proceeds help raise funds for DMS.
Students returning to DMS need to bring earbuds or headphones with them.
These are also be available for purchase for only $2 at school.
Device Information for those Returning to Face-to-Face Instruction:
We HIGHLY encourage that students returning to face-to-face instruction that have access to a Chromebook, laptop, or tablet bring it with them to school to ensure greater safety and provide an added level of safety for our students since the sharing of materials is highly discouraged.
Borrow a Chromebook and/or internet hot spot for digital learning?
Dacula MS Chromebooks/Devices and hot spots MUST be returned when the student they were assigned to comes back to school.
Media Center News
Yearbook Information
Forms and Information:
Please log on to MyPaymentsPlus to complete important documents necessary for the start of school. These should be completed as soon as possible!
Please see our grade level supply lists below.
All three grade levels are listed on this document.
This list includes items students will need as we start the year digitally including optional items and novels needed for their Language Arts course.
Home of the R.E.A.L. Falcons
Going the Distance
Dacula Middle School will become a world-class school that provides a safe and nurturing environment where students acquire the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and beliefs to be successful in college and careers in a diverse society.
