News from Dudley Middle School

Dear DMS Families:

It is my honor to once again introduce myself as the Principal of Dudley Middle School. As some of you know, I am no stranger to DMS, having been principal here from 2004-2014. This school has always been very special to me, and I am grateful to be able to come back.

I am entering my 30th year in education, most of them spent as a teacher, assistant principal and principal of middle schools. That's a lot of time with 10-14 year-olds! For the past six years, I have been the Principal of Auburn Middle School, and I'm very proud of what we accomplished there.

While you will get to know me and my leadership style better as time goes on, I would like to assure you of some important things today.

1. My staff and I will emphasize your child's physical and emotional safety above all else. We will do what it takes to ensure that our students have a chance to earn a world class education in an environment in which they feel safe and supported.

2. I truly believe that all kids can learn if they try. I will always emphasize effort and continuous improvement over such things as grades and standardized test scores as the critical components in a child's education. Good grades and test scores will come as a by-product of effort.

3. I believe that school does not have to be the painful, tedious grind that it was for me and that it is to so many. My staff and I will do our best to make DMS a place where positive energy, smiles and even laughter are frequent ingredients in the educational recipe.

I also believe very strongly that middle school aged kids need clear boundaries in order to succeed, and I will have high expectations for student behavior. We have all heard and read about how the pandemic affected our young people and their ability to control their behavior. While there is undoubtedly some truth in that, I believe that regardless of how we got here, we have to try to make it better – for the sake of the kids.

This is where I will need your help the most. If we are serious about DMS being the best school it can possibly be, we need our students to be able to learn without being interrupted by the behavior of others. I'm sure we all agree on that. When that happens, we will try to correct it, and we will need family support to do so.

I am truly looking forward to working with you in your child's best interest. Please check out the rest of this newsletter for other important information.

On August 20, DMS will be open for our school community to pick up student schedules, tour the building and meet the administrative team and other members of the DMS Team.

Grade 5 and Students New to Dudley - 10-12

10 - Mr. Desto will speak in auditorium

10:30 - Building Tours / Q & A

11:15 - Pizza served in Cafeteria

Returning Grade 6-8 Students - 1-3

Stop by anytime to pick up schedules and walk through building

Please see the graphic below.

As indicated above, student schedules are available for pick up at the Open House on August 20. If you are unable to attend, that's ok, all student schedules will be available to view in School Brains by August 22.

It is important to note that the scheduling process at a school like ours is complex and includes many hours of thought and collaboration with the teachers, counselors and others who know the students best at the school level. Therefore, schedule and/or team changes will not be accommodated unless very rare, extenuating circumstances exist.

Many times in my career, I have received frantic, last minute requests to change teams due to students being worried that they have no friends on the team to which they were assigned. If this happens in your home, please reassure your child that everything is going to be fine. A week or two into the year, they are almost always glad we did not switch them as they end up loving their team.

Thank you for your understanding and patience on this important topic.

Parents/Guardians, please review with your child if you get a chance.

We expect all members of the DMS Community to:

1. Treat one another with civility and respect

Why? Colleges and employers often rank “ability to work well with others” as the #1 quality they are looking for in young people. Additionally, having polite, courteous classmates has been proven to increase students’ desire to attend school, to give a maximum effort and to take the type of academic risks that lead to greater progress.

2. Help others when necessary

Why? As stated above, it has been proven that when students are kind and helpful to one another, attendance and academic achievement improve. Further, helping others has been scientifically proven to increase a person’s happiness, and is there anything more important than that?

3. Seek help for yourself when necessary

Why? We adults understand that there are many times in life when we are challenged by something, and we need to seek support from others, be it medical, psychological, social or other. Our students are not too young to learn that they need to know when to ask for help, and they need to develop the courage and ability to advocate for themselves.

Open House and Schedule Pick-Up - August 20

First Day of School for students - August 27

Early Dismissal - August 30

No School - September 2

School Picture Day - September 6

Meet the Teacher Night - TBA

Early Dismissal for Students / Staff Training - September 27 and October 10

No School - October 14