September Dragon Digest

• September 4th - 6th Grade Parent meeting @ 10:00am in the Cafe
• September 10th - Football vs. Lakeside @ DHS
• September 11th - Fall Picture Day
• September 12th - LSC Meeting
• September 17th - Constitution Day
• September 17th - Football vs. Little Mill @ EFHS
• September 19th - Vision and Scoliosis Screening
• September 19th - JV Football vs. PGMS @ DeSana
• September 23rd-27th - Fall Break!

We are excited to share some exciting news about a new initiative at our school: Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). PBIS is a framework designed to promote positive behavior and school climate. The goal is to create a safe and supportive learning environment for all students.

To support PBIS, we have developed a school-wide matrix called "The Dragon Way." The Dragon Way outlines the expected behaviors for all students. These behaviors are categorized into three core areas: Respectful, Safe, and Prepared.

• Respectful: Students who are respectful treat others with kindness, courtesy, and empathy. They listen attentively, avoid bullying, and follow school rules.

• Safe: Students who are safe follow all school safety procedures, avoid dangerous behaviors, and help to create a positive and safe learning environment.

• Prepared: Students who are prepared come to school on time, have their materials ready, and participate actively in class. They are responsible for their own learning and behavior.

We hope that by emphasizing these three core areas, we can create a school culture where all students feel valued, respected, and supported. We believe that when students embody these characteristics, they will be more successful in school and in life.

We encourage you to talk to your child about The Dragon Way and reinforce these positive behaviors at home. Together, we can work to create a school community where everyone feels safe, respected, and prepared to learn.

-DeSana PBIS Team

As we embark on a new school year, we want to emphasize the importance of digital citizenship. In today's digital age, it's crucial for our students to understand how to use technology responsibly and safely.

In the month of September, our digital citizenship focus will be on Digital Citizenship Best Practices. On September 9th, students will receive a lesson in their Connect & Thrive class (homeroom) to help them understand the importance of digital citizenship and online safety. In other months throughout the year, we will focus on more specific topics such as the following:

• Online Etiquette: How to communicate respectfully and appropriately online.

• Digital Footprint: Understanding the importance of managing one's online presence.

• Cyberbullying: Recognizing and preventing cyberbullying.

• Privacy: Protecting personal information online.

• Copyright: Understanding copyright laws and respecting intellectual property.

We encourage you to discuss digital citizenship with your children at home and to reinforce the lessons they learn at school. Together, we can help our students become responsible and informed digital citizens. For additional resources or information, please visit our district website, or reach out to our school.

Educational Technology Coach, Mrs. Hubbard.

Fall picture day will be Wednesday, September 11th. Please use THIS LINK to pre-order pictures for your child.

If you prefer to send cash or check with an order form, you may send that with your child to give the photographer on the 11th. Please direct your child to pick up an order form from the front office. Checks should be made payable to BPI Photography, and cash must be exact.

Pre-Orders are available through picture day, and those packages will deliver back to the school for your child to bring home. You CAN still order pictures after picture day all-year long, but post-picture day orders ship directly home, so there will be a residential shipping charge. BPI guarantees 100% satisfaction. If you are unsatisfied, upon return of your original package, you may receive a full refund. You may also have your student retake their picture on makeup day (October 30th) and BPI will reorder that package for you.

Thank you to Stacey's Place for coming to our school and bringing treats to our staff. For information about the good work Stacey's Place is doing, please see https://www.staceysplaceinc.com

Our students had the opportunity to cheer on our fall sports teams in our fall sports pep rally. There were games and prizes, with 7th grade winning the spirit trophy. We had a great time connecting with our students and raising the roof for our fall athletics.

Good Luck to our Football, Cheer, and Cross Country athletes in their competitive seasons.

Words Matter

This month our counselors are focusing classroom guidance on a “Words Matter” campaign. Counselors will push in to academic classes in each grade level to deliver this lesson. The framework we are using is THINK: is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind? We encourage families to continue this discussion at home.

We are also addressing some specific behaviors from the code of conduct. I encourage you to review our Words Matter flyer with your student. It is important that students understand that certain behaviors and words carry big consequences, possibly leading to tribunal.

7th Grade Counseling Lesson: Signs of Suicide

Forsyth County Schools is committed to protecting our students through education and resource building and offers Signs of Suicide (SOS) as part of our Counseling Curriculum delivered in 7th grade. SOS has been used by thousands of schools for over 20 years. Studies have shown that it effectively teaches students about depression and suicide while reducing the number of students’ self-reported suicide attempts.

Through the program, students learn:

• that depression is treatable, so they are encouraged to seek help
• how to identify depression and potential suicide risk in themselves or a friend
• to ACT (Acknowledge, Care and Tell a trusted adult) if concerned about themselves or a friend
• who they can turn to at school for help, if they need it

At the end of class, students will complete an exit slip which asks whether they would like to talk to an adult about any concerns. School staff will conduct brief meetings with any student asking to talk.

If you do not want your student to participate in this program, please sign the parent letter and return to Mrs. Bryant or Mr. Grass by September 15, 2024.

SY 24-25 DMS Signs of Suicide Parent Letter -English

Tutoring

DeSana is proud to share our very own tutoring resource list. If your student needs private tutoring (beyond our in-school resources), we have DMS teachers who offer tutoring services for a fee. Contact the teacher to inquire about their availability and fees.

Tutoring List

6th Grade Families

Are you curious about what NOT to expect as your child embarks on their middle school journey?

Join us next Wednesday 9/4/24 at 10:00 AM in the school cafeteria

For a light-hearted and informative session about 6th grade.

What not to Expect

We'll share the moments you never saw coming ( and how to handle them like a pro). Come prepared to laugh and learn.

We Look forward to seeing you there!

Congratulations to Ms. Asp who was selected as our 2024-2025 DeSana Middle School Teacher of the Year. We are incredibly proud of Ms. Asp!

Just a reminder. You are welcome to drop off items for your child that they may need or have forgotten, but please be mindful of the following:

• It is against school procedures for parents to bring fast food to the cafeteria for students to eat.
• Make sure your child's name is clearly displayed on the item.
• The front office will not call your student down from class to come get the item.
• Items dropped off for students must be left on the table outside the check-in window.
• The front office is not responsible for any items left on the table.

Thank you!

Rather than hosting a Canvas page this year, the MLC has it’s own website, linked in the Student Canvas Course. This will hopefully help students with more of a one-stop-shop! You can access the website HERE. Please note that some files/forms may be inaccessible when not accessed through a Forsyth County account.

MLC Reading Clubs This Year

• Tome - This year we are doing Tome Society once again, using the award-winning books and materials from The Tome Society. We have two groups, the competitive Reading Bowl group who will be competing (think Battle of the Books), coached by Ms. Asp and the slower reading group that will read approximately one book each month, let by Ms. Bryson. Both groups meet for book reading and discussion during Tuesday Thrive and then work together on the Tome competitions each Thursday. We will choose an entry for each category from all of our students’ work.

• Lunch Bunch Reading Club - this is NEW and students may apply to join HERE. We will choose our books together and then discuss over lunch in the MLC! Students from each grade will be invited and the conversations will ebb and flow along with lunch seating times and grade changes! Students will be expected to source a copy of the chosen book(s) and read on their own time, ready to discuss!

Before School Activities

As always, the MLC is open before school from 8:15 am, apart from the occasional club meeting or faculty get-together. Our wonderful MLC Morning Crew (amazing student volunteers!) is putting together all sorts of fun activities for the future, but the regular line up will be as follows:

• Monday - MakerSpace - crafts and games set up for students to play/use

• Tuesday - Trivia - fun competition with basic trivia. Students can roll in and join the fun at any time!

• Wednesday - Board Game Day

• Thursday - Relax & Chill

• Friday - Fun Friday - rotating between Karaoke, Just Dance, Lego Challenges, and more!

Those who just want to sit and hang out with friends are always welcome too, but should remember that no food may be eaten in the MLC 🙂

Fall Book Fair

October 24 - October 31

We will be using Bedford Falls once again and hope for the same amazing response to better choices of books with a higher standard of fare! Parent volunteers will be requested for heavy volume time to support helping students and keeping shelves tidy! Please watch out for information coming in the October news.

A HUGE Thank you to our AMAZING volunteers!

We now have 11 parent volunteers helping us each week in the MLC - and we are SO grateful! From shelving to sorting, from creating to reviewing - we truly could not do it without you.

Yearbook!

Don’t miss out on celebrating a great school year with us! Order your Yearbook before they run out!

To order, go to YearbookOrderCenter.com and input our school order number of 25646.

Help us to make your student a star in the Yearbook! Drop your photos into ESHare and make sure we share your great moments! Please give us ALL the information you can about who is in the photo and what is happening! We are still collecting pictures of traveling Dragons and are always grateful for any pictures taken at any school events!

Ads! Ads are guaranteed placement in the book if sent in by the deadline of October 16. This year we have FOUR categories of ad options 🙂

1. 8th grade ads - celebrating graduating middle school!

2. 7th grade ads - celebrating the journey

3. 6th grade ads - celebrating the start of middle school - you are only new once!

4. Business ads - sharing your business with all of our Yearbook readers

How to create/purchase an ad - please remember that this is separate from the cost of the book.

Please direct any questions to Bridget Bryson at bbryson@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Thank you for supporting Yearbook!

Every year, we host a Veterans Day breakfast honoring family, friends, or staff members who are veterans. If you would like to honor someone you know by inviting them to the breakfast (11/10 at 8am in the Media & Learning Center), please share this survey with them or respond on their behalf so that we can send an official invitation.

DeSana MS Veterans Day Breakfast Survey

We also need PHOTOS of your family members who were in the military - any military - to share for our Gallery of Honor. Please also share the information - who they are, your relationship, branch of service and highest rank. Please send them to the front office and make sure that your name and contact information is clearly marked. We promise to take good care of them! You may also email digital photos to Bridget Bryson at bbryson@forsyth.k12.ga.us to be printed in color. If possible, please send special pictures in a frame so that we can ensure that they are well-protected.

A great way for our families to get involved is by joining the DeSana Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). If you would like more information about how to join or additional opportunities to get involved, please reach out to our PTO using the following email address: desanadragonspto@gmail.com.