Happy Friday Panther families! It was a very short and cold school week!

Next week will be The Great Kindness Challenge in the middle school. Throughout the week students will be participating in different acts of kindness activities and Spirit Days. A calendar of kindness activities and spirit days are attached in the newsletter.

As we continue to progress through the third grading period, I want to remind students and parents that we offer our Success Center every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. This is a great opportunity for students to finish assignments and get tutoring from one of our teachers. The only requirement is that students have a ride home at 4:00 pm.

Our DK PIE group will be having a Hat Day fundraiser next Friday January 31, 2025. Students will be able to purchase a wristband in the cafeteria during breakfast for $1. This will allow them to wear a hat in school for the day. Proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards lowering the cost for class field trips this year.

As always I would like to thank our students, staff, families, and community for everything you do to support our school. It was a short week, but we were still able to accomplish a lot! A special shout out to 8th Grader Collin Garrett for winning our DKMS Spelling Bee today!

It's A Great Day To Be A Panther!!!

Thank you,

Bobby Tillman

Principal

Delton Kellogg Middle School

6325 Delton Rd

Delton, MI 49046

(269) 623-1541

Monday, January 27th through Friday, January 31st- The Great Kindness Challenge

Monday, February 3rd - PIE Meeting in the Elementary Library

Wednesday, February 5th - Kick Start Deposit Day

Saturday, February 8th - Father / Daughter Dance Middle School Cafeteria

Monday, February 17th - No School for Students - Staff Development

Friday, February 28th - The End of the second trimester

This morning, January 24th, Delton Kellogg Middle School completed its annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The event highlighted the incredible spelling skills of our students, with representatives from each classroom competing proudly.

Congratulations to our school champion, Colin Garrett, for securing the top spot, and to our runner-up, Blake Nieuwenhuis for his impressive performance.

We also want to recognize all the classroom participants for their hard work and dedication.

A heartfelt thank you to Mary Collier as well for serving as our announcer.

Great job, Panthers! Keep up the amazing work! Stay tuned for upcoming information about Regionals.

This week’s Panther Paw Drawing winners have gone above and beyond in demonstrating what it means to be Safe, Kind, Responsible, and Respectful (SK2R). Their actions set a positive example for their peers and contribute to making our school a welcoming and supportive environment for everyone. Congratulations to our outstanding students! Keep up the great work, and thank you for showing Panther Pride every day!

Lunchtime today brought smiles and stories when a group of boys joined Claude, our custodian, for popcorn and a chat about ice fishing. It’s always heartwarming to see connections like this between staff and students, reminding us how small moments can make a big difference.

Thank you, Claude, for bringing a little extra joy to lunchtime!

We are excited to announce that DKMS will be joining schools across America in spreading kindness through The Great Kindness Challenge 2025! From January 27th to 31st, our students and staff will be encouraged to engage in acts of kindness, with daily themes and activities focusing on care, respect, and inclusion.

This special week is all about recognizing and promoting kindness within our DK Community and beyond. We encourage everyone to participate, spread positivity, and make a difference with small acts of kindness each day. Let’s come together to create a wave of kindness that will make a lasting impact!

At Delton Kellogg Middle School, Fridays have become a time to come together in support of Courtney Dudley as she courageously faces her cancer diagnosis.

Students and staff have embraced the chance to uplift her by wearing pink every Friday.

Through these actions, we remind one another that even in tough times, we can stand strong together.

We hope this display of compassion and unity will inspire hope and strength in all of us.🤍

On February 22nd, the Boys Youth Hoops will host a "Pink Out" event to honor Courtney Dudley's strength and resilience in her battle with cancer. To ensure your shirt is ready for the event, please submit your order form to the elementary or middle school office by February 3rd. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to support Courtney and her family during this challenging time. Any additional support, kind words, and encouragement are greatly appreciated as we come together as a community to uplift Courtney and her loved ones.

We’re excited to announce that the Mobile Dentist will be visiting our school on Wednesday, March 26, and Thursday, March 27, 2025.

If you’d like your child to see the Mobile Dentist, please complete the attached form:

• Online Option: Fill out the form online using the link provided.
• Paper Form Option: If you prefer, you can complete the paper form and return it to the middle school office.

1. Who’s in your family? I am married to Robert. I have 3 kids Hannah, Caleb and Bethany and 9 step kids. I don’t have any pets anymore, however, my daughter Bethany has a cat Clementine. Clementine rules the house.

2. Do you have a special family tradition? One of our family traditions is to make candy houses sometime around Christmas. We all get together and everyone makes their own. After Christmas, we destroy them with a hammer in the backyard!

3. What’s your favorite family vacation spot? Every June we go camping with my husband’s extended family. We all get our campsites together in the same spots every year. There are usually 50+ people camping together. We spend a long weekend together sharing every meal and doing various activities together. We have enough people to field 2 softball teams for our annual game. If I could travel anywhere, I would love to go to Ireland. The pictures that I have seen of there are amazing. I would love a first hand look at the country.

4. What do weekends with your family look like? My weekends are generally very busy. I play chauffeur for my high schooler and parents. I almost always have to grocery shop for my family and my parents. In the fall we look forward to watching the Lions play on Sunday’s.

5. Is there a favorite meal you all enjoy together? One meal everyone in my family loves is homemade chicken fingers. I don’t make them very often because they take a long time to make, but they are delicious.

6. What inspired you to start working in education? My mom inspired me to start working in education. She was a kindergarten teacher. All of my life everything always revolved around school. It was a natural progression to become a teacher.

7. How long have you been a part of our school community? I have worked in Delton for more than 24 years!

8. What’s your favorite thing about working here? I absolutely love the community. The Delton community is hands down the best.

9. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? If I could have any superpower, I would like to be able to instantly transport myself and others anywhere. I would love to save time traveling and be able to visit many different locations. Plus I would get to sleep in in the mornings and not have to get up so early!

10. What’s one thing students or staff might not know about you? I read a ton. On an average year, I read around 200 books.

11. Do you have a favorite book or movie that you’d recommend? One of my favorite book series is Eragon by Christopher Paolini. I love the fantasy and adventure in the book series. I highly recommend it!

12. What’s one thing you enjoy doing outside of school? One thing I love doing outside of school is gardening. I’m not very good at, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

13. What advice would you give to students for a successful school year? Don’t quit trying. You can succeed at anything you do if you keep trying.

14. If you weren’t working in education, what do you think you’d be doing? If I wasn’t teaching, I would love to be an accountant. I love math and numbers. I actually looked into being an accountant years ago before I moved to Delton Schools.

15. What’s a fun fact about yourself? My mom is one of my closest friends. She lives about 5 streets away from us and we talk almost every day.

16. What did you want to be when you were a student? I’ve known since 2nd grade that I wanted to be a teacher. I even dressed up as one for Halloween. In school I loved math. I always struggled with reading but math made sense.

17. What advice would you give to students about staying motivated? Break things down into little parts and make a list. It helps you to feel successful if you can check off things that are done on a list. The little parts help to keep work from being too overwhelming. Also, the more questions you ask the better. Don’t let yourself get stuck on something you have tried and still don’t understand.

18. Who was a teacher or person who inspired you growing up? My mom was the teacher that inspired me the most. She was always so dedicated to her students. She was always on the lookout for ways to help them grow.

19. What’s one thing that always makes you smile during the school day? I love seeing kids excited about books. I really enjoy seeing what interests students and their excitement over those interests.

The athletic department has implemented some new tools and strategies to streamline communication and transparency throughout the department. These new programs should help streamline communication, event ticket purchases and potentially some registrations in the near future.

* Eventlink.com is where information for athletic events and facility usage can be found. Tickets and season passes can be purchased through Eventlink, and you are able to customize your experience by choosing which sports you would like communications from.

* Finalforms.com is where physicals and other important documents should go. These documents can be uploaded by your phone by taking a picture of the document.

* The Athletic Department would prefer all pay to participate payments go through this virtual portal for all Middle School and High School athletes.

Pay to Participate Fees can be paid HERE

PDF of Sports Participation Fees

* Hudl.com is where fans can subscribe to watch live streams of home events that occur at the turf stadium or the High School main gymnasium.

Click here to visit the Delton Hudl Fan Account

* You can also stay up to date with our new athletics social media accounts:

Facebook: Delton Kellogg Athletics

Instagram: DKpanthers

Twitter (X): DKpanthers

Email: tammy.whitmore@dkschools.org

Location: 6325 Delton Road, Delton, MI, USA

Phone: 269-623-1542

Email: brittany.griffith@dkschools.org

Location: 6325 Delton Road, Delton, MI, USA

Phone: 269-623-1542