November 2024 Dragon Digest

Dear DeSana Families,

I cannot believe that we are about to complete our 12th week of school! I know that both our students and staff are looking forward to some cooler evenings and the upcoming Thanksgiving Break.

I wanted to take a moment to highlight our upcoming Cyber Safety Night on Wednesday, November 20th beginning at 6:30pm in our cafeteria in partnership with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. This event is open to all of our Denmark Community of Schools. This event is best suited for parents and/or guardians and will provide insights and information regarding common applications used by teens and ways to monitor your child's digital interactions.

I also wanted to address 9-week progress reports. As a reminder, you should be able to see your child’s grades in the Parent Portal. Teachers have also included student “work habits” in their progress reports. For our 6th grade families, please note that work habits shift from a four point scale in elementary to a three point scale at the secondary level (6-12).

The standard markings in work habits equates to the following:

• A standard of 3 in work habits means a student is going beyond expectations.

• A standard of 2 in work habits means a student is progressing as they should.

• A standard of 1 in work habits means a student is in need of improvement.

Finally, on Monday, November 11th at 8:00am we will host our annual Veterans Day Breakfast. Please see more information below.

Sincerely,

Principal Sargent

• November 5th: Student Holiday
• November 10th: Glow Run
• November 11th: Veterans Day Breakfast 8:00am @ DMS Media Center
• November 15th: 6:30pm-8:30pm - PTO Bingo Night @ DMS Cafe
• November 20th: 6:30pm-8:30pm- Cyber Safety Night @ DMS Cafe
• November 25th: 29th - Thanksgiving Break
• November 29th: Out of District Window closes

Our annual Student Government Association assembly was a huge success. We would like to congratulate all participating students on their phenomenal campaigns. We would like to also give a huge shout out to counselor Ms. Coats and our amazing educational technology coach Ms. Hubbard for helping coordinate this amazing event.

Sign up for the 2024 Dr. Jim and Peggie Morrow Glow Run for Educators Here!

November 10, 2024

4:30PM

Forsyth Central HS

131 Almon C. Hill Drive, Cumming, GA 30040

5K Race and Fun Run

Registration Costs: 5K Race- $30 through 10/31 then price increases

Fun Run- $18 through 10/31 then price increases

Because of the funds raised during the 2023 Dr. Jim and Peggie Morrow, the Forsyth County Education Foundation gave out 17 staff scholarships to current paraprofessionals (teacher assistants) who wish to advance to a teaching position and teachers who wish to advance to a school counselor role. The Forsyth County Education Foundation is excited to transition this year from the virtual iChallenge back to an in-person 5K race- Dr. Jim and Peggie Morrow Glow Run for Educators! This will be a time for students, educators, families and the entire community to come out for an evening run and GLOW to raise funds for SHINING STAR educators. Funds raised from this event will be used for scholarships for FCS staff to further their education.

Grab your glow in the dark gear and your friends and family and join us the evening of 11/10 to run through downtown Cumming and the Cumming City Center at dusk.

All participants will receive a glowtastic t-shirt and swag bag. Medals will be given for the following categories at the end of the race: overall male and female, masters male and female (meaning top person over 40+), top 3 male and female in the following age groups: 0-10, 11-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70+.

There is also an option to be a virtual runner, if you are not available that evening. For more information or questions, please contact Hannah Samples at hsamples@forsyth.k12.ga.us.

Click here for rules and regulations.

Sponsorship opportunities are available as well. Click here for more details.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

Cyber Safety Night

On November 20th, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office will be hosting an informative session for parents on the topic of cyber safety. The event will be hosted in the DeSana Middle School cafeteria, but we encourage any parents in the Denmark community to attend.

We hope you were able to participate in the Denmark pathway night on 10/30 or any of the other October pathway nights for Forsyth County High Schools. Please see the chart below that includes a few more pathway nights for November. Remember that these programs are open to families across the district to come learn about various pathways in case they want to submit an out of district request. School specific details would be available through each school’s website and social media as the event nears.

Additionally, please be aware that the Out of District Window opened on October 14th, 2024 and will close on November 29th, 2024. If your child is interested in attending a high school other than Denmark because of one of the pathways they offer, you will need to fill out this request during the timeline. All information regarding Our of District requests can be found at this link.

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.
• Items not picked up by Friday will be put in the Lost and Found.
  

Thank you!

What’s New, Applying for Clubs, and More…

The MLC has its own website, linked in the Student Canvas Course. You can also access the website HERE. Please note that some files/forms may be inaccessible when not accessed through a Forsyth County account.

MLC Lunch Bunch

Students may apply to join HERE. We will choose our books together and then discuss over lunch in the MLC! They bring their lunch bag or pick up their food from the cafe, then come on down to the MLC! Students will be expected to source a copy of the chosen book(s) and read on their own time, ready to discuss! This month we are reading The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally Pila. Our following book will be Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li.

Before School Activities

As always, the MLC is open before school beginning at 8:15 am. Students should get a pass from the teacher on duty and come and join in the fun - or just socialize or read!

• Monday - MakerSpace

• 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. 🙂

A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to every parent who was kind enough to spend part of their week with us at the Book Fair! As always, we truly couldn’t have done it without you. We also really appreciated the donated gifts for the Lollipop Board - always a favorite and truly World Famous!

Thank you for always supporting our big fundraiser!

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 collecting pictures of Traveling Dragons and Dragons and the Arts, and are always grateful for any pictures taken at any school events!

Advertisements 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!

Each 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 (11/11 at 8:00 am 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 bring them to the front office and make sure that your name and contact information is clearly marked. If possible, please send special pictures in a frame so that we can ensure that they are well-protected; 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.

Save These Dates!

Friday, Nov. 15th

Family BINGO Night

Mark your calendars for a night of fun and a glowing good time at our Family Glow BINGO Night. Tickets on sale soon!

Friday, Dec. 6th

Spirit Night at Giovanni's Pizza & Ice Cream Social

Support our school by eating dinner at Giovanni's Pizza and save room for dessert at Ice Cream Social for our upcoming Spirit Night! 20% of DeSana sales will be donated back to our school!

Ways to Support our PTO

We are so grateful for school community and the interest and involvement we have with our PTO -- together we are doing GREAT things! There are many ways to support our organization, including:

Membership: Joining the PTO gives you an opportunity to give back to our school and help build a community of learning, fun and support to our students and staff. Click HERE to join PTO today!

Volunteer: We are always in need of volunteers for PTO events, including Donut Days, BINGO Night, Restaurant Spirit Nights and in-school teacher/staff activities. If you would like to learn more about our upcoming volunteer opportunities, please email us at desanadragonspto@gmail.com or check the active Sign Up Genius HERE.

Sponsorship: Do you have a business or organization that can sponsor an event, activity, or monthly teacher treat for our school? Corporate and small business donations and sponsorships are a fantastic way to advertise your business, while giving back to our school. If you would like to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact us at desanadragonspto@gmail.com.

Donations: As needs arise, we are always looking for donations to help support our school and community. We are currently looking for the following donations:

• New or gently used Middle School appropriate books to build our in-classroom libraries. Books can be dropped off in the designated box in the front office lobby beginning Monday, Nov. 4th.

• New pajamas pants, socks, and/or beanies for our teen-specific clothing drive to support The Place, a non profit community organization. Clothing items can also be dropped off in the designated box in the front office lobby beginning Monday, Nov. 4th.

• A 9-ft or similar new or gently used Christmas tree. Please email us if you have a tree to donate.

In addition, our PTO Amazon Wish List is a quick and easy way to donate items for our school throughout the year. You can check out our Amazon Wish List HERE.

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.