December 2024 Dragon Digest

Dear DeSana Families,

As we close out the semester, I wonder where the time has gone. Whether your family plans on traveling or staying in town for the winter break, I certainly hope that you have a safe and healthy holiday, and we look forward to welcoming our Dragons back to school on Monday, January 6th.

With only 15 school days remaining this semester, now would be a great time to sit down with your child and review his or her current grades using the Parent Portal. If you have any concerns or questions about your child’s progress in a particular class, please reach out to the classroom teacher. Students can also attend help sessions during Thrive Time (Tuesday - Thursday).

I wish you all the best and Happy Holidays as we close out a successful calendar year!

Sincerely,

Principal Sargent

• December 11th: 8th Grade Band Concert 7:00pm - 8:00pm @ DMS Gym

• December 12th: 7th Grade Band Concert 7:00pm- 8:00pm @ DMS Gym

• December 13th: DMS Spelling Bee

• December 16th: Chorus Concert 7:00pm @ Denmark Auditorium

• December 18th: 6th Grade Band Concert 7:00pm - 8:00pm @ DMS Gym

• December 20th: Early Release (End of Quarter 2)
  

• December 23rd - January 3rd: Winter Break

For our student and staff connection, we would like to highlight the food pantry that our students, families, and staff made possible this month. Thanks to the generous donations from our stakeholders, we were able to provide resources to several families in need before Thanksgiving break. We are always appreciative of the opportunity to give back to our community, we continue to strive to serve our community and we are so grateful for your support in this endeavor! We are always seeking donations to help maintain a supply of essential items for those in need. Hygiene products, laundry detergent, socks and canned foods are especially appreciated and make a meaningful difference in our efforts to support our community.

A big shout-out to our amazing students and teachers for their fantastic work during the recent frog dissection activity! Each student approached the dissection with great curiosity and care, demonstrating a strong understanding of anatomy and teamwork. They carefully explored the frog's systems, asked insightful questions, and worked diligently to identify and label each part. Their focus and maturity made this hands-on learning experience a huge success. We're so proud of their effort and enthusiasm as they continue to grow as young scientists! Keep up the great work!

Tuesday, December 20th is an early release day for students. Students will not be allowed to check out after 12:55pm and the car rider line may pull forward at 1:00pm. For students bringing lunch to school, we ask that you please try to pack items that do not require the use of microwaves.

Each year we receive inquiries from families regarding travel and absences during the month of December. Please note that traveling is not an excused absence from school. Students who accumulate 10 or more consecutive unexcused absences will be withdrawn from school. Following withdrawal, we cannot guarantee that your child will have the same classes and teachers when they are re-enrolled. Please direct any attendance related questions to Ms. Lisa Garcia at lgarcia@forsyth.k12.ga.us. Please take a moment to review FCS Board Policy related to excused absences and parent/guardian responsibilities posted below. We cannot excuse an absence outside of these guidelines.

Excused Absences

Excused absences are those designated by state law, State Board of Education policy, and Forsyth County School Board policy. Students may be excused for the following reasons:

1. personal illness or attendance in school that endangers a student’s health or the health of others;

2. a serious illness or death in their immediate family necessitates absence from school;

3. a court order or an order by a governmental agency, including pre-induction physical examinations for service in the armed forces, mandating absence from school;

4. the observance of religious holidays, necessitating absence from school;

5. conditions rendering attendance impossible or hazardous to student health or safety;

6. a scheduled medical, dental or eye examination of the student;

7. registering to vote or voting, for a period not to exceed one day,

8. visiting a parent or legal guardian who is in the military service in the armed forces and has been called to duty or is on leave from overseas deployment to a combat zone or combat support post. The student may be excused for a maximum of 5 days per school year.

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the parent / guardian to notify the school in writing of the date and reason for the absence within 5 school days of the absence. The parent / guardian must note the student’s name, the date(s) of absence(s), and the reason for the absence. If a student is being checked-in or checked-out for a doctor’s appointment, a physician’s note or appointment card is required to be considered excused. Students with excessive absences may be required to present a note from a doctor or the Health Department to be considered excused.

Exam Make-ups

If a student misses a summative or midterm due to an absence at the end of the semester, the student will receive an incomplete in that course and will have an opportunity to make it up in January. The make-up day will be January 3rd at 9am. If a student is unable to attend the January 3rd make-up day, one final make-up day will be offered on January 9th at 4:30pm.

Families, please help us by talking with your child about claiming items they may have left behind and are now being held in our lost and found. The volume of unclaimed items we are collecting daily has quickly added up to hundreds of items being stored. We simply do not have the capacity to maintain our lost and found beyond 30 days. All unclaimed items will be donated to The Place on Monday, December 16th.

Lots of new and exciting things are going on in the MLC this month and into the New Year!

🌟Our new ‘A Team’ has been created. This team is made up of our newly created Library Ambassadors. They will supplement the committee and Aides to keep making things happen in the MLC! They have already been planning teacher appreciation, December fun activities, and lots of amazing things for the new year - from Harry Potter Camp to Cardboard Challenge Week and more! If you have a student who somehow missed the announcement, please have them reach out to Mrs. Bryson

🗓️ A special date ahead (shhhhh, it’s a secret)...our Ambassadors are planning a special surprise for our teachers the morning of December 12. If your students wants to help write notes or bring goodies to share for our staff, please have them check in with Mrs. Bryson - or email at bbrsyon@forsythk12.org.

🤩We have fabulous volunteers - and you have no idea how much you are appreciated - but we have a new idea that we would love to implement - but need help! It would be wonderful to be able to bring books to students, with a cart of books available at lunch time (and maybe other times in the future) for students to check out; but the MLC team does not have time to be able to do that! We are looking for volunteers to come in at around 11:00 am to set up the cart and then man the station with the laptop and scanner until the end of lunch at 12:43 pm. This could be a shared timeframe - we are just looking for helpers and then will take it from there according to everyone’s availability!

🍭 Book Fair was a huge success despite the reduced inventory, and that was, in huge part, due to our amazing parent and teacher volunteers! We appreciate you all. The next Book Fair will start March 20, and you know that we are already full of wonderful ideas to make it bigger and better!

📖 Do you like reading? Would you like to read some Young Adult Books for approval? It’s quite easy - all you do is read the book, and then fill out a Google Form to give feedback. If so, please reach out to Mrs. Bryson.

📚 So far this year - we have 20,792 books circulated! That is a few lower than last year, but still a good number of readers visiting and enjoying our collection. Our top 10 readers from August to mid-November should be congratulated!

• Sai N.

• Sayesha B.

• Rakebe F.

• Fatima N.

• Kyle E.

• Abram H.

• Harini T.

• Saanvi G.

• Aditya M.

• Ella G. S.

🍩 Our next Breakfast with Books will be during Thrive on December 18. Remind your students to turn in their punch cards and to keep reading!

❄️ We will have a special ‘Winter Holiday’ week before school during the last week of school, hosted by your Library Ambassadors

Monday - Winter crafts

Tuesday - December themed trivia games

Wednesday - Holiday Music Karaoke

Thursday - Used book exchange - bring a book, get a book! If you would like to donate middle grade books ahead of time for those students who may not be able to bring one in, please send them in to Mrs. Bryson in the MLC!

🎄 Talking about the holidays - can you help us with our Angel ‘Pantry’ tree? We will have a tree, decorated with tags showing food that is needed for families in our community. Your students can bring a tag or two home and then come back with item(s) of food to put under the tree! Please help us to help those less fortunate than us!

🙏 We are looking to form an MLC committee to help with supporting fundraisers, events, grant-writing, and more! We would meet on occasion, and also work digitally once decisions are made and responsibilities determined. These are the things we are currently working with:

• Book Swap evening event

• Searching for technology and literacy grants and helping with applications

• Creating book lists and finding reviews

If you are interested, please email Mrs. Bryson at bbryson@forsythk12.org.

Thank you for supporting our students, our readers, and the MLC!

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.

Here is a student video promoting why each grade needs a Yearbook!

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 are still available in very limited numbers (we have exceeded our goal and opened up some new spaces). 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!

The tentative dates for tryouts are Monday-Thursday 4:30-5:30 pm February 17-20, 2025!

Track and Field is open to all 7th and 8th grade boys and girls. In the month of December, the coaches will be holding 2-3 informational meetings to discuss dates and requirements to participate in the tryouts.

It is very important to have a completed Athletic Physical on file and uploaded to Dragon Fly before the first day of tryouts. If you need additional information about how to complete physicals, please visit the DeSana Athletics or the DeSana Track and Field pages on the DeSana Middle School Website.

All physicals must be current through May 1, 2025!

Each week our basketball coaches will be in the cafeteria and the gym before school selling basketball tickets directly to students. For $10, students will receive a wrist band which will grant them access to one night of basketball, pizza, and a drink from the concession stand. We also are allowing students to stay after school with one of our teachers in the event they can't get a ride back by game time. We are looking to pump up our student attendance and share some exciting basketball.

We are excited to announce DeSana will be a 2024 Toys for Tots drop site!

Please help us by donating new, unwrapped toys for boys and girls from newborn to age 12. Books are a great option too.

Collection boxes will be placed in the lobby and on each grade level. The grade level that collects the most toys will earn free seating during lunch for students.

*No food or toy weapons, these will not be distributed.

Bowen Photography Is offering Family Mini Sessions this Holiday Season. We are located on HWY 9 at 416 Dahlonega Street Cumming, GA 30040. We have two options of scenery for you to choose from: an indoor Christmas scene or various spots In our 3-acre yard with the oak trees or swing scene! Bring pets, props, and whoever you'd like. Check out our available dates and book right on our website: www.bpiphotography.net --> "Book In-Studio Session"

$75 15-Minute Session Fee to book your time that will be credited back towards prints/products in your personalized gallery to share with friends and family members. We will offer products such as various print sizes, magnets, canvases, ornaments, puzzles, cups, and more!

We look forward to meeting your Family!

Call us if you have any questions: (770) 887-3080

DeSana Spirit Night is this Friday!

Join us at Giovanni's Pizza and Ice Cream Social, this Friday, December 6th for DeSana Spirit Night! 20% of sales will be donated back to DMS when you mention our school.

Help Us Spread Warmth and Cheer this Season!

This season, DeSana Dragons PTO is teaming up with The Place to help local teens in our community. Donations of beanies, PJ pants, and socks are being collected in the holiday box in our school's front office lobby, now through Dec. 4th.