Good Evening DHMS Families!

I hope you are enjoying your week! Tomorrow, November 21, 2024 is a 1:30 PM dismissal for most students. It is an asynchronous Thursday, meaning that students are required to complete asynchronous work and must check in for attendance purposes. The assignment for asynchronous work will be in the area of MATH. Special Program students have dismissal at 3:10 PM.

Introduction Letter

Evolv Guide for Parents

As a reminder, families will have the opportunity to write a message to their students that will be that included a memory from their school days, an inspirational note, or hopes/dreams for their student. All letters will be delivered to students in school.

Thank you to the Home and School and all of the volunteers who helped make the 7th grade dance so much fun! The kids had an awesome time dancing the night away at their GLOW PARTY!

Please check out the attachment in this week's Wednesday Folder for an upcoming event that is open to all students across the district. On Saturday morning, December 14, UDSD will host the first ever inclusive Dodgeball Tournament! Registration information is linked on the attachment.

Marking Period 1 Grades are now viewable in HAC. If you need help with logging into your Home Access Center, please contact your grade level counselor:

6th: McKenzie Golden - mgolden@upperdarbysd.org

7th: Maura Kitzinger - mkitzinger@upperdarbysd.org

8th: Tina Johnston - tjohnston@upperdarbysd.org

Monday, November 18, 2024

• During Morning Announcements students will introduce American Education Week and thank all educators and staff

• Citizenship activity for the week - Students select one of the following topics and write a letter, poem, or a drawing that includes:

• “What I Like Best About DHMS”

• “What I Would Do if I Were the School Principal”

• Write a letter or card of appreciation for an Education Support Specialist - nurse, social worker, counselors, psychologists, OT/Speech, other specialists (conflict resolution, CGRC, etc.), maintenance, etc.

Tuesday, November 19, 2024:

• DW College Sweatshirt Day

Wednesday, November 20, 2024: Family Day

• Parents will have the opportunity to write a message to their students that will be that included a memory from their school days, an inspirational note, or hopes/dreams for their student

• Letters will be delivered to students in school

Thursday, November 21, 2024: Educator for a Day

• Students will be encouraged to dress like their favorite teacher or wear career ensemble

• Students can be selected to lead an activity in each period

Friday, November 22, 2023: Substitute Teacher Day and Education Support Specialist Day

• Announcement thanking each substitute teacher, pupil services, maintenance, and other specialists.

• Pretzels will be available in the Office for substitutes and support staff

Save the Date: Fall Conferences will be held on Monday, November 25th and Tuesday, November 26th. The 26th will offer evening conferences from 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM. Dismissal for all students is at 11:50 AM that week! Each teacher sent out their own Sign Up Genius link last Friday. Please let us know if you have any questions or need to make alternate arrangements.

UDSD and the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet Society Present The Nutcracker

Enjoy a discount to the annual Nutcracker performances on November 22, 23 and 24! For all Upper Darby School district students, staff and families!

The UDSD discount is $2 off each ticket.

Both the previous and the current promo codes, UDSD-2OFF & UDSD-20OFF, will provide the UDSD FAMILIES DISCOUNT.

Direct Link - October Royal Scroll

Direct Link - website

This month’s menus are now posted on school dish via the link on the district's website.

Upper Darby School District Dining - Upper Darby School District Dining (schooldish.com)

Learn more about the PA BusPatrol Stop Arm Safety Program by visiting our website at https://www.upperdarbysd.org/Page/10265.

We would like to remind you about the importance of using student email accounts responsibly. These accounts are provided by the school for official purposes related to academic activities and school communications.

To ensure the security and proper use of these accounts, please remind your child that student email should not be used to create or access recreational accounts on other platforms, such as social media or gaming sites. Keeping the use of student email limited to school-related activities helps maintain a secure and focused learning environment.

Additionally, all district-owned devices are equipped with filters to block inappropriate or unsafe content, ensuring a safer online experience for students.

For more information about the acceptable use of internet, computers and network resources, please click here.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in this matter.

Families, please remind your students of appropriate bus stop behaviors. I recently received emails from neighbors in the Clifton Heights area that students are trespassing on lawns and porches. I recognize that some students wait an extremely long time for their bus to come in the morning, but please remind the students that they are always representing you and Drexel Hill Middle School. Thank you for your help!

I have been asked to send a friendly reminder that no students should be getting picked up at the K-Center after school. The K Center parking lot is very small and they need the space for their families to park to pick their Kindergartners up. If your plan with your student is to meet at the K-Center, we are asking you to revise that plan to another location. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Families, please review the updated dismissal procedures with your students.

All bus students MUST wait for their bus in the auditorium. We are no longer waiting in the Cafeteria for busses to arrive, so all students that take a school bus must wait in the auditorium. There is no supervision in the CAF and limited supervision outside due to the amount of students that need to wait for a bus inside. Please call me with any concerns related to this procedure.

A Message from Dr. Brian Ursone, Director of Pupil Services:

The linked Student Services Mental Health Community Resource Guide has been created to make you aware of many of the resources that are available for your children and your family as it relates to mental health supports. You will find that we have information in this guide for supports in our schools, community, county, state, and nationally. Please note that we are here to assist our students and families. If you need assistance, please know that we want to help. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of resources that are outlined in the guide and you would like assistance, please reach out to a member of our pupil services team. We will help you navigate finding the right supports.

https://secure.smore.com/n/t6mxv

DHMS Families, we are having a problem with students stealing each other's bookbag tags. I know this sounds silly, but it's causing a MAJOR disruption to the school day. Students are upset that their bookbags are being touched, and their tags are being stolen. Students WILL RECEIVE AN AFTER SCHOOL REFLECTION if they are found doing this at any point in the day (on the bus, at at lunch, in classrooms, etc.). Please note that if your child attends an after school reflection, they ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE LATE BUS and they will need transportation home. If you could speak to your student(s) about this, I would appreciate it very much! Thank you!

The Children's Health Insurance Program — or CHIP — is Pennsylvania's program to provide health coverage to uninsured children and teens who are not eligible for or enrolled in Medical Assistance. Regardless of the reasons your children might not have health insurance, CHIP may be able to help you.

For more information on CHIP, please visit this link and see the attached flyer: https://www.dhs.pa.gov/CHIP/Pages/CHIP.aspx.

• UDSD Family Handbook
• HAC Parent Handbook
• 24-25 UDSD Year at a Glance Calendar
• 24-25 Summary of Calendar
• DHMS Bell Schedules
• DHMS Family and Student Handbook
• UDSD Middle School Code of Character
• UDSD Online Learning Manual
• Upper Darby School District Website
  
• HAC Access Link
• DHMS FAQ and Contact Information
• HAC Support email - parentportal@upperdarbysd.org (Please use the email above if you are in need of support related to Home Access Center)
  

• There is no student drop off allowed on State Road as it is a major safety concern.
• No cars will be allowed to enter the bus loop from 7:45 AM-9:00 AM.
• The bus loop will close at 2:45 PM and will re-open at 4:00 PM.
• All vehicle drop off and pick up will occur in the back teacher parking lot.
• Walkers need to be off campus as soon as possible.

• Once a student is out of the building they can not re-enter the building. If a student is a busser and leaves the building, they are not permitted to re-enter the building.
• Early Dismissals will not be honored past 2:50 PM. Please plan accordingly.

As you know from our weekly messages this summer, there has been a change to Policy 237, Electronic Communication Devices. As we stated throughout the summer, we are asking all elementary and middle school students to prepare for these changes by practicing restraint as it pertains to cell phone use.

Last week, we asked you to not use your cell phones for five hours and this week, we are asking you to practice that restraint for six hours. We appreciate your time and effort with this change.

As presented and shared in the Spring of 2023, the UDSD Middle Schools have made changes to student rostering and the building schedule. Please review the presentation in its entirety linked HERE

A brief summary of the changes is listed below:

• Each grade will consist of two heterogeneous Learning Communities per grade (named Purple and Gold)

• An A/B day schedule has been established for electives, excluding full year electives, which means that students will rotate their electives every day.

• DHMS will have an early dismissal every Thursday at 1:30 PM for teacher/staff planning time.

• Time is included for professional development as outlined on the district calendar

• Students will complete asynchronous work on non-professional development Thursday afternoons and will be required to answer an attendance question in their first period course. This attendance question will be collected through the use of a Google Form, which will be found on the Period 1 Schoology page. Parents will be communicated with if the attendance question is not completed for that day.

• Detailed information about assigned asynchronous requirements will be provided from the grade level learning community teachers.

• A complete outline for the year and when asynchronous work will be assigned can be found on our school website and linked here.

Student photos will be taken at the start of the school year. These photos will be used to create Student Identification Cards (Student ID’s). Student ID’s are so IMPORTANT! They will be used to enter the school building daily and if your student is a bus rider, they will need to swipe their ID to get on the bus in both the morning and the afternoon. Student ID’s are also necessary for participation in after school activities.

For the 24-25 school year, the building will not allow deliveries from outside locations such as Uber Eats or GrubHub. If a student receives a delivery, it will remain in the Main Office until dismissal and students will be asked to retrieve the delivery on their own.

I am attaching the UDSD Middle School School Supply List. Since our district is one to one with chromebook use, many of our teachers rely on online resources, limiting a "school supply list". However, it's always helpful for students to have extra pencils throughout the year! Also, as a reminder, when school starts in August the temperatures can be very high! We have plenty of water stations throughout the building, but it is super HELPFUL for each student to have a WATER BOTTLE to refill throughout the day!

As part of the Upper Darby School District’s Emergency Preparedness Plan and the Emergency Communications Plan, CrisisGo allows parents to receive emergency school safety alerts from the school district and individual school buildings. District parents can download the CrisisGo app onto their mobile device and to create a free account. Parents will then need to subscribe to the school(s) of choice and to the District group.

Click on the link to learn how to subscribe: UDSD Parents - CrisisGo Subscription Flyer.

We encourage secondary school students to receive up-to-date communication about emergency notifications as well. Students can click on the link to learn how to subscribe: UDSD Students - CrisisGo Subscription Flyer

Please review with your children the safety terminology we will be using in our emergency communications: Lock-In, Lock-Out, Lockdown, Evacuation FAQ for Families. We will review these terms and the emergency preparedness plan with students throughout the school year.

Please note that the District will continue to communicate emergency lockdown alerts and updates through CrisisGo, ParentLink emails and social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).

There are several ways to stay informed about what is happening at Drexel Hill Middle School and throughout the District.

• Weekly “Wednesday” Electronic Folder (ParentLink) from the Principal

• Weekly information, updates, resources will be shared via email. It is necessary to provide an accurate email address to stay informed. If there are any changes to your email, please update your information in Home Access Center (HAC) or by contacting the Drexel Hill Middle School Main Office if you need assistance. If your information is not up-to-date, you will miss out on important “happenings” and information. Please be sure to review, edit, and update this information at https://www.upperdarbysd.org/HAC

• School Website and Calendar

• Weekly updates, teachers’ webpages, principal’s webpage, and monthly school newsletters can be accessed from the school website.

• Drexel Hill Middle School Calendar

• DISTRICT MASTER CALENDAR

• Home Access Center

• The Upper Darby School District will be using email as its primary means of communication with parents. Parents must ensure that the district has an accurate email address for your family in eSchool, our student information system. Parents can update or add email addresses by logging into the Home Access Center. The Home Access Center will also allow you to access your child’s grades, attendance, and other important information. The link to the Home Access Center can be found on the Upper Darby School District website at www.upperdarbysd.org. If you do not have an email address or access to email, please contact the office.

We feel that it is important to remind our parents and students of the Safe2Say Something program. The Upper Darby School District takes the safety and security of our staff and students very seriously and recognizes that the uncertainties and pressures that students and families have faced the uncertainty of a pandemic has clearly demonstrated that the mental health of students as a priority. The Safe2Say Something system teaches youth and adults how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, of individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others and say something, using our anonymous reporting system. Safe2Say Something is also a way to anonymously report unsafe, potentially harmful, dangerous, violent or criminal activities in any school in Pennsylvania.

For anyone who is feeling unsure or unsafe, please remember that there is help and it is okay to ask for help.

Find below videos and the District’s webpage outlining the Safe2Say Something PA Program:

Safe2Say Something PA Program

UDSD Safe2Say Something Presentation 2021

https://pa02209738.schoolwires.net/Page/8021

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Email: jpalladino@upperdarbysd.org
Website: https://www.upperdarbysd.org/dhms#calendar24980/20230727/month
Location: 3001 State Road, Drexel Hill, PA, USA
Phone: 610-8534580