Daybreak Middle Newsletter

Hi Dragon families,

December is a busy and exciting month for us all. We wanted to take the chance to let you know about the events going on at Daybreak Middle School this month. Our Dragon Store will be on Friday, Dec. 15th for students to spend their Dragon dollars they've earned for following school expectations. As always, we appreciate all donations to the Dragon Store. If you’d like to donate items feel free to drop them off at school at any time. Here’s a few ideas of items students enjoy : Izze sodas, small bags of snacks, individually wrapped candy or cookies, stickers, key chains, fidgets, etc.

or you can use our Dragon Store Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2SAEQG4B88QPW/ref=hz_ls_biz_exc.

We will have our Winter Band Concert for all band students in grades 5-8 on Thursday, Dec. 14 beginning at 6 PM in the cafeteria. This free concert is open to the public and all families are invited to attend. We will be taking donations for hot cocoa, hot cider, and treats as a fundraiser for our Band at the concert. If you'd like to donate to the Band they will accept cash or checks at the concert. Some examples of how the monies will be used would be: travel expenses to attend parades or festivals, purchasing sheet music, etc.

Our students are all encouraged to participate in the Spirit Week during the week of Dec. 11-15th. Monday is pajama or crazy hair/hat day. Tuesday is western or sports day. Wednesday is holiday, ugly sweater or island day. Thursday is Disney/Marvel/Star Wars day. And Friday is Color War day where each grade level wears as much of their designated color as possible. (5th grade is blue, 6th grade is red, 7th grade is purple, and 8th grade is black).

Our Character Strong Social Emotional Learning curriculum character trait for December is empathy. Our hope is to partner with families in building up positive character traits and modeling academic language for our students. You can support these efforts by talking with your student(s) at home about our character traits, completing the monthly character dare, and talking about academic appropriate language. We appreciate your partnership with this endeavor to build strong character for each and every student at DBM.

There will be no school for our Winter Break and our offices will be closed from December 18- January 1. School will resume on January 2nd. We hope that you and your family have a relaxing, restful and fun break.

Happy Holidays,

Lesli Collum (Principal)

Angela Sauser (Assistant Principal)

Hello Daybreak Families!

We have been learning skills for sharing the unique space of a public school setting. We are lucky to have some really great families assigned to our school and appreciate the opportunity to learn and grow together and we have room to improve the ways we interact with one another while we are here. We want to encourage students to behave in safe and civil ways while here and to feel empowered to let peers know when something is bothering them and how the situation can be improved. Students can stand up for themselves without being rude or mean in return and we’ve been working on the skills needed to do so. This is a great article from Very Well Mind about the importance of knowing how to set boundaries as a teen, and what better time to practice than in middle school? We would love to send them off to high school with this skill firmly in their skill set. Ask your student to tell you what “A bug and a wish” means. If they cannot, you can find a read aloud using this link and can review the skill together. While it is a tool I would normally use at the elementary level, it is the first thing that comes to my mind when I need to set a boundary. If I found it helpful to learn in my 40s, it couldn’t hurt to impart it to our students. Mean behaviors are naturally most intense between the ages of 11-13, which can contribute to the challenges of middle school. Our students need frequent reminders that they have the right to be here, but they do not have the right to harm others while they are here. If we all work toward this mindset, it will help immensely!

December will include the Character Strong trait of Empathy. We will find ways build our skills for the character trait throughout the month of December and beyond. One small way to build our awareness and empathy toward others would be to think of someone on our support staff here at the school and write a thank you note or two. Challenge delivered, challenge accepted! Happy December everyone!

Embedded links:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/boundaries-what-every-teen-needs-to-know-5119428#:~:text=Healthy%20boundaries%20are%20vital%20to,about%20those%20feelings%20and%20limits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYYvzne_4M

This month we are focusing on empathy. Students are learning that empathy is understanding and connecting to other peoples feelings.

• Battle Ground Public Schools is following the standard guidelines for keeping children home from school. These are based on the infectious disease guidelines provided by Clark County Department of Health. The guidelines apply to both staff and students.

Thanks for helping to keep our schools healthy!

Season 2 is well on it's way. Our Dragon athletes are doing a great job playing volleyball and soccer. Our students are keeping up with their academics, proving to be good citizens, attending practices, and playing hard. Thank you athletes for representing Daybreak well!

Please remember for the safety of our students, practices are for students only. Transportation is provided TO all away practices and games, but a parent/guardian will need to come pick up their student.

Season 3 begins on January 8, 2024. Registration for boys basketball and girls soccer will open during December. Please see the MS Athletics website for more information.

Go Dragons!!!

• Wednesday one-hour late starts: Dec 6 & Dec 13
• DBM Band Concert: Thursday Dec 14 at 6 PM in the Cafeteria
• Winter Break: Monday Dec 18-Monday Jan 1 (school resumes Tuesday Jan 2)

Our staff are aware of the benefits of cell phones as a useful tool, as well as, the distraction they can be to learning and the easy access they present to cyberbullying. With that in mind, we are trying a new cell phone management system at DBM this year allowing for Green, Yellow, and Red cellphone zones. The attached flier explains the DBM Cell Phone Zones for families and students. Please talk with your student about managing their phone appropriately at school. Students should not be texting, videoing, or calling from their phones while at school. Students can come to the office to call parents if needed. If you need to contact your child please call the office at 360-885-6900 and we will relay a message to them for you. While we are all in the habit of sending a quick text, we ask that parents call the office instead of texting their student. Receiving a text in the middle of class distracts students from their learning.

Students may arrive on campus as early as 7:45 AM when breakfast opens in the Cafeteria. Students who walk or ride a scooter or bike may enter and exit campus from the back gates on 21st Place or 22nd Ave, or from the front sidewalks off of 20th Ave in front of DBP or off of 239th St. Students must walk their bike or carry their scooter/wheelies/skates once they arrive on campus (including being in front of DBP). All scooters, skateboards, and bikes must be parked in the bike and scooter racks at DBM. Students may not leave their bikes or scooters at DBP. Parents who are dropping off or picking up students before or after school must use the Daybreak Primary parking lot. The Daybreak Middle parking lot is for staff parking and buses only. Daybreak is a combined closed campus during DBM and DBP school hours. Students must leave campus immediately after dismissal at 2:40 PM unless they are participating in a supervised activity like sports. DBM students may come back to campus at 3:40 PM to pick up their Primary siblings but can't wait on campus.

Students may not arrive on campus until 8:45 AM on late start Wednesdays unless they attend the Right at School Program. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday we have campus supervision beginning at 7:45 AM and on late start Wednesdays our campus supervision begins at 8:45 AM.

Students are not allowed to have Energy drinks (Monsters, Rockstar's, etc.), Mountain Dew, or Coffee drinks on campus. If you get your student a Starbucks or Dutch Bros drink please have them consume them before they arrive on campus.

The first bell rings at 8:00 AM and the tardy bell rings at 8:10 AM. Any students arriving after 8:10 AM will need to check in at the office and get a pass to go to class. Wednesday late start days the first bell is at 9:00 AM and the tardy bells rings at 9:10 AM. It's vital that students are on time and ready to begin their school day by 8:10 AM each day.

If your student is absent or tardy there are three options to excuse an absence: 1. Log into Skyward, look under attendance tab, and click on the absence request link. 2. Parents can call our absence line by calling 360-885-6942. 3. Parents may also email dbmoffice@battlegroundps.org to excuse an absence.

Pre-arranged absence forms may be picked up in the office if parents are scheduling an absence. We ask that families avoid vacations or lengthy absences during the school year whenever possible.

At Daybreak Middle we follow the BGPS district policy on Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (Policy 3207). Students will be participating in a review of the following policy on the first few days of school:

The district is committed to a safe and civil educational environment for all students, employees, parents/legal guardians, volunteers and patrons, who are free from harassment, intimidation or bullying. “Harassment, intimidation or bullying” means any intentional written messages or image — including those that are electronically transmitted —verbal, or physical act, including but not limited to one shown to be motivated by (race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, mental or physical disability), or other distinguishing characteristics, when an act:

A. Physically harms a student or damages the student’s property.

B. Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student’s education.

C. Is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating or threatening educational environment; or

D. Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school.

Nothing in this section requires the affected student to actually possess a characteristic that is a basis for the harassment, intimidation, or bullying.

“Other distinguishing characteristics” can include but are not limited to: physical appearance, clothing or other apparel, socioeconomic status and weight.

“Intentional acts” refers to the individual’s choice to engage in the act rather than the ultimate impact of the action(s).

Behaviors/Expressions

This policy recognizes that 'harassment,' 'intimidation,' and 'bullying' are separate but related behaviors. Each must be addressed appropriately. The accompanying procedure differentiates the three behaviors, however, this differentiation should not be considered part of the legal definition of these behaviors.

Harassment, intimidation or bullying can take many forms including, but not limited to, slurs, rumors, jokes, innuendos, demeaning comments, drawings, cartoons, pranks, gestures, physical attacks, threats, or other written, oral, physical or electronically transmitted messages or images.

This policy is not intended to prohibit expression of religious, philosophical, or political views, provided that the expression does not substantially disrupt the educational environment. Many behaviors that do not rise to the level of harassment, intimidation or bullying may still be prohibited by other district policies or building, classroom or program rules.

Prevention

The district will provide students with strategies aimed at preventing harassment, intimidation and bullying. In its efforts to train students, the district will seek partnerships with families, law enforcement and other community agencies.

Interventions

Interventions are designed to remediate the impact on the targeted student(s) and others impacted by the violation, to change the behavior of the perpetrator, and to restore a positive school climate.

The district will consider the frequency of incidents, developmental age of the student, and severity of the conduct in determining intervention strategies. Interventions will range from counseling, correcting behavior and discipline, to law enforcement referrals.

Proposition no. 7 will appear on the ballot for the special election on Feb. 13, 2024. If approved by local voters, the three-year capital levy would provide funds to repair or update roofs and heating/cooling systems, update security measures, expand career and technical education opportunities and replace outdated technology. All schools in the district would receive updates. Read more about the capital levy.

Inhaling and exhaling the aerosol produced by an electronic vapor device, also known as vaping, carries health risks. Vaping products can include nicotine, chemicals, marijuana or other drugs that can affect students’ learning, attention and self-control. While most youth nationwide are choosing not to vape, we are concerned whenever a student chooses to use these products. Read about how the district helps students make healthy choices, how parents and guardians can help teens and consequences when a student uses vaping products at school.

Do you know an amazing staff member? The new Employee Recognition Awards will highlight staff members who reflect the district’s strategic plan goals. Three nominees will be selected each month and recognized at a board meeting. Everyone is welcome to submit a nomination.

Sodexo, our nutrition services provider, is surveying families about meal offerings in schools. Please take a minute to provide your feedback. Your thoughts are important!

It may be hard to believe, but the potential for wintry weather will soon be in the forecast. Please visit the district’s weather and emergency information page to make sure you are ready in the event of a school closure or delay.

How we notify families

• Automated phone calls, emails and texts: Please keep your contact information updated in Skyward (Family Access) or contact your school office. On weather days, calls may begin going out as early as 5:30 a.m. to families who have not opted out.

• Information line: 360-885-5343 (updated by 6 a.m. on weather impacted days).

• District website

• BGPS Facebook page

• Flash Alert: Sign up for email alerts or download the mobile app for updates about emergency and non-emergency issues. You must re-subscribe every year.

• TV and radio stations, local newspapers may share information at their discretion.

Please download and print our weather guide for quick access to weather-related information and make sure you know if your child’s school is in the north or south part of the district.

There’s a new way to add funds to a student’s meals account, pay class and sports fees, buy yearbooks and more! Using this one-stop shopping option, parents and guardians can pay for each of their children in one transaction. Follow the instructions labeled “1st Time Parents” to access one account for the entire family. Meal payments will be reflected in Skyward every hour between 7:05 a.m. and 1:05 p.m.

E-Funds also remains an option for adding funds to a student’s meal account.

Keeping students safe online is a priority in Battle Ground Public Schools. Recent events have reinforced the need to use caution when interacting online. These include national reports of online groups targeting children and teens. While we are not aware of BGPS students being targeted by these groups, it is important for staff, students and parents/guardians to work together to keep our young people safe.

How you can help students be safe

Please periodically review these tips with your child:

• Students should keep their passwords confidential. They should not share passwords or allow others to use their Chromebook after they sign in.

• Use school email addresses for only school-related communication and activities.

• Be cautious when accepting friend requests; communicating with other people online; and sharing photos, videos, and identifying information on social media and other sites. Review privacy settings to limit who can see this information.

• Monitor what your child is doing online and discuss risks associated with sharing personal content.

• Use GoGuardian Parent to see how your child is using their device. Get information on GoGuardian Parent.

How BGPS keeps students safe

• BGPS supports the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and insists that websites the district uses adhere to this law.

• The district provides active supervision and filtering of content on all devices in accordance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act.

• The district restricts access to apps that have the potential for abuse or pose cybersecurity risks.

• Student data privacy agreements protect student information in conjunction with the Washington Student Data Privacy Alliance.

• Students learn about digital citizenship and appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms, and cyberbullying awareness and response.

Learn more and find links to resources.

Услуги по устному и письменному переводу на русский и украинский языки 360-885-5433

Servicios de Traducción e Interpretación en Español 360-885-5431

Please report bullying, intimidation, harassment, threats and safety concerns using our anonymous reporting system. Reporters can remain anonymous. Emergencies should always be reported to 911. Learn more about emergency procedures and safety protocols.