Dumbarton Middle School 300 Dumbarton Road, Baltimore, MD 21212 410-887-3176 BCPS Lighthouse School A National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Sue Harris, Principal March, 2016 Liz Heil, Assistant Principal Cheryl Scott, Assistant Principal Jennifer Burch, Assistant Principal From the Principal’s Desk…. ast month brought us many snow interruptions and we are hopeful to have put that behind us. Due to the snow days used, BCPS will examine the school calendar and in conjunction with MSDE requirements make any adjustments that might be needed. March 4 th interims will come home and March 9 th is now our conference afternoon although conferences can be arranged at any convenient time for parents & staff. We continue to celebrate the wide variety of talented DMS students. Thanks to our DMS basketball teams for a super effort this season. They worked hard and represented our school well as they competed against other BCPS schools. School play performances took place on 2/25 and 2/26 and students did an outstanding job projecting their voices and making their characters come to life! March brings the annual BCPS Music assessments where our 8 th graders will compete against other middle schools to earn high honors. We are proud of all of our talented students at DMS. Safety in our school parking lot and driveway requires your help! Please refrain from driving into the school driveway, parking lot or the side road that leads toward the fields when busses are entering/exiting. Cars crossing the bus loop have caused safety concerns as has a line of cars forming near the gym area which can extend into the bus loop. Thank you for working with us to ensure student and adult safety on our campus. Parents of 8 th graders: Please note BCPS policy requires that residency re-verification is completed prior to students leaving DMS to ensure students retain their high-school schedule. Further information will be coming home regarding this soon. In addition, regardless of any BCPS calendar changes, the DMS 8 th grade Farewell Assembly will take place on the second to last day of school (currently on the morning of June 16 th ). Parents of 6 th graders: Some parents of current 6 th graders will receive a letter attached to their child’s interim reminding them that updated vaccinations are required by MSDE and BCPS prior to their child entering grade 7. Please refer questions regarding immunizations to our school nurse, Mrs. Miedusiewski at [email protected]. L
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Dumbarton Middle School · 2016. 2. 29. · Dumbarton Middle School 300 Dumbarton Road, Baltimore, MD 21212 410-887-3176 BCPS Lighthouse School A National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
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Dumbarton Middle School 300 Dumbarton Road, Baltimore, MD 21212
410-887-3176 BCPS Lighthouse School
A National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
Sue Harris, Principal March, 2016 Liz Heil, Assistant Principal
Cheryl Scott, Assistant Principal
Jennifer Burch, Assistant Principal
From the Principal’s Desk….
ast month brought us many snow interruptions and we are hopeful to have put that
behind us. Due to the snow days used, BCPS will examine the school calendar and in
conjunction with MSDE requirements make any adjustments that might be needed.
March 4th interims will come home and March 9th is now our conference afternoon although
conferences can be arranged at any convenient time for parents & staff.
We continue to celebrate the wide variety of talented DMS students. Thanks to our
DMS basketball teams for a super effort this season. They worked hard and represented
our school well as they competed against other BCPS schools. School play performances
took place on 2/25 and 2/26 and students did an outstanding job projecting their voices
and making their characters come to life! March brings the annual BCPS Music
assessments where our 8th graders will compete against other middle schools to earn high
honors. We are proud of all of our talented students at DMS.
Safety in our school parking lot and driveway requires your help! Please refrain from
driving into the school driveway, parking lot or the side road that leads toward the fields
when busses are entering/exiting. Cars crossing the bus loop have caused safety concerns
as has a line of cars forming near the gym area which can extend into the bus loop. Thank
you for working with us to ensure student and adult safety on our campus.
Parents of 8th graders: Please note BCPS policy requires that residency re-verification is
completed prior to students leaving DMS to ensure students retain their high-school
schedule. Further information will be coming home regarding this soon. In addition,
regardless of any BCPS calendar changes, the DMS 8th grade Farewell Assembly will take
place on the second to last day of school (currently on the morning of June 16th).
Parents of 6th graders: Some parents of current 6th graders will receive a letter
attached to their child’s interim reminding them that updated vaccinations are required by
MSDE and BCPS prior to their child entering grade 7. Please refer questions regarding
immunizations to our school nurse, Mrs. Miedusiewski at [email protected].
The PTA Lion’s Den sponsored a very successful Black Light Dance and also our recent
Movie Night in February. Both events were well attended. These events provide a safe,
fun evening for students supervised by parent volunteers and DMS staff members. We
sincerely thank the PTA parents for donating their time to support these events.
Our PTA also sponsored a recent guest speaker, Mr. Vince DeVivo, from the U.S.
Attorney’s Community Outreach Office. He suggested the Netsmartz program as a
trusted resource for parents. Some suggestions from their website include:
Keep the computer in a high-traffic area of your home. Establish limits for which online sites children may visit and for how long. Internet technology can be mobile, so monitor cell phones, gaming devices, and laptops.
Surf the Internet with your children and let them show you what they like to do online. Know who is connecting with your children online and set rules for social networking, instant
messaging, e-mailing, online gaming, and using webcams. Start a discussion with your child What are your favorite things to do online?
What is personal information? Why should you keep it private? What could you do to be safer online? What would you do if anyone online asked to meet you face-to-face?
Besides me, who do you feel that you can talk to if you are in a scary or uncomfortable situation?
Officer Brown, our SRO (School Resource Officer) is also always available to answer
your questions. He can be reached by calling the school at 410-887-3176 or via email at
[email protected]. I am pleased to say that students often seek his advice when they
have concerns about their friend’s on-line behavior. This has enabled us to keep students
safe, keep parents informed and provide support/safety tips to all our students.
Spring break is right around the corner! It occurs March 25 – April 3 with school
reopening on Monday, April 4. Please reach out to your child’s teacher or school counselor
should you have concerns/questions. We want every student to experience a successful
spring at Dumbarton Middle School. It is truly a pleasure to interact with our hard
working, focused Dumbarton students each day and for some reason I become shorter this
If you are interested, please complete the volunteer application AND participate in the online training. http://www.bcps.org/community/volunteer_info/. You can also come to Dumbarton Middle to receive the training. Contact Liz Heil, Assistant Principal to schedule an appointment: [email protected] or 410-887-3176. Here's how you complete the online volunteer training:
1. Complete the BCPS application for Volunteer Services. (online) 2. Complete the online volunteer orientation. You will be provided with a
certificate once you have completed the training. 3. Submit the application AND the valid training certificate to the school in
which you intend to volunteer. Both documents MUST be on file prior to being able to volunteer or chaperone a
Use your Agenda to write down homework, assignments, and projects!
Attend coach classes, lunch bunch help, and homework club if you need a
little extra help in class.
Remember to CHARGE your device every night!
Check BCPS One to stay up to date with all your assignments.
Take full advantage of Take Two days to complete missing work, redo
assignments and ask for extra help.
Great Things Happening in Sixth Grade
Reading: In Ms. Battista, Ms. Robidoux and Ms. Taylor’s Reading classes they are exploring evidence of science fiction characteristics in a variety of texts by Ray Bradbury. Language Arts: Mr. Adams’s grade 6 advanced academic class they will begin its mythology unit. In this unit, students will learn why myths remain relevant in today’s world, mythological allusions, and archetypal characters, symbols, and plot. As part of the unit, they’ll conduct an online mini-research project with Mrs. Wroy. In Ms. Elliott’s and Mrs. Hemling’s Language Arts classes, students are working on their Performance Based Assessment to finish up Unit II. For this PBA students are writing questions to ask Gary Paulsen and then adopting the persona of Gary Paulsen to answer the questions they generated. As the PBA concludes toward the beginning of March, students will begin Unit III by exploring community and culture as they are introduced to concepts surrounding their next novel of study, Esperanza Rising.
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Math:In Mrs. Hostetler’s class, small group instruction is being used where students are helping each other, 3 before me, and working together in teams to work toward success. This past Friday’s integer card game was also a great success. In Mr. Hegmann, Mr. Sievers and Mrs. Battista’s classes will be working on integer functions and order of operations. Mr. Siever’s grade 6 advanced classes will continue working through a unit on Geometry. In Mr. Griswold’s classes will be working on their percent unit and how to calculate sale tax and discounts. Science: In Mrs. Denmyer’s classes students are piloting the new sixth grade unit on Earth Systems and Space. Students are learning about how and why the Earth is constantly changing and where our place is in the universe. Students also will complete several mini STEM challenges on select Fridays. In Mr. Rowland’s classes students have been learning about circuits and really have enjoyed using the snap circuit kits.In Mrs. Melanson’s 6th grade GT Science students just finished a 2-day lab where they investigated the effects of air pressure. They used various materials, including a microwave, marshmallows, Ping-Pong balls, straws, balloons, cookies, water, and index cards. Students will be starting the Astronomy unit soon. In Mr. Griswold’s classes students are starting a new Unit on Space. Students will be learning about the solar system, galaxies, stars, and objects that are found in space. World Cultures: In Mrs. Manning’s 6th grade World Cultures classes we have been examining cultural elements of South Asia. We have been focusing on religions and arts of the region over the past few weeks. Additionally, we have been working on research in celebration of Black History Month. Students have done an awesome job creating Mount Rushmore 2.0 highlighting achievements of notable African Americans! In Mrs. Drouin classes students will be learning about Mahatma Gandhi and the way he used non-violent methods to create positive change in the world. In Mr. Bacon classes students are looking at Mahatma Gandhi and the effectiveness of non-violent methods in creating positive change in the world. Then, students will look at the present problems of the Indian nation before looking at Chinese geography and history.
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING WHAT? Dr. Russ Brown, Chief Accountability and Performance Management Officer, will discuss current and projected BCPS enrollments for the central area.
WHEN? Wednesday, March 16th, 2016 7pm - 9pm WHERE? George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology (in the cafeteria) 938 York Road, Baltimore MD 21204 WHO? All BCPS stakeholders are invited to attend. This includes parents, teachers, students, staff, and community members.
DUMBARTON MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENT CALENDAR March 2016 1 After-School Recital 3:15-4:30 PM
4 Interims go home (NEW DATE – due to snow storm)
4 Half-Day Professional Development: Schools Close 3 Hours Early
9 Conference afternoon (NEW DATE)
10 Spring Portrait Day
11 SGA Dance 7:00 PM
17 PTSA Executive Board Meeting: 6 PM
18 Radical Ropers: End of Season Performance
22 & 23 Hoops for Heart Event – during afternoon PE classes
24 Talent Show
24 Spring Break Begins at the End of the School Day
April 2016
4 Schools Reopen
8 Third Marking Period Ends – Schools Close 3 Hours Early for all Students
13 Grade 5 Parent Orientation 6:00 PM
15 PTSA Social Event 7:00PM
21 Report Cards go home and PTSA Executive Board Meeting: 6 PM
26 Primary Election- Schools Closed
May 2016
6 Grade 8 Dance sponsored by the PTA
13 Interims go home
16 Grade 6 Spring Concert 7:00 PM
18 Grade 7 Spring Concert 7:00 PM
19 PTSA Executive Board Meeting: 6 PM
20 Grade 8 Ship Trip in Baltimore Harbor
23 Grade 8 Spring Concert 7:00 PM
25 Honors Concert 7:00 PM
30 Memorial Day: Schools Closed
June 2016 1 National Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony 7:00 PM
3 8th Grade trip to Towson High School
8 Eighth Grade Awards Evening (invitations will be provided for those receiving awards) 7 PM
*16 New Date: Farewell Assembly for Grade 8 Students: 9-10:30 am Schools Close 3 Hours Early for Elementary and Middle School Students
*17 Last Day of School: Schools Close 3 Hours Early *Note: Final days of school are subject to change based on BCPS decisions regarding snow days used/not use
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You still have time! BCPS Stakeholder
Survey extended a week Sunday, March 6 now last day to take online survey
TOWSON, MD. – Nearly 60,000 students, teachers, parents, administrators, and community stakeholders
have taken the 2016 Baltimore County Public Schools Stakeholder Survey, but the school system wants
to hear from even more stakeholders.
The online survey, available at https://bcps.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eQm7Z37Wguu2eRT, has
been extended a week and will now conclude on Sunday, March 6.
In addition to English, this year’s survey is available for parents and community members in Amharic,