MIDDLE SCHOOL

January 7, 2021

Dear DAA Middle School Families,

Happy new year! We are so excited to be back! I hope you had a wonderful and restful holiday. As the first semester comes to a close, I encourage you to revisit our platforms page to make sure you and your child know how to access grades through PowerSchool (Unified Classroom). There are some videos that will help you navigate the various platforms as well. If you have any questions regarding grades, please reach out to your child’s teacher, as they will be able to articulate each of the marks for your child.

We understand that families are wanting to exercise caution as we begin school again. If you decide that remote learning is appropriate for your family circumstance, we ask that you commit to a two-week minimum so we can ensure smooth continuity of our academic program. Simply email me at j.reynolds_daa@gemsedu.com and we’ll work out the details.

Starting next week in T&D we will be embarking on a weekly DEAR segment (Drop Everything and Read). Research has shown the benefits of reading for pleasure and how it has a positive impact on reading attainment and writing ability. It would be great to have this initiative reinforced and supported at home as well. Consider having a conversation with your kids about what you are currently reading and the types of books, documents, websites you tend to go to.

A brief uniform reminder that students must be in their regulation DAA uniform everyday. This includes white OR black shoes and a DAA hoodie. Students are permitted to wear their PE gear to school only on days that they have PE.

Continuing our work at DAA as having a Culture of Kindness, it is wonderful to see how our students and staff members treat one another on a daily basis. Below is a short article that shows how kindness can be easily reinforced at school and home, guiding our children to grow up to be compassionate adults.

5 Minute Challenge

In our Design and Technology class, students had 5 minutes to create a car using our Tinkercad software!

What’s Happening at DAA?

January 10 marks the start of week 1. We will see our A group on that day. Below is the Middle School A/B Schedule:

Upcoming Dates:

Jan 10 (2pm) - Grade 6 Modern Foreign Language Parent Zoom
Jan 28 - End of Semester 1
Jan 31 - Start of Semester 2
Feb 4 - Report Cards emailed home

I hope you all stay well,

Justin ReynoldsPrincipal, DAA Middle School

Grade 6 Parent Meeting - Modern Foreign Language Electives

MFL Grade 6 virtual (Zoom) parent coffee: Jan. 10, 2021

Students in Grade 6 will complete their semester-long exploratory language course on January 28, after which they are required to choose a language for further study in the second semester. The Modern Foreign Languages department invites all Grade 6 parents to attend a virtual parent coffee on this topic on Sunday, January 10, 2-3pm, via ZOOM.

Zoom Meeting ID: 972 3365 7643 Passcode: 1234
For those unable to attend, the full extent of the presentation content via these slides: LINK. A recording can also be made available.

All G6 language course selections for Semester 2 must be submitted via this SURVEY by Sunday, January 17. (Please note that the survey will open after the parent coffee at 3pm on Jan. 10.)

MS Counselor's Corner

Beirut Trauma Support Group

This weekly support group is suitable for Adults ages 21 yrs+. It provides a safe and confidential space to process your thoughts, emotions. and reactions under the care of a grief and trauma specialist.

*Kindly note, participation and respect for the group and for others is important. Please ensure that your video camera is turned on for the full duration of the group, just as you would be seeing others face-to-face for an in-person group. Admission into the session will close 10 minutes after it has started. We thank you in advance.