MIDDLE SCHOOL

September 23, 2021

Dear DAA Middle School Families,

It is hard to believe we are already a month into school! Our classrooms are now diving into their respective content areas and engaging students in meaningful activities! Our teachers continued their own learning this past Tuesday afternoon at our professional development by delving more deeply into DAA’s mission and vision to be an inspired, individualized, and interconnected school. Teachers began creating their professional goals to support our work, ultimately to benefit our students.

As some of you may be aware, the app TikTok is very popular among our students. Recently there has been a challenge called #DeviousLicks in which students are challenged to take something (soap dispensers, toilet paper rolls, etc) or vandalize the restroom in some way then posting it on TikTok. Unfortunately, this has happened on a couple of occasions in our boys’ restrooms. This is clearly not the environment that we want for our students and consequences are given for students who choose to participate in this challenge.

Upcoming Dates

As we wrap up September and look toward October, we have a very busy schedule between classroom assignments, MAP testing, EXPO Field Trips, and their own activities. It is crucial that students feel confident in keeping their well-being a priority. One way to do this is to help students to be organized. Encourage them to use their planner and use the calendar to look ahead to make sure they carve out time for all of their activities. Having a dedicated time, such as after dinner, for homework is also a helpful tool that can help students get in the habit of finishing assignments or studying for an upcoming test. The more students can organize their busy schedules, the better they can feel about themselves and their progress.

Upcoming Dates

September 26-30 - MS Picture Days
September 29 - After School Activity Sign-ups due by 3pm (see below for details)!
September 30 - Wear colors or National Dress from Your Country to kick off Expo!
October 3 - Start of ASAs for term 1
October 3 - Start of MAPS testing
October 12 - DAAPA Pink Day
October 13 or 14 - EXPO Field Trip (Grade 6 - World of Opportunities)
October 17 - EXPO Field Trip (Grade 8 - World of Opportunities)
October 18 - EXPO Field Trip (Grade 7 - World of Opportunities)
October 19-20- Professional Learning Days (No school for students)
October 21- Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday PBUH* (TBC)

For all events, click here for the K-12 Academic Calendar.

Picture Day

Student individual photos are taking place all of next week. The schedule will be available on the student bulletins and discussed in their classes so they can figure out when they have their photos. There are also 2 options for makeup pictures should students be absent next week- grade 8 will be the following week. Please ensure that the standard uniform (navy bottoms and white/blue tops) is worn for picture day- no PE kit.

Map testing

It’s that time of year again! The first of our MAPS testing sessions will be starting on October 3rd. Please keep an eye out for an email with more information. It never hurts to reinforce the importance of trying your best on these assessments at home so the process can run smoother here in school.

expo 2020

We are so excited to let you know that our students will be attending EXPO 2020 this year with the school! There are four different “journeys” that are available, and we have already booked three of them. I would like to give a big “Thank You” to Felipe Sanchez and Barbara Hoyng for their help in getting this once-in-a-lifetime event scheduled for each of our students!

Our first journey will be to “World of Opportunities” on the dates below:

Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8

Oct 13/14 Oct 18 Oct 17

We will have more information to our families with specifics and logistics, but until then, please check out this Parent flyer for more information.

after school activities

Parents and Students we are pleased to announce the start of the first round of Middle School After School Activities (ASAs) and lunch activities.

Simply follow the link HERE to read more about the activities offered and to join! Students will need to use their school email accounts to book activities. Make sure to book quickly, the form will close on Sept 29 at 3pm! If you have any questions please email Mr. Murphy at s.murphy_daa@gemsedu.com

Technical Assistance

If you are still having technical troubles, please make sure to raise a ticket if the teacher is unable to help your child with a fix. Send an email to studenthelpdesk@gemsdaa.net and they will help resolve the issue.

I hope you all stay well,