Mrs. Young

Holiday Greetings

I cannot believe that it is time to look back over 2007!  What a great fall semester it has been for all of us here at Durham.  Again, thank you for the wonderful privilege of working with your kids everyday.  It continues to be a joy!

I will be out on medical leave beginning Dec. 12th until break but plan to be back when we return in January.  I know that Mr. Schafer and Ms. Doss will take good care of Durham for me until I return.

Have a wonderful winter break... rest, relax, enjoy!  Peace and goodwill to all.... I am looking forward to a great 2008!

Request for Help

Parents,

I am requesting your help.  Recently, we have had some problems with inappropriate graffiti in the girls' bathrooms on the 7th grade hall.  Durham takes a strong stand against both bullying and harassment as well as vandalism, as I have shared with the students.  While the investigation into this is ongoing, when it began, the students were told that if inappropriate writing appeared again, the 7th grade girls' bathrooms would be closed to students during class changes and bathroom privileges would be by sign-out/pass only.  Unfortunately, today, writing has been discovered again.  At 2:00 this afternoon, the 7th grade girls' bathrooms have been closed.   Your child will still have the opportunity to go to the bathroom when needed, she will just have to sign in and out of her classroom and have a pass written in her agenda.  The date and time of the pass to the bathroom will be noted by sign-in at the bathroom that is to be used. We are planning to station a bathroom monitor at the beginning of the hall where the bathroom is located.  I have also shared with our young ladies that they should check out the bathroom as they go in and if they find anything inappropriate, report it to the hall monitor immediately.  If your child shares with you any information pertinent this situation, we would appreciate your forwarding this information to us.  We are trying diligently to help our students understand that bullying/harassment is inappropriate and shows an intense disrespect for others.  Writing on bathroom walls or any other walls at the school is considered vandalism and if the person doing this is caught, it will be treated as such.  Please talk with your students about respect for others and for our school. 

My compliments to the 6th and 8th grade girls and to all of our young men for showing respect for others and for our school by exhibiting appropriate behavior.

I appreciate your help with this.

Durham on WSB-TV!

Hello to all,

Just wanted to share more good news with you. 

Durham, because of its involvement in the Change-A-Light tour, was nominated by one of our students to WSB-TV and we have been chosen as one of WSB's "Going Green Champions".  They came and filmed a short piece which hopefully will air around 7:45 AM on Saturday, Dec. 1st and again on the Sunday night news during the 6 PM newscasts.  Students included in the filming participated in the event and/or in our new Environmental Club. 

This has been and continues to be a wonderful experience for our students and our staff! 

It's an exciting year for Durham Middle School!!!

A Difficult Posting....

It is with great sadness that I share the following news with you. 

Durham’s beloved Teacher of the Year, Mr. Del Edwards, passed away yesterday after a courageous battle with cancer.  We have shared this news this morning with our students because so many loved and cared about Mr. Edwards.  After announcing this, we dedicated our moment of silence to Mr. Edwards and then gave the students time to share a happy memory about him and celebrate all that he did for those here at Durham.  We have had additional counselors on site today to help those having difficulty with this information.

Because Mr. Edwards was so important to so many, your child may exhibit some additional signs of grief this week.  We will let them know that, in addition to the loving support from you at home, we have support for them here at school should they need it.  Many in this building share the grief of this sad event.

We do not have news on arrangements at this time, but we will share the information when we get it.

American Math Exam

Hello to all!  On Tuesday, November 13th, our advanced content 7th and 8th grade math students will be taking the American Mathematics Competition- 8 Exam during 5th period.  This 25 question exam takes 40 minutes and allows our students to compete with other students in the United States.  Students scoring high enough will move on to the high school version of the American Mathematics Competition in February.  If a student has a calculator, he/she should bring it.... you are allowed to use a calculator!  I am sure that our students will do the same outstanding job on this that they do on everything!

Don't forget to turn in your magazine subscriptions tomorrow.

Relay for Life Fundraiser

What a super day we have had here at Durham!  Thank you to all of the students and staff who supported Relay for Life with your $1 donations.  We were able to raise over $600 to support cancer research.  A special thanks to the young lady who donated $40 because so many in her family have been touched by this terrible disease.  You know who you are... you have touched my heart with your unselfish generosity.  My thanks also to those students and teachers who simply donated $1 for a good cause - your support for this day has been overwhelming. Thank you to everyone for doing so much to make this world a better place and eventually cancer free!

I am so proud to be part of a school that does so much to better our world!

Thank you, Wildcats... you are the best!

Relay for Life Activity

It has been a busy and fun week... just like all of the weeks since I arrived here at Durham!  I am glad that we have had the opportunity to learn and also make some wonderful memories this week during our Red Ribbon Week activities because I think that those memories are an integral part of our educational experience.  While academics is ultimately the most important thing and what we will always focus on the most, other things should combine so that our students want to come to school each day and will be sad when it is time to move on to the next level.  In keeping with that thought, I want to share with you what I shared with our students today.  During morning announcements, as we were discussing an upcoming event, here were my thoughts....

When you leave Durham, Know…

You had teachers who cared,

You studied hard and learned much,

You did good things for the need of others,

You made great memories!

In keeping with this philosophy, next Wednesday, Oct. 31st, we are going to "do good for others" and make some great memories.  As you may know, Durham is dedicated to its participation in Relay for Life activities as we honor many of our staff who have successfully fought cancer.  Ask your child about the $1 event on this date and help us to raise money for a great cause!  We are so fortunate this year to have such great kids at all grade levels.  The maturity that they have shown allows us to have some special events that we all can enjoy!

Have a great weekend and .....  GO WILDCATS!

Early Student Drop-off

This is just a reminder that the building does not open for students until 7:50 each morning.  Before that time, any student arriving on campus must wait outside because we do not have anyone in the building available for student supervision.  As days get cooler and hopefully wetter, please understand that your child may get both wet and cold before they are able to come into the building.  Thanks for working with us on this.

Another Great Week at Durham

We are finishing yet another great week at Durham.  I literally pinch myself in the mornings to make sure this is not a dream and still get so excited when I drive up the way to the parking lot each morning.  Thank you for allowing me to spend each day with such wonderful children.  I wish you could have been with us this week to see the enthusiasm as we all embraced the Red Ribbon Week concepts and activities.  It has been a week of deep thoughts and inspiration (thank you, Mrs. Cox!) as well as fun and excitement (there were enough grass skirts around on Wednesday to make one think that we really were in Hawaii!). 

In addition to Red Ribbon Week, we have celebrated student achievement in several ways.  What a thrill and an honor to get the Platinum Award from the Governor's Office of Student Achievement for Greatest Gain in Students Meeting and Exceeding Standards.  Those same wonderful students responsible for this enjoyed themselves at the Academic Awards Parties and it was a great day outside for Cat Chow as Durham recognized appropriate student behavior.

A special and very heartfelt thanks for our super PTSA and all of the wonderful parents, teachers and my great admin team who have worked so hard to make all of the events of this busy week so successful.  You are all greatly and truly appreciated!

SOS!!!!

This stands for Save Our Subscriptions.  Need to renew a magazine subscription?  Want to give one for a present?  Your opportunity will come November 1st as Durham launches a magazine subscription drive fundraiser for the school.  This is a totally voluntary participant event and in no way is it a requirement.  Why are we doing this?  Middle schools receive very limited funding from vending and still have needs like every other school.  Some of the ways we will be spending money from this fundraiser include: 

·       Teacher Enrichment and Academic Materials Support- We are fortunate to have teachers at Durham who want to improve and find even better ways to teach our children.  One way to do this is through attendance at workshops and conferences.  These, of course, cost money.  Some of the monies collected through the fundraiser will be used to support teacher attendance at workshops, conferences and the substitutes that are necessary to allow them to be able to go.  As new materials come out that will supplement and enhance student learning and achievement, teachers want access to these things to use in our classroom.  These funds will help purchase those things.

·       Teacher and Student recognition - I am sure that if you have been in our building, you have seen the wonderful examples of student artwork displayed in the halls.  If you have framed a picture lately, you are aware of the cost of this.  We want to continue to showcase these wonderful examples of student achievement, as well as recognizing them for other achievements.  We also have outstanding teachers who deserve recognition, too!

·       Extension of Technology in the Classrooms - is yet another way we will be using these funds.  Moving into the 21st Century Classroom has shown how important up-to-date technology is in the engagement of students.  Additional monies will allow us to supplement new technology with additional equipment and appropriate software to support student learning in the classroom. 

·       School beautification - we are definitely in need of some outside trashcans, pine straw, things to make our building look better.  We also have some furniture inside that needs to be refurbished after 10 years of wear!  Our building is a little "sterile" in appearance outside.  Recommendations to make it more welcoming are appreciated!

As you can see, any funding generated by this magazine drive will be put to good use.  Thank you in advance of your support.