Upcoming Dates:

September 8th:

PTA meeting 8:30AM/Del Mar Library

September 30th:

Picture Day!

October 17th:

No School/Staff Work Day

November 11th:

No School/Veterans' Day
 

Principal's Message
 

Families,

 

Hope you had a great Labor Day weekend, were able to spend some quality time with your family and were able to stay cool! For those of you who were able to attend, we enjoyed seeing you at Back-to-School Night. We hope you received the necessary information to help partner with our school to ensure the success of your student. Thank you to our PTA for providing dinner for our staff before Back-to-School Night. It gave us all the fuel and positive energy we needed for the night!

 

For this NewsFlash, I want to share with you a bit about our Advisory program at Del Mar, so you can get a better understanding. Advisory has gone through different iterations over the years. Last year, to meet the social/emotional needs of our students during the transition back to school from COVID, our Advisory classes met five days per week. This year, our staff decided to decrease the number of meetings to three times per week, in order to allow more time for academics while still meeting student needs during Advisory. 

 

The purpose of Advisory is to meet the social-emotional needs of our middle-school aged students, to provide students with enrichment opportunities through equity/inclusion activities and social/emotional learning, and to provide time for students to access individual support from their teachers. Monday Advisories are for check-ins and creating an academic plan for the week, Wednesdays are for academic study time / teacher support and Thursdays are for social/emotional and enrichment lessons. 

 

For the enrichment lessons in Advisory, we focus on two approaches:

  1. Equity/Inclusion: as a district, we engage students in age-appropriate activities around social justice topics. We explore the four domains of the Social Justice Standards - Identity, Diversity, Justice and Action. Students are allowed to engage at a level they are most comfortable, only sharing their opinions or thoughts with their teachers or peers if they want to. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

  2. Social/Emotional Learning: we will be giving attention to fostering kindness in the classroom, on campus, and in the community.  We have selected a curriculum that is an evidenced-based social/emotional learning program designed to help schools create a culture of kindness. Within that scope, Ms. Marshall and our grade level coordinators have chosen to focus on the core concept of integrity.  Lessons are unique to each grade level and are therefore developmentally appropriate and give the opportunity for students to access these big ideas. We will hold discussions that dive into questions about integrity such as, “Why is it important to be honest in your actions, even when no one else is around?” We will encourage students to practice kindness and integrity via a framework of: Inspire, Empower, Act, Reflect and Share. Please join us on this journey as a way to connect with your child, as well as to increase and spread kindness and positivity. 

 

Now that we are in the full swing of school, it is important that we all help the students navigate school. I have provided a few resources below to help you do that as a parent and I will attempt to continue to add to this bank for you throughout the year. 

 

Thanks,

 

Chad Stuart (he/him/his)

Principal
 

National Suicide Prevention Month
 

From the Marin County Office of Education:

 

September is recognized as National Suicide Prevention Month. One of the primary reasons for a month-long recognition is to raise awareness about suicide.  Through awareness, we - individually and as a community - are more equipped to help prevent this tragedy with our youth. 

 

Suicide is a complex public health issue that can be prevented. Knowing the risk factors, where and how to access resources, and eliminating the stigma of mental health needs are effective prevention strategies. The Marin County Office of Education in partnership with our school and community partners are committed to keep our youth safe.    

 

Please find the below resources to share far and wide with your community. The more we all know about suicide, the more lives we can save.

 

If you or someone you know needs help, please know that you are not alone. Crisis lines, counselors, intervention programs, and more are available to you, whether you are in crisis yourself or concerned about someone else. 

 

Please find a listing of local events HERE.

 
 

Reminders

 

 Lunchtime Clubs: Clubs at Del Mar have started or are starting soon! This is a terrific way for students to get involved in school outside of the classrooms. HERE is a list of clubs currently being offered at our school. 

 

Breakfast/Lunch Program: The menu for September is now posted on the district website HERE. 

 

MAP Testing: Our students are participating in MAP testing this week. The test is designed to help the teachers gain more understanding of their students to target instruction and support in the specific areas of math, science and English language arts. Students will take the assessment again in the spring to help the teachers identify if they are showing growth towards certain learning outcomes. 

 

Principal’s Chat Recording: If you didn’t get a chance to attend the opening principal’s chat on Zoom with Mr. Stuart and Mr. Song, a recording can be found HERE.

 
 
 

Dropping Off Items at School

 

There are shelves outside the school office where you can leave labeled lunches or other items, if need be, during the day. Please inform your student to check those shelves since we do not deliver items to classrooms. If you are dropping off something of value (like an iPad) please bring that directly into the office. Please do not use one of our staff parking spots while dropping something off. There is ONE 5-minute spot in our lot for mid-day drop-offs.
 

Supporting Your Student
 

We are often asked by parents how they can support their child in their planning and organization. With that, we want to share THIS visual that many students also saw in Advisory class. It gives the students simple tips for managing their work. This is one way you can help guide your child at home. 

 

Student Progress in Alma: on another note, we have opened up viewability for parents to see student progress in each class in ALMA. Please note that teachers update grades in ALMA approximately every two weeks. Assignments in Google Classroom are not reflected in ALMA, in real time, until teachers update it. We recommend checking the “to do” tab for missing work or work that needs to be revised.  If you would like a tutorial in navigating ALMA, please watch THIS video.

 

Please note that, in order to see your students Google Classroom, you will have to have them go over it with you from the student view. 

 
 

Schools to Watch

 

Last week, at Back-to-School Night, Steve Steele from the “Schools to Watch” program came from Fresno to present us with our banner as a “High Performing Model Middle School.” This was a great reminder of the great school that we have that we are all so proud of!

 
 

Del Mar Athletics
 

From Jason Silva, Athletic Director:

 

Welcome to Del Mar Athletics! If you’re new to Del Mar, we offer 5 different sports over the course of the year that all students are encouraged to participate in. For most students, this is their very first opportunity to represent their school through athletic competition. Del Mar has a longstanding athletics tradition and our program is committed to enriching our campus community as well as promoting the positive development of our student athletes. We pride ourselves on high participation and aim to provide each student athlete with a positive experience. We strive to prepare our student athletes for what’s to come at the next level, while emphasizing commitment, teamwork, sportsmanship, and most importantly, fun!

 

Each year, our success is coupled with incredible parent and family support. As amazing as it is to have these opportunities for our students, we cannot do this without the help of the Reed Union Community! There are many ways you can help, even if it’s just for one day, one game, or one hour. Please consider coaching or donating time if your child is a Del Mar athlete. 

 

Below are the immediate roles that need to be filled:

 

6th Grade Volleyball Coach (stipend included, flexible schedule) 

7th Grade Volleyball Coach (stipend included, flexible schedule) 

 

If you’re interested in either of these positions, please contact our Athletic Director, Jason Silva at jsilva@reedschools.org. 

 

You can find additional information about our sports on our website, Del Mar Athletics. 

 

Sports by Season

 

Fall

Cross Country (co-ed)

Volleyball (girls)

 

Winter

Basketball (3 boys teams/3 girls teams)

 

Spring

Track & Field (co-ed)

Golf (co-ed)
 

Safety Drills
 

We conducted our first school-wide safety drill last week. Throughout the school year we will practice a range of required safety drills. This drill was a practice fire drill. Please know that we use a simple and consistent message of safety with students. Our focus last week was for students to safely exit the buildings in an orderly fashion and to line up so we can account for each student. They did an excellent job of executing the protocol. 

 

Bell Schedule

 

Our 2022-23 regular bell schedule can be found HERE.

This week we have a modified schedule due to testing. Each day this week begins in Advisory. The schedule can be found HERE.
 
 

Mark Your Calendar - 2022-23 Parent Kick Off Meeting

Thursday, September 15th 

8:30-9:30 AM
Foundation Office, Room 17 at Reed school. 

 

All interested parents are welcome! Learn about ways to get involved, listen to Foundation updates and plans for the year, and also hear district updates from our Superintendent, Dr. Kimberly McGrath. Coffee and bites will be served. Please check in at the office. 

 

Graphic Design Volunteer Needed

If you have experience and would like to get involved volunteering for the Foundation, please email rsfoundation@reedschools.org.  Thank you!

 

Sign Up Parties

Sign Up Parties are a fun way to meet other parents and support our schools at the same time.  Parties with availability from our 2022 Spring Gala are open again.  Sign in to check out what is available and sign up today!

Click here to view Sign-Up Parties happening this Fall and into next Spring!
 
 

PTA Meeting-TOMORROW!

 

Our first Del Mar PTA meeting of the year is tomorrow - Thursday 9/8, at 8:30 AM in the Del Mar Library.

 

Come to:

Meet other PTA members

Hear the latest about what’s going on

Learn about volunteer needs

Meet our new principal, Mr. Chad Stuart.  

 

All PTA members are welcome!  If you haven't yet joined this year, the cost is just $30 and can be done HERE. Del Mar meetings are typically held the second Thursday of each month, at 8:30 AM in the Del Mar Library.

 

Remember to check in at the office when you arrive and please allow extra time for the new check in procedure. We hope to see you on Thursday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please follow the RUSD PTA Instagram @rusdpta. If you have any great photos you’d like to share, please email them to the RUSD PTA Secretary @ mickeybruce7@gmail.com

 

 

Spiritwear

Get geared up for Del Mar with Spiritwear!

The deadline for the first orders is TODAY! Go Dragons!

GO TO THIS LINK FOR SPIRITWEAR

 
 

Spiritwear
 

Get geared up for Del Mar with Spiritwear!

The deadline for the first orders is TODAY! Go Dragons!

GO TO THIS LINK FOR SPIRITWEAR 
 
 
 

Student Bulletin

Here is a LINK to the Student Bulletin, so you can keep up with student news, sports updates, Advisory Challenges, Club News, etc! The Bulletin is generally read aloud on Monday afternoons, and emailed to parents and students.
 

Attendance Instructions
Please keep sick children home and please call the office on the day of your child's absence by 8:00 a.m. (415-435-1468, ext. 4) or email delmar@reedschools.org. This will eliminate the need for a call from the office. We expect students to attend school, unless there is an excused absence-for illness, injury, a medical/dental appointment or a religious holiday. All other absences are marked "unexcused." Unexcused absences do not excuse a student from classroom assignments.
 
Students arriving late to school must sign in with the office and get a tardy slip before going to class. If you need to pick your child up in the middle of the day, please try to do so between classes, and be sure to remind your child to come to the office to meet you there, without needing a call from the office. If they must leave in the middle of a class, please send them with a note to give to that teacher so they can excuse themselves. We do not ever want to call into a classroom unless there is an emergency, so please plan accordingly! 
 

We are Here for You!
 

To locate teacher emails, click HERE, to call the front office dial 415-435-1468 ext. 0. For the office managers contact Laurie Kristy at lkristy@reedschools.org or Lisa Grinnell lgrinnell@reedschools.org, If you or your child need tech help, go to: https://help.reedschools.org/

 

Del Mar's Instagram is delmar.middleschool.dragons

 

 

RUSD Mission & Vision: Each student will be challenged and inspired to reach their fullest intellectual, social-emotional and creative potential to positively impact the world.

 

Chad Stuart, Principal

 

Del Mar Middle School