April 10th-14th: NO SCHOOL/Spring Break
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April 18th: PTA Meeting/ Del Mar Library 8:30 AM
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April 20th: Open House 6-7:30PM
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May 10th, 11th, 17th: Standardized (Smarter Balanced Assessment) Testing
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May 29th: NO SCHOOL/Memorial Day
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June 9th: Last Day of School/8th Grade Graduation
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Families,
I hope this newsletter finds you and your family well. This week I want to address a topic that has become increasingly relevant in the lives of our students: screen time. While technology has become an integral part of our daily lives, excessive use of screens, particularly at night, can have detrimental effects on our children's health and well-being. As a result, I strongly encourage you to monitor your child's screen time and to establish healthy habits around technology use.
Research has shown that the blue light emitted by screens can interfere with sleep patterns, leading to insomnia, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating during the day. Furthermore, the overstimulation caused by screen use can negatively impact a child's mental health, leading to increased anxiety and depression. As such, it is important for parents to limit their children's screen time, particularly in the hours leading up to bedtime. Encouraging activities like reading, spending time with family, playing games, and engaging in physical exercise can help promote healthy sleep habits and improve overall well-being.
I recognize that establishing these habits may be challenging - I have two middle schoolers myself at home. However, I encourage you to work with your child to establish clear guidelines around technology use and to model healthy habits around screen time. By doing so, we can help our children develop a healthy relationship with technology and promote their overall health and well-being. Thank you for your continued support and partnership as we work together to ensure the success of our students.
I hope all families have a wonderful Spring Break. We look forward to welcoming your student back on April 17th for the final stretch of the school year!
Best Wishes,
Chad Stuart (he/him)
Principal
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Elective Sign-ups for Next Year
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6th/7th grade parents: As a reminder, your student has until this Friday to select their electives for next school year. To learn more about elective options for next year, please see brief descriptions HERE. Students must log into ALMA and follow the directions shown HERE for selecting electives.
Students interested in applying for our Leadership elective have until Wednesday, April 19th to complete and turn in their application. HERE is a link to the application form. Please note: there will be information provided to this year's 7th graders about the WEB program at the end of April. WEB ("Where Everybody Belongs") is an extracurricular leadership program for 8th graders to help at Orientation and 6th grade advisories throughout the year.
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8th Grade News: Year-End Events and Graduation!
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8th Grade Graduation News:
Save the date: June 9th at 2 PM for our Del Mar Graduation Ceremony. Information can be found
here and more details will be forthcoming!
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We are excited to invite you to our upcoming Open House event! This is a wonderful opportunity to for parents, students and relatives to visit our school, meet our faculty, and learn about the exceptional programs we offer. Our Open House will take place on Thursday, April 20th from 6:00 - 7:30 PM. During your visit, you will have the chance to tour our campus, see our classrooms, and learn about our school. Our dedicated teachers and staff will be available to answer any questions you may have and provide information. We look forward to seeing you and your family at our Open House event!
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NURSE'S CORNER:
Current 6th Grade Students-We need Proof of Tdap Booster Shot and 2 Varicella Shots
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THANK YOU TO TO THE 50% OF 6TH GRADERS WHO SUBMITTED ALREADY. IF YOU HAVE NOT, PLEASE READ:
Parents must submit proof of the following immunizations for their student(s) prior to entering 7th grade:
- ONE Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis) booster (given on or after 7th birthday-typically given at age 10/11)
- TWO Varicella/Chicken Pox vaccinations (please double check your record)
Please email the record to delmar@reedschools.org or bring in a hard copy. Y If your student has not had the required immunizations, please contact your child’s healthcare provider as soon as possible to schedule an immunization appointment for any missing vaccinations. Thank you!
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More Nurse’s Corner - Is that a louse in my child’s hair??
From Nurse Alison Mankin: The good news is that we are returning to a more “normal” way of life since the pandemic began. The bad news is that nuisances such as head lice infestations increase when children spend more cozy time together sharing hats, brushes, clothing, sleepovers and snuggly reading and play time. This is a friendly reminder to please check your child’s head regularly for lice. While lice do not carry disease, an infestation on a child's head is a nuisance which requires prompt treatment. Please note that RUSD policy is that children with live lice should not attend school until they have been treated at home or by a professional lice treatment service. Children who are found to have live lice while at school will be allowed to stay until the end of the school day, and their parents will be notified; they may return to school once lice removal treatment has begun. We encourage you to read “A Parent’s Guide to Head Lice” from the California Department of Public Health for more information about head lice and how to treat an infestation in your child. Thank you for partnering with us to keep our schools free of lice!
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In November our students participated in the Youth Truth annual survey. We analyze the data as a school staff every year. It helps us know the areas of focus for growth as we create action plans to address the needs of our students. For this newsletter, we would like to share with you one data point in regards to stress (visual below). 40% of our students indicated that extracurricular commitments were leading to stress and anxiety in their lives.
We wanted to share this information with you so you, as parents, you can have conversations with your child at home and help them manage their time to reduce stress, while still being involved in the all so important extracurricular commitments outside of school.
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Here is the April Breakfast and Lunch Menu:
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EVENT TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!
Event details can be found on our website HERE.
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FROM THE DEL MAR PTA
Del Mar PTA Meeting Reminder
Our April PTA meeting is on Tuesday April 18 at 8:30am in the Del Mar Library. All PTA members are welcome to attend. We hope you will join us!
FROM THE RUSD PTA
PTA Executive Board Slate
The 2023 Nominating Committee has completed its work to develop a slate of nominees for the 2023-2025 PTA Executive Board. The slate will be presented to the PTA Membership for election into office during the District PTA meeting on May 17th. Congratulations to the following individuals for their nomination:
District President - Mickey Hubbell
District Secretary - Jessica Etchevers
Del Mar Treasurer - Elaine Moore
Bel Aire Site Chair - Tracey Paull
Bel Aire Treasurer - Garrett Harden
Big thanks to our wonderful Nominating Committee: Dana Berhoff, Rachel Berman, Jennifer Feldman, Rebecca Hermanski, Wendy Martin and Principal-Advisor John DiCosmo for all of their hard work in bringing this to fruition.
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Please follow the RUSD PTA Instagram page @rusdpta. If you have any great photos you’d like to share; please email them to the RUSD PTA Secretary @ mickeybruce7@gmail.com
Please also follow Del Mar's own Instagram page @delmar.middleschool.dragons
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Here is a LINK to the Student Bulletin, so you can keep up with student news, breakfast/lunch menu, sports updates, Advisory Challenges, Club News, etc! The Bulletin is generally read aloud on Monday afternoons, and emailed to parents and students.
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Bell Schedule
Our 2022-23 regular bell schedule can be found HERE.
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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.
Arriving Late? Leaving Early? Follow these instructions:
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!
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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/
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.
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Chad Stuart, Principal
Del Mar Middle School
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