Upcoming Dates:

December 14th: Winter Concert /Del Mar Gym/6:30 PM

December 25th-January 8th: NO SCHOOL/Winter Break

January 9th, 2024 (Tuesday): Back to School!

January 15th: NO SCHOOL/Martin Luther King Day

February 19th-23rd  NO SCHOOL/Mid-Winter Break

March 18th: NO SCHOOL/Staff Development Day

April 8th-12th: NO SCHOOL/Spring Break

May 27th: NO SCHOOL/Memorial Day

 

Principal's Message

 

Families,

 

The holiday season is upon us. I wish you all the very best as we head into the new year. We still have a week and a half until the vacation - please talk to your child about fighting through the school fatigue and to give their very best effort to the finish line.

 

A special thank you to our PTA and our student leadership class for the holiday staff appreciation events next week. PTA will be providing a breakfast and Leadership will be serving up lunch. We appreciate all the love and support from our parent and student community. 

 

Thank you to all the parents who helped out with our Adopt-A-Family campaign. It has been heartwarming to see all the gifts coming into the office and the classrooms. This means a lot to many families and it is a good lesson to our students that the holidays are more about giving than receiving. 

 

I wish you all the very best. I am appreciative of the Del Mar Family. I look forward to checking back in with you via this NewsFlash in 2024!

 

Sincerely,

Chad Stuart (he/him)
Principal

 
 

December Dash

 

Due to rain last month, we had to postpone our fun run / turkey trot. The makeup day, which we are now calling the “December Dash” will be next Friday, December 22nd. We hope to see good participation from all of our students. Fingers crossed it won’t rain again!

 

Go Mathletes!

 

Our team of Mathletes competed in their first county competition of the year on November 30th. All of our students gave their best effort. Congratulations to our 7th grade team of Mathletes for finishing in 2nd place!

 

Winter Concert 

 

Our new music teacher, Ms. Christine Derby, and our music students have been doing an amazing job preparing for our winter concert. Our student body will have a chance to listen to our 6th grade band, 7th/8th grade band and our choir during the Advisory period on Thursday. Congratulations to all of our music students for their hard work and dedication to this craft. 

 

Goodbye Lost and Found!!!

 

The Lost and Found will be given away on MONDAY! Please encourage your students to go by the lost and found and collect their belongings before it is too late! The Lost and Found is outside, under the lunch overhang next to the gym.

 
 
 

Adopt-A-Family ~ A Big Success!

 

'Tis the Season! Thank you to all families who donated gifts and helped with gift transportation! Your generosity is very appreciated by the families in need. Special thanks to Mrs. O'Leary for coordinating this massive gift-giving campaign!

 
 

SCREENAGERS (the movie) and Screen Use Survey Results

A few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to have the PTA Parent Education committee host a screening of Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age.  It was an opportunity for those in attendance to stop and think about how our students are using technology, particularly smartphones and social media.  

 

In preparation for the night, we surveyed Del Mar students on their own technology use--how much time they spend on screens, what they do with that time, and how different families set limits on that time.  The responses show that our students are spending a great deal of time online, and there is a wide range in how families are managing their students' access to technology.  Different families will, of course, set different limits depending on their situation and the needs of their child.  HERE is the data we collected from our students. We do hope that seeing the data empowers you to feel confident in your limits and to know that you are not alone in managing this.  We have found that plenty of families are setting boundaries of how much time their child spends on a screen and also what they are doing on the screen when in use. One thing we would highly recommend is that students do not have their screen in their room at bedtime. 

 

As part of the presentation, a panel of current middle and high school students talked about their own experiences with smart devices and social media.  The students were incredibly articulate.  In their comments, the students made clear that they have developed sophisticated self-awareness around technology, that they can learn to set limits for themselves--and that consistently managing their technology use is still challenging.

 

Recently, the NY Times ran an article with advice on how to use social media, according to teens.  The advice in the article may serve as a good conversation piece for families who want to discuss social media with their kids. We look forward to the continued conversation on screen time and we thank the PTA for this parent education event. 

 
 

Ban on eBikes and eScooters/School Bus Option

 

As our school district indicated in the November 15th Headline News, beginning January 8th, 2024 (following our winter break), Del Mar Middle School will no longer allow Class-3 e-bikes and all electric scooters on our school campus. Class-3 e-bikes and electric scooters, per California Vehicle Code, require the rider to be 16 years old and possess a driver's license, and are illegal for elementary and middle-school students to use as a mode of transportation in Marin. If your child currently uses a Class-3 e-bike and/or an electric scooter, please be sure to adjust your child's mode of school transportation.

 

Half-year bus passes on routes with availability can be purchased at www.buschallenge.org. You can purchase a pass directly from the website and will immediately be refunded half of the cost. Please note that Lime PM is completely sold out, and Purple PM has only a few seats remaining. Single-use passes are not available. All riders are required to hold either an annual or half-year pass. Any questions about bus passes should be directed to info@buschallenge.org.

 
 
 
 
 

Thank you to our amazing 6th Grade /New Student Orientation Trio! 


This year Michele Barnowski, Jennifer Feldman and Jessica McKnight teamed up to help welcome our incoming 6th graders and new 7th and 8th grade students to feel at home at Del Mar! They kicked off the school year helping with orientation, handing out PE uniforms and locks, and delivered on popsicle socials and pizza lunches for Dr. Kover's new student events.  


Michele is mom to Hayes (8th) and Rory (6th). In addition to her PTA, Run For Reed, and parent duties, Michele has been teaching pilates at BodyRok for over 8 years. She loves skiing and golfing with her kids, but during the week you may commonly spot her in yoga, in her car with her dog riding passenger, and always with her iced coffee in hand!  


Jen is mom to Alexis (6th) and Riley (3rd).She wears a lot of hats within the PTA and has for many years. In addition to her PTA volunteer activities at Del Mar, you will find her busy at Bel Aire, immersing herself as co-producer of the Wizard of Oz!! Outside of the schools, she stays busy enjoying a walk/run on Blackies with the pup, reading a good book and taking care of all of their pets!


Jessica is a mom to 6th grader, Ella, and lives in Tiburon with her husband Chris who is a Kentfield Firefighter. Both grew up in Marin, Jessica in Mill Valley and Chris in Larkspur. In addition to her PTA volunteer duties, Jessica has been a fitness instructor at The Bay Club for 22 years. In her spare time she can be found spending time with her family and friends in the sunshine.


That is PTA Teamwork! 

 

                                                       Jessica McKnight, Michele Barnowski and Jen Feldman

 

 

Holiday Party
We hosted the first Annual RUSD District PTA & Foundation Holiday Party! Thank you to all those who attended. It was so wonderful to gather teachers, staff and parents for a casual night of fun and merriment. If you didn’t get an opportunity to join, plan on it for next year! It will be an event you won’t want to miss. Great big thank you to Sam’s Anchor Cafe for hosting and providing delicious food, yummy drinks and having the friendliest super star staff helping us. We are so lucky to have them as a community partner.

 

Parent Education
The PTA Parent Education team held their first event, showing the award-winning documentary “Screenagers - Growing Up in the Digital Age”.  Afterward, school psychologist Dr. Kover presented survey results from the Del Mar students and a panel of kids from Del Mar and Redwood answered questions about tech use. A big thank you to the Belvedere Community Foundation, which made this event possible and to our EVP, Michelle Wilson, who helped organize the event. 

December PTA meeting cancelled - see you In January!
Please save the date for our next PTA Meeting on Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 8:30 in the Del Mar Library. We hope to see you there.

 

8th Grade Class of 2024 Hoodie--Last Call!

We are enjoying seeing the 8th graders in their stylish and warm hoodies! We have a few large hoodies left if someone would like one before the holidays. They are $45. Please make check to Del Mar PTA, or bring cash to the office.

 
 
 
 
 

Student Bulletin and Handbook

 

Check out our weekly Student Bulletin, where students (and parents) can keep up with student news, sports updates, Advisory Challenges, Club News, etc. The Bulletin is read live on Del Mar TV on Monday afternoons, and emailed to parents and students. Here is a LINK to the Bulletin.

 

Our student handbook is linked HERE.

 

Del Mar Athletics- See Our Website

Basketball Tryouts are soon! Sign ups are in the office!

If your student is interested, make sure they sign up, get a permission slip

and listen out for Bulletin announcements.

 

Bell Schedule

Our 2023-24 regular bell schedule can be found HERE.

 

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. 1) 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? 
Students arriving late to school must sign in with the office and get a tardy slip before going to class. No call or email is needed when students are leaving early, but please follow these instructions: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 officeIf 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. 2. For the office managers contact Laurie Kristy at lkristy@reedschools.org or Lisa Grinnell lgrinnell@reedschools.org, If you or your child needs tech help, go to: https://help.reedschools.org/

 

Follow us on Instagram! You can find us in three places:

@rusdpta  

@delmar.middleschool.dragons

@reedschools

 

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