November 18th: Start of Second Trimester | November 25th-November 29th: Thanksgiving Week (NO SCHOOL) | December 23rd-January 3rd: Winter Break/Students return Tuesday, January 7th | January 20th: MLK Holiday (NO SCHOOL) | February 17th-21st: Mid Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) | Families,
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to our entire school community. This year thus far has been filled with growth, learning, and wonderful achievements, and it wouldn't be possible without your support, partnership, and dedication. Your encouragement at home and your involvement in our school make a world of difference for our students and staff. I hope this Thanksgiving break provides an opportunity to rest, reflect, and create cherished memories with loved ones.
Special thank you to our PTA for helping support our fall musical that took place last week. Thank you also to our student actors for their hard work and to our teacher-director Ms. Christine Derby. The production was amazing!
I have one last request: for you to complete our YouthTruth Family Survey. The window closes this Friday. Currently, 39% of our families have completed the survey. Please do what you can to get those numbers at least over 50%. HERE is a link to the survey.
Wishing you a safe, joyful, and restful holiday. We look forward to continuing this incredible journey together when we return!
Sincerely, Chad Stuart (he/him)
Principal | Youth Truth Family Survey | We want to hear from you!!!! Your input is valuable to us. Reed Union School District has partnered with the national nonprofit, YouthTruth, to help us hear feedback from you about what we are doing well, and how we can improve.
From now until November 22, the YouthTruth Family survey will be open and we want to hear from you!
PLEASE TAKE THIS 15 MINUTE ONLINE SURVEY HERE: ytsurvey.org/rusdfamily24
Your response is anonymous and will be combined with responses from other parents/guardians throughout the district. You can complete the survey once per child if you have multiple children in the district, or just once if they have similar experiences. Thank you for your feedback! It is a gift that helps us continually improve.
| Trimester 2 Has Begun! Report Cards to be Released after Break | The end of Trimester 1 was last Friday, November 15th. Teachers will be finalizing report cards through this week. We will then be out of school for Thanksgiving recess November 25th through November 29th. Report cards will be emailed out during the week of December 2nd. Trimester 2 started on Monday, November 18th. All 6th grade elective wheel classes rotated to the new class as of that date. | Student Interview Staff Spotlight: Mr. Baker
| By: Tala, Jack, Anna, and Rory To end Trimester One we interviewed Del Mar’s very own Ms. Baker! Ms. Baker is a 7th grade science teacher here at Del Mar who has worked here for nine years. Ms. Baker grew up in San Diego, California and spent most of her time as a kid on the beach and taking hikes with her family. Growing up in San Diego, Ms. Baker became very interested in California’s natural resources and development. She grew up in a big swimming family and played water polo as a kid. Both of Ms. Baker’s parents were educators so growing up in a school environment was a major part of her life. Ms. Baker grew her love for science through very good science teachers in school and her passion for the environment. Ms. Baker attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and studied environmental resources continuing her love for nature and the environment. After college Ms. Baker worked as an environmental scientist and studied the environmental impacts of development projects such as buildings and roads. Ms. Baker has two kids who are both in elementary school and two dogs. As a mother Ms. Baker loves to go on walks with her kids, play fun board games, and spend time on the beach.
Ms.Baker is very involved with the community at Del Mar and is one of the most kind and helpful teachers within the Reed Union School District. To start, Ms Baker is the head of the Dungeons and Dragons club that takes place at lunch almost every day of the week offering kids the chance to come in and try something new while meeting and collaborating with other students. Ms. Baker says if she were to have another job she would go back to being an environmental scientist but being a teacher here at Del Mar is her dream job. Her favorite part of being a science teacher is sharing her love for science and allowing students to learn and have a possible future working in the science community. Ms. Baker is most proud of the fact that she has taken numerous leadership roles at Del Mar in her nine years working here. She feels that the one thing that she would change about Del Mar is for kids to be nicer to each other and treat everyone with respect. Each year Ms. Baker looks forward to meeting new kids and experiencing new fun labs almost every week. Ms. Baker’s favorite unit to teach as a science teacher is on ecosystems and agriculture throughout the world. Ms. Baker says the strongest attribute about Del Mar is that the student body is very capable and willing to accept hardships while learning and striving in some of the rigorous academics taught at Del Mar. If you ever see Ms.Baker around campus make sure to say hi or pop into her classroom during lunch and join in on a fun game of Dungeons and Dragons!
| Marin Healthy Youth Partnership Survey | A message from Let’s Talk Marin: Dear 6th Grade Parents/Caregivers,
As the parent of a 6th grade student, you should have received the postcard below at the beginning of the year from letstalkmarin.org, which included a QR code to access our Let's Talk resource booklets online. | Your feedback is incredibly important to us. Please take 5 minutes to answer a few survey questions. Your input will help us refine and enhance the online resources and information available on letstalkmarin.org.
Everyone who completes the survey will have a chance to win one of ten $50 Target gift cards! Just click on this link, answer the questions, and submit.
Please visit letstalkmarin.org for additional information and to register for our community discussion series where we take a deeper dive into each of the chapters with expert speakers and local youth.
Thank you for your help! We hope the online booklet is beneficial for you and your family. | Considering Purchasing an eBike for your Child? Please Read from Safe Routes To School | The following message is in partnership with Safe Routes To School: Our school strongly supports students cycling to and from school for the many health and environmental benefits it provides. This encouragement includes e-bikes that are age, ability and legally appropriate for your student to use. This season, your student may urge you to purchase an e-bike. Use caution before purchasing one as many of the popular “Class 2” are considered e-motorcycles, not true e-bikes per California law; e-motorcycles are not allowed on public roads and pathways and will not be allowed to park on our school campus. Please read FAQs before you make a purchase. Important laws for “Class 2” devices explained in full. FAQs can be found in THIS link. E-bike laws serve to protect the safety of students and the community. The laws are determined based on crash data; severe “e-motorcycle” crashes have already occurred with our Marin youth. Following the laws helps to prevent severe crashes and protects parents emotionally, legally and financially. | This year we are partnering with Adopt A Family of Marin to support families in our Marin community during the holidays. Adopt A Family of Marin works year round to prevent homelessness and provide stability for families in crisis. The agency acts as a safety net for many families in the County by providing short term financial assistance. Every year, with the help of hundreds of donors, Adopt A Family provides a warm holiday for hundreds of Marin families in need. Our hope is that through supporting these local families, we can make a difference in our own community. Our goal is to fill at least three items from each family member's list. All gifts should be new. Please wrap and label the gift with the family member’s first name (you can leave the "from" blank). Gifts need to be returned to your child's advisory classroom by Monday, December 9th. Please find your student's Advisory teacher listed below to see which family your class has been matched with for this year. We are also in need of 2 volunteers per class that can help deliver gifts to the Adopt A Family office in San Rafael. Gift pick up is at Del Mar at 2:20p on Wednesday, December 11th. If you can help, please add your name and email in the space provided at the bottom of your class's Google Sheet. For more information or questions about Adopt A Family, please contact Abby O'Leary (aoleary@reedschools.org). Thank you for volunteering and helping to make these families' holidays brighter! Click on your child's Advisor Name to link to the Family Wishlist: **PLEASE LABEL EACH WRAPPED GIFT WITH FAMILY NAME!* Sargent and Tuatagaloa: FirePlace Family Armstrong and Jewell: Shooting Star Family Nielsen and Macdonald: Snow Family Rhodes and Smith: Warmth Family Chase and Snyder: Pumpkin Pie Family Gaine and Silva: Icicle Family Derby and O'Leary: Delight Family Baker, Harrington and Spike: Magical Family Lynam and Marshall: Cypress Family McDonald and Shern: Giving Family Johnson and O'Brien: Starry Night Family | Mathletes ~ First Ever Competition Hosted by Del Mar! | Del Mar hosted the County Mathletes competition yesterday in our gym. Many thanks to parent volunteer, Wendy Yang, for coordinating this event, and congratulations to our 8th Grade team for coming in second place against 18 teams! Go Dragons! | Lunches for Month of December | Dear Del Mar Community, As Thanksgiving approaches, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to our incredible PTA volunteers. It truly takes a special village to create the thriving, supportive community we have here at Del Mar, and your dedication makes all the difference.
Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with joy, love, and togetherness. With gratitude,
Argavan Nilforoush
Del Mar Site Chair | Del Mar Fall Musical - A Sellout Performance!
Congratulations to Mrs. Derby and her Musical Theatre Group on selling out their one-night performance of “Broadway Bound: A Musical Theatre Revue” last week! Over 200 attendees gathered to watch nearly 30 talented Del Mar students sing and dance their way through some of Broadway’s greatest hits. We would like to extend a special thanks to all the parent volunteers that helped make the event a success.
Adopt A Family Holiday Program
We’re excited to kick off the Adopt A Family Holiday Program! Scroll up for details!
8th Grade Hoodies We have a few extras in size XS, M, L and XL. If you'd like to purchase one for your 8th grader, please bring $40 to the office. | A second PTYay to our Reed PTA VP Communications, Dana McRay. This is Dana’s second year as Reed PTA VP Communications and we are so lucky to have her! Dana plays an important role in drafting communication for all Reed parents and caretakers through writing the Reed Room Parent email content in addition to the Reed Newsflash content. Thanks to generous parents like Dana and all our PTA volunteers, the RUSD PTA can continue its mission to enrich the lives of our children and the school community. | Follow us on Instagram! You can find us in three places:
@rusdpta
@delmar.middleschool.dragons
@reedschools | Keep a lookout for the Student Bulletin, so you can keep up with student news, sports updates, Advisory Challenges, Club News, etc. The Bulletin is generally a TV broadcast on Monday afternoons, plus a written copy is emailed to parents and students. A link to the Student Bulletin is HERE. | Bell Schedule Our 2024-25 regular bell schedule can be found HERE. | Attendance Instructions- Arriving Late? Leaving Early? | Leaving before end of day? If your child must leave in the middle of any class, please send your child with a note to give to the teacher so they can excuse themselves in the middle of class. We do not ever want to call into a classroom unless there is an emergency, so please plan accordingly! If you need to pick your child up for any reason, 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. Any student leaving before the end of the day must be signed out by their parent or an authorized adult.
You'd like your child to sign out on their own? If you would like your child to excuse themselves and head out on their own, we must get that request in writing to delmar@reedschools.org and your child will need to sign out in the office
Student arriving late? Students arriving late to school must sign in with the office and get a tardy slip before going to class.
Full Day Absences: Please call the office on the day of your child's absence by 8:00 a.m. (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 the classroom assignment. All assignments are available on the teacher websites. It is the student's responsibility to check the websites and make up for missed work once they are healthy.
| 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 need tech help, go to: https://help.reedschools.org/ Our WEBSITE is HERE. 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 | |
