*TOMORROW!* December 12th: Winter Concert 6:30 PM ~ Del Mar Gym |
December 20th: "December Dash" Race (students only) |
December 23rd-January 6th: Winter Break/Students return Tuesday, January 7th |
January 20th: MLK Holiday (NO SCHOOL) |
February 17th-21st: Mid Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) |
Families,
The holiday season is upon us. As this is our last NewsFlash prior to the vacation, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all the very best as we head into the new year. We still have a week and a half until then- please talk to your child about fighting through the school fatigue and giving their very best effort to the finish line.
A special thank you to our PTA for the holiday staff appreciation event next week, where they will be providing lunch for our staff. We appreciate all the love and support from our parent 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 2025! Sincerely, Chad Stuart (he/him)
Principal |
Due to last month’s rain, we had to postpone our Fun Run/Turkey Trot. The makeup event, now called the “December Dash,” is scheduled for next Friday, December 20th. We hope to see strong participation from our students—fingers crossed for good weather this time! |
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 bands and choir during the Advisory period on Thursday. Congratulations to all of our music students for their hard work and dedication to this craft. There will also be a winter concert, open to all families, tomorrow evening at 6:30 PM.
Many of these same band and choir students performed in public at the Marin Country Mart last Saturday morning (pictures below). Great to see them spread the joy of music! 🎵 |
Student Interview Staff Spotlight: Ms. Derby
| By: Jack, Tala, Anna, and Rory
This week's Staff Spotlight is Del Mar’s very own Ms. Derby! Ms. Derby is the music teacher here at Del Mar. She teaches band, chorus, while also running the school play and spring musical. Ms. Derby is from the East Bay Area and started playing piano at the age of 2 years old. In college she majored in kinesiology at Sonoma State but ultimately flipped her decision and studied music to eventually teach it one day. One thing that Ms.Derby is proud of is the fact that she was the first person out of her whole family to graduate from college. One thing people may not know about Ms. Derby is that she once helped produce a Nutella commercial. Adding on, Ms. Derby is a huge Disney fan and has gone to Disneyland more times than she can count. Her favorite Disney character is Mickey Mouse. She is also the oldest of three siblings who are both creative and work within production.
Ms. Derby has become one of the most influential teachers at Del Mar even though she has only worked at Del Mar for two years. As an artist in the music industry Ms. Derby loves to watch her students shine and realize their potential in music. Ms. Derby says the hardest part of teaching middle school is trying to get kids to not worry about how others perceive them and how they will fit in. In all of her classes Ms. Derby strives to create a safe space for students to open up and collaborate with other like minded people. Each year Ms. Derby looks forward to inspiring more students to follow what they love and what makes them proud. Ms. Derby also looks forward to growing her program through her classes while also running the school play and spring musical. Ms. Derby's creative side combined with her love for producing allows her to effectively run Del Mar’s school play. She says the hardest part about running the school play is keeping each part of the process intact while working with each student to be their best. Ms. Derby says Del Mar is different from other schools because the collaboration and teacher relationships are very united and team oriented. If she were to have any other job she would be a producer on Broadway. If you are looking for an inclusive elective where you are free to express yourself, follow your passions and sign up for one of Ms. Derby’s music classes next year at Del Mar!
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Our robotics team, coached by teachers Mr. Nate Macdonald and Mr. Bryan Nielsen, had a fantastic showing at a team robotics competition over the weekend. We hosted the event at Del Mar! Our Del Mar team competed in a field of all high school programs and finished in 2nd place. It is exciting to see our students' creative minds and real time problem solving at work. We are so proud of our robotics team! | Lunches for Month of December | From the PTA Site Chair:
As we wrap up the year, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of our incredible volunteers. Your time, energy, and commitment have made a lasting impact on our school community and your efforts continue to create meaningful experiences for our students, teachers, and families. Wishing you and your loved ones a joyful holiday season and a wonderful New Year ahead! With appreciation,
Argavan Nilforoush
Del Mar PTA Site Chair Thank You for Supporting the Adopt A Family Holiday Program
Thank you to our generous Del Mar community for supporting the Adopt A Family Holiday program and making so many holiday wishes come true. A team of Del Mar PTA volunteers will be driving their cars loaded with presents from all of our advisory classrooms to the Adopt A Family offices to be distributed to these special Marin families.
December Dash (Rescheduled Turkey Trot)
Due to the rain before Thanksgiving Break, the Del Mar Turkey Trot is now the December Dash and rescheduled for Friday, December 20th before Winter Break. PTA sponsored chocolate awards for top runners and popsicles will be distributed to all student participants. Note: this is a student event that will be held during school hours. If you would like to help volunteer, please contact Tina Davis tinakdavis@yahoo.com or Julie Stewart julie.ohara@gmail.com. Del Mar PTA December meeting cancelled - Join us in January!
Please save the date for our next Del Mar PTA Meeting on Thursday, January 9, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. in the Del Mar Library. Make a new year’s resolution to volunteer and become more involved. We are always looking for volunteers and welcome suggestions as well as new ideas on how to make Del Mar even more amazing! We hope you will join us on January 9th!
Del Mar Spirit Wear
If you ordered Del Mar Spirit Wear from T&B earlier this month, you can expect to receive your order in the mail by December 18th, just in time for holiday gift giving. If you missed this pop-up store, you will have another chance to order items during the Spring pop-up. For questions about Spirit Wear, please contact Amy Dugdale at amy.dugdale@gmail.com.
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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 |
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