Now: Check Alma for mid-trimester student progress (see Principal's message below) | October 9th 8:30 am PTA Meeting Del Mar Library |
October 31st: Halloween! Students may come in costume/contest at lunch |
November 5th: Make-Up Picture Day
|
November 11th: Veteran's Day (NO SCHOOL) |
November 14th: End of First Trimester-report cards emailed approximately a week later |
November 24th-28th: Thanksgiving Break (NO SCHOOL) |
December 22nd-January 5th (return to School Tuesday, January 6th): Winter Break (NO SCHOOL) |
Families,
Per the communication sent out yesterday, which can be viewed HERE
, our teachers published mid-trimester progress alerts on Friday. If you have yet to do so, please log on to your Alma account to view these (directions in the link above). I recommend you read the comments and also sit with your child to discuss. This is part of our ongoing commitment to communicate with our families about student progress. In addition, if you are having difficulty navigating ALMA to help know how your student is progressing, please view THIS video that we sent out after Back-to-School Night.
Lastly, Hispanic Heritage Month ends on October 15th. Our teacher-librarian, Mr. Ryan Sonneville, made THIS
video that all of our students viewed last week in Advisory. It gives a nice glimpse into some topical activities going on at Del Mar, as well as highlighting Hispanic Heritage Month.
Sincerely,
Chad Stuart
Principal |
Picture Day - Please Order Pictures by Friday!
| Yesterday was Picture Day. Hopefully you saw your child's new ID card with the photo. Please order school photos directly with
Dorian Photography by this Friday, October 10th. You will have another chance to order in about a month. Make-Up Picture Day is November 5th, in case your child was absent yesterday. |
We had our 8th grade Challenge Days last week. Sharing common experiences and hearing the life stories of peers is an excellent way for our students to connect and have empathy for each other. One of the themes of Challenge Day was: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” It was a powerful experience. We appreciate all who were involved in organizing this event, especially Dr. David Kover. Thank you to the parent volunteers who helped during the event. |
Staff Spotlight - Ms. Jewell
By Leadership Students Tala S., Cecilia S., and Aiden F.
This week’s staff spotlight is none other than our 8th grade English teacher Ms. Jewell! As a child Ms. Jewell was engrossed in military life, as her father was in the military. This caused her to move around a lot, by the time she was in high school Ms. Jewell had attended eleven different schools. As she explored, Ms. Jewell came to the conclusion that she loved Germany. Despite the constant change, she was always surrounded by a loving family full of friends and pets!
Ms. Jewell has been at Del Mar for 9 years, and has been teaching for 16 years! Ms. Jewell went to Sonoma State for college, where she majored in English. But Ms. Jewell did not always want to be an English teacher, when she was younger she wished to be a veterinarian with a house full of pets (which she does). Ms. Jewell supports students in becoming independent, resourceful and organized, and values students to be challenged in her classroom, resulting in students to think critically. In a couple of years Ms. Jewell still sees herself working at Del Mar, where she will continue supporting students.
In her free time, Ms. Jewell likes to take ceramics classes every once in a while. Ms. Jewell loves to travel, some of her favorite travel spots are Munich and Switzerland. Some advice she would give to younger leaders would be, “Listen more than talk.” She encourages and loves to try new things. One fun fact about Ms. Jewell has been vegetarian her whole life meaning her mom never fed her meat. She knows a little bit of German and a very little bit of Serbian. Sometimes she volunteers at the dog shelter, where she sometimes fosters dogs and helps out. All in all, Ms. Jewell is an amazing teacher and a gr eat asset to Del Mar Middle School
| We have noticed an uptick in the number of students wearing Smart Watches at school. Please know that we treat Smart Watches the same as we do cell phones, in that if they are on campus, they need to be locked away in a student’s locker during school hours. Here is our official school policy that can be found in our Family Handbook:
“We recognize the need for parents to monitor their child’s after school activities so students are permitted to bring cellular devices to school. However, cellular devices must be turned off during the school day and remain out of sight in the student’s backpack and locker. Cellular devices include cell phones and smart watches. If students need to contact parents during the school day, they should request permission from their teacher or office staff to call from the school office. Consequences for students who violate our personal mobile device policy may result in the personal device being taken and kept in the office until dismissal. Two or more violations will require a parent to retrieve their child’s personal mobile device from the school office. In case of an emergency, parents needing to reach their child should call the school office.”
| 8th Grade Families: Applying to Private High Schools?
| Linked HERE is Del Mar's protocol for students applying to private high schools. Please take a look if you are considering private high schools for next year. | October Lunch Menu...Plus Water Bottle, Snack and DelMarket Reminder! | Please remind your student to dispose of their trash properly. Breakfasts are served out of the office before school (from 7:45 am-8:05 am) and at the first break only
if anything is leftover. Lunch is served out of the gym’s kitchen windows at lunchtime. If you have questions or concerns about the lunch program, please contact delmar@reedschools.org
Please be patient as we work with our new vendor, Dee's Organics. Despite a few minor glitches, the students seem to be enjoying the food! Breakfasts: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: bagels and cream cheese, fruit
Tuesday: Sunbutter and jam sandwich and fruit Thursday: banana bread and fruit Our Leadership Students run the DelMarket
most morning breaks. The market is located next to room 20, near the library, and students can bring single dollars to pay for snacks and drinks at the first break. Please remember to send water and snacks, and please NO food delivery services.
The October lunch menu is below: | PTA Dues Are Now on Venmo!
We’re making it easier than ever to support our school community. The PTA now accepts Venmo for membership dues! Scan the QR code below, and be sure to include your child’s school in the memo (no name necessary). If you have kiddos at multiple schools, please include each school. Click to pay first, then you will be able to customize the note with your information. OR You can simply search for @rusdpta and follow the same steps. Quick, simple, secure. The requested amount is $50 per child, however any amount is appreciated - we want you in the community! Every membership makes a difference, and with Venmo, joining is just a few taps away. Let’s reach 💯% together!
Thank you for your patience and for being such an important part of our school community. Raffle extended to October 10, so join today! Be a member, be a winner! | LOOKING FOR GRADUATION CO-CHAIRS----HELP WANTED!!!
Graduation Co-Chairs: Seeking two enthusiastic 8th grade parents to lead our graduation committee. The Co-Chairs will help lead and organize three key events during the year: Graduation Sweatshirt Distribution, 8th Grade Moms' Party in April, Graduation Party for students in June. You won't be doing it alone. We already have great volunteers ready and excited to help. If you are interested or would like to learn more, please reach out to Argavan Nilforoush at argavan@gmail.com.
Del Mar PTA Meeting Tomorrow!
We’d love to see you tomorrow at our PTA meeting, October 8th at 8:30am in the Del Mar Library. We’re excited to welcome Amy Smith, Instructional Coach at RUSD, who will be speaking about letters of recommendation for high school applicants — an important topic for many of our families. Hope to see you tomorrow! |
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 read during Advisory on Monday afternoons, plus a written copy is emailed to all parents and students. The Student Bulletin is linked HERE. | Bell Schedule Our 2025-26 regular bell schedule can be found HERE. | Attendance Instructions/Leaving Early/Arriving Late
| 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." Absence does 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. Leaving School Early? Arriving Late? We want to avoid calling into any classroom! 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 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. 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! Any student leaving before the end of the day must be signed out by their parent or an authorized adult. | We Are Here For You! Staff Contacts | To locate teacher info click HERE
. Emails are the first letter of the teacher's first name along with their full last name @reedschools.org. 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, For tech help, email: 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. |
Chad Stuart, Principal Del Mar Middle School |
|
