Winter Concert

Music teacher Ms. Christine Derby and our music students have been doing an amazing job preparing for our Winter Concert. 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 in our Del Mar Gym

Report Cards

First Trimester Report Cards are now published in ALMA and were emailed to you last week. If you haven’t already, please take time to sit with your child and have a conversation about their learning and discuss their goals and intentions for the current trimester. Remember, if you have any questions about grades in any classes, please reach out to that specific teacher or have your child do so. If you need a refresher on our grading policy and philosophy, please visit THIS link. We HIGHLY ENCOURAGE 6th grade parents and those of you new to the school to view that link in order for you to understand our grading philosophy at Del Mar and how to interpret the report card.

From Safe Routes to School ~ eBike Updates

Articles about e-bikes have frequented the news lately, including the New York Times Magazine article last week featuring Dr. John Maa and Marin leaders who were instrumental in passing AB 1778, the law that requires students be 16 years of age to ride Class 2 throttle e-bikes in Marin.

Additionally, this important article with both Mill Valley and CMPD quoted, highlights the risks involved. I'm glad the word continues to spread on this vital matter, though parent confusion still exists while students are parking illegal e-motos off campus.

Your support and leadership has been instrumental in protecting students by banning illegal "e-bikes" from campus and allowing Safe Routes to come in and teach your students the differences between legal e-bikes from illegal e-motos in our classes.

Due to ongoing news about e-moto crashes in our county, our outreach is continuing. Reports include children fleeing police at speeds over 45 mph (a criminal offense) and parents facing child endangerment charges. The flyers and video below addresses both issues. The content of the video includes the following:

-Crash data showing the severe impacts to students and parents

-The laws that govern legal e-bikes verses illegal e-motos and why it matters

-The ramifications of peer pressure on the community and other students

-Solutions and other resources for parents

Thank you for your continued partnership and have a wonderful holiday season.

Gwen Froh

Program Director Marin Safe Routes to Schools

Inclusive Schools Week

This week, Del Mar Middle School will be celebrating Inclusive Schools Week. Students will begin the week in advisory with a short video introducing the purpose of this work and the importance of building a community where everyone belongs. Our library will feature a book display highlighting authors and characters with a range of abilities and disabilities. In 6th grade science, students will engage in an inquiry-based lesson on scientists with different abilities, building on the research and reading skills they have developed earlier this year. Additionally, some of our humanities students will read and discuss texts featuring individuals with diverse learning needs and physical abilities, expanding on their close-reading and analysis work. We look forward to a meaningful week that strengthens our commitment to an inclusive and welcoming school community.

Staff Spotlight

Staff Spotlight: Mr. Shern

By: Tala S., Aiden F., and Cecilia S.

This week's Staff Spotlight is none other than our 6th grade P.E. teacher, Mr. Shern! Mr. Shern was born and raised in Petaluma, where he was immersed into nature and spent all of his time outdoors. Slowly growing his passion for physical education, he often played soccer, football, baseball, basketball, and he rode his skateboard as a young child. During middle school, Mr. Shern set the all time record for the mile at 5:15! In addition, he also managed to receive a partial scholarship for soccer at a college he ultimately decided not to attend. Fast forward to college, Mr. Shern attended Dominican University where he received his masters. There, he was introduced to a job opening at Del Mar, where they needed a science teacher. To take the job, Mr. Shern went to Sonoma state to achieve his bachelors of science degree.

Mr. Shern has been teaching for 20 years at Del Mar and a year at a previous high school. Mr. Shern came to Del Mar teaching science, but ultimately wanted to teach P.E., but couldn’t because there were no open positions at the time. After 15 rewarding years of teaching science, he followed his original career path to teaching P.E. Though he loved the academic conversations that were used in science, P.E. was his ultimate passion. Mr. Shern makes sure his teaching style is fun but rigorous. He emphasizes on creating a ‘nice vibes only’ environment, while wanting students to compete with each other. Mr. Shern’s favorite unit is jump rope because he gets to see kids challenged and be creative with their skills. Some advice he would like to give to his students is to always be responsible and prepared. He wants his 6th grade students to advocate for themselves and ask questions. He additionally states that high school is much harder, so you should take advantage of the time you have here to perfect your work. One thing Mr. Shern would change at Del Mar would be for kids to stop littering on our campus. He thinks that the custodians work tirelessly to keep our campus clean and that us students should do our part as well.

Mr. Shern is a person filled with passion as he currently loves to fish, play soccer, watch race cars, and learn. Fishing is a hobby that he enjoys doing with his son, Justin, who also plays soccer. Another activity he loves to do in his free time is mountain biking! Did you know that Mr. Shern’s high school soccer team was on ESPN for the most-winning team of California? Cool, right? Additionally as cool, Mr. Shern loves reading non-fiction books in his free time. He defines success as, “When you are content with all the aspects of your life. To me, it's not about stuff, it's the feeling you have about the qualities of your life.” All in all, we should celebrate all that Mr. Shern contributes to our Del Mar community, and if you ever see Mr. Shern on the blacktop, playing games, or cleaning up our school, don’t hesitate to say hi!

8th Grade Families: Redwood High School Information and Graduation "Save the Date"!

Redwood Student Panel for Del Mar 8th graders and families:

Today at 5:30 pm in the Del Mar gym--see information below.

Important Redwood High School Information:

Linked HERE is a letter from Redwood High School with all the information you need! Mark your calendar: January 29th 5-7:30 pm: Open House at Redwood!

8th Grade Graduation:

Ceremony will be: Friday, June 12th at 2 PM. Save the date! Our graduation Chairs are beginning to make plans for an extra special last day celebration at Del Mar. Stay tuned!

Breakfast/Lunch Vendor Change,

New Mandated Reporter Document Review/Menu...Plus

Water Bottle, Snack and DelMarket Reminder!

From Superintendent Kimberly McGrath at the Reed Union School District Office:

New Food Service Provider in January:

Unfortunately, I am writing to inform you about an upcoming change to our school food service operations. We recently received notification that our current food service vendor, Dee’s Organics, has made the difficult decision to step away from public school food service contracts, effective the end of December. We want to be clear that this vendor will continue to provide uninterrupted meal service through December. While we are disappointed by this shift, we want to recognize the partnership for this school year.

We are pleased to announce that the District has moved swiftly to secure a partnership with a new, large, and highly proven food service vendor, Revolution Foods. This new contract will officially begin in January 2026.

Food service will remain uninterrupted for all our students. Our new partner brings extensive experience in school nutrition, regulatory compliance, and menu innovation, ensuring that our students receive the compliant meals they deserve every day.

We look forward with great optimism to this new, stable chapter in our meal program, focusing on providing a consistent experience for all students across our district for this school year.

Thank you for your understanding and support as we make this necessary transition. We will be in touch if we are looking for further collaboration in designing our longer-term food service program.

**Volunteers are Now Mandated Reporters-ACTION ITEM!

Due to a recent new law, all volunteers are now designated as mandated reporters. To ensure you have the necessary information, we have created a streamlined system. You are required to review the Mandated Reporter document once per school year if you plan to volunteer. Please follow this link to complete the acknowledgment form before you arrive, or you may use an iPad provided at any of the school sites.

More Notes About Food at Del Mar:

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

Our Leadership Students run the DelMarket most morning breaks. The DelMarket 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. $5.00 snack packs are also available!

Please remember to send water and snacks, and please NO food delivery services.

The December lunch menu is below, and below that is the new vendor's lunch menu for the first week we get back in January.

First Week of January Lunch Menu --Revolution Foods

Tuesday 1/6: Mac & Cheese w/ Mixed Veg (Vegetarian) OR Chicken Tamale w/ Mixed Vegetables

Wednesday 1/7: Penne Pasta w/ Meat Sauce OR Cheese Pizza (vegetarian)

Thursday 1/8: Turkey Nachos w/ Tortilla Chips OR Bean & Cheese Burrito w Fava Beans

Friday 1/9: Pepperoni Pizza OR Cheese Pizza (vegetarian)

Del Mar PTA News

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 brought to your child's advisory classroom by the MORNING of Wednesday, December 17th.

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 family that can help deliver gifts to the Adopt A Family office in San Rafael. Gift pick up is at Del Mar at 2:00pm on Wednesday, December 17th. 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 Aaron Snyder (asnyder@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!*

Armstrong & Jewell: Swan Family

Baker, Harrington : Happiness Family

Chase & Snyder: Sparkle Family

Derby, McKay & Lynam: Apple Pie Family

Gaine & Silva: Zebra Family

Johnson, O’Brien & Nielsen/MacDonald: Festival Family

Spike & Deppe: Tangerine Family

McDonald & Shern: Violin Family

Rhodes & Hailer: Mocha Family

Sargent & Tuatagaloa: Sugar Cookie Family

Support Adopt A Family! Check PTA Happenings or your school’s Newsflash for more information and tag @rusdpta when you post photos of your student shopping and/or dropping off presents for Adopt A Family!

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