June 2, 2017
Congratulations to all members of the Class of 2017, and best wishes to our students, staff and families for the summer break. This week we've included photo albums from all of our commencements as well as last day of school celebrations, highlight students who will perform at Monday's High School Musical Theater Awards, include a link to summer camp options, and a reminder about a new vaccine required for 7th and 12th graders. Read on for these stories and much more.

During the summer TheWeek@DMPS will take a little vacation, arriving occasionally, not weekly, in your inbox as we have news to share or reminders about the start of next school year. Speaking of which, just 82 days to go until the the 2017-18 school year begins.
STORIES ABOUT OUR STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS
Aviation Grads Earn Degrees, Licenses
A mini-graduation happened last Thursday evening on the way to the main graduation events over the past weekend. With the district's aircraft fleet as a backdrop, for the very first time students in the Central Campus Aviation Program were presented with both an Associate's degree as well as an Airframe and Powerplant license. The aviation program at DMPS was established in 1943.  Read and see more here .
Schools Ready to Perform at Musical Theater Awards
Des Moines Performing Arts will present the fifth annual Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Showcase on Monday, June 5 at 7:00 PM at the Des Moines Civic Center, and once again Des Moines Public Schools will be well represented. East, Hoover, Lincoln and Roosevelt have all been nominated for awards. This year's ceremony is the largest yet, with 60 high schools from across the state.  Click here for details on the event.
Riders Make Repeat Trip to State Soccer
The Roosevelt High School boys' soccer team advanced to the State tournament for the second year in a row. After a rainy and scoreless first half in the Substate final last Saturday, the Roughriders scored early in the second half and held off Johnston by a result of 1-0.  Enjoy photos from the Substate game on our Flickr page . Roosevelt fell 3-0 to the defending state champs, West Des Moines Valley, in their first round game at the state tournament last night at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
Principals Grylls, Johns Join District Leadership Team
Two veteran DMPS educators - Gregory Grylls and David Johns - will be joining the school district's leadership team as directors in the Office of Schools. Their positions are part of the district's on-going work to improve teaching and learning with better leadership and supervision to support school principals. Grylls will be a Director of Schools, working with elementary principals, and Johns will be the K-12 IB Network Director of Schools, working with the districts's International Baccalaureate schools.  Read more about them and their new roles on the leadership team at DMPS.
Roosevelt's Swanda: Iowa Baseball Player of the Year
Roosevelt High School baseball player John Swanda has committed to play for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, and is also a top prospect in June's professional baseball draft. It's no wonder he's been named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for Iowa.  Read more about a talented athlete (and good student) with some big options ahead of him
Students Paint Phase Two of Flood Wall Mural
Students in the Urban Leadership Program at Central Campus helped graffiti artists Asphate and Leter paint phase two of the flood wall mural near Fleur Drive last week. Asphate and Leter hope to complete the finishing touches within a few weeks.  Visit our Flickr page to see more of the students' art work.
Check Out Summer Sports Camps at DMPS
Still looking for summer activities? The DMPS Community Education department has a variety of sports camps for all ages, many of them held at our high schools. For more information, visit the Youth section of our Community Education web site and click on "camps."
NEW VACCINE REQUIREMENT FOR 7th AND 12th GRADE STUDENTS
The Iowa Department of Public Health has new requirements for mandatory vaccinations of students enrolling in 7th and 12th grades. These rules apply to students entering those grades beginning this August. Students must show proof of having received the meningococcal vaccine, or have a legal exemption. Click here for additional information about the new vaccination requirement and view a public service announcement from local health care providers on the importance of students receiving this vaccination.
PHOTO GALLERIES OF THE WEEK
DMPS Celebrates 2,000 Grads
Nearly 2,000 members of the Class of 2017 at DMPS received their diplomas at eight ceremonies over the past several days. We're pleased to share nearly 400 photos from the commencements of East, Hoover, Lincoln, North, Roosevelt, Ruby Van Meter, Scavo and our Districtwide Programs.  Click here to see our newest graduates .
Schools Mark End of Another Year
From clap-outs to talent shows to Amazing Races to family picnics, schools throughout Des Moines marked the end of another year with a variety of celebrations. Our communications team has been running around the district capturing images of end-of-the-year celebrations.  See more of their photos on our Flickr page.
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 28
Last Day of Classes - Downtown School ONLY

July 4
Independence Day - District Offices Closed

August 9
First Day of Classes - Downtown School ONLY

August 9
Summer Graduation Ceremony - Hoyt Sherman Place (6:00 PM)

August 23
First Day of Classes - ALL SCHOOLS (except DTS)

Summer Sports
Baseball/Softball  - Visit athletics.dmschools.org for schedules
ICYMI: DMPS IN THE NEWS
Recent items in the news or online about or of interest to students, teachers and parents at Des Moines Public Schools:
  • WHO-TV's Laura Barczewski spoke with our communications director Phil Roeder about the end of the school year and the start of summer break, including our free summer meal program for students, summer school and camps, as well as the new vaccination requirement for 7th and 12th graders. Click here for Channel 13's report
  • Thousands of soon-to-be graduates walked across stage at Drake University's Knapp Center as the facility hosted eight commencements, five of them for DMPS high schools. WHO-TV spoke with Drake's event manager Matt Miller about what it takes to organize so many big ceremonies under one roof. Click here for Channel 13's story.
TheWeek@DMPS is a recipient of the 2016 Award of Merit 
from the National School Public Relations Association.
It is the policy of the Des Moines Community School District not to illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you believe you (or your child) have been discriminated against or treated unjustly at school, please contact Anne Sullivan at 2323 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312 or 515-242-7709 or anne.sullivan@dmschools.org.