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Dorothy Hamm Middle School PTSA
PHOENIX POST
Monday, January 16th, 2023
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Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming DHMS Dates | |
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Monday, January 16th - NO SCHOOL (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
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Thursday, January 19th - DHMS Science Fair, 5:30-8:30pm
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Friday, January 27th - End of 2nd Quarter
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Monday, January 30th - NO SCHOOL (Grade Preparation Day)
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Thursday, February 2nd - DHMS Historical Commemoration
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Wednesday, February 8th - Early Release (12:05pm Dismissal)
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Tuesday, February 14th - DHMS PTSA Meeting, 7pm
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Monday, February 20th - NO SCHOOL (Presidents Day)
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Friday, March 3rd - NO SCHOOL (Parent/Teacher Conferences)
Please visit the online master DHMS Calendar for all 2022-23 school year dates.
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DHMS News & Announcements | |
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DHMS Families, hope you enjoy today's holiday to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Look forward to seeing students tomorrow, Tuesday, January 17th.
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Wishing our very own DHMS Principal, Ellen Smith, an amazing Virginia Principal Appreciation Week! We are so fortunate to have you at DHMS. Thank you for all you do each and every day for our students and school community.
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Our PTSA Needs You! Donate to the DHMS PTSA Phoenix Fund
Dear DHMS PTSA Families,
Your PTA has been hard at work promoting engagement among students, families, and the DHMS staff; supporting our staff in their efforts to improve learning for our children; and creating more opportunities for students to recognize school as a fun space. We've supported the teachers' back to school breakfast; sponsored a successful back to school block party; started what we hope will become an annual Halloween candy sales drive and costume contest; and hosted our traditional One Dorothy Hamm Week, and Reflections contest. We would love to build on our momentum!
However, as we roll into 2023, the PTSA is taking stock of our goals and achievements, and making some tough decisions on our slate of activities for the rest of the year. PTSA membership is down 7%. Phoenix Fund donations are down 49%. Spirit wear sales are down 24.5%. These revenue shortfalls have left a nearly $15,000 hole in our budget. And without the renewed support of our community, the PTSA will be forced to scale back our support to activities that directly benefit our students and staff. These include quarterly prizes for students (-100%); Staff Snack Attacks (-100%); counseling (-83%); classroom grants (-74%) awarded to staff for use in their classrooms; Staff Appreciation activities (-64%); library/author visits (-55%); and clubs and activities (-23%).
We would like to keep supporting all of these activities, but need your support. We encourage all our families who can donate to the Phoenix Fund to do so by visiting DHMS PTSA Open Donations. Our PTSA needs you!
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January DHMS PTSA Meeting Follow-up
Thank you to everyone who attended the January DHMS PTSA Meeting on Tuesday, January 10th. If you missed the meeting, visit dorothyhamm.apsva.us/ptsa/ptsa-meetings for the draft meeting minutes, and contact DHMS PTSA President, Khal Monaro, with any questions.
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Join Us for the DHMS Science Fair
Thursday, January 19th 5:30-8:30pm
The DHMS Science Fair is coming up on Thursday, January 19th! 36 DHMS students are participating, and we have 18 judges confirmed. All are welcome to join us from 5:30-6:00pm for a community open house, followed by the official judging between 6:00-8:30pm. Please contact Ms. Giblin with any questions. Hope to see you there!
Volunteers Needed! Click to donate snacks, drinks and paper goods and/or sign up to help with check in, check out, set up and clean up: DHMS Science Fair Volunteer Sign-up
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DHMS Model UN Club Conference
The DHMS Model UN Club is hosting a conference on Saturday, January 21st with about 170 middle school participants from a total of 10 middle schools, including about 25 DHMS students serving as Conference Delegates and Staff.
The club is looking for someone to serve as the Keynote Speaker, who would help open the conference by speaking for about 10 minutes, welcoming the students who will be debating international topics, telling them a little bit about their career path, and answering their questions. Ideally, the speaker would be someone who works in global affairs or diplomacy, but it could also be someone who works for a global nonprofit, charity, or the local, state, or federal government. If you or someone you know may be interested, or would like to learn more, please contact DHMS 8th Grade World Geography teacher, Ms. Carlson.
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Support DHMS When You Order Your Valentine's Cards at Minted!
Support the DHMS PTSA when you order your Valentine's cards & gifts from Minted using our promo code FUNDRAISEDHMS. You’ll get 20% OFF your order, and 15% of every purchase made using our code will be donated back to us at the end of the year.
FUNDRAISEDHMS is valid toward all Minted orders, excluding fine art prints, commissioned art, customizable fine art, all products purchased from the “direct from artist” section of our website, fabric goods, Minted More membership fees, Photo Op or styling or customization services. Discounts may be applied towards any Disney-branded merchandise, however Minted does not pay donations on these orders. Discounts and donations do not apply to shipping charges or tax, and cannot be combined with any other offers or promotions, including discounted credit.
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Amazon Smile Supports the DHMS PTSA
Support the DHMS PTSA every time you shop on Amazon! Bookmark smile.amazon.com and search for "Dorothy Hamm Middle School PTSA" as your charity of choice. Make sure you always shop Amazon using the smile.amazon.com link, and the DHMS PTSA will earn a percentage of sales with every purchase you make. Click here to learn more, and thank you for your support!
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DHMS Corporate Donation Drive
DHMS families are invited to share our corporate donation drive with their employers, local business, and friends and family. More information is available in our MemberHub store: "Support a culture of teamwork, cooperation, and appreciation of sacrifice with your tax deductible corporate donation to the Dorothy Hamm Middle School PTSA!"
https://dhmsptsa.memberhub.com/store/items/64998
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DHMS Library Volunteers
The DHMS Library does not currently have a need for volunteers. We will re-visit the need in the next quarter. Thank you so much to all the parents who have volunteered countless hours in the first semester.
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DHMS Picture Re-Take Photos Now Available
DHMS student re-take photos are now available for viewing and ordering! Click to get started: VIEW AND ORDER PHOTOS HERE (https://shop.jostenspix.com)
- If your photos don't appear in your gallery, find your student using event code FE5622.
- You can personalize your photos with a variety of backgrounds and text.
- Photos are shipped directly to your home.
- High-res digital downloads are available.
- If you have more than one child, you can order together and pay once.
Contact DHMS Picture Day Chair, Jennifer Meder, with any questions.
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DHMS Yearbook Photos Needed!
Please help the DHMS Yearbook team by uploading fun photos from fall activities at DHMS. Sports games, club meetings, Driveway party, hanging with friends. Upload photos directly to Josten’s DHMS photo site by following the instructions below, or clicking here for more details.
LOG ON TO: images.jostens.com
Enter Login ID: 0s7ogMI5ev2uUTscS5kdSvA
- Click on “Select My Images.”
- Browse to select the photo(s) you wish to upload.
- Click “Upload Chosen Images.”
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Contact DHMS Yearbook Lead, Ms. Richardson, with any questions.
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Recycling Your Plastic Film to Support DHMS!
Thanks to our partnership with Trex, a Virginia-based company that uses plastic film to produce composite decking products, we are competing for a chance to win a Trex composite bench, and to educate our community about recycling plastic. Follow the steps below:
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Collect plastic film listed on the acceptable list.
- Weigh your plastic film. (Kids on a bathroom scale with and without the plastic film is a great way to weigh!)
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Email the weight of your plastic film to green@dhmsptsa.org.
- Bring your plastic film to the Cherrydale Safeway, 3713 Langston Blvd, and place it in one of the two white plastic film collection boxes located just outside the store.
List of Acceptable Materials: https://nextrex.com/view/educate#materials1
Video: Plastic bag and Film recycling with NexTrex!
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APS News: Attendance Notification Changes Begin Tuesday
Beginning Tue, Jan. 17, APS will send text and voice notifications to all families regarding unverified absences beginning at 11 a.m. Additionally, all middle and high school families will receive three additional text message alerts at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to notify them if a student has an unverified absence for a specific period. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we implement these changes.
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APS News: Social and Emotional Learning Survey Results - Virtual Sessions
APS students in Grades 3-12 recently participated in the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Survey. Next week, there are two virtual presentations to review the survey results and answer questions. These presentations will explain SEL terms, provide specific examples of the skills involved and include tips for parents to help their children develop healthy, productive social-emotional skills.
- Secondary Parent Information Session: Tue, Jan. 17, 2023 – 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
- Elementary Parent Information Session: Thu, Jan. 19, 2023 – 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Register | View elementary session flyer | View secondary session flyer
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Mom's Holiday Lights Recycling
Drop off your broken holiday lights for recycling any time through January 31st at MOM's Organic Market (located at 1901 N. Veitch St. Arlington, VA 22201). We get an extra boost of cheer knowing. MOM's customers diverted 17 tons of holiday lights from the landfill! Recycled lights are broken down through melting and shredding to recover raw materials that are repurposed into roofing and construction materials, piping, car batteries, other electronics, lead wheel weights, flatware, jewelry, and more! Click here to learn more.
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The DHMS PTSA Phoenix Post is a weekly newsletter that informs the DHMS community about DHMS, PTSA, and relevant APS and community news. Please send any newsletter submissions to newsletter@dhmsptsa.org by EOD Thursday for inclusion in the following Monday's Phoenix Post. | | | | |
