North Dorchester Middle School

NOTICE OF MEETING Board of Education Budget Work Session with Public Comments on the Budget DATE: Thursday, January 23, 2025 TIME: 5:00 p.m. PLACE: The Board Room Central Office of the Board of Education 700 Glasgow Street Cambridge, MD 21613 The Board of Education of Dorchester County will conduct a Budget Work Session with Comments from the Public at the date, time and location indicated above to address business as indicated on the agenda. The agenda and related documents can be accessed online via BoardDocs on the Dorchester County Public Schools website at www.dcps.k12.md.us. Anyone who would like to submit public comments electronically, to be included in the minutes, can email comments@dcpsmd.org by 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 22 2025. All Board of Education Meetings will be livestreamed: https://townhallstreams.com/towns/dorchesterboe

Good Afternoon Families, This weekend is a 3-day weekend. Schools will be closed on Monday, January 20th, in observance of Martin Luther King Day. We are closely monitoring the weather forecast, which indicates a possibility of snow on Sunday and very cold temperatures on Monday and Tuesday. We are unsure if this will cause a school closure next week. To prepare, we are sending home devices and chargers with students today in case we have to provide virtual learning next week. Remember, we have used all our inclement weather days and are doing our best to not extend the school year further into June. If there is no significant snow event, students should bring their devices and chargers back to school on Tuesday. Please ensure the devices are safely stored over the weekend. If there are any connectivity issues, students will have the opportunity to make up the work, and it will not count against them. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

January 15, 2025 Dear Parent/Guardian/Community Member, Dorchester County Public Schools (DCPS) has initiated a process to modernize its elementary schools, and we need your input in the first step—the Districtwide Elementary School Prototype Educational Specification. This document will identify what an ideal elementary school in Dorchester County should be: the types of instructional and support spaces it will contain, its educational philosophy, and its community features. It will be used to evaluate the older elementary schools in the system, leading to capital improvement projects that will support your children’s needs. You are invited to a listening session to learn about the process for developing the Districtwide Elementary School Prototype Educational Specification. The first session will be held on February 11, 2025, beginning at 6:00 PM, at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School in the auditorium, and the second session will be held on February 12, 2025, beginning at 6:00 PM, at North Dorchester High School in the auditorium. At these sessions, you will have the opportunity to provide input on the elementary schools. You do not need to attend both sessions as they will both cover the same information. Additional opportunities will be available later this spring to provide comments as the draft educational specification document is developed. The Districtwide Elementary School Prototype Educational Specification is the first step in providing modernized facilities for the elementary school students of Dorchester County. Your concerns and observations are crucial to the success of this process. We look forward to seeing you at one or both sessions. Sincerely, Dr. Jymil Thompson Superintendent of Schools

Peek of the Week Monday - No afterschool activities Tuesday - All Shore Band Practice 3-4, Media Club 3-4:30, Tutoring 3-5, Basketball 3-5 Wednesday - All Shore Choir Practice 3-4, Media Club 3-4:30, Tutoring 3-5, Basketball 3-5 Thursday- Cheer Practice 3-4, All Shore Band Practice 3-4, Friday - No afterschool Activities Saturday - All Shore Band Auditions **No Flag Football until April

Good evening NDMS Families- We hope that everyone has stayed safe and warm during the snowy weather. We are excited to have our scholars back on campus, tomorrow, with a 2 hour delay. We will post our Peek of the Week, tomorrow afternoon, with the weekly events. Tutoring will resume Tuesday and Wednesday! A couple reminders- Scholars are to bring back their DEVICES AND CHARGERS, tomorrow. We do not have loaner computers for them to use. It would be helpful if they charged their devices tonight. Dress accordingly. Coats, hats, and hoods are not permitted to be worn in classrooms. Also, blankets are not permitted in school. We hope everyone has a restful night and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Good afternoon! Dorchester County Public schools will be opening on a two hour delay Monday, January 13th. Parents please make sure that your child returns their charged laptop tomorrow.

Friday, January 10th will be another VIRTUAL LEARNING DAY. Couple of reminders and trouble shooting from today: 1. Charge your devices tonight! 2. When logging on to a google meet, check the upper right hand corner to make sure you are logged into your DCPS google account. If not, you will not be able to enter the meet. 3. 8th grade Miller's Science classes, will use Mrs. Chester's code. 8th grade Miller 's Math classes will use Carpenter's code. 4. All UA codes end with 1 (the number 1) 5. Tomorrow is an A Day. Stay safe and warm!

Good afternoon. Friday, January 10th will be a virtual learning day for students. More information will be sent from your child’s school. All 12-month employees are expected to report on time. If staff need additional time to get to work, they may reach out to their supervisor to adjust their schedule. Please be safe.

Good afternoon NDMS Families - We hope that you have been staying warm and enjoying your snow days. DCPS has declared that tomorrow, Thursday January 9th will be a virtual day for teachers and students. Please remember to charge your devices this evening, in preparation for tomorrow. Below find the information that you will need for your student to log on for tomorrow's instruction. Schedule: 9:30- 10:10 Pd 1 10:10-10:50 Pd 2 10:50 -11:30 Pd 3 11:30 - 12:00 Lunch Break 12:00- 12:40 Pd 4 12:40 - 1:20 Pd 5 1:20 - 2:00 Pd 6 2:00 End of Student Day If you have any issues logging on, please make sure that you are logged into your DCPS account for google. Please feel free to call the office tomorrow, if you have any questions.

Good afternoon. Thursday, January 9th will be a virtual learning day for students. More information will be sent from your child’s school. All 12-month employees are expected to report on time. If staff need additional time to get to work, they may reach out to their supervisor to adjust their schedule. Please be safe.

Good afternoon! Dorchester County Public Schools and Central Office will be closed Wednesday, January 8th. Essential staff may be called in by their supervisor if needed. Stay safe.

Good afternoon! Dorchester County Public Schools and Central Office will be closed Tuesday, January 7th. Essential staff may be called in by their supervisor if needed. Stay safe.

Good afternoon! Due to the forecast for Monday, January 6th, all schools and the central office will be closed. If needed, essential staff may be called in by their supervisor. Stay safe.

Here is what is happening at the Owl's Nest for next week- Monday - No afterschool activities Tuesday - Tutoring resumes 3-5, with All Shore Band Practice 3-4 and Media Club 3-4:30 Wednesday- Tutoring until 5, All Shore Choir Practice 3-4, Modeling until 4, Dance Team Tryouts until 5:30 and Media Club until 4:30 Thursday Cheer Practice until 4, Flag Football until 4:30, All Shore Band Practice until 4 On Thursday the NDMS Owls Basketball team will travel to Washington to play, tip off at 5 Friday Basketball returns home against Lockerman, tip off at 5 and D and D club will meet until 4.

It looks like 2025 is starting with some possible Inclement Weather days. At this time, the forecast is showing a winter storm on Monday, January 6, 2025. DCPS is scheduled to open on time; however, we will monitor the situation closely. Please visit our website for more information on potential inclement weather days and virtual instruction.

Due to wind and cold temperatures, Flag Football is cancelled for today.

January 2, 2025 Dear NDMS Families, At North Dorchester Middle School, we are proud to offer students varied opportunities for extracurricular participation throughout the school year. We feel that these programs help to meet our school mission of providing students with experiences that will prepare them for life as well as our vision of focusing on the well-being of the whole child. As we enter 2025, we feel the need to clarify the eligibility requirements for students to participate in extra-curricular activities. These guidelines can also be found in the 2024-2025 Student Code of Conduct on the DCPS website. Beginning January 7, 2025, the following guidelines will be utilized for student participation in any extracurricular activities: 1. A student must be in school all day in order to participate in an extracurricular activity on the same day. Exceptions include school sponsored trips or activities and approved appointments by school administration or their designee. 2. Students are ineligible to participate in extra-curricular activities while on disciplinary suspension. A student is not eligible until the day after the suspension has concluded. A student with two (2) out of school suspensions, of three (3) or more days of each incident, is ineligible to participate for the remainder of the school year. 3. A student who accrues 10 tardies in one marking period will be considered on an “activity ban” until the beginning of the next marking period. 4. If a student receives an “E” on a report card, they are ineligible to participate in extracurricular activities until the next interim report is sent home. If that student does not have an “E” on their interim, they are eligible to participate. Only an “E’ on a report card can make a student ineligible for participation, an “E” on an interim report will not result in ineligibility for a student. As always, we thank you for your support as we strive to provide your child with a well-rounded, structured, and positive school experience. If you have any questions about these eligibility requirements, please feel free to reach out to your child’s grade-level administrator. We wish you a happy and healthy New Year. Sincerely, The NDMS Administrative Team

Happy New Year NDMS Families. Here is the peek at the week for December 30 - January 3. School is closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We re-open at normal time Thursday 01.02 at7:40 am. Students need to be in their seats to avoid being tardy and receiving afterschool detention. Thursday January 2nd Afterschool Programs include: All Shore Band Practice 3-4, Flag Football with Mr. Evans, 3-430 Basketball Practice 3-5 Friday January 3rd: Basketball Practice 3-5 Lastly, Tutoring will resume the week of January 6th and will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you have previously attended, you DO NOT need to re-sign up. The link below is only for NEW enrollment OR students that previously were on the Waiting List. If you have questions, you can contact johnsonje@dcpsmd.org. Here is the link to sign your student up: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Sk_LEoiYrkeRrxjNrjyiO2ZSJ5e4I91JuhOK0Qejah5UMVEwWUJCT0ZBQVJHVUdWRlJHSDFWUVNSQS4u

Show up and Shine Bright in the New Year!!!! NDMS is challenging our students to show up at least 93% of January to earn some Cool SWAG. Attendance challenge begins January 2nd and concludes January 31st. Students will earn points for being on time and present. By showing up, your future will be so bright, you will need NDMS Shades!!!

Happy Holidays from the Administrative Staff of NDMS!