DRMS' Principal Message (2024)

Hello, Dolphins! This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, with your May 26, 2024, Family Message.

We hope this message finds you enjoying your family and friends this Memorial Day Weekend! Memorial Day is a federal holiday for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. As we enjoy the day off from school and work, let’s also take time to honor those who fought for our freedom. Memorial Day also officially starts summer! We have 12 days until our first EOG and only 5 weeks left of the 2023-24 school year! Let’s stay focused as we finish the year strong and celebrate another successful year.

Please take a moment to read through the Family Message below, as well as the grade level newsletters, and do not hesitate to contact us if there is any way we can support you.

Dates to Remember:

End of Grade Testing: As we prepare for End of Grade testing, we would like everyone to have the dates on their calendar. Testing is most accurate and least stressful when done on the standard testing schedule with your peers. Please avoid absences on these days so we may all be able to complete testing with as little disruption to the learning environment as possible. We look forward to a great testing season!

  • June 12- 7 Grade Math and 8 Grade Math (6 Grade remain on team)

  • June 13- All Grades Reading (like what we have been practicing with Checkins)

  • June 14- 6 Grade Math and 8 Grade Science (7 Grade remain on team)

EOG Remediation & Readministration Opportunity:Durant Road Middle School is committed to providing all students with an excellent education. At the end of the school year, your child will participate in the regular administration of North Carolina End-of-Grade (EOG) tests. Students who score Level 3 or higher on these assessments are considered proficient. Students who do not score a Level 3 or higher on the regular administration and have passed the course/subject have the option to participate in a Remediation and Readministration opportunity.

Should your child meet the criteria for this opportunity, and you choose for your child to participate, the Remediation and Readministration will take place on Thursday, June 27 and Friday, June 28. Transportation will be provided for those who qualify and indicate they are interested. Breakfast and lunch will be available for all students.

At this time, we are providing families with information about this opportunity. After students complete their EOGs, we will determine which students are eligible, and those families will receive an invitation for the program.

DRMS will provide remediation and a readministration of tests on the following dates:

8th Grade Celebration Information: As your child’s time at DRMS comes to an end, we have a few celebrations planned. Please pay close attention to the 8th Grade Newsletters and communication for specific details, times, etc.

  • 8th Grade Dance - The 8th Grade Dance will be held on Friday, June 7 right after school.

  • 8th Grade Fun Day - The 8th Grade Fun Day will be held on Tuesday, June 25 during the school day!

  • 8th Grade Celebration - The 8th Grade “Moving Up” Celebration will be held on Wednesday, June 26 as a walk-through event and based on assigned times.

Attendance Information: In order to make attendance notes easier for parents/guardians, we have a new email address where you can submit digital pictures of doctor's notes or just email the attendance of your student's attendance note. The email address is attendance399@wcpss.net. We will still accept paper attendance notes in the front office.

Transportation Communication

We greatly appreciate our families' flexibility with transportation shifts this school year. Below are a few reminders to help and support your child’s bus transportation each day.

  • Check the live bus updates each morning / afternoon. This is the most accurate way to see in “real-time” if a route does not have a driver, will be late, etc. These are updated by the Area’s Transportation Department but are linked to our school’s website for convenience.

  • As we get correspondence that a route does not have a driver, we try to send Talking Points to impacted families and put them on our social media platforms. This is a convenience for our families to help make plans, but the quickest way to always get updates is through the live updates webpage.

  • Sign up and utilize the “Here Comes the Bus” app. This allows you to see the location of the bus in real-time. If you need support with getting enrolled, please reach out to our school’s data manager, Karen Bograd (kbograd@wcpss.net).

  • If you have questions or concerns about transportation, please see the appropriate contact below:

    • For student behavior or driver concerns, please reach out to Chris Oakley, one of our assistant principals (coakley2@wcpss.net ).

    • For concerns with the timing of routes, uncovered route concerns, changing of stops, etc. - please complete this form and someone from the District’s transportation office will follow up with you by email.

DRMS PTA News