 Wildcat Weekly
September 29th, 2019
End of the 1st Quarter (Already?!?)
This coming Friday, October 11th marks the end of the first grading quarter. I can hardly believe that the first quarter of the school year is almost here, but our teachers and students have been working hard to make sure the first quarter was a successful one. On behalf of the staff, let me promise you that we will continue our efforts to help your students be as successful as they can be!
As you know, this can often be "crunch time" for some students and their grades. Please work with your child to ensure they are doing all they can to prepare themselves for success! This includes looking on Schoology with them for any missing assignments they may be able to still turn in late, any upcoming tests or projects to plan for this week, and finding times (such as Thursday mornings at 7:35) to meet with teachers for any extra help needed. Thanks!
-Shane Hartley, Deer Park Jr/Sr High School Principal
What's New?
Conference Times
Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up in a little over a month. While we encourage you to reach out to teachers with any concerns before conferences, this is also a great time to have some great conversations about how to best work together with our teachers to prepare your students for success.
Here are the dates and times for conference sign-ups:
October 24th - 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (No School all day)
October 25th - 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (No School all day)
We will be using a "Team" approach to our grades 7-9 conferences this year as well, which is similar to what many of our teachers have used in the past! LOOK FOR A PRESS RELEASE LATER ON THIS WEEK FOR SIGN-UPS!
Junior High Halloween Dance!
Our first Junior High Dance of the year will be the annual Halloween Dance! This will take place on Friday, October 18th from 7:00p.m. - 9:00p.m. in the Jr/Sr High School cafeteria. The cost if $5 and students are DEFINITELY allowed to (and encouraged to!) dress in their favorite (school appropriate of course!) Halloween costume! No masks are allowed. Students can pay at the door, and Final Forms must be completed for students to attend the dance
Food Allergies
This is a friendly reminder that we ask students and their families to be conscientious of the possibility that other students may have airborne food allergies, including, but not limited to, peanut allergies. While we are not prohibiting any types of foods at the school, we do simply ask that parents and students are aware that other students may have these allergies.
Band Fundraiser
Speaking of food, the Marching Band has a fundraiser Monday, October 7th from 4:00p.m. to 10:00p.m. at Texas Roadhouse in Kenwood. Please ask your server to donate 10% of your meal to Deer Park Marching Band, and please reach out to Amy Ashcraft from our Band Sponsors at aashcraftdp@gmail.com for a flyer!
News from the Counseling Department
Jr. High Presentation: Coming up in October, the Junior High students will see a program from the National Theatre for Children sponsored by Duke Energy on energy conservation. If you are interested in receiving a FREE energy saving kit, please click HERE.
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. The biggest struggle that most schools have is students willing to stand up and report unkindness. Here are some links to resources that parents and guardians can use to reinforce how to stand up to bullies and deal with unkindness.
https://www.stopbullying.gov/
https://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm/
You can also show your support by purchasing a Unity Day T-Shirt! These will be on sale until Oct. 10th. Forms will be available via classrooms and the guidance office. Cost is $8 for standard sizes. T-shirt reads: “Deer Park 2019 Unity Day” and “Stand Up Speak Out Against Bullying.” Please reach out to Mr. Jason Spelic at spelic.j@dpccsd.org for an picture of the shirts! They are grey with orange lettering.
In Case You Missed It
Washington D.C. Parent Meeting
There will be a Washington D.C. Parent Information meeting on October 14th at 6:00 p.m. at the Deer Park Jr/Sr High School. This meeting will be located in our "Cat Den" room, which is located in the front hallway of the building. The meeting is for parents/guardians of any 8th grader currently planning on attending the Washington D.C. trip. See you there!
Mobile Dentist Opportunity
The Mobile Dentist is scheduled to come to the Jr./Sr. High School on Monday, November 11th. Forms will be sent home to all 7th and 8th graders through their teachers, and forms are available in the front office for high school students.
Terrace Metrics Survey
On October 30th, our 9th and 12th grade students will participate in a survey called Terrace Metrics. This survey is designed to be a comprehensive behavioral health tool that can quickly identify and prioritize students in need of services and supports. The survey typically lasts about 15-20 minutes for students, and we will communicate more information about that day as it gets closer. Know that we will have extra support personnel available that day for any students who show such need, and parents will be promptly notified if any concerns should arise. For more information, here is a link to their website.
Homework Help
Various opportunities for students to get extra time and help exist after school throughout each week. Here are the Homework Club days and times we are currently offering:
Junior High Homework Club
Thursdays - Ms. Malkwoski (Room 151)
Math Homework Club
Monday - Ms.Ginn (Room 226)
Tuesday - Mr. Benjamin (Room 224)
Wednesday - Mr. Gabbard (Room 256)
Thursday - Ms. Adler (Room 157)
9th Grade Homework Club
Monday - Dr. West (Room 154)
Wednesday - Ms. Parker (Room 220)
Thursday - Ms. Adler (Room 157)
Friday - Mr. Moore (Room 155) - NOTE: Mr. Moore will switch to Tuesdays in November
Additional Notes from the Guidance Office
Advice from On To College: College Can be Affordable! Please use this link for a video from our John Baylor Prep program with more information!
Be the Difference Program: Our junior high students experienced the ID Project this week. However, this was only one step in the process of guiding students to show empathy towards others to help deter bullying. While these were great days, we are going to need your help to continue the conversation. Please talk with your students about how you want them to treat others and how you want them to respond to others being mistreated. If we teach our students to stand up and speak out, we can greatly improve the daily experiences of many of our students!
Freshmen:With the end of the first quarter coming up, many 9th graders are understanding the impact of grades. For those who are doing fine, please keep up the good work! Those who are struggling have a tendency to be repeating the same habits that they showed in 8th grade. Please contact your students teachers and counselor for plans on how to make second quarter more successful!
Sophomores and Juniors: Deer Park High School is offering the opportunity for students to take the PSAT to its students. The cost of the assessment is $17. Payment should be given to Secretary Mrs. Vickrey by October 7th (checks can be made payable to Deer Park High School). Below is some information about the PSAT.
As students begin preparing for college, the PSAT is an excellent opportunity to receive feedback on strengths and weaknesses on skills necessary for college study. In addition to receiving invaluable information about skill level, the PSAT also enters juniors into the National Merit Scholarship. Additionally, the PSAT helps students to prepare for the PSAT by becoming familiar with the kinds of questions that will be on the SAT, as well as becoming familiar with the formatting of directions often seen in standardized testing.
The PSAT provides the first step for students as they begin to prepare for the next step after high school. Please feel free to contact Corrie Madden (madden.c@dpccsd.org) with any questions.
Seniors: As part of the college application process, it's important to fill out the FAFSA form as part of receiving Federal Student Aide. Please see this link for important information you'll need to fill out the FAFSA form!
Staying Connected
There are multiple ways to stay connected to Deer Park Jr./Sr. High School. Please see the attached flyer for ways to stay connected through Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Text Messages.
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E-Mail: If you are not already signed up, please register for the e-mail communication. To register, simply go to www.deerparkcityschools.org and click on the button on the left side of the page that says “Subscribe to District News”. From there, you will send an email requesting that you be added to future email communication from the district.
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Twitter: Follow Deer Park Jr./Sr. High School for the most up-to-date news and happenings! @DeerParkHS, @DeerParkSchools and @dpcounselor.
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Facebook: follow us at Deer Park Community City Schools and Deer Park Jr/Sr High School
- Text Messages: Through a great program titled Remind, we can provide text message alerts/reminders in a safe, confidential manner.Remind never shows a person's cell number, which means we never see your number and you never see ours. Standard text messaging rates do apply. To subscribe, send an individual text message to: 81010 with the message @dpwildcats. Follow the instructions you receive via text message to complete your registration. Seniors also have a text messaging service. To subscribe, send an individual text message to: 81010 with the message @dpseniors
Upcoming Events
October 11th - End of the First Quarter and Early Release for Jr/Sr High School Students. Students are dismissed from school at 11:15a.m. this day. Lunches are still provided
October 24th and 25th - Conferences (No School for Students)
November 5th - Teacher In-Service Day (No School for Students)
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