News from Dudley Middle School

As we all know, the internet, social media, etc. can sometimes present major safety risks to our kids. It has been proven time and again that kids are safer when parents take an active role in monitoring children's social media usage.

In order to do that effectively, we have to try to keep up with trends the best we can. Toward that, the State's Attorney's Office, working in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, is offering a presentation for parents that can be viewed in the comfort of your own home. I have experienced this presentation before, and it is very powerful and informative.

I encourage you to check it out if you can spare the time. In my opinion, and noted on the flyer below, this presentation is not appropriate for 5th and 6th graders. It is geared toward parents, but it may be helpful for some 7th graders and should be ok for just about all 8th graders.

But it will be powerful for parents of any age children.

Online presentation from State's Attorney:

Webinar topic:

Keeping Kids Safe and Secure Online: A Project Safe Childhood Presentation for Parents

Date and time:

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 6:30 PM | (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Register link: Advanced registration is required.

https://usao.webex.com/weblink/register/r83f7d49f6565b65bce8bb420f1cfef7c

January 19 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (No School)

January 20 - Basketball at Algonquin

January 22 - Basketball Home vs. Charlton

January 23 - Quarter 2 Grades Close

January 30 - Quarter 2 Report Cards available on the School Brains Parent Portal

February 16-20 - Winter Vacation

March 6 - Early dismissal for students / Staff training

March 12 - Shepherd Hill Assembly for 8th Graders (8:45)

March 16 and 17 - 8th graders register for classes with Shepherd Hill counselors

March 23-26 - Grade 8 Washington DC Trip

March 26 - Early dismissal for students / Parent Conferences

*the 2nd Quarter ends on January 23.

*the 3rd Quarter begins on January 26. Students will begin some new Unified Arts classes.

*Reports cards will be available on the School Brains Parent Portal on January 30.

Any type of medication whatsoever, including common meds like Tylenol, aspirin, etc., must be administered by the school nurse. Though it may not seem like a big deal, we cannot have students self-administering medicines. I'm sure you can appreciate where that "slippery slope" could lead.

If your have any questions or concerns on this topic, please contact our outstanding school nurse Amanda White (awhite@dcrsd.org), and she can guide you through the proper procedures.

Thank you for your support on this.

...and here in Dudley, we have some of the very best law enforcement officials I have ever worked with. As a department, they have always cared about our students and gone out of their way to help us keep them safe.

Pictured above are the appreciation cards our TLC students created for them. We were happy to offer this thoughtful token of our thanks to a group of people who do so much for our schools.