DMIS Morgan Messenger

We are officially into Quarter 2, and we want to start by saying THANK YOU to everyone who attended our Parent-Teacher Conference Night this past week! It was wonderful to see so many families come out to learn more about their child's progress, celebrate successes, and discuss ways we can continue working together to support their growth. A strong home-school partnership makes a tremendous difference in student success, and we appreciate the time you took to connect with our teachers. We also want to give a BIG shoutout to our amazing PTO for providing snacks for our teachers during their long afternoon and evening of conferences! Those little acts of kindness go a long way, and we appreciate the continued support!

🎳 October 30 – PBIS Celebration & Costume Day!

Our next schoolwide PBIS Celebration is coming up on Friday, October 30! Students will have opportunities to participate in fun activities throughout the school day, and eligible students will also have the opportunity to attend our bowling field trip!

Bowling Field Trip Eligibility

To attend the bowling trip, students must meet BOTH of the following requirements:

• ZERO major behavior referrals during the October eligibility period AND

• Must NOT be chronically absent (missing more than 10% of school days so far this year)

📝 We Need Those Permission Slips!

Permission slips were sent home last week, but we've only received about half of them back! If your child has not returned their permission slip, please send it back as soon as possible! We are also asking families to consider sending a $5 donation to help offset the cost of the bowling trip. Your support helps us continue providing these fun experiences for our students!

🎃 It's Also COSTUME DAY!

October 30 is also our next School Spirit Day, and this time we're celebrating with COSTUME DAY!

Students are encouraged to dress up and show their school spirit! The hallway with the highest participation will win the SPIRIT STICK! Will Green Hall keep its winning streak alive, or will another hallway finally take the title? We can't wait to find out!

❤️ Red Ribbon Week – October 26–30

Get ready for a week of school spirit with an important message! October 26–30 is Red Ribbon Week at DMIS! Red Ribbon Week is the largest drug-use prevention awareness campaign in the United States. It is an opportunity for schools, families, and communities to come together to promote healthy choices and a drug-free lifestyle. Throughout the week, students will have opportunities to show their support by participating in themed dress-up days. We hope to see lots of participation as our Generals come together to celebrate making healthy, positive choices!

🍬 PTO Candy Fundraiser – October 26–30

Our PTO has another fun fundraiser coming up! During the week of October 26–30, the PTO will be selling candy for a short period of time after each lunch.

🍭 When: October 26–30
🍫 Where: After student lunch periods
💵 Payment: CASH ONLY

Students who would like to purchase candy should bring cash. Thank you for supporting our PTO! The money raised helps support activities and opportunities for our students and staff throughout the year.

🌎 International Night – Save the Date!

One of our favorite DMIS traditions is coming soon! We are excited to announce our annual International Night! 📅 Thursday, November 12 ⏰ 5:00–7:00 PM

International Night is a wonderful opportunity for our school community to come together and celebrate the many cultures, traditions, and backgrounds that make DMIS such a special place!

🌟 We Need YOU! We are still looking for families who would be interested in hosting a table to share their culture with our community. Whether you would like to share traditions, clothing, music, art, photographs, artifacts, or other aspects of your family's culture, we would LOVE to have you participate! Interested in hosting a table or getting involved? 📱 Scan the QR code below to sign up!

You don't have to host a table to attend. We hope all of our families will mark their calendars and join us for this special evening!

Thank you again for helping us have such a wonderful first quarter. We are incredibly proud of the progress our students have made, and we are excited to continue building on that success during Quarter 2. We have a lot of fun events ahead, but our biggest priority remains helping every General learn, grow, make positive choices, and take ownership of their success. Thank you for being such an important part of our DMIS community!

Sam Gates
Principal, Daniel Morgan Intermediate School

• October 19- DM Cross Country @ Skyline (5:30)
• October 21- DM Football @ Romney (6:00)

• All Week- Red Ribbon Week & PTO Candy Fundraiser & Wrestling Tryouts (there are no cuts)
• October 30- PBIS Event & Spirit Day

5th Grade ELA:

In ELA this October, we are diving into nonfiction after wrapping up our reading of Walk Two Moons. During the month, students will read The Flu of 1918, Volcano: The Eruption of Mt. St. Helens, and Oceans, and we will continue into November with a nonfiction text about the Sun. As we explore these texts, students will practice identifying text features and explaining how they help readers better understand nonfiction information. We will also focus on identifying text structures and organizational patterns and discussing how they help us understand what the author wants us to know. Along the way, students will continue building important nonfiction reading skills such as finding the main idea, summarizing key information, and strengthening overall comprehension.

5th Grade Math:

Students are wrapping up their learning from quarter 1 with an end of quarter assessment to see how much they retained. Teachers are doing two full days of review before students test on Tuesday, October 6th. October 9th marks the end of the first quarter. Students continue whole number calculations in this next 3 week unit , expanding their work to include solving contextual problems with larger numbers. Students apply estimation skills along with calculating exact answers as a further way to strengthen their number sense. Contexts for problem solving include data collected from an application of the data cycle. We will really be working with students to justify their reasoning when solving problems.

5th Grade Science:

In October, our 5th-grade scientists are charging into our electricity and magnetism unit by solving a hands-on lab puzzle: The Mystery of the Classroom STEM Station. Students will investigate why a light bulb needs a complete pathway to turn on, why a paper clip lets electricity flow while a rubber eraser stops it, and how a wire-wrapped nail can magically transform into a magnet when connected to a battery. Through collaborative experiments, they will act as electrical engineers to discover how electrical circuits flow, explore static electricity, and learn how electricity can create magnetism (electromagnetism). You can support your student at home by having them hunt for conductors and insulators around the house or testing out static electricity with a balloon!

6th Grade ELA:

During the month of October, we will finish reading The Lightning Thief at the beginning of the month. As we complete the novel, students will finish their plot mountains and identify the protagonist and antagonist while examining how the author’s word choice helps readers better understand the plot and characters. Students will then select a scene from the novel and rewrite it from the perspective of a different character, giving them an opportunity to explore how changing the narrator’s perspective can change the way a scene is presented.

6th Grade Math:

6th grade students are finishing their unit on coordinate plane and congruence. They will be taking an end of quarter test on October 6th which will assess what they have retained after two full days of review in class. The first quarter ends on October 9th. The next unit is entitled Operations with Integers and One Step Linear Equations. During this unit, students work with representing integers in a variety of ways that lead to computation. Students will learn to add, subtract, multiply, and divide integers, including absolute value and contextual problems. This allows for revisiting plotting ordered pairs on a coordinate plane and applying integer computation to finding the distance between two points with the same first or second coordinate. Then students will apply their knowledge of integer operations to equations, starting with algebraic vocabulary and ending with creating and solving one step linear equations.

6th Grade Science:

In October, our 6th-grade scientists are stepping into the microscopic world of matter, atoms, elements, and compounds by tackling a real-world puzzle: The Mystery of the Crumbling Bridge. Students will investigate how a strong, shiny metal bridge can transform into crumbly, reddish-brown rust without adding or losing any matter. Through hands-on exploration, they will act as science detectives to discover how atoms rearrange like building blocks to create entirely new substances with brand-new properties. You can support your student at home by asking them to point out everyday chemical changes around the house, like rust on an old bicycle or an apple turning brown!

6th Grade History:

This month in history class, students will be exploring Colonial America and the American Revolution. Students will explore the unique characteristics of the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies, examining how geography shaped daily life, economies, and regional interdependence. We will analyze diverse perspectives of colonial life—from large landowners and artisans to indentured servants and enslaved African Americans—and trace how growing tensions over self-rule and British policies led to revolution. Finally, students will study the French and Indian War, the Declaration of Independence, key battle strategies, and the vital leadership roles played by historical figures like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.

Being at school matters! Consistent attendance is a crucial part of the learning process. When students miss school, they don't just miss assignments—they miss instruction, classroom discussions, collaboration, practice, and opportunities for teachers to provide immediate support.

What is Attendance Recovery?

Attendance Recovery gives students in grades 5–12 an opportunity to make up missed school time. It takes place after school, in person, with a licensed teacher and helps students recover learning and instructional time they may have missed while absent. We strongly encourage families to take advantage of Attendance Recovery opportunities when they are offered.

📊 What Does "Chronically Absent" Mean?

A student who misses 10% of the school year—approximately 18 days—is considered chronically absent. Importantly, this includes both excused AND unexcused absences.

For Attendance Recovery purposes: 3 hours of Attendance Recovery = 1 recovered absence day

📱 Check Your Child's Attendance

Families can monitor attendance through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Look under: Attendance Monitor → Dashboard → ADA/ADM Chart. Our goal is for every student to maintain attendance of 90% or higher. Please note: Attendance Recovery will not be reflected in PowerSchool until the end of the school year.

Why Does Attendance Recovery Matter?

Students who are chronically absent and do not take advantage of Attendance Recovery opportunities may be unable to participate in certain culminating activities, extracurricular school events, dances, or graduation ceremonies. If we contact you about Attendance Recovery, please take advantage of the opportunity! Our goal is to work together with families to help students recover missed instructional time and stay on track.

Please check out the WPS Division News webpage for more information about events happening around our division.

📖 Parent & Student Handbook

The Winchester Public Schools Student Services Department maintains a division-wide Parent & Student Handbook that serves as an excellent resource for families throughout the school year. We encourage all families to use the Parent & Student Handbook as your first point of reference, as you'll find answers to many common questions throughout the year.