Denmark Digest

As we begin another school year at Denmark High School, I have been thinking about the idea that our lives are often defined not by ordinary days, but by extraordinary moments: moments that shape us, connect us, and stay with us for years to come.

High school is filled with those moments.

Some are the big milestones we all anticipate - a first day of school, Friday night lights, the opening night of a musical, a championship game, earning a driver's license, homecoming, prom, graduation, or receiving an acceptance letter. But many of the moments students remember most are much quieter.

They remember the teacher who believed in them before they believed in themselves. The coach who challenged them to become more than they thought they could be. The classmate who invited them to sit at their lunch table. The project that sparked a passion. The performance that took courage. The conversation in the hallway that made them feel seen.

Those moments don't happen by accident. They happen because people choose to be present and involved.

One of the greatest gifts we can give our students is the opportunity to be part of something larger than themselves. Whether that is joining a club, competing on a team, performing on a stage, serving through a student organization, participating in academic competitions, or simply attending school events and cheering on classmates, involvement creates connection. Connection creates belonging. And belonging creates memories that last a lifetime.

As parents, I encourage you to help your student say "yes" this year. Encourage them to try something new, attend an event they might otherwise skip, or introduce themselves to someone they don't know.

The school year will move quickly. Assignments will be completed; tests will be taken; seasons will begin and end. But years from now, I hope our students won't just remember what they learned. I hope they remember that they felt encouraged, challenged, included, and inspired as Denmark Danes.

Here's to a school year filled with meaningful moments and memories that will last a lifetime and where It's always a Great Day to Be a Dane!

Kim Oliver

We are excited to have our students back on campus for our first day. We will allow a little time for students to arrive to school and then have our Back to School Pep Rally. Please see our alternate bell schedule below.

1st Period: 8:25am-9am

2nd Period: 9:05am-9:40am

3rd Period: 9:45am-11:15am (with pep rally)

4th Period: 11:20am-1:10pm (with lunch)

5th Period: 1:15pm-2pm

6th Period: 2:05pm-2:50pm

7th Period: 2:55-3:40pm

• August 5: Freshman Orientation

• August 5: 10th - 12th Grade Walkabout

• August 6: First Day of School

• August 19 : Curriculum Night

• April 24: Prom

• May 20th: Graduation @ 7:30 PM

Schedules Released: Thursday, July 30th at 10:00 AM

Schedule corrections must be completed in person. Counselors are unable to process schedule correction requests through email or phone because the student’s entire schedule must be reviewed.

Counselors will be available for approved schedule corrections during the following times:

• August 3rd | 1:00–3:00 PM
• August 4th | 1:00–3:00 PM
• August 6th (First Day of School) | All day in the Counseling Suite

Per Forsyth County Schools Course Registration Procedures, schedule corrections can be made for the following reasons ONLY:

• Student has an empty period
• Student has already received credit for a scheduled course
• Student has not met the prerequisite for a scheduled course
• Student needs a specific course to meet graduation requirements
• Administration adjusts class sizes
• Student is requesting a virtual, Dual Enrollment, or IE2 placeholder move from AM to PM or PM to AM (approval is contingent upon the student’s requested face-to-face courses)
• Student schedule says “See Counselor”

To maintain equitable class sizes, schedule changes cannot be made for reasons including, but not limited to:

• Preference of lunch period
• Preference of teacher
• Preference of class period
• Preference of electives

Support SGA and represent your class by ordering your class shirts. On sale now through Schoolpay for $15.00 each.

The 2026 Sports season is right around the corner, and the Dawg Pound is busy working planning to make this year the best student section yet!

We are looking for donations of items that match our football themes so that more students can be "in theme" and involved. Please click HERE to see items you can donate that will help all of our Danes! We appreciate your support.

GO DANES!

Car Rider Line at the Beginning of the School Year

The car rider drop off line is excessively long at the beginning of the school year. If you arrive later than 7:50, your child will most likely not be on time. Many parents drive students the first few days of school. Please see the map below for car rider line instructions.

Morning Carpool:

Please enter the main entrance on Mullinax Road (Yellow Sign on Map Below) for carpool. Once on campus, you will weave through the parking lot (Green Arrows on Map Below); do not pull through parking spaces. When you arrive at the fork (Yellow Arrow on Map Below), you will be directed by a DHS staff member to either go straight or turn. If you are the first car in the group, you will pull all the way to the next DHS staff member (Red Stop Sign on Map Below) and let your student out of the car. Everyone else will pull up to the car in front of them and then let out. There is no passing in the carpool line. Once you have dropped your student off, we will have two lines exiting and will eventually merge into one lane (Orange Caution Sign on Map Below) that will take you back to the main entrance where you entered.

Afternoon Carpool:

Please enter the main entrance on Mullinax Road (Yellow Sign on Map Below) for carpool. Once on campus, you will weave through the parking lot (Green Arrows on Map Below), do not pull through parking spaces. This is also a good time to call/text your student to let them know you are in line. When you arrive at the fork (Yellow Arrow on Map Below), you will be directed by a DHS staff member to either go straight or turn. If you are the first car in the group, you will pull all the way up to the next DHS staff member (Red Stop Sign on Map Below) and pick your student up. In the afternoon carpool line, you may be able to pass in carpool line, but only when a staff member waves you around. Once you have picked up your student, we will have two lines exiting that will eventually merge into one lane (Orange Caution Sign on Map Below). This lane will take you back to the main entrance where you entered.

During the 2026 - 2027 school year, students must have a signed permission form completed by a parent or guardian to participate in any club. Students will need to complete a new form this year even for clubs that they participated in last year.

Please click HERE for a complete list of DHS clubs so that you and your student can plan ahead. Club sponsors will have specific forms for specific clubs. Students must have a signed form for each club submitted to the sponsor before being allowed to attend any events or meetings for the club. If your students would like to be in four clubs, you will need to complete four different forms to submit to the various organizations.

Lockers are available for purchase on school pay (Click HERE for link). Your student can get their locker information from Coach Nelson in the cafeteria during their lunch time, they will just need to show him a copy of the receipt of locker purchase from schoolpay.

Bus Routes:

Students and parents can find bus route information in Parent Portal under the transportation tab. Bus arrival times for the AM routes as well as bus numbers are located in the transportation tab.

Check Outs:

Check ins and check outs to school occur through our attendance office. Students are not permitted to simply leave campus; all students must go through the attendance office when leaving campus outside of their regular dismissal times. Please note, students are not permitted to check out after 3:15 PM.

Drop Off Before School / Pick Up After School:

Parents must drop off students in front of the main entrance both before and after school. This year, we ask that you arrive no earlier than 3:00 PM to pick up your student after school in the car rider line. During dismissal, if your child is not physically present when you arrive in the pickup line, you will be directed to circle back around the parking lot to keep traffic moving and minimize congestion.

Drop Off of Items / Deliveries:

Parents are NOT allowed to drop off any items for students, with the exception of prescription medication that is housed in our clinic.

Payment for Lunch Accounts:

We ask that all parents set up an account with online payments to pay for breakfast and lunch. Please click HERE for the FCS Food and Nutrition Website. You will find the link to MySchoolBucks as well as the forms for Free and Reduced Lunch. You may also access the free and reduced lunch forms HERE.

Transportation for students enrolled in FVA / GAVS Part Time, Dual Enrollment, and/or IE2:

Students who are enrolled in FVA / GAVS part-time, Dual Enrollment, and/or IE2, and come to Denmark HS for some of their classes, MUST enter the building through the front doors only. To ensure the safety and well-being of all Denmark HS students, we ask that all students in this situation arrive no earlier than 5 minutes prior to the start of their first in-person class on Denmark’s campus.

Student Parking

Students have assigned parking spots and must park in the correct numbered spot. Students with a hanging tag can enter from Mullinax or from Fowler.

Please see the graphic that Forsyth County Schools shared with families earlier this summer for a new dress code that was approved by the FCS Board of Education.

Of note:

• Stomachs must be covered.
• No strapless tops.

FCS has stricter guidelines for academic integrity issues for students.

Students must submit their own work, study for summatives and exams, and take a course load that is manageable without using AI, other people and any other method that is not a student's own ideas and work.

Failure to submit work that is not one's own or using unauthorized aids on assignments and assessments will result in consequences listed below.

• First Offense: Parent contact + academic integrity contract + take a different assessment with a maximum assessment score of up to 60%
• Second Offense: Parent contact + loss of credit up to 100% + removal from honor clubs/societies + possible in-school suspension or out-of-school suspension
• Third Offense: Parent Contact + loss of credit up to 100% + possible out-of-school suspension

Academic Integrity offenses will not reset each school year. For example: If a student has an an academic integrity offense during 9 grade and another one in 10 grade, the offense in 10 grade would be considered their second overall offense.

Middle and High School Standardized Assessments: Any suspicion or instances of cheating on standardized tests will be reported to the governing agency and, based on the severity of the behavior, will receive disciplinary consequences. Severe Offenses: Should a student engage in behavior that compromises the integrity of an assessment (i.e. theft of assessment, pictures/dissemination of content, etc.), immediate and more severe consequences (up to a disciplinary tribunal) may be applied.

Absences and late arrivals add up quickly. Please review the graphic below to see how missed time impacts learning.

We appreciate your support in making every day count!

Make up exams for any student who missed a final exam to conclude the 2025 - 2026 school year will occur on Wednesday, August 5th @ 12PM in the DHS Media Center.

Please visit the school website and the corresponding pages, senior info and yearbook info, that are consistently updated with new information

Please mark your calendars for picture day for grades 9 - 11. These photos will occur on September 15th.

Please click HERE to visit the webpage for Food and Nutrition. Also, click HERE for the online application for free and reduced lunch. You must reapply each year for students to receive free and reduced lunch.

High School Prices:

• Breakfast - $2.00
• Lunch - $3.75

Beginning of the Year forms will be made available through Parent Portal on Tuesday, August 4th.

Please check Parent Portal for required permission and handbook sign-off forms. These forms should be signed by parents/guardians by August 19th.

This is also the time to double check all email addresses, mailing addresses, and phone numbers for your family’s household. Contact information should be checked and updated each school year to ensure that you receive important school messengers through your email or phone calls from teachers and other school staff. To do this, log into the Parent Portal and click “More” at the bottom of the menu.

The electronic devices policy will be the same policy that FCS had in place last year.

In alignment with GA HB340, the Distraction-Free Education Act, which mandates that local school systems establish policies governing personal electronic device use for students in kindergarten through 8th grade, Forsyth County Schools has extended these restrictions to include high school students.

• By 8:25 A.M., all devices must be stored in a locker or backpack (not on your person) and powered off.
  

• Devices may not be accessed during or between classes, but students will be able to use them during their assigned lunch period. Students may not use devices on the way to or from the cafeteria or courtyard.

• Devices may be used again after dismissal.
  
  

Personal devices include:

• Cell phones

• Earbuds/headphones

• Smartwatches
  

• Personal Tablets or Laptops

• Smart glasses
  

• Any similar communication/electronic device

Every 9th grade and new student will be issued a school-assigned device (Chromebook) for academic use within the first two weeks of school. Before your students can receive their chromebooks, a permission form must be signed. Students are expected to charge their devices each night and bring them to school each day. Personal laptops and IPads are not permitted.

We are excited to meet our new students and help them get ready for their high school experience! Freshman Orientation will take place on August 5th.

Parents/Guardians will drop off students at 8:00 AM in front of the gym on August 5th. Our first event begins at 8:30 AM. You can join your students after their campus tours and can park in any open spot on campus. Please have a meeting point arranged with your students prior to drop off.

We would like to invite our new 10th - 12th grade students to come into our building on August 5th. You can attend a club fair for opportunities to get connected in our building, walk your schedule, pick up parking passes, etc.

Students who are returning to Denmark are also invited to attend the walkabout on August 5th. You can pick up your parking pass, walk your schedule, and visit the school store.

We look forward to having our parents/guardians on campus to meet their children's teachers in a meet and greet format. We hope to see you on August 19th!

For your planning purposes, we wanted to remind you of the MCV4 vaccination that is required for juniors.

The Denmark High School parking application for 2026-2027 is open to current Seniors and Juniors ONLY. We have many spots still available for students.

Necessary information needed for completing the application online:

• Make, model, color, and license plate number

** We started accepting payment through Schoolpay.com on May 11th; however, Schoolpay is down at this time as our current 2026 - 2027 students are loaded into the program. It should be back up on July 20th.

(If you need to pay with cash or check ($135), we will begin accepting those forms of payment on Wednesday, July 29th).

If you need to create a School Pay account, please click https://schoolpay.com/login/registration

• You will need the student ID number and last name to set up an account
• The parking fee for the 2026-2027 school year is $135.

*Parking Pass Pick Up will begin on Wednesday, July 29th in the front office between 8:00-12:00. Note: passes are not handed out in number order.

Students MUST come in person (no parent or friend) and bring their driver’s license (NO LEARNERS’ PERMITS WILL BE ACCEPTED) and proof of payment (printed receipt or phone receipt) in order to pick up their pass.

· Students that do not pick up their pass BEFORE the first day of school are NOT allowed to drive the first day. You must have your pass in your car before driving into the school lot.

Link to application: https://forms.gle/fxZaff25kjVCVymH9

Please Note:

Parking is a privilege and students are not guaranteed a spot. Extracurricular activities, grade level, and designations such as IE2, Work Based Learning, Mentorship, Out of District and Dual Enrollment DO NOT guarantee preferential parking.

*** Students with 20 or more tardies in the 2025-2026 Spring Semester will not be permitted to park on campus for 2026-2027. If you have any questions, please see your administrator.

We will run a 7 period day on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday each week. Wednesday will be an even period day, and Thursday will be an odd period day.

Who is my counselor?

The DHS Counseling Team is divided by last names. See below for a quick reference and click here if you want to learn more about us!

• Spurlock CHAR-FOR
• Carlson A-CHAP
• Brooks FOS-JOHN
• Sadler JONES-MA
• Shariett MB-PETE
• Lyons PETT-SI
• Locke SL-Z

How do I meet with my counselor?

We are here for you! The best way to contact your counselor is to send them an email or CANVAS message. Our emails are located on the counseling website. Students can also stop by the counseling office. We will meet with them if we are available or will schedule an alternate time to meet.

Peach State Tour

Peach State Tour information sessions will be offered in-person and via Zoom Webinars. These sessions will allow you to learn more about Augusta University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, and the University of Georgia. The closest in person session will be on September 17th at Lambert High School. Register HERE.

26 - 27 FCS Student Calendar

27 - 28 FCS Student Calendar

We have our first interest meeting on August 25th!

For your planning purposes, we have included the midterm schedule. Students are not permitted to take midterms early.