The Downing Dispatch: Summer Update

Hello Diamondback Families,

We have had an amazing first two weeks of school! Students have done a wonderful job in finding their way to their classes, helping each other out, and working with teachers to develop classroom expectations so that they have a successful school year.

Our current enrollment has jumped up to 687 students this year, which is a significant increase from two years ago where we topped out at 537 students! It is really exciting to see our hallways, classrooms, and cafeteria full of happy and excited young adults. In order to accommodate the increase in enrollment, we have had to make some changes in our morning arrival and lunches, but it is working extremely well. For morning arrival, we currently have the 8th grade students in the 1200 hallway, where they have plenty of room to talk with friends, finish up homework, or just relax before the start of their busy day. Breakfast is still available and there are several tables assigned for eating breakfast.

We have also started the year with assigned tables at lunch. 6th grade students sat together with their 4th period classmates and 7th and 8th grade students sat with their 5th period classmates. Our goal was to provide students an opportunity to become acquainted with cafeteria expectations. We also wanted to provide opportunities for of our New to Downing students to have a chance to go to lunch without having to deal with anxiety of where to sit or worry about sitting alone. Thursday, the 7th and 8th graders were able to choose where and with who they wanted to sit with, and I am happy to say there was not one student in either lunch that was sitting by themselves. 6th graders will have their first opportunity to choose their seats on Monday.

We would also like to thank you for being patient with the bus delays, we know it can be frustrating for students and parents when the bus picks up late and drops off late. Most buses run more than one route, meaning drivers will pick up and drop off elementary students before starting their middle school route. If there is a situation with the elementary route then delays will occur. Noticeable improvements in pickup and dropoff times occur after the 1st few weeks.

Parent pickup in the afternoons has also improved and the parking lots are usually clear by 3:50. We do however have one request, if you pickup your child in the North lot off of Waketon Rd. please do not wait in the turn lane on Waketon if the loop in the parking lot is full. Instead of waiting in the road, we ask that you pull into the parking lot and park in one of the available spaces and have your child carefully walk to your vehicle. This will reduce backup on the road and decrease the risk for an accident.

Finally, please check with your child to see if they have updated their iPad password. We provided time and instructions on how to reset student passwords during their advisory period. If they did not update their password, then they must do it before 10:00pm tonight before the district automatically resets it for them. Please click HERE for instructions on how to do that.

Thank you for your continued support, we appreciate everything you do to help make Downing a GREAT school!

Glen Croll - Principal

Connie Ford - Assistant Principal

Melissa Jones _ Assistant Principal

Monday, Aug. 24th:

• .7th Grade Girls Volleyball vs. Griffin @ Downing: D1 - 5:30, D2 - 6:30, D3 - 7:30

Tuesday, Aug. 25th:

• PTA General Meeting in Cafeteria: 5:00pm

• Open House - See below for more information: 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Wednesday, Aug. 26th:

• Tutorials Begin

Thursday, Aug. 27th:

• 8th grade Girls Volleyball @ Griffin MS: D1 - 5:30, D2 - 6:30
• Special School Board Meeting: Adopt Budget/Tax Rate: 6:00 - 9:00

Friday, Aug. 28th:

• Fall Picture Day - School photos will be taken through PE classes.

• End of the 3-week grading period.

• Choir and Orchestra Fitting Day: 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Dorian studios will be here Friday, August 28th for fall pictures. Information on photo packages and pricing will go out at the beginning of this week. Students will also be receiving their school ID's immediately after getting their picture taken. The ID policy will then go into effect on Monday, August 31st.

All Downing 8th-grade students will have the opportunity to take the College Board PSAT in October.

The College Board requires that parents request accommodations for the PSAT. This is not a requirement, but if your student receives accommodations through 504 or Special Education, you can request that they receive their testing accommodations on the PSAT.

If you would like to request accommodations for this upcoming PSAT, please complete the PARENT CONSENT FORM then attached the completed form to an email and send to Mrs. Ford at fordcs@lisd.net.

The College Board's deadline to submit accommodation requests for this year's PSAT tesing is August 24th.

This year, all LISD middle schools have switched time slots with the high schools meaning school will start earlier in the and also finish earlier. Please see below for opening times and dismissal times.

The new bell schedule is below. Remember that the arrival and dismissal times for all LISD middle schools have changed this year. Doors will open at 7:40 am and students will be dismissed at 3:40 pm. Instructional time will be from 8:15 am to 3:40 pm.

Please review the above table to determine which lunch your child will go to. All sixth grade students will eat their lunches during A-lunch. 7th and 8th grade students will go to lunch based on who their 5th period teacher is. If your child's 5th period teacher is listed under B-lunch, then they will go to the cafeteria after 4th period, eat lunch and then go to 5th period. Students in C-lunch will go to 5th period first then lunch after 5th period is over.

Please remember to complete the annual Skyward Qmlativ online forms and pay the annual iPad insurance fee. These two items are due on August 28th. Any students who have unpaid iPad fees or who do not have completed online forms will have their school-issued iPad collected starting on September 8th. Reminders will be sent to families to ensure that beginning of year items are completed and that iPads remain with the student(s).

Why Should I Join the PTA?

PTA membership and dues support your child by funding essential educational and curriculum needs; advocating on behalf of children and educators at the local, state and national levels, and building an inclusive school community for all families.

Join PTA for your child because increasing our membership, even by one, makes it possible to provide important educational resources, speak up on important issues and create a stronger school community. Click on the graphic at the right to join!

August 30: Deadline to complete Skyward Online forms.

August 31: 7th Grade Volleyball vs. Lamar MS @ Downing: D1 - 5:30, D2 - 6:30, D3 - 7:30

August 31: 7th Grade Football Scrimmage @ MHS

September 1: 8th Grade Football vs. Creek Valley MS @ LHS-Harmon HS

September 3: Parent University - Tech. Tip Night

September 7: Labor Day - School Holiday!!!!

September 8: 7th Grade Football at FMHS

September 8: LISD Board Work Session

September 9: Faculty Meeting - No afterschool tutorials or practices

September 9: 7th Grade Girls Volleyball vs. Hedrick at Downing

September 11: Texas 1st Responders Day & 9/11 Remembrance

To view more a more comprehensive calendar of events please click here for the Downing Calendar.

Visit LISD.net/Calendar for additional information on district-wide events. To download the 2024-2025 Academic Calendar, click HERE.

Please consider sharing your appreciation with a District Recognize Someone Card during the upcoming year! You can even have your students participate!

Want to share how a Downing or LISD staff member has gone above and beyond! Click here for the district Recognize Someone form. These submissions are printed and then shared at staff meetings to celebrate each other!