The Riflemen Review

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month:

Dates: September 15 – October 15, 2026.

2026 Theme: "Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together".

Upcoming Events:

• October 12 - No School for Students
• October 13 - Parent Teacher Conferences - see Academics for more information
• October 29 - 7th/8th grade Dance right after school until 4:30pm (students can ride the late bus home). Students can only miss 1 day of school between 10/5 - 10/29 and cannot have ISR, OSR, or OSS between those dates as well.
• November 12th - 5:00pm - 7pm - International Night

• We still have a no cell phone policy in place per the governor of Virginia. If cell phones are on campus, they are to be off and away in a backpack. The first offense is the phone taken from the student for the day, the second offense is to have parents come pick up the phones. Therefore, we should not have headphones or earbuds since we have nothing to listen to. Please help us keep our instruction cell phone free so we can make sure students have all the information needed to be successful.
• Dress code is still the same and is being enforced. Please review here. We are seeing a lot of students with bare midriffs and will be offering shirts for the day as needed.
• Here is the 26-27 Parent Student Handbook for WPS.

Please feel free to call the office if you have any questions or concerns.

Lisa Pluska

Principal, Daniel Morgan Middle School

(540) 667-7171

pluskal@wps.k12.va.us

Join Dr. Van Heukelum and the Winchester Education Foundation to learn about the capital needs of WPS and the Foundation's initiatives prior to the referendum vote in November.

• Thursday, October 8, 2026 / 6-6:30 p.m. / Douglas School, 598 N Kent St

• October 15, 2026 / 6:00 p.m. / Daniel Morgan Middle School

Winchester Public Schools does not advocate for or against ballot measures. Our role is to share clear, factual information so community members can understand the referendum and the capital needs of the school division.

Parent teacher conferences will be held October 13th, 2026 from 3:45 - 6:00 pm. To sign up for a conference go to https://pickatime.com/DMMS/Fall2026

If you need help signing up you can click here for directions in English and here for directions in Spanish

If the times are full, reach out to the teacher to schedule another time.

After school remediation and clubs have started at DMMS. If your child is interested, we have permission forms in the office. The remediation will help recover any absences as well as help pull up grades. We do have buses to transport students home.

If students only miss 1 day or less and do not have ISR, OSR, or OSS between 10/5 and 10/29, they will be eligible to attend our After School Dance on October 29th. One of our priorities this year is attendance. We will be getting in touch at 3 days, 5 days, and more to make sure you are aware of how quickly the absences add up. As students miss days, we have after school remediation available to recover absences. Keep in mind that chronic absenteeism is missing 10% of the school year whether it is excused or unexcused. Please send your students to school unless they are sick. When you miss a day, there is a lot of instruction that is missed and difficult to regain.

The Rising Riflemen Program is back! Each teacher is nominating a student that shows PRIDE every day. There will be a ceremony to celebrate the students on October 19th right after school. Families will be invited and we will have pizza.

This is a way to celebrate when students are following the rules and showing PRIDE. Please view the matrix and see what we are teaching students as far as behaviors are concerned. We will be asking students what PRIDE stands for and if they know, there will be prizes. Let us know if you have any concerns.

Full Fall Sports Events Calendar

SPIRIT NIGHT at Chipotle on October 5th from 5-9PM!