Davidsen Monthly

End of School Year 2023

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Year-End Wrap Up: Congratulations 8th Grade, Welcome incoming 6th Grade

Happy Summer Break! We wish all of our 8th Graders the best of luck in high school! The class of '23 started middle school during the pandemic and made it through some of the most challenging times faced by anyone, and they did it while in middle school! This graduating class will always have a special place in the hearts of our teachers and administrators. Scroll down for pictures from May including the 8th Grade Awards and 8th Grade Dance.

6th and 7th graders, have a great summer (check out the summer reading recommendations) and we will see you in August!

Summer Reading

Reading for fun can substantially improve your student's academic performance in all areas, especially when they read at or above their reading level. That's why finding a good book that your student will enjoy is so important. Click here for the full list of summer reading Recommendations and other summer reading ideas. Titles on the newly announced 2023-24 SSYRA list will also be featured in the Battle of the Books and SLAM Showcase that takes place in the Spring. If your student wants to participate in this fun contest and field trip with Ms. Suits, they can get a head start now. Ms. Suits has also compiled an additional list of books that your student may enjoy and will reward new and returning students who create a brief one page summary about any of these titles with a visual and turn in to Ms. Suits during the first week of school. Happy Summer Reading!

Sunshine State Young Readers Award (SSYRA)
Books 2023-24 Grades 6-8

96 Miles by J. L. Esplin

Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman

A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser

Escape by K. R. Alexander

Hush-A-Bye by Jodi Lee Mott

Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

Linked by Gordan Korman

Long Lost by Jacqueline West

The Monster Missions by Laura Martin

Scout is Not a Band Kid by Jade Armstrong

Skander and the Unicorn Thief by A. F. Steadman

Treasure Tracks by S. A. Rodriguez

Valentina Salazar is Not a Monster Hunter by Zorida Cordova

Wayward Creatures by Danya Lorentz

Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend by Katie Zhao

click here for descriptions and more recommendations

6th Grade Bridge Camp

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6th Grade Bridge Camp: July 26 – 27, 2023

(Please share with an incoming 6th grader you know)

We are excited to meet our new sixth graders! To get acquainted with Davidsen Middle School, all rising 6th graders are encouraged to attend 6th Grade Bridge Camp, a two day camp that will prepare them for the transition into middle school. Students will enjoy campus tours, meet teachers and peers, play team building activities, and ask questions about what to expect. 6th Grade Bridge Camp this year will be July 26 – 27, 2023 from 8am-12pm at Davidsen Middle School. Bridge Camp attendees must have their own transportation. Please register your child for Bridge Camp here. Questions about Bridge Camp may be directed to Mrs. Brandi Kane

May

Award Ceremonies

Davidsen recognized students by grade level at Award Ceremonies in May.

Davidsen teachers and admin were pleased to present the 8th Grade Awards with a special ceremony on May 16 where many students were recognized for their accomplishments throughout their time at Davidsen. Congratulations to everyone who was recognized this year!

Distinguished Dragons 2023

The 2023 Distinguished Dragons are Evangelina Bennett, Jack Herman, Sam Garmendia, Daniela Perez-Perez, and Brian Perez. This award is given each year to five 8th graders who demonstrate outstanding academics, strength of character, and other achievements that made them shining examples during their time at Davidsen.

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Dance Student Choreography Showcase

Dance students performed their own original choreography at the DMS Dance Student Showcase on May 3rd.

Good luck to all my 8th graders!
You will always be a part of the Davidsen Dance Department.
Never stop dancing.
Love Ms. Mac

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Business Technology

In Coding Fundamentals students have been using sprites, counter-patterns, loops, and conditional statements to create their own computer games with Java Script. They are doing an amazing job and many have over 100 lines of code!

Business Keyboarding students have just developed ideas for a new Theme Park and have created flyers, business cards, and other real-world documents to communicate the information.

Digital Information Technology students just finished a unit in Excel where they calculated employment taxes and net income. They are now working with Data Types to pull real-time data into their spreadsheets. We also just had eleven DIT students earn the Entrepreneurship and Small Business Industry Certification!

Chorus Spring Concert

Davidsen Chorus performed their fun filled Spring Concert on May 1st and celebrated a great year of singing and music with songs from movies and musicals.

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Band Spring Concert

Davidsen Bands performed a great Spring Concert entitled Castles and Kings on May 9. The audience was treated to a great night of music, story telling, and celebrating a great year. Ms. Jones gave one of her heart felt speeches thanking everyone for supporting their young students in music. She strongly encourages 8th graders to continue playing in high school, and is looking forward to seeing her 6th and 7th graders next year.

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Orchestra: A note from Mr. Donataccio

I would first like to recognize the Chamber Orchestra as they move into high school. This group of musicians was a joy to teach and was always up for a challenge. I look forward to watching each one of you continue to progress and excel throughout high school and beyond.

We have a motivated and excited group of String Orchestra members that will form to make the Chamber Orchestra for 23-24. These students have completed Book 1 and are ready to advance musically to the next level. Members of the 6th grade beginning orchestra always seem to exceed my expectations. I'm so proud of their progress this year and look forward to the leadership of this group of students!

Band and Orchestra Summer Camps

Ms. Jones and Mr. Donataccio encourage all of their students to attend a great college based summer camp to improve their skills and have a great time!

USF BAND CAMP (June 12-16)

UF BAND CAMP (June 25-30)
FSU BAND CAMP (July 2-8)

String Orchestra Camp

FSC String Orchestra camp (June 25-30)

Visual Arts

Ms. Hall and Ms. Molina's art students studied surrealism and 3D paper art in May.

Ms. Molina and Ms Hall would like to recognize some students in addition to the 8th grade Art award recipients (Gabriel Hernandez, Jennifer Iannilli, Keila Quintana, Sheila Quintana, Dylan Rodriguez, and Oliver Warner) "We have many deserving 8th grade artists, but were only able to recognize six during the ceremony. The following awesome students also left their mark through their creativity, great attitudes and consistent excellence. We have been lucky to have a great group of young artists and have enjoyed learning from them."

Eduardo Castro, Lara Cirino, Savannah Janssen, Hao Dang, Maria Leon, Lazaro Borrego, Benjamin Bui, Britney Garcia, Tatiana Hernandez, Arianna Kerr, Kayla Knight, Summer Lovitt.

Giovanna Oliveira Cardosso, Camilo Campos Linan, Samuel Garmendia, William Chen, Daniela Gomez, Emma Cruz-Acosta , Avery Hernandez, Angelina Hill, Sarah Lam, Allie Lewis, Carina Long, Abigail Mann, Mariangel Marin, Vanessa Olivera, Jatin Tirado, and Angelina Laffita-Toruno

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Spanish

In Spanish classes, students made posters illustrating different common items like clothing, animals, and foods.

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Culinary

Culinary was busy learning how to make fresh pasta and pita bread in May. Scroll down for Chef Toner's Pita Bread recipe

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Chef Toner's Pita Bread Recipe

Ingredients

1 c. warm water

2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. granulated sugar

3 c. all-purpose flour, divided

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions

In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar and stir until dissolved. Stir in ½ cup flour and let sit for 15 minutes, until mixture foams.

Add oil, salt, and 2 cups flour (reserving ½ cup) and stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy mass forms. Dust a clean surface with some of reserved flour and knead until smooth and elastic, about 7 minutes, adding more of the reserved flour if the dough is too sticky. Dough should be soft and moist. (You can cover the dough and let rest 10 minutes if you need a rest from kneading.)

Place dough in a clean large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Place a pizza stone or large cast-iron skillet in your oven and preheat to 500°. Lightly dust a clean surface with flour. Punch down dough and turn it out onto surface. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll into balls. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes.

Working one at a time, roll each round into a ¼”-thick circle about 8” wide, sprinkling dough with extra flour if it starts to stick.

Working as quickly as possible, open your oven and place as many pitas that will fit on your skillet or stone without touching. Let bake until an air pocket balloons and the pita begins to turn golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining rounds.

Cover baked pitas with a clean kitchen towel to keep warm.

6th Grade Fun

6th Graders had one last 6th grade incentives day last week and got to spend some time relaxing and playing with classmates as a reward for just being hard working students!

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8th Grade Dance 2023

8th Grade Dance: Starry Night

Last weekend we celebrated our 8th Graders at the 8th Grade Dance. Our amazing 8th Grade Committee fully transformed cafeteria into a "Starry Night" banquet with a DJ who had the kids dancing for hours. We'd like to thank Principal Arena, Assistant Principal Williams, and all of the parents and teachers who volunteered who helped host this very special night for our graduating 8th graders.

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Thank you 8th Grade Dance Committee!

Want to help out with next year's 8th Grade events? email president@davidsenptsa.org

Last Day of School: Teachers vs Students Volleyball

We had a great time celebrating the last day of school with a teachers vs students volleyball match before saying goodbye for the summer. Congratulations 8th graders, we know you will make many more amazing memories and accomplish new goals in high school and beyond!

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Thanks for reading this Newsletter

We hope you are enjoying this monthly newsletter, please give it a "like" to show your support! Stay tuned for more pictures and updates in the end of the year wrap up next month!

MAY DATES

July 26 & 27: 6th Grade Bridge Camp

August 8: Open House

August 10: First Day of School

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Join the PTSA Board

Each year the PTSA welcomes and says goodbye to board and committee members as they follow their students through grades and graduations. This means that each year our PTSA encourages and invites new parents and family members to step up to join the PTSA Board.

The PTSA board and committees support students, parents, and teachers by planning, raising funds, and volunteering in the areas of special events, academic incentives, teacher grants, and many other ways that help make middle school a fun and fruitful time for our kids.

You do not need to be a stay-at-home parent to be a committee or board member! Most of our Board and committee members also work outside of their roles in the PTSA. The number one predictor of student success is parental involvement. If you have any time in your schedule, joining our PTSA as a committee or board member is one of the most valuable ways to invest that time. Email PTSA president Scott Heydt if you would like to learn more about how to get more involved in supporting your student and the Dragon family by joining the PTSA Board.

Visit DavidsenPTSA.org

Reminders

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Dragons Den (on Canvas) is where school-wide announcements are posted for students and parents. Students can also go to Dragon's Den to contact guidance counselors, see athletics announcements, and even order a yearbook. When logged into Canvas, click on Dragon's Den, then go to the Home Page to see a menu of choices, or click on "announcements" to see all the latest school-wide news.

You can also have Dragon's Den announcements emailed to you.

To make sure you are receiving emails from Dragons Den, go to "settings' in Canvas, click 'email notifications' > 'announcements' then select "immediately", "daily", or "weekly".

Don't miss school-wide news posted by teachers, administrators, or the PTSA!

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Join Davidsen Dragons on Facebook

Click here to join the private group for important reminders, updates, and pictures!

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Canvas

Canvas is a required digital platform for all students, and it's also a great tool for supporting your student by allowing you to monitor grades and encourage them to make the effort they need to do well in all of their classes. All students and teachers use Canvas for grading and communication.

Important school wide announcements are also made on Canvas via the "Dragon's Den" page.

By having the Canvas app on your phone, you can easily check in with your student's teachers and see grades as they are entered by teachers.

https://hcpscanvasproject.azurewebsites.net

For more information on setting up Canvas, click here

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Help Davidsen students stay cell phone free

Davidsen is a no cell phone school, and we are taking more steps this year to ensure students are free from the distractions created by cell phone use. Our vibrant school culture benefits when our students are mentally present and paying attention. Focus, participation, and productivity are essential to learning and doing well in school.

We ask parents and guardians to help our efforts by refraining from texting, calling, or otherwise messaging your student's phone during school hours. Any important communication may be made with Ms. Bryant in the front office, who will contact your student's teacher. Students may also contact you as needed by asking their teacher.

Students may bring a cell phone to school but it may only be used when a teacher requires it.

The cell phone rule also applies between classes and during lunch.

The Davidsen administration strongly believes that barring cell phone use in school is beneficial to our students' productivity, attention level, personal development, and more. We thank you for joining us in helping to promote and uphold our student-centered cell phone policy.

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School Hours and lunch times

Every Monday students are released one hour early.

Bell Schedule and Lunch times

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Lunch Pass Reminder

Enjoy time to read, study, build, or relax during lunch periods. Any students who would like to spend time in the Media Center after they have eaten lunch may sign up in the cafeteria.

How to get a Media Center Lunch Pass:

The sign-up notebook is located on the stage of the cafeteria. Add your name to the list when you enter the cafeteria. After eating lunch, ask for permission to pick up your pass from the stage. Bring your belongings and your pass to the Media Center check out desk and sign in. Stay in the Media Center until the bell rings, then go to your next class.

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Campus Safety and FortifyFL

Campus safety is a top priority for all students and staff. You can also help keep our school safe and secure by downloading a new app created in 2018 as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. FortifyFL was designed to strengthen school security by giving Florida students and the community the ability to report and instantly relay information anonymously concerning threats or other potentially harmful activities to the appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials. Download FortifyFL from the App Store or Google Play. https://getFortifyFL.com

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Davidsen PTSA

The Davidsen PTSA brings parents together with teachers and staff to support all students at Davidsen. By joining the PTSA you can help support important activities, classroom enhancements, and be among the first to hear about news and opportunities.

Join the PTSA

You can also sign up to volunteer with the PTSA by emailing dmsvols@gmail.com

Volunteers must also complete the district volunteer form.

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Davidsen Middle School Center for the Arts

Email: stacy.arena@hcps.net
Website: https://www.hillsboroughschools.org/davidsen
Location: 10501 Montague Street, Tampa, FL 33626, USA
Phone: (813) 558-5300
Facebook: facebook.com/davidsenptsa
Twitter: @davidsendragons

Davidsen Monthly

End of School Year 2023

Translate - Traducir

Year-End Wrap Up: Congratulations 8th Grade, Welcome incoming 6th Grade Year-End Wrap Up: Congratulations 8th Grade, Welcome incoming 6th Grade

Summer Reading Summer Reading

6th Grade Bridge Camp 6th Grade Bridge Camp

6th Grade Bridge Camp: July 26 – 27, 2023

May May

Award Ceremonies Award Ceremonies

Distinguished Dragons 2023 Distinguished Dragons 2023

Dance Student Choreography Showcase

Business Technology

Chorus Spring Concert

Band Spring Concert Band Spring Concert

Orchestra: A note from Mr. Donataccio

Band and Orchestra Summer Camps

Visual Arts Visual Arts

Spanish

Culinary Culinary

Chef Toner's Pita Bread Recipe

6th Grade Fun 6th Grade Fun

8th Grade Dance 2023 8th Grade Dance 2023

8th Grade Dance: Starry Night

Last Day of School: Teachers vs Students Volleyball

Thanks for reading this Newsletter

MAY DATES MAY DATES

Join the PTSA Board

Visit DavidsenPTSA.org Visit DavidsenPTSA.org

Reminders

Join Davidsen Dragons on Facebook

Canvas

Help Davidsen students stay cell phone free

School Hours and lunch times

Lunch Pass Reminder

Campus Safety and FortifyFL

Davidsen PTSA

Davidsen Middle School Center for the Arts

Join Davidsen Dragons On Facebook Join Davidsen Dragons On Facebook

Year-End Wrap Up: Congratulations 8th Grade, Welcome incoming 6th Grade

Summer Reading

6th Grade Bridge Camp

May

Award Ceremonies

Distinguished Dragons 2023

Band Spring Concert

Visual Arts

Culinary

6th Grade Fun

8th Grade Dance 2023

MAY DATES

Visit DavidsenPTSA.org

Join Davidsen Dragons On Facebook