DKMS Newsletter

Happy Tuesday DKMS families! We had a great two day week in the middle school!

My message will be short this week, but here are a few reminders:

• Students will have new RASL classes starting Monday, so please have your child check their schedule on PowerSchool.
• Next week Thursday December 5, 2024 our band will be having their Holiday concert in the high school LGI at 7:00 pm.
• December 20, 2024 is the end of the first semester and the end of second grading period. When students return on Monday they will have 3 weeks (15 days) to bring up grades and finish strong.
• December 18th, 19th, 20th are all half days of school.
• It is getting colder outside, please make sure your child is dressing to go out for recess during their lunch period.

As always I would like to thank our students, staff, families, and community for their hard work and support. I want to give a special shout out to everyone who donated food items for our Thanksgiving baskets. It is amazing to see our Delton community help those in need! I hope everyone enjoys their days off and gets some quality time with friends and family to watch football, shop, eat, and be near one another. I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

It's a great day to be a PANTHER!!!

PS- If you are in the giving mood, please give blue some luck on Saturday in The Game.

Thank you,

Bobby Tillman

Principal

Delton Kellogg Middle School

6325 Delton Rd

Delton, MI 49046

(269) 623-1541

We’re excited to announce that Mrs. Collins, our school counselor, is facilitating a 7th-grade girls group called ROX (Reclaiming Our Experience) this year! This program, made possible by funding from DKEF, is designed to help girls build confidence, resilience, and a strong sense of self.

ROX is a national non-profit program focused on research and education, with the goal of empowering girls to take control of their relationships, experiences, decisions, and futures. Through engaging activities and discussions, girls in the program will learn how to navigate challenges, develop leadership skills, and make positive choices that set them up for success.

We’re thrilled to offer this opportunity to some of our 7th graders this year, and we look forward to expanding the program to reach even more girls next year.

To learn more about the ROX program and how it’s making a difference, please take a moment to watch the short 1.5-minute video below.

We can’t wait to see the positive impact this program will have on our students!

In Mrs. Podolan's Academic Plus class, a project was initiated for 7th-grade students that encouraged creativity and critical thinking through the genre of mystery writing. The students were tasked with crafting their own original mystery stories, which would not only challenge their narrative skills but also their ability to build suspense and develop engaging characters.

Once the writing process was complete, students polished their drafts through peer reviews, receiving constructive feedback to refine their plots and improve their writing style. After final edits, the students prepared to present their mysteries to the class. On presentation day, the classroom was transformed into an exciting reading theatre. Each student took the stage, sharing excerpts from their stories.

This month, our Middle School Staff Wellness Team created the Fall Turkey Trot Staff Step Challenge as a fun and engaging way to promote health and wellness among our staff members. This challenge is part of a series of health and wellness activities funded by our "Building Healthy Communities" grant.

Staff members formed teams of 3-4 people. Each team then tracked their combined step count throughout the week of November 18-22, 2024. The team with the most steps at the end of the week were crowned the winners!

The team with the most steps (and a very close finish!) were:

1st Place: The BUTTERBALLS
Total Steps: 356,463

With only 4,000 steps separating 1st from 2nd place, it was a tight race!

Congratulations to Renae Anson, Penny Whitmore, Katie Ingle, and Denise Ingle for going the distance and earning the title of Most Steps for the week.

Here’s how the rest of the teams finished:

2nd Place: The Office – 352,963 steps
3rd Place: Up for Anything – 303,339 steps
4th Place: 6ers – 297,100 steps
5th Place: Dooders +1 – (No Friday steps reported)

The Fall Turkey Trot was just the beginning! Our wellness challenges are designed to keep our staff motivated and engaged throughout the school year. We look forward to offering more opportunities for staff to stay active and healthy, with another challenge coming up in January 2025.

1. Who’s in your family? My Husband Randy, myself, Our sons Mason, Nick and Zack, and our daughters Sydney, Bri, and Taylor. We have 5 grandchildren, 4 grandsons (2 of them are twins), and one granddaughter. We also have 2 exchange daughters Maren, and Emily. They are both from Germany. We have 2 cats Ricky Bobby, and Cal Naughton.

2. Do you have a special family tradition? For Thanksgiving, the evening before, some of us make homemade stuffing for our dinner. The recipe that we use is one that my mom has used for years.

3. What’s your favorite family vacation spot? We love Holden Beach, North Carolina. I would like to go to Germany, where our exchange daughters are from.

4. What do weekends with your family look like? All of our children have moved out and have their own lives. Our weekends are spent with our exchange daughter Emily. We do home projects, go out to eat (we love Ten Ten), and watch movies.

5. What inspired you to start working in education? Working with students is meaningful, and gives you a sense of purpose. I can honestly say that I was nervous to be a para in middle school, but I have grown to love everyone….students, and staff. This is truly the best and most fulfilling job that I have ever had.

6. How long have you been a part of our school community? I went to Delton Schools myself. I started here in 9th grade. My favorite thing about working here is…we are like family (our staff and students), and we make a great team…each and every one of us.

7. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? If it was possible to be in 2 places at once, I think I could benefit from this, and be able to spend more time with my loved ones.

8. What’s something students or staff might not know about you? My husband was my 9th grade boyfriend. We are a blended family, and I am a grandma! I also lived in Arizona until I was in 9th grade.

9. Do you have a favorite book or movie that you’d recommend? I love the Left Behind series books. I also love Hallmark Christmas movies (my poor husband, he endures this holiday passion of mine). LOL I personally think he loves them as well. 🙂 The Blind Side is a great movie. It is PG 13.

10. What’s one thing you enjoy doing outside of school? I love to paint. I love to give new life to old furniture (tables, chairs, windows, doors).

11. What advice would you give to students for a successful school year? Be kind to each other, and use the opportunities that are given to you to be successful. If you need help, ask for it. Try not to fall behind. It's easier to ask for help now, and not let unfinished work build up, and become harder to complete.

12. If you weren’t working in education, what do you think you’d be doing? If I wasn’t working in education, I would be working with my husband. He is a real estate appraiser.

13. If your family had a theme song, what would it be? Breathe In Breathe Out Move On by Jimmy Buffett.

14. What was your favorite subject in school, and why? I loved English. I use to write poetry.

15. Who was a teacher or person who inspired you growing up? I loved my 3rd grade teacher. He made learning fun.

16. What’s one thing that always makes you smile during the school day? Ms. Penny 😂

Please follow and double check with Eventlink and your child's coach to ensure there are no schedule changes.

Thank you!

Monday

Basketball (B-7th) - Saugatuck Middle School

When: Mon, Dec 2, 5:00 PM EST - 6:00 PM EST

Location: Delton-Kellogg Middle School

Basketball (B-8th) - Saugatuck Middle School

When: Mon, Dec 2, 6:00 PM EST - 7:00 PM EST

Location: Delton-Kellogg Middle School

Wednesday

Basketball (B-6th) - Comstock High/Middle School

When: Wed, Dec 4, 5:00 PM EST - 6:00 PM EST

Saturday

Competitive Cheer (G-MS) - Thornapple Kellogg High School

When : Sat, Dec 7 (Time TBD)

The athletic department has implemented some new tools and strategies to streamline communication and transparency throughout the department. These new programs should help streamline communication, event ticket purchases and potentially some registrations in the near future.

* Eventlink.com is where information for athletic events and facility usage can be found. Tickets and season passes can be purchased through Eventlink, and you are able to customize your experience by choosing which sports you would like communications from.

* Finalforms.com is where physicals and other important documents should go. These documents can be uploaded by your phone by taking a picture of the document.

* The Athletic Department would prefer all pay to participate payments go through this virtual portal for all Middle School and High School athletes.

Pay to Participate Fees can be paid HERE

PDF of Sports Participation Fees

* Hudl.com is where fans can subscribe to watch live streams of home events that occur at the turf stadium or the High School main gymnasium.

Click here to visit the Delton Hudl Fan Account

* You can also stay up to date with our new athletics social media accounts:

Facebook: Delton Kellogg Athletics

Instagram: DKpanthers

Twitter (X): DKpanthers

Email: tammy.whitmore@dkschools.org

Location: 6325 Delton Road, Delton, MI, USA

Phone: 269-623-1542

Email: brittany.griffith@dkschools.org

Location: 6325 Delton Road, Delton, MI, USA

Phone: 269-623-1542