Student Dismissal at 1:30 on Wednesday, May 23 and Thursday, May 24.

DMS Honors Night to Recognize Outstanding Student Achievement, Commitment, and Leadership

The 2012-2013 Honor's Night is approaching fast. The evening is an opportunity to recognize students in front of their parents for the outstanding commitment, leadership, and/or achievement demonstrated in a particular area throughout the year. Due to space, the evening is by invitation only. All students receiving an award will be given their invitation to attend the event. Parents will also be notified. The following is a list of the awards presented: Albert Coleman Jr. Award, Art Awards, Business Award, Technology Award, Outstanding Braodcast Club Member, Georgia Music Educator's Association District 12 Honor Band, Director's Award for Band, Georgia Music Educator's Association District 12 Honor Chorus, GME All State Chorus, Director's Award for Chorus, Cobb County Honor Orchestra, GMEA All State Orchestra Auditions, National Orchestra Award, Orchestra Director's Award, Foreign Language Awards, 6th Grade Character Awards, 7th Grade Character Awards, 8th Grade Character Awards, 8th Grade Citizenship Award, Honor of Progression Award, Perfect Attendance Award, Principal's Honor Roll Award, Honor Roll Award, CCSD Young Author's Award, ESOL Award, Geography Bee Award, waterSmart waterArt Awards, Academic Bowl Team Award, Outstanding Leadership Award, Outstanding Mathematics Award, Advanced Learning Program Academic Honor Awards, Duke University Talent ID Award, Student Forum Award, Eunice Thompson Community Service Award, Presidential Academic Award.

End of the Year Information from Principal Nelson

The 2011-2012 school year has been incredible for Daniell Middle School. Many of our students have been honored for their achievements in the community and at school. Likewise, the school has also been honored for many distinctions this year as listed in the "Kudos" section of the website. On behalf of the faculty and staff, I would like to thank you for your support and volunteerism of our wonderful school. However, school is not over yet. We still have much learning to do and many activities for our students to participate. To help our parents and guardians plan for the many activities, below is a list of important calendar dates. Please call the PTSA Welcome Desk to find out how you can volunteer to help with any of these events or call our main office with any questions you may have.

• May 1st - Purple Out Day for Relay for Life, Elementary Feeder Schools Visit Campus

• May 3rd - May 6th - Fine Arts Students Field Trip to Disney

• May 4th - PTSA End of the Year Honor Roll Celebration Picnic and Last Day to Check Out Books in the Duncan Media Center

• May 8th - 6:30 PTSA Meeting, 7:00 6th Grade Band Spring Concert

• May 10th - 7:00 7th Grade Spring Band Concert

• May 11th - 6:00-9:00 8th Grade Dance

• May 14th - End of Course Test for Math I Students

• May 15th - 2:45 Opening Ceremony for Olympics, 7:00 8th Grade Band Spring Concert

• May 16th - Olympics during Connections, Students Take Personal Items Home from Lockers and Begin Locker Clean Out

• May 17th - Olympics during Connections, 7:00 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Spring Orchestra Concert

• May 18th - Olympics during Connections, CRCT Re-Test in Reading, All Books Due in Duncan Media Center, 6:00-8:00 FCA Talent Show

• May 21st - CRCT Re-Test in Math

• May 22nd - 7:00 Honor's Night

• May 23rd - Bell Schedule 5,7,3,2 and Dismissal at 1:30, Yearbook Distribution during Homeroom and Signing during Connections, 8th Grade Assembly in Theater

• May 24th - Bell Schedule 1,4,3,6 and Dismissal at 1:30, Last Day of School, Yearbook Signing during Connections, 8th Grade Picnic

• June 4th - Report Cards Mailed to Address on File at School

20th Annual 8th Grade PTSA Dance Headed Our Way

The 8th grade dance will be held May 11th from 6:00pm-9:00pm. This year's theme is "A Night in Paris". Admission price is $10.00 unless the PTSA activities packet was purchased at the beginning of the year. A list of students who purchased this packet will be available. However, students who purchased the activities packet still need to complete a permission slip. Permission slips will be sent home with students on Monday, April 30th. Completed permission slips must be turned in at the time of the ticket purchase. No tickets will be sold without a completed parental permission form. Lifetouch photographers will be available for pictures. Don't forget, tuxedos, limousines, and strapless dresses are not appropriate for the 8th grade dance. Dance tickets will not be sold at the door. Only 8th grade Daniell students may attend. Tickets are now available for purchase during 8th grade lunch until Thursday, May 10th. A parent reception will be held from 6:00-6:30 pm on the night of the dance. For more information about "A Night in Paris" or if you would like to volunteer to assist the PTSA with this event, please contact Melissa Hewitt, PTSA Membership Chair, at 770-363-2802.

Daniell Middle School is "No Place for Hate"

What will you find at Daniell this year? Respect, unity, and character. What else? No bullying, no name calling, and no offensive jokes. That’s because Daniell is no place for hate!

No Place for Hate is a program sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, brought to Daniell by the PTSA, and strongly supported by our teachers and staff to foster respect between students and minimize or eliminate bias and bullying. Daniell is on our way to becoming the 1st middle school in Cobb County to be a No Place for Hate certified school!

All students were asked to sign a Resolution of Respect, pledging to make a difference by not ignoring hurtful words and actions of others, but instead to take responsibility for respecting the dignity and equality of everyone at our school. The Student Forum coordinated a heritage recognition in conjunction with the International Festival to recognize that we all come from somewhere – but we’re here at Daniell together.

What can you do to help Daniell be No Place for Hate? Talk to your student about how to deal with peer pressure, to stand up to bullies, and to treat everyone with respect, at our school and in our community. Together, we can ensure that Daniell Middle School is definitely No Place for Hate!

For more information on the No Place for Hate program at Daniell, contact DaniellPTSA@hotmail.com. For help with talking to kids about bullying, visit www.ADL.org/CombatBullying and CCSD's bullying resources.

Fourth Year Running: Daniell One of Cobb's Top Performing Middle Schools

The middle grade writing assessment scores have returned, and Daniell students had another outstanding year. Daniell was one of nine middle schools in Cobb which had more than 90% of students met or exceeded standards. More than 93% of Daniell students met or exceeded standards for 2012. Our students had an overall mean scale of 225 which was higher than the mean scale score of 220 for Metro RESA and Cobb District. In addition, our students had an overall mean scale score higher than the state mean scale score of 216. This is Daniell's fourth year in a row to be a part of the 90% club for the writing assessment.

The following Cobb County School District middle schools scored 90% or higher: Simpson 90, McClure 91, Durham 91, Daniell 93, McCleskey 95, Dodgen 96, Imagine Intl Acad of Smyrna 96, Mabry 96, Dickerson 97, and Hightower Trail 98.

Click here for the complete CCSD release.

Rising 6th Grade Night Scheduled for 5th Grade Students and Parents

April 16, 2012 at 6:30 pm, Daniell will host the Rising 6th Grade Parent Night for new families. Mark your calendars now for this exciting evening for your new student. Information will be provided about the PTSA, school clubs, 6th grade curriculum, and the middle school model. Feeder elementary schools will be distributing more information to incoming families. Please contact Misty Hawk, 6th grade counselor, or Dennette Wynn, PTSA President, for more information about this tranisitional meeting. Feeder elementary schools will have the opportunity to send their rising 5th graders to the campus during the school day on May 1. During this time, 5th graders will have the opportunity to tour the school and visit with current student leaders.

Daniell Student Recognized as #1 Writer Among All CCSD 8th Graders

Daniell Middle School is proud to announce that Isaiah Swann has been selected as the district-wide 8th grade winner of the Cobb County Writing Fair. Isaiah’s short story Dead End will now be entered in the statewide Young Georgia Authors’ Competition. Isaiah is the son of Jay and Elizabeth Swann.

Amy Cortez, Isaiah’s 8th grade Advanced Content Language Arts teacher, says of Isaiah, “I am so proud of Isaiah. This honor is well-deserved!” Isaiah will be honored at a reception with the other grade level district winners at 6:30 pm on April 16th at Lovinggood Middle School.

Daniell PTSA is a Model PTA

Mrs. Gigantino's Reading Classes Celebrate Literacy the Dr. Seuss Way

Above: Mrs. Gigantino with Melanie G. and her edible, Dr. Seuss inspired marshmallow hats.

On Friday, March 2, 6^th and 7^th grade students in Mrs. Gigantino’s reading classes used Dr. Seuss’s birthday as an opportunity to both celebrate their literacy and language skills and share them in meaningful ways through a Dr. Seuss-inspired writing project. 

Many students include creative artwork in the margins and corners of everything that they turn in, but these ideas never get past this point. Mrs. Gigantino's project aimed to make the most of students’ natural tendencies to daydream and doodle by allowing them the opportunity to continue with these bursts of creativity and create imaginative worlds like those in the works of Dr. Seuss. Often, the most difficult part of creating an original piece of writing can be getting started. Her students used the methods of a famous author, Dr. Seuss, who said that many of his most famous stories (such as Horton Hatches the Egg) started out as doodles that he transformed with vivid illustration, inventive vocabulary, and his famous rhythmic rhyme patterns. The students all grew up listening to Dr. Seuss, so this style was very familiar and exciting to work with. The works of Dr. Seuss along with his prewriting methods became mentor texts for the students and they found that they could develop their ideas and allow their imaginations to run wild while also learning about rhyme scheme and other patterns in writing.

Melanie G. shared one of her edible Dr. Seuss inspired marshmallow hats with Principal Nelson. "Mrs. Gigantino's project is an excellent opportunity to help make learning fun for students," Nelson said. "The type of teaching and learning that occurs in classes like Mrs. Gigantino's helps make our students so successful in their learning." Over 96% of all the students at Daniell Middle School met or exceeded standards on their English Language Arts / Reading portion of the CRCT in 2011.

School Club and Organization Leaders Make Plan to Get More Students Involved

Members of the Principal's Advisory Board, a group of students made up of all the presidents and representatives of all the school clubs and organizations on the Daniell campus which meet with Principal Nelson every three to four weeks, decided at their last meeting to increase club awareness for the student body. The student leaders have made a plan to purchase banners to hang in the gym lobby showcasing all the clubs and organizations Daniell has to offer.

In addition, the students decided to name all the hallways in the school to help direct and guide incoming fifth graders and parents as well as current students. The students leaders are currently determining how the halls will be named.

Members of the Principal's Advisory Board have been actively involved in the school's advisement program. During the first semester the leaders went into 6th and 7th grade classrooms informing them about the importance of grades and providing them with tips on how to be successful in middle school.

Green Eggs and Ham Served to Celebrate Dr. Seuss' 108th Birthday

On Friday, March 2, Daniell students celebrated the 108th birthday of Dr. Seuss. To help recognize this day the cafe staff prepared a special feast for the student body. The menu included green eggs and ham and birthday cake. In additon to the special food, the cafe staff also decorated with balloons and table decorations. Angel McMahan, Cafe Manager of Daniell, said, " I am happy that the cafeteria can be part of a school-wide celebration recognizing Dr. Seuss." McMahan has been the cafeteria manager at Daniell for six years. In addition to decorating and celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday, her staff also organizes many other special student lunches throughout the year on dates and events such as Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, Cinco de Mayo, Fall Harvest, WinterFest, and a CRCT celebration. The cafeteria staff has won many Golden Achievement Awards which recognize top cafeteria teams within the district and has consistently scored 100% on their county health inspections.

8th Graders Experience Reality University

Daniell Middle School, in partnership with Communities in Schools, held the first Reality University for selected 8th grade students. Based on student survey, students were given a simulation where they were 26 years old and had a certain career and fixed salary. Students rotated between tables staffed with community and school volunteers where they purchased housing and paid for utilities, insurance, entertainment, groceries, etc. The purpose was for students to experience what their life may be like based on these factors. Students were surprised to learn that their salary for this simulation was based on their own grades.

According to the Georgia Department of Education, Communities in Schools, and the State of Georgia Office of the Governor, income greatly increases with education. According to their published work, a high school diploma earns an annual income of $28,631 compared to that of a person with a bachelors degree of $51,568. Mrs. Susan Debardeleben, coordinator of the School, Family, and Community Leadership Team at Daniell, planned the event with Meghan Wilson of   Communities and Schools. Mrs. Debardeleben said, "Students learn best by experiencing. This simulation has given them a view into the real world.

Robotics Team Visits General Electric Atlanta Headquarters

Construction Crews Break Ground on Campus Renovations

Construction has started at our school! SPLOST III renovation and construction projects began in January, 2012 and will continue throughout the summer. We hope our growth pains will be small, but know that any inconvenience will be worth it in the long run. With an enlarged and renovated cafeteria, new ceilings in most of the building, new bus canopies, and 250 parking spaces, the SPLOST III projects will only continue to update and improve our learning facilities.

To view the latest information about the SPLOST projects slated for Daniell Middle School or any other Cobb County School District site, please visit this link: www.ccsdsplostprojects.org