Greetings, Donoho!
I did not intend to jam up your inbox so much before the school year even began, but it is hard to keep all this good news to myself! I want to share with you the excellent opportunities that will be offered to middle and upper school students this year. An area that falls under my guidance as Dean of Students is Community, and this year we have revamped the schedule in a way that places the Community period at the end of the day. In doing so, we will be offering over ten robust enrichment opportunities that have been strategically designed to meet a variety of disciplines and interests. On the first day of school your child will be able to sign up for an enrichment that he or she feels best suits his or her interest, and each quarter students will have opportunities to sign up for different enrichment courses! Enrichment classes will meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (after football season–pep rallies will be held at the end of the day Friday!). Students will meet with their Advisors during Community on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a required study hall. Now, let’s talk about what’s being offered!
First and foremost, two math prep courses supported by Math Department Head, Mrs. Taylor, and led by Mrs. Garcia (formerly Ms. Kingery!) and Ms. Williams have been added to support students who need an extra boost in their math instruction. Additionally, we will be offering an ACT Prep course taught by Mrs. Senter. For those of you who know Mrs. Senter, this is an area of expertise for her. Any student who does not have a regularly scheduled study hall will have the opportunity to sign up for one.
Clearly, academics are important, but we want to appeal to the total child in this endeavor; thus, among the other courses offered will be Drama with Mrs. Burrage, Jazz Band with Mr. Swinney, Creative Writing with Mrs. Noble, Academic Team (Upper School) and Quiz Bowl (Middle School) with Mr. Ford and Mrs. Chandler respectively, Strength and Conditioning with Coach Felder, and Yoga with Ms. Landrum, who recently became certified through Next Generation Yoga!
As many schools face economic restraints that have limited the number of programs that can be offered, we value the talented people we have on staff that allow for us to enhance what we are able to offer at Donoho. As you can see, we feel we have the right people in the right place to offer your child a more robust education opportunity!
Finally, I need the support of parents. PLEASE understand that these changes have been carefully considered and will be instructed by trained individuals who are experts in their fields. Moreover, these offerings have been designed with students’ needs in mind. Our school day will end at 3:05. Please do not allow your child to check out during this Community period. Even if your child elects to have a study hall during this time, we value this time and expect your child to use the time wisely in order to get a jump on academics. While I am on this topic, along with this schedule change, we will be moving Assembly, led by the SGA, to the top of the morning beginning at 8:00 sharp. There will be more details to come on that!
So, as you can see, there is much happening on campus, and I know you feel the excitement just as we do! “Students first” is a motto that drives all that we do here at Donoho, and I am proud of the changes to the schedule that have been implemented with this motto in mind.
Go Falcons!
Russ Connell
Dean of Students
Russ Connell
Dean of Students
p.s. Follow me on Twitter @dhotwitlit!
