Links for all teachers can be found in the eNews email sent at 11:00 am.
The schedule is as follows:
6:30 pm - 6:40 pm - A2
6:45 pm - 6:55 pm - 1st hour
7:00 pm - 7:10 pm - 2nd hour
7:15 pm - 7:25pm - 3rd hour
7:30 pm - 7:40pm - 4th hour
7:45 pm - 7:55 pm - 5th hour
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm - 6th hour
*We will follow an even schedule
8:15 pm - 8:25 pm (If your student has an "odd" class, you may visit it during this time)
Coaches Tuomi and Thayer are offering intramural Football to all 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students (boys and girls). Football will meet Mon, Weds, and Fridays at the Derby back fields from 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm. The program will run **Monday, Sept 21 through Wednesday, Oct 28. Student-athletes will need to wear comfortable clothing (shorts and t-shirt or sweats and sweatshirt). Cleats are preferable, but not required. Students will need to WEAR MASKS AT ALL TIMES. Students will also need to fill out an online safety screening and get their temperature checked by a coach before each practice.
Coach Priebe is offering Girls’ Intramural Basketball for all 6th, 7th and 8th-grade girls interested. The team will also meet Tues, Weds, and Thurs, at the Derby basketball courts from 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm. The program will run **Monday, Sept 21 through Wednesday, Oct 28. Student athletes will need to wear comfortable clothing (shorts and t-shirt or sweats and sweatshirt). Students will need to WEAR MASKS AT ALL TIMES. Students will also need to fill out an online safety screening and get their temperature checked by a coach before each practice.
A link will be coming later this week to sign up to play. In the meantime, we need physicals for every student that plans to play. Please drop your student’s physical in the box outside the front entrance labeled “PHYSICALS” OR email to hguise@birmingham.k12.mi.us OR fax to 248-203-4948.
We will accept physicals dated on or after April 15, 2019 (this means that we will accept last year's physicals, but we need you to provide us a copy. Your pediatrician can provide last year's physical without a check-up).
**Please note there might be a delayed start to intramural sports programs. We may not be up and running Monday, September 21st. Please stay tuned**
We have come to the end of our second week of virtual learning and I want to commend our students, staff and families for finishing the week strong and on a positive note. This week we saw 8th graders investigating traits in science and 6th graders working in virtual math notebooks. I still miss smiling faces and high five Fridays, but it is great to see the kids engaged and learning.
Today is the nineteenth anniversary of the tragedy that is September 11th. I took a moment to reflect before coming to school today. I thought about the families who lost so many loved ones nineteen years ago and lives forever changed. Even though these are trying times and the current situation is not ideal, we have so much to be grateful for. I am grateful for our students and to be surrounded by educators working tirelessly in the best interest of kids. I hope you and your family have a peaceful weekend. I wish you time with one another to reflect on the things for which you are grateful and the perspective to appreciate them.
Thank you for reading our weekly update! Below you will find information regarding clubs, curriculum night, materials pickup and more. Enjoy your weekend!
Go Dragons,
Marla Otterbacher Principal
To submit an item for next week’s Derby E-News, email mpapp@birmingham.k12.mi.us
Reminder: that we have a half-day on Thursday, September 17th.
1/2 Day schedule is attached
We are asking families to notify the school of their student’s absence. A parent or guardian must telephone the 24-hour answering service at 248-203-5000 option 2, no later than 8:00 a.m. that morning, or may email to report the absence to: derbyattendance@birmingham.k12.mi.us
Please note that emailing your child's teacher does not excuse your child. Always report the absence to the attendance phone line or attendance email.
There will be a no-contact materials pickup this week. Materials will be clearly labeled with grade and class. Please come to the front of the school (near the main office) and help yourself. Materials are available Wednesday-Friday from 7 am-4 pm. Every student in every grade has at least one item to pick up! If you can’t make it please email: HGusie@birmingham.k12.mi.us to make other arrangements.
Our virtual curriculum night is Thursday, September 17th from 6:30-8:10. Parents will virtually meet each teacher via Zoom. Zoom links and instructions will be sent next week!
NJHS Candidate letters will be going out by email to all eighth-graders with a cumulative GPA of a 3.5 ending last year. The GPA standard was lowered from a 3.7 to a 3.5 to take into consideration grade improvement that could have happened during the third quarter. Notices will go out to all candidates by email on September 30, 2020.
Are you interested in reading the afternoon announcements live? If you have the skills and comfort level in speaking to the entire school on camera live daily, this A2 may be a great fit for you. Apply using the link below. You can also view past live streams to get an idea of what we’ve done in the past.
NOTE: While Virtual, this A2 will continue as a traditional A2 setup. Once we return face-to-face, this A2 will do the daily announcements live every day. Additionally, this is a mixed A2 with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Mr. Hickmott and the counselors will review this application and reach out to you if you are accepted. Due to the limited class size, not all that apply may get in. We will review your application and notify you.
Broadcasting A2 application
View Past Daily News Shows -> Click link and scroll to the “Past Live Streams” section to view daily news from last year.
This fall we will be offering some new, dynamic after school clubs. Some will be 100% virtual, while some will be hybrid, meeting outside following social distancing protocols on days when the weather is good. When the weather turns for the worst, these clubs will move to a virtual platform. These forms are due to Mrs. Westerlund (via email kwesterlund@birmingham.k12.mi.us) or in the box on the cart outside the Derby main doors by Friday 9/18/2020. Clubs this fall are free! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Westerlund.
It is now time to order your 2020-2021 yearbook…secure a book for yourself today. This school year will absolutely be one for the record books. To order your yearbook, please go to the link posted below. If you have any questions about the yearbook, please contact mmcgrath@birmingham.k12.mi.us. Order now…reserve your copy…this will be a year to remember!!! ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK TODAY!!!
All BPS K-12 students and staff are now eligible for a Baldwin Library card! We would like to strongly encourage all families and staff to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to access a wide range of resources. With a Baldwin card, you have the ability to check out print books and access most online databases (including Hoopla -- a favorite for audiobooks and eBooks). Plus, curbside pickup is available during the pandemic!
Go to https://www.baldwinlib.org/get-library-card/ for details, or watch this video for detailed instructions on how to sign up.
Please see BPS Breakfast and Lunch Program for ALL Students for information on the BPS Free Breakfast and Lunch Program for ALL students.
Please see Pre Order Meals and Pick Up Times on how to pre-order free meals and for meal pick up schedules.
Hello Derby Families,
We’ve received a few emails with confusion about even and odd classes that our 6th-grade and some of our 7th-grade students have, so we hope to offer some clarification:
Please follow your child’s original/printed schedule. (This also would have been the schedule that was in PowerSchool on the first day of school.) If this schedule said “(E)”, this is for an Even day class. If it said “(O)”, this is for an Odd day class.*
As a reminder of previously sent out calendars, both Even and Odd day classes will be synchronous (live) on Mondays- see the times below. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Even classes are to be attended (either synchronously or asynchronously- see which one it is below). On Thursdays and Fridays, Odd classes are attended (see below).
*As of a few days ago, all classes are now marked as “(E-O)”- please ignore this and, again- follow the original/printed schedule.
Thanks so much,
Your Derby Counselor and Administration team
Middle School Weekly Schedule and Monday Schedule Only for Even/Odd Classes
Athletic Registration
BPS is happy to announce that PowerSchool Registration, powered by InfoSnap, is also being implemented for Athletic Registration. You may find the link, by clicking here: https://secure.infosnap.com/family/gosnap.aspx?action=23658&culture=en
As a reminder, this is an online student registration/data validation system, which allows the district to verify all student demographics, emergency and medical information, prior to the start of the athletic season. It is critical to ensure we have the most up-to-date contact and medical information for all students. The system is a secure and green process supporting our focus on safety and security. Electronic registration platforms of all kinds engage parents to ensure that information is entered properly, significantly reducing errors. The system will also allow families to electronically sign the annual permission forms. Reminder: You must still submit a physical to Mrs. Guise in the main office prior to participating. All physicals must be dated after April 15, 2019. Your student can drop it off, or you can email it (hguise@birmingham.k12.mi.us) or fax it at (248-203-4948).
The fundamental goal of Derby middle school is to develop confident, compassionate, intellectually curious young people, who are well prepared to excel throughout their high school years and beyond. Excitement and enthusiasm are two words that describe our middle school students. It is a unique time in children's lives when they can fully explore new activities, interests, and ideas.
As a principal, I am most proud of our school's commitment to the development of character. Whether it is through classroom activities such as writing letters to wounded soldiers, to students volunteering as Links to our special needs students, to school-wide community service projects, our students demonstrate their good character every day.
If you are a parent of our community and have any questions or concerns, please contact me. If you are considering having your child attend Derby Middle School, I welcome you to visit our school for a personal tour. Please contact my office to set up an appointment.
Best Regards,
Marla Otterbacher
Derby Middle School Principal
motterbacher@birmingham.k12.mi.us
