3/13/26 Family Friday Five

Posted Date: 03/13/26 (12:58 PM)

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Family Friday Five

DMS Principal's Weekly Newsletter

March 24, 2026

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Upcoming Events

Barons Get Buckets for Cody - Thursday, March 19 6-8 p.m.

--Please sign up by Monday if you would like to be part of a team, the free throw contest, or 3 point contest (see image)

--There will be info sent out about the silent auction starting Tuesday. Auction will open on Thursday at noon --- even if you can't attend, please bid on some of our amazing items!

Spring Break - March 23 - 27, 2026

Winter Athletic Awards - Tuesday, March 31 - 7 p.m.

(All athletes should attend and dress up)

DMS Glow Dance - Friday, April 10 6-8 p.m.

DeKalb Middle School presents 'Let's Glow Crazy' Glow Dance on April 10th from 6-8 PM.

Poster for a "Barons Get Buckets for Cody" 3v3 basketball tournament and fundraiser.

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Athletics

Awards Night March 31, 7pm- a few reminders

-All Athletes should attend and dress up

Wrestling highlights-

The DMS wrestling team took first place at the Central Noble Invitational. The Barons had a couple of champions in Landon Ellert and Kellen Carnahan.

In the past week, the barons also defeated Summit, Leo, New Haven, and Harding. The Bears will be wrestling in the conference tournament on Friday.

Wrestling will be participating in the NE8MS Conference Tournament- Friday March 13

-Swim teams will have their conference meet on March 17 & 18 @ Cole Center in Kendallville.

UNIFIED TRACK: We are still in need of students to join us for our very first Unified Track Meet!

There will be a Unified Track and Field event on April 22 at the DeKalb Track. This will be during the Middle School Track Meet starting at 5:30 p.m. These are the events that will be part of the Unified Event:

--100 Meter Dash

--4 x 100 Meter Relay

-- Long Jump

-- Softball Throw

Unified events will take place as the FINAL HEATS of the middle school meet. Get ready to finish strong!

IMPORTANT --- PHYSICALS ARE REQUIRED. No physical, no practice/no competition.

Students who are interested need to fill out Final Forms (instructions here)

Please contact Ryan Baker rbaker@dekalbcentral.net

DeKalb Middle School Unified DIrector

Practice Schedule (after school until 5 p.m. - we will meet in the Commons and walk to the track at 3:30 p.m.)

3/19/26

4/2/26

4/9/26

4/16/26

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Mrs. Wisehart's Spring Break MOVE Challenge

This year I’m excited to share Mrs. Wisehart’s Spring Break Move Challenge! Over spring break, students are encouraged to stay active by tracking the minutes they spend moving each day.

Movement can include anything from walking, biking, playing outside, dancing, sports, family hikes, or even helping with active chores.

Regular movement is so important for children. It supports physical health, focus, mood, and overall well-being, and it’s a great way to balance the extra screen time that sometimes happens during breaks.

Even small bursts of activity throughout the day can make a big difference.

Students can use the tracking sheet to record the date, activity, and minutes they moved, and have an adult sign the bottom once they’ve totaled their minutes.

The goal isn’t perfection, but simply encouraging kids to keep their bodies moving and build healthy habits.

✨ Students who fill out the entire sheet and return it after break will earn a small prize! ✨

We hope this challenge helps students enjoy an active, fun, and healthy spring break! 🌷🏃‍♀️

A worksheet titled 'Mrs. Wisehart's Spring Break Move Challenge' with columns for Date, Move Choice, and Minutes Moved.

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NeeDoh Stress Toys

Recently, we have seen an increase in students bringing NeeDoh-style stress toys to school.

These are small, squishy fidget toys that are filled with a soft gel and are meant to be squeezed or stretched.

Unfortunately, we have had several incidents where these toys have burst in classrooms and hallways.

When they break, the gel inside spreads onto desks, floors, and carpets. This creates a large mess and requires significant time from both teachers and our custodial staff to clean.

It also interrupts learning time while classrooms are cleaned and materials are removed from carpets and furniture.

We understand that these toys can sometimes help students with focus or provide a calming sensory outlet during the day.

If a student benefits from a fidget, there are many other types of fidget tools that can be used without creating the mess these toys sometimes cause.

Because of this, beginning Monday we will ask students to keep NeeDoh-style stress toys in their lockers or leave them at home. If students bring them into classrooms, staff will ask that they be put away in lockers during the school day.

We appreciate your help in talking with your child about keeping these items stored during the school day so we can keep classrooms clean and focused on learning.

Thank you for your support!

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The PLUNGE was a SUCCESS!

We had over 30 plungers today in the bright sunshine but VERY WINDY day. :) Look to social media for some amazing pictures to come --- it was a wonderful and fun experience for all of us.

We raised over $4000 for Special Olympics, and earned our Champions in the Middle banner for the second year in a row.

We are excited to be a Unified school. Please encourage your students to be part of our Unified program! We still need participants for our Unified Track meet (there is only one!).

Questions to ask your student...

What was your favorite Polar Plunge moment today?
What assignments/projects do you have upcoming in the next week before Spring Break?
The math teachers were celebrating PI day this week --- what is that? Do you know?
What teachers PLUNGED today?
Are you going to participate in Mrs. Wisehart's MOVE challenge for Spring Break?