DMS Family Email - 2/20/26

February 20, 2026

Dear Families-

Important Dates:

February 23-27 – Winter Recess

March 2 – PTA Meeting @ 6:00 PM in DMS Library

March 8 – Daylight Saving Time Starts

March 9 – PTA Fundraiser @ OTTO Pizza in Dover (see below for details)

March 13 – Teacher Workshop (no school for students)

March 16 – Read-a-Thon Starts

March 23-27 – Spirit Week

NAEP Reminder

Reminder for 8^th grade students who were selected for NAEP testing. Testing will take place during the morning on March 4^th. Parents were notified back in December.

From the Deans

Gum

As a reminder, gum is not permitted at DMS. This has been announced all year. At this point, if students are asked to spit out their gum, they will be serving a lunch detention.

Fidgets

Starting after February break, all squishy fidgets/toys will not be allowed at DMS. Fidgets are intended to be used as tools, not toys. The fidgets/toys have become a classroom distraction. Recently we have noticed an increased amount of squishy fidgets/toys breaking which has caused property damage and has become a safety and health risk due to the content inside the fidget.

Appropriate fidgets are ones that can fit in a student's pocket, are silent, and non-disruptive.

Fidgets that are not allowed or are a distraction will be confiscated, and adults may pick them up at the school.

From the DMS PTA

The Read-a-Thon (RAT) is just one month away!

Join us March 16-27 for the school-wide read-a-thon, where we will aim to reach 150k collective minutes read over the two weeks. 

Each homeroom will compete to have the most minutes read for their grade, earning a pizza party for their homeroom! 

The homeroom with the most minutes logged across the entire school will also earn a make-your-own-sundae bar with their pizza party!

Details will be going out in early March. Be sure to get your student set up and registered when the time comes to help support their homeroom team!

SAVE THE DATE: March 9th, 11 am -10 pm fundraiser at OTTO

Dine in or take out at OTTO on March 9 to have 10% of your sale donated to help the DMS community!

We hope to see you at our next meeting on Monday, March 2, at 6 pm in the DMS Library or on the first Monday of each month through June. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions at [email protected].

To have a vote in DMS PTA activities, events, and how we use funds to support the school community, complete your 2025-2026 dues for just $10.

Join today my.cheddarup.com/c/25-26-dms-pta-dues

Yearbook

The 2026 DMS Yearbook is now on sale! Yearbooks are $35 and can be purchased at https://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A05024850.  Yearbooks can only be ordered online and will not be sold at school. 

Does your child play a sport for DMS? The DMS Yearbook is looking for pictures of our athletes to include in this year's yearbook. If you have pictures of DMS sports you are willing to share, please upload them to: https://photos.jostens.com/MKDJTE

Have a wonderful break!

Lindsay Dube

DMS Principal

IMPORTANT INFORMATION / REMINDERS

DMS Staff Email Directory

District Transportation Information & Contact

Food Services

Student Handbook & Policies

Attendance: 

If you need to report an absence, please email [email protected] or call 603-516-7019 to leave a message.

Early Dismissals:

Students are not called to the office before a parent arrives. As soon as you check in at the window, we will call your child down.

Bus Changes:

Parents/guardians must contact First Student directly to request the change. First Student

will then inform the Dover Middle School office of the updated arrangements. You can reach First Student at (603) 692-4406. They require 24 hours’ notice to be able to approve and communicate the change. Notes are not accepted from students.

Student Drop Off and Pick Up:

Please do not park in the bus loop at the main entrance during 7:00-7:30 AM or 2:00-2:20 PM. We have several buses that utilize this area during those times. 

End 68 Hours of Hunger:

The 68 Hours program is a food program that each household and every student has access to. Once a week on Thursday (or earlier depending on Holiday and break schedule) the students come down at the end of the day to receive their bag(s) of groceries. The food items are non-perishables such pastas, cereal, canned goods, peanut butter, and other pantry food items. If you are interested in having your household participate, please contact your student’s counselor, and let them know. We hope you have a fantastic school year.