• Wednesday-Friday, November 23rd-25th - NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)
• Friday, December 2nd - DHMS School Picture Re-take Day *Rescheduled*
• Tuesday, December 6th - DHMS Orchestra Concert, 7pm (Auditorium)
• Wednesday, December 7th - Early Release (12:05pm Dismissal)
• Thursday, December 8th-Wednesday, December 14th - DHMS Book Fair
• Tuesday, December 13th - DHMS Parent Chat/PTSA Meeting, 8:30am (Virtual)
• Tuesday, December 13th - Grade 8 We Are Writers Event, 6:30-8pm (Third Floor)
• Wednesday, December 14th - DHMS Chorus Concert, 7pm (Auditorium)
• Monday, December 19th-Friday, December 30th - NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)
• Monday, January 2nd - NO SCHOOL (New Year's Day Observed)

Please visit the online master DHMS Calendar for all 2022-23 school year dates.

DHMS News & Announcements

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy a happy and healthy break this Wednesday, November 23rd through Friday, November 25th!

Donate to the DHMS PTSA Phoenix Fund

If you didn’t have a chance during One DHMS One Week, you can still donate to the Phoenix Fund.  This year’s contributions will be used to support a variety of student and teacher activities throughout the school year.   Every contribution helps, no matter how small. Thank you for your contribution to help make DHMS the very best experience for our middle schoolers.

Help Our DHMS Phoenix Families

Holiday Gift Card Drive (through 11/22)

This holiday season, the DHMS PTSA and our school Social Worker, Christine Katcher, are organizing a gift card drive to support DHMS families in need who may not be able to afford gifts or meals. These DHMS families will enjoy a much brighter holiday because of your generosity! Our goal is to collect $25 gift cards from grocery stores (Giant or Safeway preferred), or general gift cards like Visa, MasterCard, or AMEX.

If you would like to support this important cause, please deliver your gift cards no later than Tuesday, November 22nd:

1. Drop off your gift cards at the DHMS office in a labeled envelope or mail them to DHMS PTSA (Attn: Holiday Gift Card Drive) 4100 Vacation Lane Arlington, VA 22201.
2. Drop off your gift cards at the home of Christa Mansur (2115 N. Quinn Street, Arlington 22209) in a labeled envelope or mail them to the same address.

Once all cards are collected, Ms. Katcher will deliver the gift cards to the appropriate families with a holiday greeting. Thank you in advance for your contribution. Please contact PTSA President, Khal Monaro, or Christine Katcher with questions.

Support DHMS When You Order Your Holiday Cards at Minted!

We’re excited to announce that we’re partnering with Minted this holiday season! Please support the DHMS PTSA by ordering your holiday cards & gifts from Minted using our promo code FUNDRAISEDHMS. You’ll get 20% OFF your order, and 15% of every purchase made using our code will be donated back to us at the end of the year. 

FUNDRAISEDHMS is valid toward all Minted orders, excluding fine art prints, commissioned art, customizable fine art, all products purchased from the “direct from artist” section of our website, fabric goods, Minted More membership fees, Photo Op or styling or customization services. Discounts may be applied towards any Disney-branded merchandise, however Minted does not pay donations on these orders. Discounts and donations do not apply to shipping charges or tax, and cannot be combined with any other offers or promotions, including discounted credit.

DHMS 8th Grade 'We Are Writers' - Tuesday, December 13th 6:30-8:00pm

Donations & Volunteers Needed

DHMS 8th Grade Parents, we need your help to make our "We Are Writers" event on Tuesday, December 13th a success! Please consider donating food, drinks, and/or supplies for our 8th Grade families and DHMS staff to enjoy. We also need volunteers for set-up and clean-up if you can lend a hand. Below is the link to the sign-up, or feel free to contact Ms. Donnelly with any questions:



DHMS 8th Grade We Are Writers Event Sign-Up

Mark Your Calendar! DHMS Book Fair

Thursday, December 8th-Wednesday, December 14th

The DHMS Library will be hosting a book fair from December 8 through 14. Your student will visit the book fair during their Reading (6th grade) or English (7th/8th grade) classes. They will also be able to visit the book fair before school from 7:40-8:10am, during lunch, during Phoenix Time, and briefly after school (until 2:45pm).

There will be one evening event on Tuesday, December 13 from 6:00-8:00pm (time subject to change). It will take place the same evening as the 8th grade writing celebration.

We do need volunteers, so if you are able, we'd love for you to sign up!

Order Your DHMS Yearbook for 2022-23

Remember to order your 2022-23 DHMS Yearbook before November 25, 2022: Order Your 2022-23 DHMS Yearbook

DHMS School Picture Re-take Day

JostensPIX, our vendor/partner for Picture Day, had to reschedule Picture Retake Day at the last minute due to unforeseen circumstances. They truly apologize for the inconvenience this change caused our students and staff. The new Retake Day will be Friday, December 2. Mark your calendar if you missed the first Picture Day or you’d like your picture retaken.

If you don’t need your picture retaken, you can view and order photos at https://shop.jostenspix.com.

• Find your student using event code FE5622.
• You can personalize your photos with a variety of backgrounds and text.
• Photos are shipped directly to your home.
• High-res digital downloads are available.

Don’t hesitate to contact DHMS PTSA Picture Day Chair, Jennifer Meder, with any questions.

KidsGiving @ DHMS

Thanks to Ms. Malks, the new after-school DHMS KidsGiving club kicked off its first meeting by making cat toys for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington! The next meetings are November 29th, December 13th, January 10th, and January 24th for interested students. Stay tuned for more to come, with food drives to support AFAC and the chance to learn more about and give back to Aspire! Afterschool Learning.

DHMS No Place for Hate Activity #1

DHMS had our first No Place for Hate school-wide activity. The student members of the committee chose to focus on Identity and Culture, which allowed for a discussion around the similarities and differences between people and the importance of respecting those differences. The school-wide event commenced the week of November 7th during Phoenix Time, where students watched a short video about identity and discussed the differences, we all have and how to respect and celebrate them. The activity ended with class and/ or individual reflection (such as create action steps to respect/ celebrate others, personal takeaways from discussion, modify their identity maps from the beginning of the year).

Here were some of the take-a-ways on how we can respect and celebrate people's differences:

• Don’t assume stuff because it can be very stereotypical.
• Don’t judge people.
• Ask more broad questions instead of specifically pinpointing (especially when about a person’s identity).
• Everyone’s different and has their own stories to tell.
• Everybody has their own perspectives.
• Recognize and take responsibility when you mess up and try to do better. Example: calling people by the wrong pronouns.
• Broaden your social circle - try to get to know new people.

Overall, it was a great reflective activity. This activity allowed us to acknowledge where we are in the process so that we can take action, recognize, and respect the differences within our DHMS community.

RECYCLE YOUR PLASTIC FILM WITH DHMS!

To kickoff National Recycling Day (Nov. 15th), DHMS is once again recycling plastic film through our partnership with Trex, a Virginia-based company that uses plastic film to produce composite decking products. Last year, we diverted over 500 pounds of plastic film from the trash! Here's how it will work this year:



1. Collect plastic film listed on the acceptable list.
2. Weigh your plastic film. (Kids on a bathroom scale with and without the plastic film is a great way to weigh!)
3. Email the weight of your plastic film to green@dhmsptsa.org. Note: a 64-gallon bag of plastic film typically weighs 6 pounds, so your film may be just a pound or less. But it all adds up!
4. Bring your plastic film to the Cherrydale Safeway, 3713 Langston Blvd, and place it in one of the two white plastic film collection boxes located just outside the store.

We are competing for a chance to win a Trex composite bench, and to educate our community about recycling plastic.  

Plastic recycling insider tip: only limited types of plastic are recyclable, and all plastic degrades. You can only recycle what can be cost effectively broken down and reused by private markets. A lot of single-use plastic, like chip bags, contain multiple layers of plastic that cannot be seen by the human eye, and cannot be broken down after they have been chemically bound together. Try to eliminate your use of as much single-use plastic as possible. For the plastic stuff you can't eliminate, try to buy stuff that does have a market for reuse, such as the plastic film that is accepted for reuse by private companies, like Trex, which uses plastic film on the acceptable list to make composite decking materials, which are intended to last a long time.

List of Acceptable Materials: https://nextrex.com/view/educate#materials1

Video: Plastic bag and Film recycling with NexTrex!

Volunteer in the DHMS Library

Volunteer to help out in the DHMS Library! See details in the link below and volunteer for as many days as you'd like. Feel free to come between 9am and 12pm for an hour or two (you can let Ms. Tsai know in the comments), and contact Ms. Tsai with any questions. Reminder: Make sure to submit your APS Volunteer Application BEFORE you volunteer.

DHMS Library Volunteer Sign-up - Fall 2022

Community Updates

Save the Date! KidsGiving Fair - Saturday, December 3rd

Mark your calendar for the first annual KidsGiving Fair on Saturday, December 3rd from 10am-Noon, located at Arlington Science Focus School (1501 N. Lincoln St.) Join us for a family-friendly event for our entire community to learn about local nonprofits and show your support this holiday season! Every donation will receive a greeting card you can decorate and give on behalf of a loved one. See the KidsGiving Fair Flyer or visit kidsgiving.org/fair for details. We hope to see you there!

Read Early and Daily (R.E.A.D.) Book Nook

Small Business Saturday, November 26th

Last week’s Broadcast show included an interview with the Executive Director of Read Early And Daily (R.E.A.D.), an Arlington-based non-profit that funds its literacy programs by selling books. R.E.A.D. has a new pop-up Book Nook at Ballston Quarter located on the 2nd floor just outside the main mall. The R.E.A.D. Book Nook will be open from 10-5pm on Small Business Saturday, November 26. Mention you are a DHMS family to receive a special discount! You can also shop online anytime at https://www.readearlyanddaily.org/s/shop. When you buy books from R.E.A.D., the revenue is used to buy new, quality, culturally relevant books for vulnerable young children right here in our community.

62nd Annual W-L Holiday Bazaar

Please join us on December 3, 2022 from 10AM - 4PM for the Washington-Liberty Holiday Bazaar! This beloved community event, benefitting the W-L freshman class, is entering its 62nd year and is a wonderful place to do your holiday shopping. We hope to see you there!

Facebook: WLholidaybazaar

Instagram: WLholidaybazaar

Public Open House: Military Road, Nelly Custis Drive, and Lorcom Lane Transportation Projects

On behalf of the Division of Transportation, we are announcing a Public Open House for transportation safety projects along the Military Road, Lorcom Lane and Nelly Custis Drive corridors on Tuesday, November 29, from 7-8:30pm at Dorothy Hamm Middle School. We’ll be hosting the open house in the Cafeteria, and you can drop in anytime during the meeting to learn more and speak with members of the project teams for the projects listed here. At this meeting, you will be able to: 

• Learn more about these projects, their status and next steps for each.
• Provide detailed feedback on your experiences using Lorcom Lane between N. Quebec Street and Nelly Custis Drive, to help inform a concept design for the project corridor.
• Hear more about the County’s Vision Zero approach to safety projects in our community
• Review past public engagement for these projects and how we got here today.

For the Lorcom Lane Safety Project, a second round of public engagement will occur once a concept design is prepared for public review, expected in Spring 2023.

Yorktown HS Crew Holiday Wreath Fundraiser

Please consider ordering your holiday wreath through the Yorktown High School Crew's annual fundraiser. and consider Funds will go toward equipment and operations for the team. Local orders will be delivered by one of the crew to your address by December 1. Please list the Rower Name as 'DHMS' on the order form to help us group deliveries.  Order your wreath here! 

DHMS Basics: Office: 703.228.2910 / Clinic: 703.228.2940 / Attendance: 703.228.2911

​​​Get Involved: Join the PTSA / PTSA Directory / PTSA Meetings / Volunteer

Donate: Phoenix Fund / Amazon Smile (Search for "Dorothy Hamm Middle School PTSA)

Stay Connected: DHMS Calendar / DHMS Website / DHMS PTSA Directory / Morning Announcements

Engage With APS: APS Engage / Online Form / Open Office Hours / Meetings / Agendas​​

The DHMS PTSA Phoenix Post is a weekly newsletter that informs the DHMS community about DHMS, PTSA, and relevant APS and community news. Please send any newsletter submissions to newsletter@dhmsptsa.org by EOD Thursday for inclusion in the following Monday's Phoenix Post.