• 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

Help Our DHMS Phoenix Families

Holiday Gift Card Drive Extended Through Friday, December 2nd

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 BY THIS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2ND:

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.

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! Thank you to everyone who has already signed up, and if you haven't already pease 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:



DHMS 8th Grade We Are Writers Event Sign-Up

All DHMS 8th Grade families are invited! Click here for the event flyer for more details, and feel free to contact Ms. Donnelly with any questions.

Next Week! 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!

This Friday: DHMS School Picture Re-take Day

JostensPIX, our vendor/partner for Picture Day, will be at DHMS this Friday, December 2nd for School Picture Re-take Day 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.

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.

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.

Keep Recycling Your Plastic Film With DHMS!

Thanks to our partnership with Trex, a Virginia-based company that uses plastic film to produce composite decking products, we are competing for a chance to win a Trex composite bench, and to educate our community about recycling plastic. Follow the steps below:



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. 
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.

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

THIS WEEKEND! KidsGiving Fair - Saturday, December 3rd

Join us for the first annual KidsGiving Fair on Saturday, December 3rd from 10am-Noon, located at Arlington Science Focus School (1501 N. Lincoln St.), 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!

Support AFAC With Hardt of Christmas

Saturday, December 17th

DHMS classmate Cole Hardt (7th grader) and his brothers are seeking your help again this holiday season to collect food items and holiday treats as part of their charity Hardt of Christmas. They are partnering with Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) to donate food kits to 75 families.  

To participate, shop for the following requested items for each bag you’d like to donate and bring to the Hardt of Christmas volunteer event on Saturday, December 17th at 9:00 a.m. in the DHMS parking lot (near the soccer field).

• 1 bottle vegetable cooking oil
• 1 bag of granulated white sugar
• 1 bag of flour (all purpose or masa)
• Low sodium canned soups (any flavor)
• Ground coffee (can or bag is fine)
• Holiday item(s) such as gift cards, holiday treats, ingredients to make cookies, cookie cutters, and cookbooks to name a few ideas. 

Stick around and decorate ornaments that will be donated with each food kit and help organize food into Hardt of Christmas bags. The Hardt’s will be providing holiday snacks to all participants! Please RSVP to Melissa Hardt or 571-535-6063.

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.