Official newsletter of Durham School of the Arts

Tues, Nov 11: Holiday

Wed, Nov 12: Makeup Picture Day

Mon, Nov 24: Teacher Workday

Tues - Fri, Nov 25-28: Holiday Break

Please view the 2025-26 Calendar for future teacher workdays, holidays, and other important dates.

To reach the main office: Please email dist.frontoffice.323-DSA@dpsnc.net Your message will reach most of the front office staff.

Please send ALL attendance matters to: attendance@DSALMC.net

Senior Portraits  will be in Weaver Auditorium on November 12th. Seniors who did not take portraits over the summer will take their photos on the 12th through their English classes. 

November 12th is also make-up portrait day for 6th-11th grade students. If you missed picture day in September, the 12th is the day to go to Weaver and get your pictures.

If you purchase your DSA Yearbook between now and January 30th, you get it at the discounted price of $50. After January 30th, the book costs $60.

Attention Senior Families: Senior Ads are also now available. This is a great opportunity to celebrate your graduating Senior with pictures and messages of encouragement. Ordering details below. 

The yearbook staff is very excited to capture the memories of DSA’s 2025-2026 school year. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Donaldson at Alphonso_Donaldson@dpsnc.net.

 Yearbook Ordering Link

Senior Ad Ordering Link

Scholars to College is a free, four-year program that helps students prepare for high school, college, and future careers. Starting in 9th grade, students receive academic support, college and career exploration, mentoring, and family workshops, throughout high school, all to help them stay on track for success after graduation. We’re now recruiting upcoming 9th graders! Applications open in January 2026! Learn more here!

It’s that time of year! Portraits In Ink submissions are now open! We welcome you to submit your art and writing to the DSA literary magazine by scanning the posters around school. Submissions are open to both middle and high school. The last chance to submit is December 19th!”

Attention all students: World Kindness Day is on Thursday, November 13th. Please wear orange to support our culture of Kindness at DSA! To celebrate, we're launching a school-wide kindness challenge. Each day this week, we encourage you to perform a random act of kindness. This could be as simple as offering a compliment, helping a peer with their work, or thanking a staff member for their hard work. Let's make kindness the norm and create a positive and supportive environment for everyone.

Hey DSA, are you ready to see how the world could be? Then come to DSA theatre troupe 5765’s production of Hadestown: Teen Edition, written by Anaïs Mitchell. Join us November 12th-15th in the Black Box Theatre as we go way down under the ground into the tobacco factories of 1850s Durham. Tickets are $20 a person and go on sale on November 3rd at 9am. Tickets will sell VERY fast, so go to cur8.com to get yours right when the link goes live. Can't wait to see you there!

Do you struggle with saving money, want to start investing or are interested in majoring in business? Join Financial Literacy Club! We strive to improve students' financial knowledge through various activities and workshops under different topics like accounting and entrepreneurship. Our first meeting will be on November 12th in Mrs. Del Dotto's room T204.

Hey DSA! The giving season has begun and Drive for Change is calling on you to be a giver. For our first drive of the year we will be collecting gently used children's books for Book Harvest. We know many of you probably have lots of kids books just sitting on the shelf, so why not harvest them and donate to a good cause! The drive will run until November 30th. To donate, look for the red boxes around school. 

Learn about upcoming games, tryouts, and more at the official DSA Athletics website https://dsaathleticzone.com/. You can show your team spirit and get your team swag at the New DSA Athletic Store.

• Save money by buying your High School All Sports Season Pass today for just $60 on GoFan. This pass gets you unlimited access to all high school athletic regular season home contests for the year. Come out and support your fellow Bulldogs!

• The priority deadline for Cap and Gown orders is November 15th! After that the prices will increase! 

  If you have not ordered yet, please use one of the links below to order your graduation gear:

  Graduation Packages - https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/catalogBrowse/1025644/DURHAM-SCHOOL-OF-THE-ARTS/Graduation/2958999196/CATALOG_REPOSITORY?abspec=ROUTE_PACKAGEBROWSE_TO_CATALOG

  Cap and Gown Only - https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/productDetail/1025644/DURHAM-SCHOOL-OF-THE-ARTS/Cap-and-Gown/2958999196/CATALOG_REPOSITORY/Cap-Gown-Tassel-and-Custom-Stole/3009946503

  Reach out to Ms. Schepp (marykatherine_schep@dpsnc.net) if you have any questions!

   

• Attention Senior Families: Senior Ads are also now available. This is a great opportunity to celebrate your graduating Senior with pictures and messages of encouragement. Ordering details are linked below. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Donaldson at Alphonso_Donaldson@dpsnc.net.

•  Yearbook Ordering Link

  Senior Ad Ordering Link

• Our next prom committee meeting will be held Wednesday November 12th in room D115 from 3:30 to 4:15. If you are unable to attend please email Ms. Thibodeaux.
• Senior Portrait make ups  will be in Weaver Auditorium on November 12th. Seniors who did not take portraits over the summer will take their photos on the 12th through their English classes. 

Note in the Pocket is a non-profit based in Durham and Raleigh. They have provided high-quality wardrobes to children and their families in need in the area for over 10 years. Note in the Pocket offers a relaxed, air-conditioned environment year-round for volunteers. There are several ways for students to get involved for those who need service hours or who are looking to give back. Students can come in for a volunteer shift where they will assist in sorting through donations, fold and label wardrobe items, or many other tasks around the facility. Students need to be age 16 and up to volunteer without a chaperone. Students can also run clothing drives to generate donations for Note in the Pocket.

If students are passionate about Note in the Pocket’s mission and want to commit more time to participating, they can apply for Teen Board. In this program, students will work with Note in the Pocket’s leadership on various projects to gain hands-on leadership development experience, guided by mentors that provide insight into the functions and demands of running a nonprofit organization.

Volunteer shifts run from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday, as well as 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on Saturdays. Clothing drives can be done on students' own time. Teen Board accepts applications each summer for a year-round program. 

For volunteering, sign up for a shift here, or contact Stephanie Schaben at Stephanie@noteinthepocket.org. For clothing drives, contact Karol Turner at karol@noteinthepocket.org, and for the Teen Board, contact Kristina Isaac at kristina@noteinthepocket.org.

Please take a few minutes to share your feedback about the PTSA. You can take the survey in English at https://forms.gle/jHLwGKoHDsg5UZ8n7 or in Spanish at https://forms.gle/Harviu9nEZpAnFtX8

Learn more at the Durham School of the Arts PTSA website: https://dsaptsa.givebacks.com/

Please join us at an upcoming PTSA general body meeting:

• Nov. 13

• Jan. 22

• March 19

All are welcome! Stay tuned for zoom links for virtual attendance. The September and March meetings will also be held in person.

Welcome back to school! It's time to join or re-join the PTSA for the 2025-26 school year. Please visit our giveback page for memberships bit.ly/joindsaptsa. We would love your support.

Our 2025-26 board members are:

President: Stephanie Hawver
Vice President 1: Brittney McGraw
Vice President 2: Ashanti Smith-Watson
Treasurer: Maryann Ruiz-Heard
Secretary: Dr. Danielle Sutton

We look forward to continuing to support DSA this year!

Rather than host multiple fundraisers throughout the year, we do one annual campaign. This year, our campaign goal is to raise $20,000. If each family made a gift of $25, we could easily exceed our goal! (You, of course, can give more.)

NO amount is too small, as anything we raise directly benefits the students of DSA. Please consider making a donation to help to ensure that current and future students have a great experience at DSA. There are two ways to make your tax-deductible donation:

• Make a donation online at: https://www.givebacks.com/donate/dsaptsa

• Send a check payable to DSA PTSA and mail it to the school:

400 N. Duke St.
Durham, NC 27701

Our next Drivers ed class will be December 1st- December 20th.  You are required to attend every class, so don't sign up if you have a dress rehearsal, a performance, dance or athletic event.  Payment will be required during registration now, so make sure you have debit or credit card available.  Registration is this Saturday November 15th starting at 9:00 a.m.   You can get the registration info and link on the DSA Web page under drivers ed.

Any DSA student who is requesting an N.C. Driving Eligibility Certificate must pass 5 of their 7 classes and submit their Drivers Ed certificate to the main office before school, during lunch or after school before 4 p.m. Once the office receives the Drivers Ed certificate, the student will receive the N.C. Eligibility form within 48 hours. Please note that the certificate is only valid for 30 days. Please ensure that you have scheduled your appointment with the DMV.