DeKalb School of the Arts

DeKalb School of the Arts
1192 Clarendon Avenue Avondale Estates, Georgia 30002 Phone 678.676.2502

Superintendent's Newsletter

Please click HERE to access Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris' Weekly Newsletter.

News and Information

Archived News

Parent Town Hall Meeting

There will be a parent town hall meeting for our region this Thursday, December 3rd, at 5:00 pm. You can join the meeting at https://bit.ly/regionivparenttownhall

Get a New York Times Subscription for Free

Students, the New York Times is offering a subscription to their online newspaper FOR FREE through September 2021!!! To take advantage of this fabulous opportunity please sign up at HERE by this Friday, December 4th. Please use your school email.

Nutcracker Dance Along

Nutcracker in a Nutshell this year has become a dance along instead. Stop by our YouTube channel and dance along with our amazing ballerinas! They have created the ballet dance along in three different levels: preschool, elementary, and middle school. You can find all of the ballets HERE.

ACTSO Competition Is Now Open

The NAACP’s Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) is a yearlong achievement program designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students. ACT-SO includes 32 competitions in STEM, humanities, business, and performing, visual and culinary arts. This program inspires young black students to expand their horizons and believe in their talents for a lifetime.

Many DSA alums have benefited from participating in this enriching program. Please join this year's ACT-SO kickoff and information session on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 7pm. You can register for the event HERE. This year's local competition will be virtual.

Bookmark Contest

The DSA Library/Visual Art Department Bookmark Contest is back! This year's theme is virtually anything @ your library. All entries are due by December 18th. Winning entries will be printed up and distributed in late spring. For more information click HERE.

Giving Tuesday

Come watch Cornucopia on December 1st at 7:00 pm. It's a virtual production that highlights creative works from all DSA arts departments so far this year. So grab a cup of hot chocolate, sit down as a family and tune in! This is being done to promote support for our first annual GA Gives #GivingTuesday Campaign. Your investment will help bring additional arts and academic enrichment as we move into 2021.

The Formicary Newspaper

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The latest issue of The Formicary is out! You can read it HERE, and browse all the past issues HERE.

Take our holiday food poll HERE, and our holiday song poll HERE, and our Holiday activity poll HERE.

The Beta Club Newsletter

You can find the latest monthly Beta Club News HERE.

Order Your Yearbook Now!

Yearbooks are on sale today! With prices starting at $55, you won't want to miss getting one so you can remember this unprecedented year! You can place your order HERE.

Subscribe to DSA's YouTube Channel!

Subscribe to DSA's YouTube channel at bit.ly/DSAvideos. It's a great way to keep up with our latest performances, video announcements, and class projects.

Morning Announcements

You can tune into the morning ANNOUNCEMENTS Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 9:30 on the Teams app, or you can call in at 470/440-4499 Conference ID: 575 188 49# Stay informed! And if you missed the morning announcements and want to watch them later, or you want to find a link that was mentioned, be sure to visit our archived announcement site, bit.ly/DSAnnounce. Also be sure to keep up with Mr. Greene on his Blog.

Assessment Pages

Our website has a whole section dedicated to testing. It is located under ACADEMICS, or you can find it in the quick links section to the right, or click HERE. If you visit the page you can find helpful information for students and parents on MAP, PSAT, Georgia MILESTONES or AP tests. Be sure to check it out and prepare yourself!

The schedule for the fall MAP testing can be found HERE.

Student Absences

We may be online, but students still need to attend every virtual class every day, and remain the whole time, otherwise they will be marked absent or tardy. Teachers will take attendance each class period. If the student signs in after attendance is taken, then that student may be marked tardy-unexcused. However, if the student has a valid tardy excuse, then please email Ms. Howard as soon as possible.

All absence emails and medical excuses must come from a parent's email and go to Ms. Howard. You can view the complete Attendance Protocol HERE. We also have a new ATTENDANCE page in the Quick Links column to the right.

Media Releases

Students need to have their media release forms filled out for the 2020-2021 school year. These forms can be found at HERE. The forms need to be filled out by a parent/guardian only.

Students Now Can Check Out the Public Library's eBooks

You can now check out the public library's eBooks using only your student number (S#)! The public library also subscribes to HOOPLA, which has music and movies for download--all free! To see the hundreds of thousands of eBooks and other resources available through the DSA and public library go to bit.ly/DSAFreeBooks

Library Curbside Checkout

DSA will have curbside checkout of library books every Wednesday from 10:00-2:00. This is also a time to enlist Ms. Roohi’s help in answering questions you may have on finding resources or small technology challenges. To access this service, email Ms. Roohi your questions or book requests before 10:00 am each Wednesday. You may also reach her at 678/676-2521 during those hours. To learn more click HERE. If you need help putting a book on hold, watch this short VIDEO.

The PTSA Needs Your Support!

Prior PTSA meeting minutes and treasurer reports can be found at the official WEBSITE. The PTSA supports the school and last year the PTSA did the following: 1) gave out over $5000 in grants to teachers to pay for art supplies, SmartMusic subscriptions for the entire music department, Horton dance instruction, Reading Bowl books, transportation for Drama Ensemble 2) paid for the Parchment subscription so our students can get their official transcripts, 3) paid for TimeCenter to schedule counselor appointments, 4) paid for program printing for Premiere Weekend, 5) supported farewell gifts for our seniors, 6) purchased pizza for SPA Dance and student auditions, 7) provided meals during Teacher/Staff Appreciation week and tokens of appreciation for faculty/staff, 8) supported a back to school picnic, plus many other things. READ MORE...

Virtual Learning Support

Having problems with virtual learning? There is a whole WEBSITE dedicated to what to do and how to get started. The site covers such things as how to get started with your Chromebook (including a very important wellness check if you have a DCSD Chromebook), how to log onto Launchpad, Verge and Infinite Campus. Not to mention who to contact when something doesn't work! Be sure to bookmark this SITE! You can always contact the IT desk at 678/676-1188 or fill in a HELP TICKET.

If you're looking for DSA's back to school connectivity guide, you can find it HERE.

Chromebook Accessories

Have you lost your Chromebook charger or bag? Remember you are responsible for turning it in at the end of the year! If you need to order a replacement, you may do so HERE.

Registrar page

Do you have registration, Infinite Campus or Parent Portal questions? Be sure to check out Ms. McClary's new Registrar page! You can find it under the Academics tab on the left, or click HERE. If you just need instructions on how to access Infinite Campus, you can find them HERE.