Good evening Githens families,
I hope you had an amazing weekend. Please review this email in its entirety for our weekly updates at Githens.
Calendar
Monday Nov. 17th - SIT Meeting
Tuesday Nov. 18th - All County Band and PTA Meeting via Zoom
Thursday Nov. 20th - Performing Arts Concert at Githens
Friday Nov. 21st - School Dance
Monday - Friday Nov. 24th - 28th - Thanksgiving Break, School Closed
Raider Store
The Githens Raider store is in need of donations. Please visit our Amazon Wishlist HERE. We appreciate all donations as this helps support our mission and vision of students modeling The Raider Way.
Performing Arts Concert
The GMS Performing Arts will host its Winter Concert on Thursday, November 20 at Githens. More information to come.
Give to Githens 2025: Annual Fundraiser Update!
One More Day To Give! Only $2,370 more needed for our second challenge match!
As of last night we have raised $24,397 towards our $40,000 goal. We have a second $10,000 challenge match if we reach $26,767 which means we need another $2,370 to activate that match! As a reminder this is our one and only fundraiser for the year. The campaign formally runs through tomorrow, Monday, November 17, so if you wanted to give but haven’t yet, you still have time. For those who’ve already donated, thank you! Please consider doubling your impact if your employer has a matching donation program (EIN 56-1682511).
Final campaign donations through Monday can be made via Givebacks. Cash and Checks (made out to Githens Middle School PTA) are also accepted. Donations can also be dropped off at the Githens front office during school business hours (8:15am to 3:00pm) or mailed to 4800 Old Chapel Hill Road, Durham, NC 27707!
Go to the 2025 Give to Githens page for more information on how to donate. Reach out to givetogithens@gmail.com with any questions.
Thank you all for supporting our Githens community!
School Dance
The GMS PTA will host a Harvest Dance on Friday, November 21st from 6:00pm - 8:00pm. In order to attend, students must have no disciplinary major referrals from Monday October 20th to Friday November 21st. Please review our GMS Dance Policy HERE (ENG) and HERE (SPN). Students will receive a copy of the permission slip during report card distribution. Also, our GMA PTA would love to have your support and help with the Dance. Please use the Sign up Genius to volunteer.
Githens/DPS Dress Code
This is a friendly reminder that no article of clothing can be worn on students’ heads unless it is for religious purposes. We are seeing an increase in students attempting to wear hats, hoodies, masks, etc on their head and face while in the building. This presents a large safety concern as we must be able to easily identify students throughout the building at all times. Please support us in upholding this policy by reminding your scholar that they cannot wear these items inside of the building. Failure to comply with this directive will result in disciplinary action.
Transportation (Carpool and Buses)
Carpool: 6th grade car riders are dismissed at 3:20pm followed by 7th grade car riders being dismissed at 3:30pm. No students will be dismissed between 3:00pm - 3:20pm and ALL carpool scholars must be picked up no later than 4:15pm daily.
Buses: To help you stay informed, we encourage you to use the Edulog app to track your scholar’s bus and receive real-time updates about delays or changes. Transportation information and guidelines can be found HERE. If you have any questions regarding buses, please contact Mr. Carter, james_carter@dpsnc.net. Thank you for your patience and support as we work to ensure safe and efficient transportation for all students
Athletics
There are no athletic updates for the week.
Community Events:
*Showcase of Schools will take place on Saturday November 22, 2025
Infinite Campus & Rooms Information
Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, Durham Public Schools is transitioning to a new student information system, NCSIS powered by Infinite Campus . This system will replace PowerSchool as your one-stop-shop for grades, attendance, and other important school information. Watch this video to preview the new system. You can stay connected via the Campus Parent app, which can be downloaded through the links below or by visiting the App Store or Google Play on your smartphone.
Download from the Google Play Store
This year, Durham Public Schools will launch a districtwide two-way messaging tool that will make communicating with families easier and more efficient. The new tool, called Rooms , is part of the same platform that runs the district website and app, which will integrate and streamline the process for teachers and district leaders to communicate with families. From now on, communication from our schools will all exist in one place: The DPS district app. Parents and guardians can also receive messages from their teachers via text and email or can check notifications via a web browser.
Download from the Google Play Store
Our goal at Githens is to keep a strong connection between home and school. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.
For 6th grade inquires - Mr. Carter
For 7th grade inquires - Mr. Goble
For 8th grade inquires - Mr. France interim for Mrs. Major
Raiders, let’s finish this last week before the holiday break with a POSITIVE note! See you tomorrow!