Principal’s Message

We hope Spring Break was an opportunity to re-charge and spend quality time together.  With the weather warming and the rain diminishing, it is clear that spring is in the air.

SBAC Testing Schedule

Recognizing that state testing may be a time of anxiety for our students, we are making a concerted effort at supporting them during this time.  Often, keeping our days “status quo” is an important step.  While testing will occur, there will be many similarities to the previous several months of school.  We will have a six period day, every day.  We will mirror the same testing schedule we experienced during iReady in September and February.  We will have lunch at approximately the same time as the previous 140 days.

You will notice that we have also built in some rest between assessments.  They include weekends and Wednesdays.  The dates follow, and a specific bell schedule is posted on the website:

• Thursday, May 2 (ELA Computer Adaptive Test, Part I)
• Friday, May 3 (ELA Computer Adaptive Test, Part II)
• Monday, May 6 (Math Computer Adaptive Test, Part I)
• Tuesday, May 7 (Math Computer Adaptive Test, Part II)
• Thursday, May 9 (ELA Performance Task Part I)
• Friday, May 10 (ELA Performance Task Part II)
• Monday, May 13 (Math Performance Task)
• Tuesday, May 14 (Math Performance Task, tbd)
• Week of May 20 (8^th Grade Science)

It is vital that every effort is made to have your child at school on these days, as make-ups become problematic when assessments continue to build.  A good night’s rest, a healthy breakfast, a morning snack, and a good-bye hug are additional ways to support your child as he or she demonstrates their learning on these state tests.

We will continue to re-iterate that assessing a child’s mastery of grade level content is accomplished in a variety of formats.  District writing prompts, collaborative presentations, letter grades, the 8^th grade Exhibition, iReady, and SBAC, as well as the soft skills associated with the CUSD’s Profile of a Graduate, including being self-directed, innovative, a critical thinker, collaborative, and empathetic, are all measures of a student’s mastery of grade level content.  As results arrive, we are excited to see how much our students continue to grow.

LiMPETS Science Field Trip

Looking at our Thought Exchange data, all of our seventh graders are attending an academical based field trip to Santa Cruz over the next two weeks.  Incorporating science and math, students will explore the tidal ecosystems, working collaboratively to obtain specimens from the beach, making appropriate measurements of those specimens, and entering data into a national database.  While the experience itself has no fees, securing transportation and substitute teachers is a costly endeavor.  Fortunately, Mr. Alexander secured a $600 grant to help offset fees.  We encourage you to provide the suggested donation amount of approximately $13 per child and sign the permission slip.

Notes and Floats… and a Learning Community

To create a larger sense of community and to demonstrate all the great things that departments, including ELA, math, science, social studies, PE, and electives have guided students to discover this year, our RHMS Notes and Floats event will expand.

On Thursday, June 6^th, prior to the 6:00 pm start of Notes and Floats where all of the RHMS bands and choirs will perform, the quad will feature teachers and what each department chooses to share with the public.  What is shared will be selected by each department as representative of its grade level and content essential standards.

The event will also include a number of food trucks so that families may remain and enjoy an evening of music and fun.

Further details will follow as that event draws closer.

PTA

Please log onto https://www.ptarhms.org/ for more details about how to support the PTA as it works to support over 1,000 RHMS students.