Principal's Message, September 13
This starts our fourth week of the new school year. As we visit classrooms, routines and procedures are in place. Students are diving deeper into content and teachers are integrating a number of engaging strategies aimed at leveraging a number of skills that were honed or acquired during professional development over the summer. With the guidance of educational consultants, four teachers were on site designing lessons to accommodate all learners two weeks ago, and eight teachers were solidifying writing strategies for their students last week. This week, five additional teachers planned ways to implement project based learning in their classrooms. We are so proud of our teachers’ desires to be life-long learners and seek best practices as they work to engage students and to instill a love of learning.
Back to School Night
We were glad to see so many happy faces at our Back to School Night. If you were unable to attend or arrived a few minutes late, there is a video link at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLfomJa6UWw. We also encourage you to contact your child’s teachers, as they want to be part of your child’s support system.
Future Site Changes
Many of you have seen the early stages of a new parking lot off of Pollard, between our drive through and Quito Road. We are eager to have an additional dozen or so spaces for staff and after school activities. It is our hope that by November our parking lot is in full use.
Nine CUSD schools currently have an array of video cameras, including eight elementary sites. In the coming weeks, CUSD will start the installation of video cameras at RHMS. Cameras have been successful at deterring graffiti and vandalism at sites. With our new two-story building, the garden, continued classroom upgrades, and a number of weekend activities, we want our RHMS campus to have the benefit of added protection.
Absences
It is important to have students present during the hours of instruction. CUSD’s Profile of a Graduate, including self-direction, innovation, critical thinking, collaboration, and empathy, as well the content standards in all classes are best received at school. It is when students engage with content and soft skills that learning occurs. We encourage you to schedule appointments and vacations at times other than during school hours.
Power School
We appreciate that many parents and students seek access to Power School. Monitoring Power School grades, one measure of how a student is performing academically, is important. We apologize for the delay as the parent Power School portal continues to be closed. It is our district’s hope that the parent portal opens by Monday. As an aside, passcodes are the same as in previous years. We are looking at the most effective way to disseminate passcodes to all new parents. We will print passcodes this week, and mail them on Friday.
Minimum Day for Teachers
During this week’s early release, teachers worked in grade level departments to begin the process of establishing a Professional Learning Community. Departments will determine longer term goals and what Learning Targets are most relevant to achieving those goals on a short-term basis. Determinations will be made regarding what formative assessment best provides evidence that students have achieved those learning targets and what might be next steps for those who have and have not yet met the agreed upon learning target.
PTA
Next Wednesday at 7:00 pm there is a PTA membership meeting in the RHMS staff room. All families are invited to attend.
Best Wishes
We hope that you and your family continue to enjoy the waning weeks of summer, and we invite you to visit with school administration for an overview of the year on Wednesday, September 26th from 8:45 am to 9:30 am in the staff room.