School News

It’s almost time for our annual library fundraiser,Books and Bratwurst! We are hoping to expand library hours to include after school, increase our selection of books and purchase furniture to create a more up-to-date environment. Our library should be both interactive and inviting. Come browse at the Scholastic Book Faire, grab a quick dinner, and see what’s happening at the library. All funds raised on the evening of October 6th go directly towards creating the best library possible for your children. Look for a flyer in next week's Friday envelope!

Our SBAC scores are in!  This year’s scores are better thought of as a starting point or baseline for the progress we expect students to make over time. We see these tests as an academic checkup. Similar to class assignments and report cards, they are just one measurement in a set of tools on student progress used to provide you and your child’s teacher(s) with information about your student’s work toward the high goals we have set.

The assessment results indicate our students performed well in some content areas and need more support in other content areas. We expect to see both individual and district student achievement growth in subsequent administrations of the CAASPP assessments.

Once the official results are received, your child’s teacher(s) will use them to help set learning goals for his/her students this year.  A copy of the results will also be sent to you in mid-October. 

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are here at RHMS! Our 7th & 8th grade science teachers have the honor of piloting the latest technology based work with Lawrence Hall of Sciences. As California starts the transition to these new standards, we will be sure to do a combination of both current standards and upcoming standards. This is the same philosophy we used in preparing our students for the change from CST to SBAC testing- and our SBAC results have been fabulous! We will maintain high expectations for Science assessment results in 2017.

Have a great weekend,

Cynthia Dodd

Principal RHMS

Safety, safety, safety! Please remember that your children are still children- even though they seem so mature at times. We have complaints of students jumping in front of cars at Safeway after school (and laughing at the reaction of drivers), riding their bikes full speed downhill on the catwalk (forcing pedestrians to scramble), crossing illegally (in the middle of the street), and riding with helmets on the handlebars of their bikes (not on their heads). These are dangerous activities, and all require conversations at home with adults in charge. Please, talk to your children. Don’t let them go to Safeway after school. Have them ride their bikes safely.

Also, remember that your children still need you in their lives. While they might roll their eyes and say “nothing” when you ask what they did at school today, they really do have things to share with you. Ask them who they’re hanging out with at school & where they go after school. Ask if they had a group project in their class, and who was in their group. You’ll find they might initially be reluctant to talk about the social aspects of their day, but that’s where a large part of their focus is at this age. The important part of including yourself in their lives is listening and not always judging- which is difficult but necessary.

Good communication is what creates a strong supportive environment for everyone.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Cynthia Dodd
Principal, RHMS

The School Site Council is an advisory group which participates in the development of the school site plan and which oversees the disbursement of funds from the School Improvement Budget.   We have 4 incoming candidates for the new term.  Please pick up a ballot in the school office onr on the school website and cast your vote today.