Welcome to 2024-2025 at RHMS

August 2, 2024

Dear RHMS Families,

Hello and welcome to the 2024-2025 school year.  On behalf of our Rolling Hills staff, we are eager to hear your children’s voices and see their faces return here in just a few weeks!  Your children are who create energy and excitement that our buildings need! 

School administration returned to school on Monday, July 29th, while the office staff arrived the following day.  We are working hard to coordinate the newness that a given school year presents, while improving upon has been in place for a few years now.

• We welcome several new staff members, from those in our office to those in our Counseling Department to teachers and instructional associates in classrooms.  We are excited to have these new perspectives add to our collective experience, as we work with approximately 800 students.

• So that staff and students continue to experience 30 minutes together, RHMS will maintain its single lunch scenario.  To facilitate this, lunch will be staggered to some degree.  The ten-minute overlay will facilitate food distribution for half of our student body before the second half of our student body joins.  Students will alternate “early” lunch weekly.

• To support building a strong student connection to school and each other, we are piloting a mentor/leadership elective this year.  Peer coaching, tutoring, and coordinating lunchtime activities are the goals.

• We will continue to strive to host a vibrant Club Program that is segmented into two sessions.  Staff and community members who have a passion for supporting a collection of students after school facilitate approximately 8-week sessions.  We will promote clubs and seek club hosts in the early part of September.

• Shortened Wednesdays will enable us to continue to focus on data and academic achievement and dialogue within and between grade levels.  We will continue to add targeted times to simply discuss the well-being of our students.

• As research continues to demonstrate the harm of social media, CUSD is continuing to strengthen its middle school cell phone policy.  Details will follow directly from CUSD and later RHMS. 

We know there are several questions about upcoming dates, and while we are still ironing out details, you may wish to place a few on your calendars:

• Monday, August 5th  Official CUSD Back to School Packet

  • RHMS will send an email via ParentSquare with the CUSD Back to School Packet to be completed digitally.  If this is not an option for you, hard copies will be available in our office.  For the safety of your children, all aspects of the packet are to be completed prior to the first day of school.

• Tuesday, August 13th New Student Orientation

  • Geared for only students, any new sixth, seventh, or eighth grade student to us will receive schedules, tour campus, meet staff and peers, and prepare them for a successful year.  So that we may better message appropriate use and care of learning tools, Chromebooks will not be distributed to any new students until the second week of school.

  • A follow up email to our new families will confirm student attendance at the event.  It is scheduled for 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.  There will be an optional parent component in the gym as well from approximately 1:00 to 2:00.

• Monday, August 19th Access to PowerSchool

  • Digital schedules will be available on PowerSchool for all returning students.  Should returning students be unsuccessful at logging into PowerSchool, hard copies will be available at noon on that same day.

• Wednesday, August 21st First Day of School

  • Our first day is a minimum day, 8:30 to 2:03.

• Connectedness

  • We encourage families to sign up for PowerSchool access.  This provides families the opportunities to access student progress and attendance.

  • Parent Square is our primary method of communication.  It is important that you read it as messages are sent.

  • Our new PTA Board has had several planning meetings with its board members and school administration over the summer.  There is palpable excitement.  We encourage you to participate and visit our PTA website at https://www.ptarhms.org/.

• Bell Schedule and Testing Schedules

  • Minutes that are in line with state mandates and contractual expectations are here.

• Parent Input

  • Fulfilling your children’s needs and desires inspires our Rolling Hills Middle School staff daily.  So that we may have a better understanding of what you seek, please take a moment to fill out this short form.

• Wednesday, September 11th at 6:00 pm Back to School Night

  • Parents will have the opportunity to experience campus and hear from teachers as they follow their child’s schedule.  A specific schedule will follow as that evening approaches.  Please plan to spend approximately ten minutes in each class.  This event is exclusively geared for parents.

We are excited to usher in a terrific year and look forward to seeing everyone in the coming weeks.

Please make it a point to enjoy the remaining weeks of summer.

Respectfully,

Ted Cribari III        Jeni Marty

Principal                Assistant Principal

[Friday, Aug 2 at 5:04 PM]
TUESDAY, August 13th is our New Student Orientation...