Calendar
Tuesday, September 3, 2019 - First Day of School
  • 6th Grade Start Time (schedule handout) - 8:10 am
  • 7th/8th Grade Start Time (schedule handout) - 10:30 am
Wednesday, September 4, 2019 - Library
  • Laptop roll out for 6th & new 7/8 graders.
Thursday, September 5, 2019 - Library
  • Laptop roll out for 7/8 graders who missed the Griz Biz
Friday, September 6, 2019
  • Picture Day- Commons
  • Laptop Tech Help Day 
School
2019-2020 School Year
For our returning Grizzlies, mark you calendars for important dates:

Fees: Friendly reminder from the The Principal and PTSA Presidents

PAY YOUR FEES ONLINE via PARENT ACCESS https://www.lwsd.org/help/parent-access-support
***Items available for Purchase via Parent Access: Yearbook, ASB, PE Fitness Shirt, Athletic Sports Participation Fee (don’t forget to submit your updated paperwork to the office). Class fees will be available for payment two weeks AFTER the start of the semester. Sports Packet  


First Day of School: Our first day is the day after Labor Day on Tuesday, September 3. Buses will run twice to accommodate our staggered start. Note that 6 th  grade students (and NEW to RMS 7 th /8 th  Graders) should arrive at the regular start of the day (first bell rings at 8:10) and have an orientation with activities designed to make their transition to middle school just a bit smoother. Sixth graders (and NEW to RMS 7 th /8 th  Graders) will start their day in the cafeteria and will be assigned to groups at that time. Returning seventh and eighth grade students should arrive at 10:30 to collect schedules (buses will start dropping students around 10:10). We will then continue with class activities and regular lunches for all students.
What are they coming home with and what should come back?
  • Agendas – These include the student handbook and the Student Rights and Responsibilities
  • Picture day forms – Please return these on Picture day, 9/6, if you would like to purchase pictures.
  • Acknowledgement of Student Rights and Responsibilities form – Please review the information in the Agenda/Handbook with your student and then sign and return this form with them to their Grizzly Time Teacher.
  • AUP (laptops) form (6th grade and NEW 7th/8th graders only) – this form MUST be signed and returned to their ELA teacher on 9/4 in order for us to issue student laptops that day.
  • Important Parent information – This large packet is a great go too FAQ tool.

Picture Day: We will be taking pictures the first Friday of school, September 6. We hope to capture the vast majority of students in one day. Students will receive their permanent ID/ASB card at this time as well.

Laptops: All students will be issued a laptop for school use. Sixth graders, and new RMS 7th/8th will be issued their devices during school on September 4. Please remind your student to bring home and charge their laptop that evening as we will be covering important lessons with the devices on Friday. Included in materials coming home the first day is a form to receive a laptop. Please review, sign, and return with your student if they are new to our school (returning 7 th /8 th  graders do not need to return).  We cannot issue a laptop without this signed form.  Our 7 th /8 th  graders who are returning, and were unable to attend Griz Biz, will be issued laptops on September 5.

 Curriculum Night/Open House:
Our annual parent Open House will be Tuesday, September 24. A general welcome for all parents begins in the gymnasium at 6:30 pm. First period class is scheduled to start at 6:45 pm; time will be provided to visit all of your student’s RMS classes. A detailed invitation will be emailed the early part of September.   

Dropping off?
Please help us with our traffic. If you are picking up/dropping off your student, please form one lane and pull all the way to front of the line before letting your student out of the car. This way we can ensure all are safe and maximize our parking lot space.
 
Need some support?  Please complete the following to see if you qualify for Free/Reduced Lunches:
  1. Download the application in English or Spanish via the following link: http://www.lwsd.org/students-families/breakfast-and-lunch-menus  OR:
  2. Have the school send home a paper application with your child. To have a paper application sent home with you child, email sblack@lwsd.org with your child’s name.
  3. Have your child drop off the completed application in the Student Services office at RMS so that it can be sent in to the district office.
  4. Send in the completed form no later than October 12th for processing.
 
Attendance/Health Reminder
If you know you are picking up a student during the school day, please call the RMS Safe Arrival Line, (425) 936-2441 and leave a message – stating your student’s name, the reason for leaving and the time. Please note that all students must be signed out at the front desk by a parent or guardian.
Please also update your child’s immunization record with our nurse. Most importantly will be to update the date of your student’s Tdap shot. You can drop off this information at the Student Services office at RMS.
Yubbler.com
We are excited to offer you a new program that will help the school and make it a breeze for parents to get school supplies for next year.  Yubbler.com  is making our supply lists available for online purchasing at discounted prices. The best part is that Yubbler will donate 50% of the profits back to the school.
What you need to do:
•  Find the supply list here:  https://www.yubbler.com/Yub/Details/30877
•  Click on the purchase button (“Full List”) then enter your shipping and billing information
•  You can customize your cart in checkout by removing or adding items
•  You’re done!
How it works:
•  Supplies are shipped “Next Day” to your home for free.
PTSA
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL
We need your immediate help to distribute class schedules Tuesday, netbooks Wednesday and Thursday and finish the week with picture day Friday. If you can only help for 30 minutes, we’d love to have you! Simply take a look at the sign-up genius and choose your job. It’s that easy. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4caea82fa5f49-back
  Speaking of easy - - by pledging 2 hours of volunteer time this year, PTSA and RMS events/programs are better managed and implemented. We were excited (and grateful) to meet the 146 parents who pledged their time at Griz Biz. Their commitment to help is just the beginning…. we need at least 364 more pledges to share the load of bringing academic enrichment and recognition to the students of RMS.
Griz Biz also inspired two new committee Co-chairs! Thank you and welcome to Kamertap and Rose! Take a look at this link to view more Chair and committee positions that need to be filled -- Fundraising, Hospitality, Special Needs and Student Directory Editor to name a few.  https://rmsptsa.ourschoolpages.com/Packet/Volunteer/VolunteeringPacketPage/1
** Please email your completed 2 hour Pledge Form back to Stacy ASAP! She needs to ensure students know where to go when the bell rings on Tuesday!
Thank you!
Stacy Hatch
Looking to be creative this summer? Looking to be a winner? Look Within!
The National PTA Reflections 2019-2020 theme is  Look Within . Students may submit works of art in the categories Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts. For program details visit  www.pta.org/reflections  or email  reflections@rmsptsa.org  to receive an official entry form and fall 2019 submission deadline date when they become available.
The Snuggery'- RMS Initiative for students in need

The snuggery is looking for donations to stock up before school starts, to help students in need succeed. We are only focusing on snacks for during the school day right now. Families wishing to donate can bring items to Griz Biz on August 20th from 8-2, drop off any time between 7am and 3pm the last week of August (26-30) or send with their student the first day of school (Tuesday, Sept 3rd).
Ideas for items are: 
-Granola bars (nut free varieties as well)
-Apple sauce pouches
-Individual servings of trail mix
-Raisins
-Individual bags of goldfish
-Peanut butter crackers/cheddar crackers
-Cracker/cheese packages
-Individual serving packs of crackers
-Fruit snacks
ASB
Fall Athletes Medical Forms
For parents of grade 8 returning athletes:
Summer will go by very fast and if your grizzly's last physical for athletics/sports teams was 2 years ago, it is time for their next one!
More information can be found here:
Hope everyone had a good summer!
Season 1 sports
Interested athletes for season 1 sports can sign up during during lunches the first week of school. All forms and payments must be turned in by Friday Sept. 6 th

 Cross Country Head Coaches – Trevor Long ( trlong@lwsd.org ) and Kurtis Gale ( kgale@lwsd.org ) 
Boys Tennis Head Coach – Katy McCorkle ( cmccorkle@lwsd.org )
Boys Basketball Head Coach – Rathan Mahendran ( rmahendran@lwsd.org )
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A reminder that purchases made on Amazon using this link help RMS ASB.
Help RMS ASB by donating used clothing and shoes. The bin is located in the parking lot by the portables.
Fund the Grizzlies  –  Please donate to the Redmond Middle School Associated Student Body (ASB) to help fund student activities.
Community
New app will allow parents to view estimated bus stop arrival times
Coming in Fall 2019, LWSD will begin using a new mobile phone app called “Versatrans My Stop." This app provides parents/guardians with an estimated arrival time to the assigned bus stop. The Versatrans My Stop app uses GPS data collected from school buses to track buses as they may their way along bus routes. Versatrans My Stop graphically displays a school bus location on a map, as well as the estimated time of arrival (ETA) to a specific student’s bus stop. Information is automatically updated, and the ETA is recalculated to accommodate any delays due to traffic while in route. Parents/guardians will also be able to access My Stop on a computer. More information about the Versatrans My Stop app will be available to families in the fall.  
Student spotlight: 7th grader at RMS gives back to the community
Anya Lukka is an incoming 7th grader at RMS. She is very passionate about art and giving back to the community. She participates in different events in the community and the money she raises selling her art, she donates 50% of her proceeds to the community. Please check the article appeared in Redmond Reporter https://www.redmond-reporter.com/life/redmond-youth-participates-in-business-fair-for-charity/
Her goal is to spread awareness among other kids to give back to the community. Kudos to Anya Lukka!!
Bear Tracks weekly is produced by RMS PTSA as a benefit to the Redmond Middle School Community. Articles are due on Thursdays for publication the following Monday. Bear Tracks is edited by Ekta Vadlamudi and [YOUR NAME HERE - please email Sujatha Patra: communications.vp@rmsptsa.org if interested in co-editing ]. Please review our communication priorities and submit articles to weekly@rmsptsa.org .