RMS August Family Newsletter 2019-20

Republic Middle School

Family Newsletter

Empowering Leaders to Grow and Serve

RMS Families,

We're off to a great start at RMS! This is the first monthly family newsletter for the 2019-20 school year. You will receive one newsletter at the beginning of each month highlighting important events and celebrating our school family. If you know of anyone who is not receiving this piece of communication please let them know they can also access it on our website, Facebook, or Twitter page.

In this edition you will learn/be reminded about:

Our new visitor management system
Student handbook information
Random student drug testing
Communication
RTI information
LEAD
Calendar Events

Thank you,

Allison Dishman, Principal

Tonia Herbold, Assistant Principal

Curt White, Assistant Principal

Michael Wright, Assistant Principal

Visitor Management System

Republic School District is implementing a new visitor management system that will help us electronically record and check the sex offender registry for anyone who visits and accesses our school buildings. If you plan to visit our schools for class parties, as a guest speaker, volunteer (additional background check form still needed https://www.republicschools.org/Page/1189 ), to have lunch with a student, contractor, etc. you'll need to bring with you a state issued picture ID as a way to check in with our front offices. We are excited about implementing this system as it helps us continue our focus of creating a safe and secure learning environment for our students and employees.

Random Student Drug Testing

7th and 8th grade only

Per Board of Education policy JFCI , if your student plans to participate in any activities, athletics, clubs, or organizations they must have a random student drug testing form on file.

The random student drug testing consent form is a one-time enrollment for a student's entire school career (6-12 grades). If your student turned one in last year they will not need to submit a new one for this year, or for any additional years your student attends Republic School District.

If your 7th or 8th grader plans to participate in any of the qualifying activities during the 2019-20 school year, they must have a copy of the random student drug testing consent form on file. RMS does have two enrollment windows for this process. For all fall or winter activities, or year-long clubs, enrollment consent forms must be turned in by August 28th .

For athletic/activities taking place in the spring, the second enrollment window is open from January 6th-January 17th.

A copy of the consent form can by clicking here .

For questions or comments please contact the main office at Republic Middle School: 417.732.3640

Response to Intervention (RTI)

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays RMS students will participate in RTI for 30 minutes. During RTI, students will be assigned to intervention instruction based on student needs or personalized learning time. Our focus this year at RMS will be English Language Arts(ELA) and Math. Each RTI cycle will last three weeks (9 days) and each cycle will alternate between ELA and Math.

Throughout the summer and last few weeks our teachers have been hard at work diving deeper into grade level learning standards and identifying priority goals. During intervention instruction, teachers will be spiraling back to learning standards that students have not yet mastered. During personalized learning time students will be working on standards/assignments/projects they have identified as being a priority.

We will continue to communicate our celebrations and adjustments throughout this process and are excited to build on our students' strengths and empower their growth!

LEAD

At RMS, we are beginning the second year of our building-wide leadership journey. During the 2018-19 school our Teacher Lighthouse Team led our students, faculty, and families in developing our mission. After taking input from all stakeholders "Empowering Leaders to Grow and Serve" is the mission of Republic Middle School. This mission will guide decision making and student leadership development in our building.

Our Student Lighthouse Team was developed last spring and has been hard at work over the summer collaborating with the Teacher Lighthouse Team to create curriculum and learning activities for all students during LEAD class. LEAD class will take place every Monday for 55 minutes at the end of the day. During this time, students will learn about the principles of the 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens. We will continue to communicate all of the great progress we are making in LEAD as we empower our leaders to grow and serve.

Important Notice about Medicaid

Over 9,000 children in Missouri have lost Medicaid (also called MO HealthNet) since January 2018. To check to see if your family has been impacted by this CLICK HERE for details that might be helpful. In addition, families can contact DSS Family Support Division at 1-855-373-9994 or visit https://mydss.mo.gov for assistance.

Communication

It is vital to student success that all RMS families have updated contact information. You may contact the RMS office at any time to update your information or use parent portal to do so. Be reminded that communication with building teachers and administrators is always available and important. Below you will find many of the communication tools you may access:

Website: republicschools.org and republicschools.org/rms
District Twitter: @republicschools
Building Twitter: @RepMoMiddle #rmsculture
District Facebook: Republic School District
Building Facebook: Republic Middle School
Email/phone
Tiger Talk e-newsletter: Sent on the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays of each month during the school year. Parents who have provided an email account are automatically signed up. Others can sign up on our website.
Mobile App
Voice calls and text messages at the building and district level (All numbers provided will receive these notifications, there is no longer a need to opt-in as in the past. However, opting out is still an option.)
Canvas

Birthday Snack Information

At the August 15 Board of Education meeting board policy ADF (district wellness policy) was discussed. The conversation mainly centered around one component of the policy which states that the district will follow USDA Smart Snacks for celebrations and birthdays for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. After much discussion, the Board has asked the district to "pause" on the implementation of requiring that birthday and celebration treats meet USDA Smart Snack requirements. During this time the Board has requested that district administration and health services department investigate what is mandated by the state and federal government regarding this component of policy ADF. Administration will provide the Board of Education with this information and possible alternatives for review. During this review period the district will implement policy ADF as it did during the 2018-19 school year. Therefore, it will not be necessary to consult the USDA Smart Snack requirements until further notice.

August/September

8/26

RMS Fall Sport Parent Meeting, 5:30-7:00pm in RMS main gym

8/27

Back to School Bash, 5:30-7:30pm in RMS parking lot

9/2

Labor Day, District Closed

9/7

RMS Gatorade Football Scrimmage, 10am-12pm at RMS Stadium

9/13

End of Progress 1

9/27

SI (School Improvement) Day, no school for students

10/7 and 10/8

Parent/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7pm

Teachers will contact families to schedule conferences

10/10

End of 1st quarter

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