Our school theme this year is #RRMS ALL IN! We are committed to putting ALL IN to foster a royal culture of caring with a safe and loving school environment where learning happens at high levels and ALL students succeed!

Show Your Royal Spirit with your River Ridge SWAG... new items have been added for purchase on Rycor at our River Ridge Spirit Store. Items can be picked up at the front office… don't miss out sizes are limited and new designs are amazing! Go Knights! #WeAreRoyal #RoyalSpiritFridays

The first day of school is this Wednesday, August 10th. Like last year, student hours are 7:10AM-1:30PM. Students will be permitted on to campus at 6:50AM.

As you are aware, student schedules are available on myStudent. Please be sure to check your schedule on Tuesday evening, as we will be making schedule adjustments based on the schedule change requests that we received on Friday, and you will need this schedule to locate your first period class on Wednesday.

When students arrive on Wednesday, rosters will be posted on the media center and cafeteria windows. There will also be staff members stationed throughout the campus to assist with directing students to their 1st period class. If a student would like to purchase breakfast, it will be available in the cafeteria from 6:50AM-7:05AM daily. Unlike last year, we are requesting that students who want breakfast, grab breakfast and eat it in the cafeteria. We do ask that students go immediately to their 1st period class every day and that there be no congregating in the courtyards and hallways.

During 1st period, all students will receive a NEW schedule that will be YELLOW. This is the schedule that they are to follow from that point forward. Announcements will be made during 1st period for students to report to the media center if they have an error on their schedule. All students who are taking a high school class 1st period will pick up their schedules at the front office.

Multiple RRMS 7th grade students do not have any record of a TDAP vaccination with an updated DOH immunization record also known as a 680 form.

If this is the case for your student, please provide the school with an updated 680 form. If your student does not have the TDAP vaccination please contact your student's primary care provider for an appointment or the Department of Health. Your 7th grader needs this vaccination prior to starting school on August 10th or they will not permitted to stay.

Families, please view this bus expectations video as a family. Bus safety is a priority and starts at the bus stop. #WeAreRoyal #RRMSALLIN

For Transportation Questions, please contact the Help Line at 727-774-0543.

There have been parking lot and main road improvements this summer on Town Center Road to provide a safer arrival and dismissal for all of our Royal Knights. As always, we are asking for patience and kindness as a flow is developed for arrival and dismissal. It takes all of us to ensure a stress-free and safe arrival and dismissal process.

The gates will open at 6:50AM each morning and the dismissal bell is at 1:30PM.

CAR LOOP PROCEDURES: When entering the car loop, please make sure to pull all the way up Row 1 or 2 to drop off or pick up your student. There are multiple directional signs. There has been an added Right Only Turn Lane in the rear of the parking lot, if you are going right on Town Center, please use this exit. Please be cautious as there is a student crosswalk along Town Center and all school buses will be entering/exiting from the middle school bus loop.

In the afternoon, cars can double up down Row 1 and 2 in order to expedite loading.

A few safety reminders:

Please DO NOT drop off or pick up students on Town Center.

Please DO NOT drop off or pick up students in the high school student parking lot.

We have requested the assistance of Pasco Sheriff's Office to patrol Town Center during high traffic times when they are available.

This week in sports there will be Football practice as all student athletes will make the team on August 10th-August 12th from 1:30PM-4PM. Cheerleading try outs will be August 10th-August 12th from 1:30PM-3:30PM in the dance room. Volleyball tryouts will be August 22-24 from 1:30PM-3:30PM. In order to try out, you must have a completed FHSAA physical packet including the three NFHS course certificates that reflect your 22-23 school year information. This paperwork is available on our school website under athletics at this link: https://rrms.pasco.k12.fl.us/?page_id=3662. All FHSAA/PASCO ATHLETIC FORMS MUST BE UPLOADED TO: athleticclearance.com before a student is allowed to participate in tryouts or conditioning. Please reach out to our Athletic Director, Chrissy Brando (cbrando@pasco.k12.fl.us), if you have any issues or questions.

Starting this school year, all courses at River Ridge Middle School will share the same weighted categories: Required Learning: Summative Assessments and Teacher-Directed: Formative Assessments.

The Required Learning: Summative Assessment category will count as 70% of a student's grade. This category will contain unit assessments (ie. exams and projects). All students will have the opportunity to redo assignments in this category that did not show mastery of standard(s)/skill(s) as Second Chance Learning Opportunities.

The Teacher-Determined: Formative Assessment category will count as 30% of a student's grade. This category will contain comprehension checks of the lesson learning target(s) and/or standard(s) being instructed during a lesson. All students will have the opportunity to redo assignments in this category that did not show mastery of standard(s)/skill(s) as Second Chance Learning Opportunities.

Homework, student conduct, and work habits will count as 0% of a student's grade because these items do not reflect a true demonstration of student learning. Teachers will use this category to show work habits and student performance while in class.

This new district/ school grading policy will focus on truly determining student proficiency of grade-level lesson learning targets and unit standards in every subject. Therefore, students will receive daily intervention and have the opportunity to redo assignments in these categories to improve their grades. Even students who earn a 95 out of a 100, for example, will be allotted the opportunity to earn a 100%. The focus is on determining if students understand the standard/skill begin taught.

The purpose of education is to ensure students are learning at the rigor of the grade-level standards. This new grading policy will ensure our Royals are meeting these expectations. Daily Knight Time/Homeroom will provide students in need of remediation with intervention, or provide students demonstrating proficiency with enrichment!

Schedule change requests will be accepted for students that are missing a promotion requirement on their schedule, have a duplicate class listed, and also for students who have a hole in their schedule (example missing a 3rd period class). Students who wish to request a schedule change for any other reason may due so by accessing the link below and have until August 12th to complete this request. At this time, all courses are very full and we will determine if additional changes can be made based off their requests. All students have received an elective course that they selected as options on their course request card.

River Ridge Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) welcomes you to a new school year. If this is your first year at River Ridge Middle School, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to each of you. If you are a “seasoned” Royal family, I know that you are as excited as we are to be starting the school year up again.

As parents/ guardians, we all support our children in their educational journey. As a PTSA member, we work collaboratively to support RRMS through many events and volunteer opportunities. This is going to be a great year!

If you would like to JOIN the RRMS PTSA, it is $10 for the year at https://riverridgemsptsa.memberhub.com/store.

FIRST PTSA MEETING:

WHEN: AUGUST 22, 2022 @ 6:00PM

WHERE: Middle School Media Center

As a reminder, all PTSA members wishing to volunteer should complete an annual volunteer application with the school district: https://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/comm/volunteer/

Your Time and talents are needed! There are some volunteer opportunities below:

*Save The date: Happy New Year School Dance on August 26, 2022: Volunteer sign up coming soon.

Please join and follow our Facebook page: River Ridge Middle School PTSA. We will be using the social media pages to keep everyone updated with the latest from RRMS PTSA!

Thank you so much for your support, and please let me know if you have any suggestions or questions at Riverridgemsptsa@gmail.com. Together, let’s make this school year another wonderful year for our students.

Best Regards,

Sandy Soares

RRMS PTSA President

Riverridgemsptsa@gmail.com

Application

The 2022-2023 Free and Reduced Meal Application is now available at www.PascoSchoolMeals.com. We strongly encourage you to complete a new meal application if your household qualifies. Schools receive a portion of their funding based off the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. To review the eligibility guidelines and complete an application, please visit www.pascoschoolmeals.com.