APRIL NEWSLETTER

Dear RMS Families,

Happy Spring! March was busy busy with parent conferences, the Shamrock Classic, and the RHS Drama Club production of Mamma Mia which featured several eighth grade students. I would like to extend a huge thank you to the hardworking and dedicated RMS PAC! Planning, coordinating and running the Shamrock Classic is an enormous undertaking and they did it with ease and seemed to have fun doing it! Thanks also to the many families who sent in contributions to be sold as concessions. The event is the PAC's biggest fundraiser and will benefit all RMS students. It was a great event and students, staff and families all had a great time. Teachers won but it was a close game!

A mid-month competition between 8th grade English classes resulted in Ms. Lattuada wearing a cow costume for the day. See the photo!

April 4 - early release day, professional development, 11:25 AM dismissal

April 4 - MCAS p(r)ep rally - in school, students wear class shirts/color

April 5 - term 3 ends

April 10 - MCAS ELA grades 5 - 8

April 11 - MCAS ELA grades 5 - 8

April 12 - term 3 grades posted in Aspen

April 12 - 22 - MCAS ELA make-up testing

April 15 - 19 - Spring Break!

April 23 - grade 5 honor ceremony, 8:30 AM

April 24 - grade 6 honor ceremony, 8:30 AM

April 25 - grade 7 honor ceremony, 8:30 AM

April 26 - grade 8 honor ceremony, 8:30 AM

In March, NJHS conducted a drive for Cradles to Crayons. They collected the following items to donate:

• clothing (youth sizes 0-20 and adult sizes small & medium)
• winter coats and jackets
• new socks and underwear
• new pajamas
• shoes, boots, sneakers, and sandals (infant/child sizes 5–13 and adult sizes 1–10)
• books, especially baby board books
• new arts and crafts/school supplies
• unopened diapers and training pants
• new hygiene items

They also held a bake sale during parent teacher conferences to offset transportation costs for our NJHS service projects and field trip.

In March, SGC sold Lucky Grams to students during lunches. They coordinated the sales and delivered them to students and staff!

They also coordinated class shirts to prepare for the upcoming prep rally.

The MCAS Prep Rally – Thursday, April 4th:

Big news… No more 5 day quarantine for COVID.

DPH has lifted the 5 day quarantine for respiratory illness. You no longer have to stay home for 5 days if you are sick with COVID, RSV or Flu. That being said, if your student is sick, keep them home. The regular school policies remain in place: no school if your student has a fever greater than 100.4, vomiting or diarrhea. They must be free of these symptoms for at least 24 hours before returning to school.

Overview of things you can do to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses:

• Get vaccinated for flu and COVID-19

• Stay home when you are sick (follow the recommendations below)

• Use hand and respiratory hygiene

• Wear a mask around others

• Get tested for flu and COVID-19 so you can get treated

• Avoid crowded areas and maintain physical distance

• Increase fresh air

We have learned a lot about the simple things we can do every day to improve our health like the importance of hand washing and covering your cough. Please review these hygiene practices with your children.

Spring has arrived but so have seasonal allergies. We are seeing lots of headaches, runny noses, sore throats and coughs. Students can come to school with allergy symptoms, as long as they do not have a fever, but please give allergy or cough medicine before they leave home because we do not have it in the nurse’s office. If your child does have seasonal allergies, please send a note to the teacher so that we know that they are not sick and that you are aware of their symptoms.

A friendly reminder that students are required to wear sneakers for gym class. I see many turned ankles and falls due to inappropriate footwear at school. No slippers, slides or crocs should be worn in the gym.

Thank you,

Amy Kemp, RN BSN

With MCAS quickly approaching, some students find themselves feeling anxious. Below, please find a short article with tips for combating test anxiety.

https://childmind.org/article/tips-for-beating-test-anxiety/

Absences/Dismissals: Please call 781-878-4341 or email rmsabsences@rocklandschools.org to report an absence or let us know your child will be late.

Dismissals/Meetings/Nurse: Please remember to bring your up-to-date photo ID (driver's license, state ID, passport, green card) into the office when picking up your student for early dismissal, coming in for a meeting, or dropping off something to the Nurse. One of these forms of ID is required each time in order to pick up a student or to come in for a meeting or to see the Nurse. If one of your contacts is picking up your child for early dismissal, please let them know they need to bring one of these forms of ID into the office.

Withdrawals: If you are withdrawing your child from Rockland Public Schools, please be sure to complete and return a withdrawal form. You can come in to get the form, or email pdriscoll@rocklandschools.org for one to be emailed to you. A withdrawal form is also needed for those students who will be attending SSVT or private schools in the fall.

Change of Address or Phone Number: Have you moved and need to update your address? Please call the school at 781-878-4341 or email pdriscoll@rocklandschools.org and we can let you know what documents are required for proof of residency. Please also let the office know if your phone number has changed so we can update our records.

Chromebooks/Chargers: It is very important that your child brings both their Chromebook and charger to school everyday. Please be sure they have them before they leave for school each day.

CORI checks: If you plan to chaperone an RMS field trip or volunteer for an RMS event, you must have a valid CORI on file. Please come in to the Main Office with your driver's license or US passport and fill out the form. It can take a week or so for the CORI to come back. With field trips starting to be planned, please come in as soon as possible so you will be all set for when the field trip or event happens! If you are unsure if you have a CORI on file, or if your CORI is still current, please call the office at 781-878-4341 and we will look it up.

April is here! It hasn't felt much like spring yet, but April is definitely here! The prep rally is on Thursday, April 4. Please encourage your child(ren) to wear class shirts or just wear their class color

• 8th grade = black
• 7th grade = hot pink
• 6th grade = navy blue
• 5th grade = silver/gray.

The purpose of this school event is to promote a positive school culture in which all students are included, celebrated, and encouraged to do their best! We will do a grade 5/6 rally first followed by 7/8 rally.

Term 3 ends on Friday, April 5 and report cards will be published on Friday, April 12 in Aspen. Term 4 begins on Monday, the 8th.

April vacation is April 15 through April 19. Honor ceremonies take place the following week from Tuesday, 4/23 through Friday, 4/26 in the typical 5th-8th order (detailed above in the Upcoming Events section). Please note the time change to an 8:30 start to allow us to get all students settled into classes first. Families will be escorted in and out as a group to ensure safety for all students. Thanks for understanding our desire to keep long-standing traditions like the honor ceremonies going as we prioritize school safety! We know it can be awkward sometimes and we appreciate your patience and support.

Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

Respectfully yours,

Cheryl Schipper

Principal