Letter to Families and Staff
Friday, September 22, 2023
Letter To Families & Staff
Friday, September 29, 2023
Emergency Early Dismissal, Friday, October 6, 2023
Next Friday, October 6, 2023, the RCS School District will complete its mandated Emergency Early Release Drill that requires us to evacuate our students and staff approximately 15 minutes before their dismissal time. This drill helps prepare us in the case of an emergency that would require us to transport our entire district home or to another location prior to the end of the school day.
Our drill is set for next Friday, October 6, 2023. In working with transportation to get the students home as soon as possible, here are the plans for each building:
Middle & High School: Students will be released at 1:47 p.m.
AWB & PBC Elementary Schools: Students who get picked up will be released at 2:35 p.m. and students who take the bus will be dismissed starting at 2:45 p.m. Due to the nature of the drill, please remember that students will be getting home early and for students in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, someone does need to be home to get them off the bus. The after-school childcare program will be held in both PBC and AWB.
More communication to come as this drill gets closer along with the upcoming holiday closure on October 9th and half day for Staff Development.
You’re Invited to Family P.E. Week
Daily physical activity has many benefits for kids, such as increasing energy, focus, the readiness to learn, and reducing stress and anxiety. Of course, physical activity has benefits for people of all ages, so helping our students and families be active together is one of our district’s physical education goals.
Next week, you have the opportunity to participate in a Family P.E. class with your student. To join, we ask you to sign up for a specific class with your student, which you can find the registration link in the newsletter from your student's principal or a form sent home through backpack mail if your student goes to Pieter B. These classes are hands-on, so be prepared to run, jump, have fun, play, and learn while participating as a member of your student's P.E. class. We kindly ask you to wear appropriate clothing for movement and don’t forget your sneakers!
Fall Picture Day
Fall Picture Day is soon approaching, and all students will have their pictures taken, even if no additional pictures are ordered. These pictures will be used to create student identification cards. You can purchase additional photos of your student by filling out the order form, which was sent home.
The dates for each building's picture day and make-up day are as follows:
Middle School: Tuesday, October 3 (Make-up Day: Tuesday, November 21)
High School: Wednesday, October 4 (Make-up Day: Wednesday, November 29)
A.W. Becker: Thursday, October 5 (Make-up Day: Friday, November 3)
Pieter B.: Tuesday, October 30 (Make-up Day: Friday, November 17)
Stop by the RCS High School Counseling Center
RCS has many pathways to graduation, but did you know we give our students resources for planning a path after graduation? The HS Counseling Center is a great place to start for all high school students. Check out the Counseling Center page here for choosing classes, applying for working papers, and more! Next week, the Counseling Center will host a Financial Aid Presentation on Thursday, October 5 at 6 p.m. in the High School Library. This night is for students and their families to learn more about Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile, NYS grants, and federal loans.
Have a student interested in the service after high school? Here is an opportunity for students and their families to learn more about the service academy. The Albany Service Academy Information Night is a registered event at the University of Albany ETEC Building and will be held on October 4th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. To RSVP for this event and learn more about the Federal Service Academy click here.
The deadline for applying to take the SAT on Saturday, November 4 at the High School is Thursday, October 5. Find the link to apply and other valuable resources in the Counseling Center Fall 2023 Newsletter.
Board of Education Recognizes Student Achievements
The RCS Board of Education will be holding student recognition awards nights for all four school buildings over the next few months. These awards will recognize the outstanding achievements of our students.
The dates for all recognitions are as follows:
High School, Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Middle School: Wednesday, November 15, 2023
A.W. Becker Elementary & Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary: Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Students will receive their awards during a brief presentation at 7:00 p.m. in the High School auditorium. Students and their families will be notified about their awards from their school building. All are welcome to attend the awards ceremony and Board of Education meeting to follow.
Reminders
Down to the final three, vote for our new Mascot! It is time to make our final decision about the name of our new RCS mascot. In this final round, our community will be casting their vote by selecting one of these three choices, The Raptor, The Ravens, or The Swarm. Unlike our other community surveys, you will need to enter your email address in order to participate in the survey process. This process will better ensure that participants are casting only one vote. These email addresses will never be shared or used to communicate with participants.
Please participate in the survey here. This survey will close at noon on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
Who To Contact and When Guide
The Who to Contact and When Guide was put together to connect the community with the most knowledgeable and direct person for concerns or questions. When looking for assistance, please start at level 1 and move up through the levels if that person is unable to provide you with the assistance you need. The Board of Education will become involved, if necessary, in the final stage of the process. Check out the guide here and on the second page of the 2023-24 RCS Printed Wall Calendar.
Direct Links: