![page background](https://cdn.smore.com/_fr/handeducation12.b6eecb53.jpg)
![Logo](https://cdn.smore.com/u/thumbs/45cd/thumb-502669a145ee6a1d649cd478fe39db6d.png)
Ram Report - Family Newsletter
Term 3 - Week 8: February 19-23
A school community that creates a sense of belonging and promotes excellence.
No School for Students tomorrow - Monday, February 19th!
Good evening, Ram Fam!
We have an exciting week ahead at RMS! Please note that there is no school tomorrow, Monday, February 19th to allow teachers and staff the opportunity for a Professional Development Day.
Thank you for the extraordinary effort taking place to improve our school attendance this year. It is showing and we are making remarkable progress. The next several months will be important to finish strong. Students will be working hard to finish this term's learning targets and meet their goals for growth over the next few weeks as we get closer to Term 3 MVP Benchmark Assessments. While our pacing for this term might be a little bit off due to the snow days earlier this term, we are looking forward to measuring student progress and making plans for Term 4 to ensure students are mastering grade level expectations this school year.
There are some exciting events taking place at RMS this week to include an assembly on the Scarboro 85 for our 7th & 8th Grade Classes. It is coincidental but fitting that this assembly is planned after the TN Board of Education voted as recently as last week to ensure that the Scarboro 85 are part of the Social Studies Curriculum Standards in the future. Be sure to check out some of the resources in our newsletter below to learn more about this week's assembly as well as the Scarboro 85.
This week also brings the Vape Prevention Week at RMS. Students will have a brief assembly as well as the opportunity to participate in a fair to learn about the dangers of vaping. A huge shoutout to ORS Coordinated School Health and Student Success Departments for coordinating this event!
We ask that you please note Dr. Kinder's special request for photos of your families enjoying this year's "snow break" for our yearbook! We are getting closer to finalizing the 2023-2024 Annual... place your orders asap if you haven't already!
Finally, please consider giving us feedback in the Educational Effectiveness Survey provided below. We want to hear from you and use your feedback to ensure we are continuously improving to better reach our students' and families' needs.
As always, please reach out if there is anything we can do to better support our students and families. Have a great evening and a wonderful week!
-Nick Corrigan, Principal, njcorrigan@ortn.edu
-Christy Free, Vice Principal, ccfree@ortn.edu
-Christopher Williams, Dean of Students, cewilliams@ortn.edu
The Week at a Glance
Monday – Feb 19 - No School for Students
Tuesday – Feb 20
Scarboro 85 Assembly - 7th & 8th Grade 11:30am-12:30pm (Auditorium)
ORHS Counselors meet with 8th Graders during SS classes (Library)
Geography Club 2:45-3:45pm (Room 228)
TSA Meeting 2:45-5:00pm (STEM Lab)
Wednesday – Feb 21
SECME Meeting 7:00-7:30am (Room 120)
Café Catch Up 12:45-2:00pm (Cafeteria)
Ski Club to Ober Gatlinburg 1:00-9:00pm (last trip)
Thursday – Feb 22
8th Grade Introduce A Girl to Engineering Field Trip (9:00-12:00)
Vape Prevention Assemblies (See detailed schedule below)
Friday – Feb 23
GIVE Club 7:00-7:30am (Room 224)
Monthly Focus on ORS Core Values
Educational Effectiveness Survey (School Climate)
We want to hear from you! Deadline extended to Friday, February 23rd!
Dear Families,
For us to continue to improve as a school district and as a school, it is important for us to understand stakeholder perceptions about the job we are doing in providing a quality education for all our children. We are seeking information through a 10-15 minute survey that is available now through February 23rd.
To access the survey visit: EES Family Survey Link
- Choose your language preference on the opening page of the survey.
- Select your child's school. If you have children in multiple schools, complete one survey per child.
- Complete the survey and click submit.
I would like to personally encourage every family to provide their feedback for Robertsville Middle School. This survey is unique in that similar versions are provided for students and staff. The opportunity to gather feedback from our entire school community is something we can't pass up! We have worked tremendously hard to ensure we are communicating and building a strong relationship with students and their families. While our door is always open for feedback and input throughout the school year, it is helpful to have responses in this survey as it provides the opportunity for reflection and provides guidance on how we are doing in reaching our school's vision to be a school community that creates a sense of belonging and promotes excellence.
Nick Corrigan
Principal
Remembering the Scarboro 85
7th & 8th Grade Student Assembly on Tuesday, February 20th
"The Scarboro 85,” told by Sheila Arnold, nationally acclaimed storyteller is coming to Oak Ridge during for public performances because of a grant Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival has received from the TN Arts Commission. She is available to the schools because of matching funds from a local patron. Ms. Sheila is well known in Oak Ridge because she researched, wrote, and told the dynamic story of the Scarboro 85 at the Grove Theatre as part of the Flatwater Tales Festival in June 2022. Five hundred people leapt to their feet in a standing ovation when they heard the story at the historic Grove Theater. Most of the audience had never heard the story of the brave, scared 85 youngsters who, in 1955, were the very first students in the entire southeastern United States to desegregate a school system. It is an important chapter in Oak Ridge history.
Vape Prevention Assemblies & Fair - Thursday, February 22nd
All grade levels will start with a short assembly in the auditorium before heading to the gym for the fair organized by ORS Coordinated School Health. There will be a stamp card activity for students with the chance to win prizes at the end of the fair. It will be up to each booth on how students earn a stamp on their cards. Students will turn this in for a chance to win prizes at the end.
Youth Vaping Prevention - Additional Resources & Information
MVP Benchmark Testing Schedule
Tentative Schedule is Below. Final planning will be completed this week...
Families, please make a note of the following dates for our Spring Benchmark Assessments. We encourage good attendance on these dates and would appreciate your support in ensuring students come to school rested and prepared!
Tuesday, February 27 - ELA Subpart 1 & 2
Wednesday, February 28 - ELA Subpart 3
Thursday, February 29 - No Testing
Friday, March 1 – No Testing (ORHS 5th & 6th Grade Play Field Trip)
Monday, March 4 - Math Subparts 1 & 2
Wednesday, March 6 - Science Subparts 1 & 2
Thursday, March 7 - Social Studies Subpart 1 & 2
No Spring Intersession at RMS
But the good news... We have new lockers getting installed!
While we are still a few weeks away, please encourage your students to begin bringing home any extra belongings (clothes, jackets, shoes, etc) that may have been collected in their lockers throughout the school year. If they bring a little bit home at a time, it will be helpful as we get closer to Spring Break!
Pre-Order 2024 Yearbook
Snow Break Pictures!
Parents: do you have fun photos of RMS students enjoying the snow during our recent “snow break”? If so, please consider sharing those for the Robertsville yearbook! You can submit via HJ eShare (see information below) or email as an attachment to the yearbook sponsor at jkinder@ortn.edu. Thank you!
ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK TODAY!
Order your 2024 RAM Yearbook today! Visit www.yearbookordercenter.com and use our school code 17202 or enter the school name to begin. A service fee of $3.99 (or more if ordering multiple books) will apply to online orders.
Good news: the deadline to order name stamping on the cover has been extended. Name stamping is only available with online orders.
Dr. Kinder-McMillan will be collecting cash and check (made to RMS) payments at school during the week of February 26-March 1 only. The cost is $20 per book, and multiple student orders may be combined in one payment. Please provide the student name(s) and homeroom(s) with the payment. Receipts will be given for cash payments.
If you are unsure whether you have already purchased a 2024 yearbook, please contact the yearbook sponsor at jkinder@ortn.edu. Thank you!
SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS FOR THE YEARBOOK!
Would you like to submit photos for the 2024 Ram Yearbook? Visit www.hjeshare.com and enter the school code “ramfam” to upload your images for consideration. For ease of upload, check the App Store to download and use the Herff Jones eShare app for your device. Please note that we cannot guarantee that all images will be used.
Attention 8th Grade Families!
We finished up our 3-Part Series on ORHS Registration in Capstone last week.
Today we finished up our 3-part series about high school registration. By this point your child should be ready to finish up their registration form and submit it on Canvas by tomorrow. You can view the same video presentation from today by clicking here. A pdf version of the presentation used in the video is also linked below.
Intro to High School_Registration_Day3.pdf
We hope that these emails are helping you support your child in the registration process. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have. You may email me (ccfree@ortn.edu) or Tarah Sanford (tasanford@ortn.edu). We look forward to continuing our partnership with you as we prepare the Class of 2028 for their time at Oak Ridge High School.
Roll Wildcats Roll!
Christy Free
Important Dates:
- February 20th – Students register for Freshmen classes with ORHS Counselor during their Social Studies class. Parent/Guardian will need to sign the registration form and students will return the form to their homeroom teacher.
- July 18th – Freshmen Orientation
- July 27th – Back to School Bash
Class of 2028 Facebook Page
Attention Parents of ORHS Class of 2028
We invite parents of rising freshman to join the ORHS Class of 2028, Oak Ridge, TN Facebook page. Mrs. Foster and Mrs. Thompson will use this page to celebrate our kids and keep you informed. Only requests who have answered all of the questions will be accepted. For safety purposes, the page is a closed group. Welcome to the family!
National Love the School Bus Month!
It's that time of year again, folks! February is officially Love the Bus month. Let's give a round of applause to the unsung heroes who keep our kiddos safe on their way to and from school. These rock stars make the yellow school bus ride a reality for our young scholars!
We are very grateful for our drivers at RMS! Be sure to give them a shout out this month for their hard work.
Middle School Golf
St. Mary's School is starting their 2024 middle school golf season with a Parent/Player Introduction meeting on Feb 21st at 4 pm in Columbus Hall at St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge. Players from Oak Ridge Middle Schools are allowed to play on the SMS team due to Oak Ridge not having a middle school golf program. Please reach out to Coach Scott Dempsey (contact information is below) if you have children interested in joining their team or if there any questions or concerns regarding the season this year.
Additionally, you are more than welcome to reach out to Coach John Spratling (RMS Athletic Director) or Coach Scott Hinton (ORHS Golf Coach) with any questions or concerns.
Coach Scott Dempsey (SMS Golf Coach)
Coach John Spratling (RMS Athletic Director)
Coach Scott Hinton (ORHS Golf Coach)
ORHS Masquers Presents - Anastasia!
ORHS Masquers would like to invite you to our school show of Anastasia this year! This dazzling show transports its audience from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing con man and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an epic adventure to help her find home, love and family.
RMS 5th and 6th Grade Classes will have the opportunity to attend on Friday, March 1st at 9:30am.
PTSA is excited to announce we have a Donor who is willing to match donations up to $5,000. As you can see above the impact of your donation is great for RMS Students. Without PTSA many of the above would not take place. If we receive $15 per student, we will hit our overall goal. PTSA also supports our amazing Educators with staff appreciation events as a Thank You for all they do in educating our students.
PTSA has already funded over $3,000 in requests this school year for Stem Lego kits, Soldering Kits, Bulletin Boards for Electives and Reflex Math Subscription to assist with students needing extra help in math.
How to donate? Return the Donation Envelope that went home with your student to school or Via Paypal at at paypal.me/rmsorptsa. Scan the QR Code above to take you to our direct PayPal link.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!
School Counseling Update
Need to See a Counselor - Student Request Form
If students need to see a counselor throughout the year for any reason, we ask that they complete the online “Request to See a Counselor” form located in Clever. Once students complete this form, the counselors will receive an email and will work to schedule students based on their availability. If the situation is an emergency, we ask that students please make note of this in the comments section. We ask that students please be patient and know that we will get them scheduled as soon as possible. If it will take more than a day, we will reach out to the student by email or through their teacher to let them know.
Parents are always welcome to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. Kristy Best works with 5th and 7th grades – kbest@ortn.edu. Tarah Sanford works with 6th and 8th grades – TASanford@ortn.edu.
PTSA Information & Updates
About
The Robertsville Middle School Parent Teacher Association (RMS PTSA) is part of the RMS family. Our purpose is to support fun and educational programs, events, services, and opportunities to our children, to enrich their academic experience. We work closely with the school administration, faculty, and staff to help our students achieve all that they can.
Membership
The membership dues for the current year shall be set at $5.00. At the present time, the TN PTA portion is $2.00 and the National PTA portion is $2.25. RMS PTSA will keep $.75 to offset membership processing fees.
Volunteer
Research shows that students whose parents are involved in their school get better grades, do better on tests and have fewer disciplinary problems at school.
What is your talent? Community outreach, back to school activities, spirit gear, RAM Perks reward program, donation drive/fundraising, visiting author receptions, or providing items for events like our teacher/staff luncheons, intercessions, and State testing.
While you DO NOT need to be a member of PTSA to be a volunteer, we would like to invite all adults AND students with an interest in RMS to join and have a voice in how PTSA funds are used to support RMS. Volunteer forms are in the back-to-school packets or may be found on the Forms page of PTSA website.
Free Breakfast & Lunch for RMS Students
We are happy to notify you that beginning Wednesday, January 3, Robertsville Middle School will be providing free breakfast and lunch to all students. This change stems from an adjustment in the U. S Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) threshold for participation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) that allows schools to offer free meals to all students.
This change will be in place for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year, however, it is not retroactive and does not erase any current meal balances. Current meal balances can be paid online, or in-person at your school cafeteria to avoid processing fees.
While the change from the USDA allows for increased eligibility, unfortunately, there will still be some schools in the district with a lower eligibility rate that will not be receiving free meals. The district will evaluate the eligibility data and associated costs of including more of our schools on an ongoing basis to determine if we can include any additional schools for next school year or beyond.
Additional Information about Food Services in Oak Ridge Schools can be found at:
Bus Transportation
The PDFs of the bus routes have been posted online and are available to families on the transportation website. They are also linked from the back-to-school website.
Additionally, families can log on to the Tyler Versatrans website and check their route information there. The directions for that are below.
Username: (use student’s name) firstname.lastname
This is case sensitive–example: john.smith
Password: (use student birth date) in this format 03122007 for March 12, 2007
Transportation Dept Information & Points of Contact can be found at: