Richland Junior High School

Principal: Joe Rizzo

Assistant Principal: John Livigni
Administrative Assistant: Cristal Espino
Office Clerk: Normanelly Leal

Eagle Families,

Welcome to 2024! I hope you are having a wonderful Winter Break! We look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday, January 9th. This will officially kick off the 3rd quarter/2nd Semester. Some students will start a new semester elective and everyone will start a new quarter. It's going to be a jam packed 2nd Semester here at Richland. We look forward to finishing the year Eagle Strong! As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns. Let's make it an amazing 2nd Semester!!! GO EAGLES!!!

January 1st-8th: Winter Break: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
January 9th: School Resumes for students
January 12th: Early Release (12:45pm Dismissal), Reports Card Available on Skyward--3pm
January 15th: MLK JR Day: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
January 17th-18th: Winter i-Ready Assessment
January 17th: School Board Meeting--7pm
January 19th-20th: 7th Grade Girls Volleyball Tournament @ Richland-Times TBD
January 23rd: 8th Grade Cap & Gown Measurement-AM
January 27th: 8th Grade Boys Basketball Regional @ Richland--Times TBD
January 29th-31st: 8th Grade Boys Basketball Regionals @ Richland-Times TBD

Arrival/Dismissal

The entrance for car riders will be Door # 5 again this year. This door is located around the corner from the Junior High Office. Please drop your child off and leave the area immediately so we don't have a traffic back up in the parking lot. This procedure will be the same for dismissal. Please pick your child up at Door 5 as well.

One other reminder...

* Please do not drop your child off prior to 7:50am. Outdoor supervision will not begin until 7:50 and students will not enter the building until 7:52.

ID's/Lockers

All staff and students will be required to wear an ID while in the building. This is for Safety and Security purposes. Students will also need their ID if they are getting lunch or checking out materials from the Media Center. Students will leave their ID at school so they don't have to worry about remembering it each morning. They will leave ID's in their locker at the end of the day and it will be there the next morning before going to first period.

Chromebooks

We are excited to have hardcover Chromebook cases for students this year. This should cut down on some of the damage that has occurred in the past. Students have been instructed that the Chromebooks need to be kept in the case at all times. Please help us in reminding your child about the importance of making sure everything is cleared before closing their Chromebook. We have had several students break their screens already this year because a pen, pencil, or some other device was still inside when they close it. Students and families are responsible for any damages to these devices. Please remind your child of the importance of taking care of their device.

Attendance

Attendance is very important! Attendance is taken every class period. If your child is going to be absent from school, please call the attendance line (815-744-6166), listen for prompts, and press 2. We ask that attendance be called in by 9am at the latest. Please report all symptoms when reporting your child's absence. If your child is marked absent and we haven't heard from you, calls will be made to make sure your child is home and safe. If your child is late to school, a parent must come into the building and sign them in at the office.

Cell Phones/Electronic Devices

We completely understand if your child needs to bring a cell phone to school. However, students are not permitted to have their cell phone or other electronic device (smartwatches) on them during the school day. These devices need to be powered off and kept in their locker. They should not have them out until after exiting the building or have permission from a coach/club sponsor if in an after school activity. We also understand you might have to get in contact with your child during the school day. If that is the case, we ask you call the office and we can either relay a message to them or you can talk to them directly. Thank you for your help and cooperation with this.

Skyward

At Richland Jr. High, we use Skyward (online database) to track student progress, attendance, and more. Parents have a login to Skyward. With this login, you can track how your child is doing in all of their classes 24/7. Teachers will update grades as often as possible. If you have any immediate concerns about grades, please contact your child's individual teacher. If you are having trouble accessing Skyward, please contact the office.

Student services hope you had a refreshing winter break. January is mental wellness month. Below are a few different resources related to mental health. As always, reach out to one of us for additional support.

Free Teachers Pay Teachers Mental Health Activity

Mental Health Resources

Kayli Linden -JH social worker

Phone # (815)744-6166 ext 2503

Email klinden@d88.org

Kaitlyn Schwarz-JH social worker

Phone # (815)744-6166 ext 2602

Email kschwarz@d88a.org

Kimberline Simmons-District Psychologist

Phone #(815)725-8391 ext 1213

Email ksimmons@d88a.org

Hey there, fantastic fifth-grade families!

Here's a sneak peek at what we're learning about:

Reading

Unit 4: How can other perspectives help us evaluate the world?

Social Studies

Adventuring through Regions of Africa

How does the geography, culture, and history of Africa shape its role in the world today?

Math

Just finished multiplying and dividing whole numbers. We are beginning our unit on decimal operations. We continue to practice our basic facts in class.

Science

Just finished our unit on Earth's Place in the Universe and are beginning our unit on How Earth's Systems Interact. To start the unit, the students watched videos, read articles and listened to a read aloud about "Ryan's Well". This story helped students understand how scarce water really is.

Cross-Cutting Concepts

C-E-R (Claim-Evidence-Response)

In science, social studies, and reading the students are learning how to respond to an essential question using the C-E-R format: make a claim, cite text evidence/data/details that support the claim, and explain how or why the evidence supports the claim. Although it is known as a scientific structure, the structure can be used with many different types of writing and will be used throughout their time in Junior High!

Virtue of the Month: Integrity

Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

Reminders

Being prepared and organized is extremely important to life-long success learning. Take the time each morning/night to make sure you have what you need for school, class, and other extracurricular activities. This includes making sure Chromebooks are being charged every night!

Yours in fun and learning,

The Fifth Grade Team

Science- We will be learning about plate tectonics, seafloor spreading, and the layers that make up planet Earth.

ELA- We will be starting our new unit about Animal Allies. This quarter we will be learning about argumentative/persuasive writing.

Math-Next month students will be learning: positive and negative numbers, absolute value, and ordering and comparing numbers

Social studies: We will begin the study of Rome in the new year. Moving from its origins into a Republic, and then into the Roman Empire. There will be a special focus on Roman influence in European development.

Science

In January we will move on from human body systems and begin concentrating on plant

and animal growth and the flow of energy in ecosystems. We will be addressing

investigative phenomena by answering the following questions: Do environmental or

genetic factors affect the growth of organisms most? How does the food we eat give us

energy? and How do we calculate the amount of energy in food?

Math

In math class, we will be focusing on pre-algebra concepts after Winter Break. This will

include simplifying, writing, and factoring expressions and also solving equations and

inequalities.

English Language Arts

Starting in January, 7th grade ELA is going to be starting The Outsiders. We will be

reading the novel, learning about Characterization and Theme, and writing an

argumentative essay.

Social Studies

We are currently looking at the battles, key people and major events of the American

Revolutionary War. Our next study will entail the main unit of he year, the United States

Constitution.

In ELA, we have been working on breaking down the parts of a sentence in order to build complex sentences. We've also completed the third unit of vocabulary and will be starting our next unit when we return from winter break. We are continuing to work on finding the theme or message of a work of fiction. After break, we will be looking at different genres of literature starting with science fiction.

In Math, we've been exploring topics related to Pythagorean Theorem as well as the volumes of various shapes, including cylinders, cones, and sphere's. Everyone had a great time!

In Science, we will be switching our focus to concepts related to physics such as forces, motion and energy. Through assignments, readings, activities, and labs, the students will learn about Newton's Laws of Motion. Two major projects include relating the laws of motion to an action movie or cartoon as well as analyzing a Rube Goldberg Machine. As a reminder, the students should keep their notebooks up to date, especially if they are absent. Lastly, the agenda for each day is posted on Google Classroom along with any notes/assignments.

In Social Studies, students finished out the 2nd quarter with a unit on the Gilded Age. 8th graders learned about the industrialization of the US along with the businesses and men who were responsible for our country's growth during the late 1800s. Students also participated in a variety of hands-on activities to help better understand the challenges of running a business as well as being an employee at this time. As we enter the 3rd quarter, our focus will be on World War I.

In Spanish, we will be starting our unit on food. Students will eventually create and present a food truck including a series of menu items based on food preferences and food traditions from a Spanish-speaking country. With grammar, our main focus will be present tense verb conjugations along with extending our use of the verb Gustar.

In PE, students will be starting off the 3rd Quarter with Fitness testing and then progress to our Basketball Unit.

5th Grade Health: Students will start to learn about how to make healthy decisions and how these can impact their futures. The students will also begin learning about the health triangle and how we can work to keep each side equal.

6th Grade Health: Students will begin by reviewing the health triangle and start making SMART goals. These goals will be linked with what the students would like to achieve by the end of health class.

7th Grade Health: Students will begin learning about different mental disorders and where help is available.

Choir

Fantastic job to all ensemble members at the winter choir concert last month. So proud of all the hard work and growth that happened this last semester! Practices are underway for the IGSMA solo and ensemble competition in February.

Visual Arts

This past month in art, the students have been working on their final art projects and completing their portfolios. 5th grade created their very own logos for a company they made up. 6th grade learned about Impressionism art and created their own piece reflecting that style with oil pastels. The 7th and 8th art project incorporated an important message to them. They created these pieces to raise awareness about something they cared about.

Please remind your child the importance of taking care of their chromebooks. We've had an increase in damages (screens) to student chromebooks recently. Any repairs of chromebooks are the responsibility of students and families. We've also seen an increase in students coming to school without having their chromebooks charged. Please remind your child the importance of charging their chromebook each night like they do with their cell phones. We appreciate your help and support with this.

Students need to power their phones off and leave them in their locker for the whole day. Some students have said they need to contact someone at home. We have a phone in the Junior High Office if students need to contact someone at home, but they cannot have their phones on them at any time during the school day. This includes smart watches or other related devices. Please help us and remind your child about their cell phones at school. Thank you!

Every student at Richland has an ID this year. Students have been instructed to wear the ID around their neck while they are in the building. Students should be leaving the ID in their locker nightly so it is there the next morning. We have had an increase in students not having their ID, misplacing it, etc...In addition to having the ID for safety and security purposes, students need their ID to check out books in the library and to receive a hot lunch daily. While we won't turn a student away from receiving a lunch without their ID, it is taking more time to serve students as we have to enter this information manually. We provide the first replacement at no cost but after this, the replacement cost for ID's is $5. Please remind your child the importance of having their ID at school daily. We appreciate your help and support with this.

All visitors, including parents, MUST present their ID before being allowed in the building. We appreciate your help and cooperation in this matter as we work to maintain the highest level of safety and security in our buildings.

Communication between home and school is important! If you have had a change in phone number or email, please contact the junior high office so we can update this information in our system. When we send emails, phone messages, etc... the information comes directly from Skyward.