Raleigh Hills Newsletter

March 5, 2021

Message from Mrs. DeMartino

Thank you to all the parents who attended the middle school Q & A last night. There were a lot of great questions and I appreciated the opportunity to be able to explain how our middle school model differs from the comprehensive middle schools. Basically, we will have a cohort of students coming in the morning for hybrid and another coming in the afternoon. Our hybrid middle schoolers will attend 4 days a week during their morning or afternoon time. If you have questions about this or anything else related to the middle school model, see the Frequently Asked Questions website here, or call our office at 503 356-2160. And remember that you must complete your survey to select CDL or Hybrid by Monday, March 15. If you do not make a selection by that date, it will default to CDL. No changes can be made after March 15.

In the next days and weeks, you can expect to start getting specific information about how school will look as we transition back to in-person learning for some students. We will be releasing short videos to explain things like arrival, dismissal and new restroom procedures. Be sure to watch them even if you are not a hybrid family yet. It can give you a good idea of how we will operate if we must return in hybrid in the fall.

Have a great weekend and we look forward to continued communication during this transition!

Warm regards,

Jennifer

State Testing

There have been many questions about State Testing. We do not yet know if or when we may be administering the state tests this year. Here is what we know so far:

The Department of Education said it will not approve a blanket, nationwide waiver.
The State of Oregon has applied for a statewide waiver. The state has not received a decision on that waiver application.
We need to have a plan in place IF the state waiver is not approved so we have been thinking about a hypothetical “how we might test.”
The Department of Education has given a lot of flexibility, including shortening tests and allowing states to extend the testing window into the fall.
Parents have the option to opt their students out of standardized tests.
If the waiver is not approved, a district that does not participate in state testing puts its Title I funding at risk and is non-compliant.

That is the best information we have so far and I will keep you up to date. You have not missed a deadline to opt out if you choose that for your child. You can fill out the form starting now and we can keep them on file. You can print it and turn it in at the main office or send it electronically after you have filled it out and signed it. If we are notified of a deadline to opt out, I will let you know.

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Book Bus Ending

We are sad to announce that the last day for book bus will be March 17th. We have enjoyed providing this service, but our buses will be needed to transport students for hybrid. We will still have library book check out at Raleigh Hills. Ms. Moore will have an extended time on Wednesday mornings for checking out books. We will send the times when they are available.

Auction

Save the Date for our RHK8 Auction on April 22. It will be completely online! Click this link to register.

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Playgrounds Closed During School Hours

Beginning April 5, our playgrouds, track, garden and school grounds will be closed during school hours. This is so we can ensure safety of our students in hybrid who may be using the grounds for movement breaks. This is the same policy we had pre-COVID. The grounds will be open after school hours. Thanks for helping us to keep our students safe.