We are excited to welcome students back for another full week of school this week! There are lots of new announcements in this week's newsletter so be sure to give it a good review this week!

We offer a few reminders to keep things running smoothly:

• We need your help to decrease students being tardy to school in the morning! We encourage all students to be dropped off at either the back gym entrance or front entrance by 7:30am every day to allow students time to get to class by 7:40am.
• Morning Arrival / Drop Off - Please avoid the front bus circle when buses are present. This allows buses to drop off students safely. Buses are typically finished dropping off by 7:10am every morning. The back gym entrance opens to car riders at 7:00am.

• Afternoon Dismissal - Car riders are dismissed to the gym at the end of the day. If you are picking up a student, please utilize the car rider line at the back of the school and avoid the front loop. The front loop is utilized for buses and is closed for car riders in the afternoon to allow for the safe dismissal of students walking or biking home.

As always, please reach out if there is anything we can do to better support our students and families.

Have a great evening!

-Nick Corrigan, Principal, njcorrigan@ortn.edu

-Christy Free, Vice Principal, ccfree@ortn.edu

-Christopher Williams, Dean of Students, cewilliams@ortn.edu

Monday – Feb 5

Drama Club 2:45-4:00pm (Auditorium)

TSA Officer Meeting 3:00-4:00pm (Room 234)

Tuesday – Feb 6

Principal’s Student Advisory Committee 7:05-7:35am (Library)

Geography Club 2:45-3:45pm (Room 228)

TSA Meeting 2:45-5:00pm (STEM Lab)

Cheer Parent Meeting 5:30-6:30pm (Library)

Wednesday – Feb 7

Board of Educaton Visits RMS 7:00-10:00am

SECME Meeting 7:00-7:30am (Room 120)

Club/Group Pictures (Auditorium)

Café Catch Up 12:45-2:00pm (Cafeteria)

Ski Club to Ober Gatlinburg 1:00-9:00pm

Winter Parent Teacher Conferences (Pre-Scheduled)

Thursday – Feb 8

Ram Cart Day (During Lunches)

Word Players Assembly for 5th/6th 8:30-9:30am (Auditorium)

Track Parent Meeting 5:30-6:30pm (Auditorium)

Friday – Feb 9

GIVE Club 7:00-7:30am (Room 224)

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 16th.

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

Good Afternoon,

It is hard to believe that your child will be leaving Robertsville Middle School in 4 months, as they make their transition to Oak Ridge High School. Today we started discussing high school registration in our Capstone class. Students watched an introduction to high school video presentation, including information about credits, GPA, and block scheduling. You can view the same video presentation using this link: Intro to High School.mp4

A pdf version is also linked here: Intro to High School.pdf

Each week you will receive an email about the registration process including the information shared with your child at school. Students also have access to two different Canvas course with information, Class of 2028 ORHS and RMS Capstone Class of 2028. Next week we will be taking a deeper dive into the registration process. Students will have an opportunity to explore the Academic Planning Guide (APG) and Pathways and begin creating their freshmen plan using their registration sheet. If you would like to start now, you will find the APG and Exploring Pathways documents linked below.

APG 2024-2025: www.ortn.edu/ORHS/APG_2024-2025.pdf

Exploring Pathways 2024-2025: www.ortn.edu/ORHS/Exploring_Pathways_2024-2025.pdf

While the transition to ORHS is very exciting, the registration process can seem a little intimidating. It is important that each student have an adult they can share this experience with, as they make decisions about the classes they will take and what their high school journey will look like. Our hope is by sharing these resources with you, we can work together to set your child up for success!

Once we get closer to registration, we will share information about your child’s high school counselor and administrator. In the meantime, 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 partnering with you as we prepare the Class of 2028 for their time at Oak Ridge High School.

Roll Wildcats Roll!

Christy Free, RMS Vice Principal

Important Dates:

• February 7th - Students will receive a paper copy of their registration sheet. They can also access one online via their Capstone Class on Canvas

• February 15th – 8th Grade Tour at ORHS 10:45 – 12:45 (Students should return a signed permission form to their homeroom teacher no later than February 14th. A copy of the form is attached.)
• February 15th – 8th Grade Parent Night at ORHS 6:00 – 7:30. There will be a presentation at 6:00, followed by an opportunity to visit representatives from departments and programs at ORHS.
• February 16th – Students should have a submitted registration form via their Capstone Class on Canvas
• February 19th – No School
• 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.

Please mark your calendar for Club/Group Picture Day on Wednesday, February 7. See the attached schedule. Students should check with their club/group sponsor for any special instructions on what to wear.

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.

Coach Britni Carter will hold a mandatory parent meeting on Tuesday, February 6th at 5:30pm in the RMS Library for current 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students interested in cheerleading for the 2024/2025 season. Students can pick up an information packet from Coach Carter (room 217) prior to the meeting or you can get it there. Specific important information will be discussed so please make every effort to have an adult there. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Coach Carter at bncarter@ortn.edu

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)

sdempsey@stratag.org

Coach John Spratling (RMS Athletic Director)

jspratling@ortn.edu

Coach Scott Hinton (ORHS Golf Coach)

shinton@ortn.edu

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.

Order your 2024 RAM Yearbook today. The deadline to order special options such as name stamping on the cover is rapidly approaching: January 19, 2024. The cost is $20.

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.

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

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:

Food Services - Oak Ridge Schools (ortn.edu)

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.

Tyler Versatran Log In

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:

https://www.ortn.edu/district/bus-routes/