River Valley Academy News

On behalf of the RVA staff, I am excited to welcome you to the start of the 2023/2024 school year!

I would like to introduce families to the River Valley Academy News! Most weeks, you will receive a link through Family Access to this resource for students and parents. Relevant school and community information will be shared. Please peruse the entire newsletter each week, to make sure you are informed!

The first week of school is a four-day week; there is no school on Friday, August 25.

A new school year is so exciting! We all get a fresh start and a new opportunity to accomplish great things as we grow together in community. This year, students will be exposed to many future options and positive steps forward will be made.

It is going to be a great year! I can't wait to greet students at the door on the 21st!

Take care,

Jenny Thompson

Director of Adult and Alternative Education

Rockford Public Schools

Returning students: Please visit the Rockford Public Schools website and log in to your family access account to complete the online verifications. This is necessary to re-enroll for the 2023-2024 school year, and to allow students internet access.

New students: Please complete the enrollment link emailed to you.

If internet access is unavailable for you, or you would like help completing these forms online, please call the office and set up a time to come in and use the district computers and internet. We are happy to help!

If for some reason your plans have changed and you will not be attending River Valley this fall, please call the office at 863-6324.

Busing information including bus number, bus stop location, and pick-up times will be available in Family Access.

Students will ride the listed bus to the Rockford Freshman Center, where they will get on bus #51, the RVA shuttle bus. The shuttle bus leaves RFC between 7:25 and 7:30 AM. Afterschool, the shuttle bus will pick students up at RVA at 2:18 and drop them at the RHS 10-12 building where they will catch the bus that takes them home.

We will greet you at the door and welcome you back to school! You will find your name on a class list, outside the room of your first-hour teacher. He/she will have your schedule for the day.

We will also spend some time creating a social contract/school norms document to help us answer these questions, adapted from Capturing Kids Hearts:

1. How do you want to be treated by teachers/leaders?

2. How do you want to be treated by each other?

3. How do teachers/leaders want to be treated by you?

4. How do we want to treat each other when there is conflict?

In addition, we will review the Student Guide/Handbook to make sure we all start the year on the same page! :)

Lastly, students will meet their teachers and begin their courses!

Please bring pens, pencils, and a notebook. :)

RPS high schools follow a 1:1 format where each student is expected to bring a device to school, fully charged. All of the details can be found in the RPS Technology Handbook.

If you would like your student to borrow a chromebook from RPS, please read the RPS Technology Plan here. Either way, you will need to complete this form, in order to use RPS technology. This form is a part of your online verification process, so returning families may have already completed this form.

Breakfast packs of cold cereal and the like will be available for students. There is no cost to families for school breakfast or lunch this year! It is still very important, however, for families to complete the free and reduced lunch form. This form benefits students in other ways, as it is used for various state and college benefits. Click here for more information!

RVA receives a hot lunch entrée daily from RHS. The menu is located on the RPS website, on the RVA page. Of course, students may bring their own food and drinks as well. We have a refrigerator and microwaves in the kitchenette.

It is important to fuel bodies and minds for productive work at school! :)

Please take a few minutes to read the RVA Student Guide and Secondary Handbook. You will find RVA expectations and detailed suggestions for success, along with the Secondary Handbook and Code of Conduct set by the RPS School Board. After reading, please complete the RVA Student Guide and Secondary Handbook Signature form.

Phone caddies will be used to support productive learning during class time. Students will be assigned a number in the classroom phone caddy, correlating with their assigned seat. As they enter a class, they will place their phone in their assigned pocket. Students will still be able to see their phones and access music with wireless headphones. Students may check their phones during passing time and lunch.

Our school day will begin at 7:45 and end at 2:18. Here is a look at the class time schedule: Daily Schedule.

We hope you will plan to join us on Wednesday, September 6 from 5:30-6:30 PM, for our Back to School Open House. We can answer any questions you have about the school year and we - staff, parents, and students - can get to know each other. We share common goals; we all want to see our students succeed!

With Rockford's trimester high school system, students are expected to complete 2.5 credits (5 classes) each trimester, for a total of 7.5 credits each year. Students will begin the year with 5 classes, which should be completed by November 10. While November 10 seems like a long way off, trimesters are about 12 weeks long, so each week, students should be completing about 10% of each class, to finish on time. Completing this work will require students to make progress on assignments and activities in every class, every day!

Setting goals and making action plans is a key part of earning credit and graduating on time! During the first weeks of school, students will meet with their assigned teacher/advisor to set long-term and short-term goals for completing classes by November 10!

All students will be photographed for their RPS ID card and parents will have the option to purchase photos. Photos will also be used throughout the year for student recognition. Photographers will be at RVA on Monday, October 2.

A graduate said, "Without you guys, I wouldn't be where I am today. Graduation is one thing, but the connections I have made with the teachers have taught me how to be a better person. All of the teachers at River Valley have helped me tremendously through my classes. The teachers are there to do whatever is possible to help you graduate."

We can't wait to get to know our students and to watch them succeed and grow into responsible adults! It's going to be a great year! To help you through, you can count on the RVA Staff! Get to know us in this section of the RVA News!

Cecily joined RVA in October of 2022. This is her first position in a school!

Cecily has a bachelor's degree in communications with an art minor. She has been a line cook and a restaurant manager. After college, she worked in an office taking care of accounts (Accounts Receivable) for two different companies.

Cecily says, "I went to FOUR colleges: the University of Washington, Pierce College in Washington, Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Kalamazoo and Western Michigan where I received my degree. After my first year at a four-year college in Washington, I was not sure what I wanted to do so I started at a community college a couple years after working full time. I moved across the country and went back to school after I had residency. I never quit even though it took me 8 years to finish!"

When asked if she always knew what she wanted to pursue for a career path, Cecily said, "I figured it out along the way; I always worked and enjoyed some jobs more than others. Ultimately I wanted more 8-4 type hours and landed in Accounts Receivable."

Cecily's advice to students considering career and post-secondary options is, "I would 100% recommend continuing some kind of school or training after high school. The sooner the better, too, if possible. Life can take over before you know it!"

When asked what motivates Cecily, she said, "My family, taking care of my home, and my pets! It feels good to get up and make it a goal to make someone smile, to work hard, and be present in anything I am doing!"

You certainly make us smile, Cecily! We are so glad to have you greet us and keep us organized and moving through the day!

RVA courses are run through either Schoology or Edgenuity. Schoology courses are RPS teacher created and directed. If you want to know how your student is doing in these classes, log in to Schoology. If you need help getting in to Schoology, use this How to Cheat Sheet. Using a parent log in, parents can see messages and course information. However, if you want to see what your student has completed and what grades they have earned so far in classes, the best way to do that is to log in as your student. Students have access to the course gradebook which includes a list of assignments that need to be completed, showing scores earned on work that has been turned in.

Edgenuity courses offer parent updates. If you would like to be signed up to receive these, please complete this form. When the form has been processed, you will receive directions for signing up for the Parent Portal along with an access code. You will receive daily updates. If you want specific information on how your student is doing in Edgenuity, ask your student for their login information. If you log in as the student, you can see a more detailed report.

Good questions to ask your student include:

1. Are you attending all class sessions?

2. Are you completing at least one assignment in each class session?

3. About how far in each course are you?

4. What are you doing well?

5. What can you do better?

Parents and schools are partners in educating students!

Eight Resume Mistakes That Can Keep You From Getting Hired
https://www.aarp.org/work/job-search/info-2020/resume-mistakes-to-avoid.html

Hand 2 Hand can help with food and toiletry needs.

RVA has an amazing staff, social worker, and mental health liaison who can listen and connect you to resources!

Ele's Place is a community based organization with the mission to create awareness of and support for grieving children and their families. Please find a very helpful guide for parents - how to support teens, as well as a handout titled, How to Help Yourself: For Teens below.

Fall sports tryout information can be found at the Rockford Athletics Website. Fall sports include: Cross Country, Football, Girls Golf, Boys Soccer, Girls Swim and Dive, Boys Tennis, Volleyball, Boys Water Polo. Sideline Cheer, Field Hockey, Girls Rugby, and Equestrian.

Ram’s Tale—also known as OUR yearbook! Notes on Book Sales and Senior Photos

Yearbook Advisor: John Feeley — jfeeley@rockfordschools.org

Book Cost:
$65 August 1st through Friday, September 30th—We hope you buy here!
$70 October 1st through Friday, December 16th
$75 December 17th through Wednesday, May 31st!

Books can be ordered at yearbookforever.com
● Select Rockford High School for ALL 9-12 students
● Ensure to select Rockford, Michigan as there are Rockford schools in other states!

Senior Pictures— The Requirements / must be wallet size & in color!

Before submitting your senior picture, please consider the following guidelines and requirements.
Must:
⮚ Be a wallet sized photo (2X3)
⮚ Formatted vertically
⮚ Appropriately dressed
⮚ Not full length
⮚ Full color image
⮚ No sepia or other toned images

Preferences:

*Digital images 300 DPI or greater

*Digital images over hard copy phones, especially in the case of shooting one’s own photo

*Turn in early!!

Email Pictures to jfeeley@rockfordschools.org
Please Email Pictures: DO NOT send links!
Senior Photos Due By Friday, December 9th, 2023
—1 week before Christmas Break

August 21: First day of school!

August 22: Goal Setting for weeks 1 and 2 of Trimester 1

August 25: No school!

September 1-4: Labor Day Weekend! No school Friday or Monday!

September 5: Goal setting for weeks 3 and 4 of Trimester 1

September 6: RVA Open House

September 13: RPS Early Release Day

September 18: Goal setting for weeks 5 and 6 of Trimester 1

September 27: RPS Early Release Day

October 2: Picture Day/Goal setting for weeks 7 and 8 of Trimester 1

October 4: Michigan Fall Count Day - All students must be present all day!

October 11: RPS Early Release Day

October 16: Goal setting for weeks 9 and 10 of Trimester 1

October 27: RPS Early Release Day - students dismissed at 11:48

October 30: Goal setting for week 11 and 12 of Trimester 1

November 10: End of Trimester 1 - Students should have 5 classes completed by this day!

North Kent CONNECT: Clients | North Kent Connect (nkconnect.org)

Mobile Food Pantries: https://www.feedwm.org/findfood/

Assistance with housing, food, utilities:

contact 211 by phone or text (800-877-1107), text your zip code to 898211

Youth in need of shelter: The Bridge 616-451-3001 or 877-275-7792 the bridge - Arbor Circle

RVA Team - A caring group of educators dedicated to meeting students where they are and helping students grow and succeed!

Email: jthompson@rockfordschools.org
Website: http://www.rockfordschools.org
Location: 350 North Main Street, Rockford, MI, USA
Phone: 616-863-6324
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rivervalleyacademy
Twitter: @academy_river