
The River Hawk
Rio Norte News - November 10, 2023
A Note From the Principal
Good Morning River Hawk Families,
I hope all of our students and staff enjoyed a wonderful day off yesterday in honor of the women and men who serve and protect our country! As the child of a Veteran, there is no greater gift someone can give our country and I thank any and all in our River Hawk community who have served!
Rio Norte's Cross Country Team did a great job on Thursday! I am so proud of their comradery and sportsmanship, encouraging one another as well as friends at other sites across the district. A HUGE shoutout to our 7th Grade Girls who took First Place in their division! I also want to offer up a big thank you to our PE Department, Art James, and Mr. Stroh for their leadership and time to prepare our team. Thank you to our incredible PTSA Parents that gave their time to host our snack table and to all of you that donated items to fuel and hydrate our athletes!
This week a video chat site made news, being shutdown due to concerns of pairing up strangers, sadly leading to minors being victimized. While the power of Social Media apps, sites, and networks have provided a lot of amazing things, we all know the negative power they can have when used inappropriately. For us, as parents of teens in this digital world, it can be a HUGE challenge to keep up with it all! This news brings a great reminder that Kim Karr, who came in September and spoke to students and parents about digital citizenship, provided some great resources to us as parents. Click here to be brought back to that presentation and see more of her resources below. Another great site I recently shared with several families is commonsensemedia.org This site allows parents to check on movies, TV shows, books, apps, video games, and podcasts and I've been utilizing it for years to make informed decisions on content my own children wanted access to.
Click here for Kim Karr's Parent Guidelines
Click here for Kim Karr's Reporting Information
Finally, this next week hopes to bring our traditional Turkey Bowl Festivities for our 8th graders, but the forecast appears as though it might interfere. We will be assessing the situation on Monday and will share any updates with all of our families through Parent Square not later than Tuesday.
In this issue learn more about:
- Important Dates
- Rio Norte Spiritwear Holiday Sale
- Turkey Bowl
- AMC 8 Math Test - sign up NOW through December 1st
- E-Bike Helmet Safety from our own, Deputy Duxbury
- Young Champions Karate Flyer
- Youth Volleyball Flyer
- 8th Grade Hoodies and order form - due Tuesday, 11/14
- Food Service November Information
- Bus Strike continues to impact Route 622 for Rio Norte
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend before the rain heads our way.
Sincerely,
Brenda Bennett
Important Dates
November 14th:
- 8th grade hoodie orders due by 3 p.m.
- Progress Report Grades Post to IC after 3 p.m.
November 17th:
- Turkey Bowl - 8th grade only
November 20-24th:
- Thanksgiving Break - No School
November 30th & December 1st:
- Rio Norte Drama Hawks Production of Baskerville, 7 p.m. in the MPR
December 6th:
- Rio Norte Band Concert, 7 p.m. in the MPR
CLICK HERE for a printable copy of the calendar pictured.
Rio Norte Spiritwear Holiday Sale
Turkey Bowl - weather pending
8th grade parents, come join us for our annual Turkey Bowl this Friday, 11/17. Parents can enter from the back field gate off of Village Circle Drive starting at 1:00 p.m., with our game starting at 1:30 p.m. Parents should bring their own lawn chairs or blankets, otherwise you can stand or sit on the grass like our students.
NOTE: Weather update will be shared to all Rio families through Parent Square by Tuesday, 11/14.
Mathematical Association of America's AMC 8 Math Test
If your student has a passion for problem-solving and is interested in taking the AMC 8 test, registration is happening now through Friday, December 1, 2023. The cost is $8 and needs to be paid at the ASB window. The test will be given afterschool on one of the following days: January 18, January 22, or January 23, 2024!!!! The specific date will be determined once we return from winter break.
The AMC 8 is a 25-question, 40-minute, multiple choice examination in middle school mathematics designed to promote the development of problem-solving skills. The AMC 8 provides an opportunity for middle school students to develop positive attitudes towards analytical thinking and mathematics that can assist in future careers. Students apply classroom skills to unique problem-solving challenges in a low-stress and friendly environment.
The material covered on the AMC 8 includes topics from a typical middle school mathematics curriculum. Possible topics include but are not limited to: counting and probability, estimation, proportional reasoning, elementary geometry including the Pythagorean Theorem, spatial visualization, everyday applications, and reading and interpreting graphs and tables. In addition some of the later questions may involve linear or quadratic functions and equations, coordinate geometry, and other topics traditionally covered in a beginning algebra course.
Students must be in 8th grade or below and also 14.5 years or younger on the date of the exam.
For more information, please contact Mrs. Groller (Rio Norte's MathCounts Advisor) at Lgroller@hartdistrict.org or have your student come to C4. We hold our MathCounts weekly meetings on Thursdays at lunch and all interested students are welcome!
E-Bike Safety and Helmets
With the increase in electric bikes on campuses and more and more attention brought to helmet safety, our SRO, Deputy Duxbury, has been doing some research. All students riding bikes to school must have a helmet, but if your student is riding an E-bike or you're thinking of getting one, please consider the information he is sharing with us for the safety of our students.
Electric bikes come in 3 classes:
Class I: These bikes are electric assist only. The rider must pedal to activate the motor, and they do not have a throttle control. The maximum allowed speed for these bikes is 20 MPH.
Class II: These bikes only require you to pedal to keep the battery charged, and they have a throttle control (like a motorcycle). The maximum allowed speed for these bikes is also 20 MPH.
Class III: These bikes also only require you to pedal to keep the battery charged, they have a throttle control, and are also required to have a speedometer which tells the rider how fast they are going. The maximum allowed speed for these bikes is 28 MPH.
Standard bicycle helmets (like what you would find at Walmart) are only rated at 14 MPH. These helmets are NOT safe for any class of electric bike. Electric bikes require helmets with a Mips or DOT rating.
Mips rated helmets have several layers of foam, glass or gel, and styrofoam to cushion a rider's head on impact. The layers absorb energy upon impact to lessen the force on the head. Young riders will benefit from the full-faced version, as face trauma can cause just as much injury to the brain on impact.
Here's a link for more info about Mips: https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/what-are-mips-helmets/
DOT helmets are rated by the Department of Transportation, and are required for anyone operating a motorcycle. However, he learned that it is recommended that riders on Class III bikes wear a DOT helmet for maximum protection. People purchasing these should only do so in person at a motorcycle or bicycle shop to assure proper fit. Additionally, there are a lot of counterfeit helmets on the internet which are NOT DOT rated, and offer no protection.
We thank Deputy Duxbury for this valuable safety information for our students!
8th Grade Hoodies Orders DUE TUESDAY
Attention 8th graders! With the cold weather arriving, be sure to get your 8th grade hoodie! These will be sold through our ASB window until Tuesday, November 14th. We do not have funding to buy additional hoodies, so you must order by the deadline in order to get one. 8th graders' names will be in the "24" on the back of the hoodie. Order forms are now available at the ASB window or click on the PDF below to print.
*Due to the required order form, we are unable to sell these through the webstore.
Strike Continues, Impacting Rio Norte's City Bus Route 622
RIO NORTE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Thomas Flores, 8th grade Assistant Principal
Shonna August, 7th grade Assistant Principal
ATTENDANCE Needs: Email lmcdaniel@hartdistrict.org
Email: bjbennett@hartdistrict.org
Website: https://www.rionortejuniorhigh.org/
Location: 28771 Rio Norte Dr, Valencia, CA, USA
Phone: 661-295-3700
Nondiscrimination Statement / Declaración de no discriminación
The William S. Hart Union High School District prohibits discrimination, intimidation, harassment (including sexual harassment), or bullying based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, ancestry, religion, age, marital status, pregnancy, parental status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military or veteran status, political affiliation, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, sexual orientation, or association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. For questions or complaints, contact Equity Compliance Officer and Section 504 Coordinator Erum Velek, and Title II / Title IX Coordinator, Mark Crawford. Both can be reached at the William S. Hart Union High School District, 21380 Centre Pointe Pkwy, Santa Clarita, CA 91350, (661) 259-0033, or by email: UCP@hartdistrict.org.
El Distrito de Escuelas Secundarias William S. Hart Union prohíbe la discriminación, la intimidación, acoso (incluido el acoso sexual) o intimidación basada en la realidad o percepción de una persona raza, color, etnia, origen nacional, estado migratorio, ascendencia, religión, edad, l estado civil, embarazo, estado parental, discapacidad física o mental, condición médica, estado militar o veterano, afiliación política, sexo, género, identidad de género, expresión de género, información genética, orientación sexual, o asociación con una persona o un grupo con uno o más de estos características percibidas. Para preguntas o quejas, comuníquese con el Oficial de Cumplimiento de Equidad y el coordinador de la Sección 504, Erum Velek, y el coordinador del Título II / Título IX, Mark Crawford. Ambos pueden ser contactado en William S. Hart Union High School District, 21380 Centre Pointe Pkwy, Santa Clarita, CA 91350, (661) 259-0033,
o por correo electrónico: UCP@hartdistrict.org.