RHPS: We are Connected

Each year, the Georgia Department of Education combines multiple data sources to determine a Climate Star Rating for schools throughout the state. One of the indicators utilized in this determination is The Georgia Parent Survey, which is designed to measure parent perception of our school climate.

Your survey responses are confidential and should only take a few minutes of your time. These results will be used to help gauge our effectiveness in providing the very best educational experience to the students and families we serve.

We appreciate your partnership, and thank you for sharing your child with us!

LINK TO SURVEY

We are on our way to meeting our goal of $8,000. Thank you for your generous donations!

Click the graphic to see our progress!

• February 15th - Class pictures (details coming soon)
• February 20th - 21st - Winter Break
• February 22nd - PL day for staff and holiday for students
• February 27th - Book Fair begins - Read Across America
• February 28th - PTSO meeting at 6:00 PM

We currently have two positions on the PTSO board that are vacant. We are in need of a secretary and treasurer for the remainder of this school year. Please provide the following information to be added to the ballot at the next PTSO meeting. Please CLICK HERE to submit your name.

W is for Wildcats Family Spirit Night! Join us at the Savannah Ghost Pirates!

Get your tickets today and join us on February 4th at 7 PM!

Here is the link! https://fevo.me/3VN9Bv9

Can't wait to see our Wildcat Spirit take over!

Lottery registration for the Bryan County School District’s Georgia Lottery Pre-K Classes program begins Wednesday, February 1, 2023 and will end on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 11:59pm. All registration applications will be submitted online via the registration link found on the BCS website:

https://www.bryan.k12.ga.us/page/pre-kindergarten (available on February 1st)

Children must be registered for the school in which their residency is zoned (see Attendance Area map). A child registering for Pre-K must be four years old on or before September 1, 2023.

RHPS Arrival/Dismissal Times

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Car rider line opens at 8:25

Car riders must arrive by 8:45, if they are having breakfast at school.

RHPS, along with the support and guidance of Bryan County Schools, takes a proactive approach to keeping our students safe each day through a comprehensive safety plan, vigilant supervision, and regular safety drills.

Here are a few steps you can take to partner with us in increasing student safety:

1. Only use our main entrance to access the building unless instructed otherwise (i.e. special events, performances, PTSO events, curriculum nights).

2. If volunteering or visiting campus, check-in through the main office and wear the provided identification badge at all times.

3. Have transportation tags and identification on hand when picking up your student.

4. Be sure your child's white card is up-to-date and includes complete information for all emergency contacts.

All volunteers must complete a mandatory volunteer orientation and assessment. Please visit this link to complete all required steps. This form has three sections:

• Section 1: Volunteer Information
• Section 2: Mandated Reporter Training/Quiz (You must score 100% in order to volunteer.)
• Section 3: BCS Parent Volunteer Handbook (Please send in the signed volunteer agreement form with your child, this is the last page of the handbook.)

Volunteer opportunities will be posted by the school, classroom teacher, and PTSO. Please contact Stephanie Shorette at sshorette@bryan.k12.ga.us with any questions.

We are excited to welcome lunch visitors! One week a month will be designated for lunch guests to give you the opportunity to eat lunch with your child. Here are the designated weeks for RHPS:

Guidelines for Lunch Visitors:

• All lunch visitors must be on your child's white card.

• We ask for one lunch visitor per child per visit due to space limitations.

• All visitors will be required to sign in and wear a visitor's badge while on campus.

• All visitors will eat with their child at a designated area. Due to space and safety, only your child will be permitted to eat lunch with you.

• No outside food will be permitted during your visit.

• Ensure you closely look at the schedule for designated weeks. We will only be able to accommodate lunch guests on the scheduled weeks.

• Plan to visit one day during the designated week.

• Please arrive 5 - 10 minutes prior to your child’s scheduled lunch time to allow time for the check-in process. Be sure to have your picture ID with you.

Week of:

• January 23rd
• February 27th
• March 27th
• April 10th
• May - Parents will be invited to EOY parties

• For your child's safety, please wait for an RHPS adult to open your car door and assist your child out of the car and on to the sidewalk.
• At arrival, please have your child ready to exit the car when you get to the drop off line (unbuckled, bookbags on, shoes tied, etc.).
• Remain in your car during drop off and pick up.

Walkers

• Beginning Monday, August 8th, walkers must be approved by address verification.
• If you are approved to be a walker, you will receive a different color pick-up tag. Please be sure you have it with you when you arrive to pick-up your child at the front sidewalk.
• If you are not approved to be a walker, your child will be placed in car line beginning on Tuesday, August 9th.
• Approved walkers should be walking to and from campus, not arriving in a car. If you are driving to campus, please use the car line.

Student dismissal is based on information provided by the parent or guardian. Every morning the teacher records how each child in her class is going home. If there is a change in transportation, please send in a note the morning of the change. Please include the dates for the change and a phone number for verification purposes. If a change is necessary during the school day, it will be considered an emergency change and should be requested by calling the office at 459-5080.

Frequent changes in transportation can be confusing and stressful for young children. Please do not make changes except in emergency situations.

RHPS students are not allowed to walk independently. Walkers must be accompanied by an adult or a responsible sibling.

All walkers and bike-riders will complete a Walker/Bike-rider application. Once approved, you will receive a walker pick-up tag and your child will be in the walker pick-up area at dismissal. If your child is normally a walker/bike-rider and there is inclement weather, please use the car line. Walkers and bike-riders are limited to students who live within 1 1⁄2 miles of RHPS. Bus transportation is available for all other students.

Due to safety concerns and to keep traffic flowing efficiently, please do not park and walk up to get your child.

● Dismissal - Car riders have an assigned number. Parents may pick-up their children by driving through the car rider line with the child’s car tag displayed on the driver’s side dashboard. Please keep this card visible until the student is loaded in the vehicle. Car rider tags are distributed by the classroom teacher. We can not release students without a car tag. If you have lost/misplaced your tag, please go directly to the front office to obtain a temporary tag prior to entering the car line.

● Morning drop-off for students will take place along the back of RHPS. We will use the entire sidewalk to unload students on the driver’s side of the car.

● Please do not drop your child off before 8:25 AM as we cannot guarantee adult supervision until that time.

● If your child would like to eat breakfast at school, they must be dropped off in the car line prior to 8:45.

● The car rider line will close at 8:55. Students will be marked tardy if they are not in their classrooms at 9:00. If you arrive after 8:55, please bring your child into the front office to sign-in.

● At the end of the school day, children will remain in a supervised area until someone picks them up from school. To pick-up your child, you must enter the car rider line. Refrain from cell phone use while in the car line.

● Your car must be totally stopped and placed in PARK before your child will be permitted to step out to enter your vehicle.

● For the safety of your child and staff members, we will load on the driver’s side only. Please work with your child to practice buckling and unbuckling themselves to allow for timely loading and unloading of cars. For your safety and convenience, we have a buckle zone that allows you to pull over and assist your child to buckle up, if needed.

● Please follow the established traffic flow to keep the line moving.

Please CLICK HERE for details of the traffic patterns for car riders.

The school nurse will determine when a child needs to be sent home due to illness. If a child is sent home by the nurse, it is considered an excused absence. The following procedures will be used to determine student illness and parent notification:

• Fever – Parent will be notified when a child has an elevated temperature and the child will be sent home. Children can return to school when fever-free for 24 hours WITHOUT medication.

• Rash – Parent will be notified when child has a suspicious rash that could possibly be contagious.

• Nausea, vomiting, and related illness – Parents will be notified and asked to make arrangements to have the child picked up at school. Child may return after a 24-hour period with no vomiting.

• Lice—Parents will be notified when their child is suspected of having head lice. Before the child can be admitted back to school, he or she must be checked by the school nurse. Unless proof of treatment is presented and all live lice are gone, students will not be readmitted to school nor allowed to ride the school bus until these procedures are followed. Parents should accompany their child for him/her to be rechecked by the school nurse.

All medication is to be taken to the office by a parent and/or guardian to be accepted by the school nurse. Prescription medication will be logged in, and an inventory will be updated as medication is taken. Medications must be kept in the original container and must clearly show that the medicine has been prescribed for the student. Non-prescription medicine must also be delivered by a parent or guardian.

While students are at school, medications will be kept and administered in the office or clinic, including lotions and lozenges. While at school, students may be administered prescription medications that have been prescribed for them.

Every parent or guardian completes a White Card for their child at the beginning of each school year. This is the document the office will refer to when releasing students. In order to guard the safety of your child, our office staff is extremely cautious when releasing students to other adults. Please keep this card updated with current phone numbers, who to contact in case of an emergency, and the names of adults that have permission to check-out your child.

Permanent changes to the white card need to be done in person with an ID by the custodial parent or guardian. Custody documentation must be on file, and the office must be notified immediately when changes are made to custodial agreements.

If there is a need for a different adult other than those listed on the White Card to pick up your child, a signed and dated note from the parent/guardian is required. When it is time to check-out your child, our staff will require the adult to present a picture ID.

Students checked out prior to 12:30 PM are considered absent as they were present for less than half the school day. Teachers and students begin preparing for dismissal at 3:30. Early dismissal after 3:30 should only occur in emergency situations.

We believe that attendance is an essential component to your child’s academic success. It is our goal to partner with you to ensure that your child views school attendance as an important part of being a successful student, as an absence means that your child has lost an opportunity to learn. If your child is absent, please notify your child's teacher, as well as send in a parent or doctor's note upon their return to school.

Teachers and paraprofessionals will assist students with missed lessons and assignments when they return from an absence. When students are absent due to illness, we prefer that they use that time to rest and recover. If students are out due to extended illness or injury, parents should contact Allison Etheridge, counselor, for information on hospital homebound services.

Any combination of 10 early check-outs or late arrivals will require the parent to provide proof of residency documentation. Further, an attendance meeting will be called once the student has excessive unexcused absences.

Students checked out prior to 12:30 PM are considered absent as they were present less than half the school day at RHPS. Student check-outs/early dismissals are not allowed after 3:30.

RHPS students are not allowed to have cell phones or any other communication device turned on during school hours unless by a doctor’s request. If it is determined by a licensed physician or surgeon to be essential for the student's health, that student will have a written plan including the doctor's verification for cell phone/communication device use which has been approved by the school administrator and which is on file in the school office.

If a student brings any of these devices to school, it will be powered off and placed in student’s bookbag until the end of the school day. See BCS Student Handbook for more information.

The Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports program is based upon a philosophy of recognizing positive contributions of students. Our goal is to help each child develop self-discipline. The home and school share the responsibility for developing good citizens. Parents, teachers, and students must work together to maintain a safe and positive learning environment.

Be Respectful: Use Manners, Wait your turn

Be Helpful: Clean up after yourself, Say please and thank you

Be Positive: Be kind, Set a good example

Be Safe: Keep hands, feet and objects to self, Listen to adults and follow directions

Students will receive on-going instruction from staff on our school-wide expectations in all areas of our school. The classroom, bathroom, cafeteria, hallways, bus, computer lab, media center, playground and at assemblies are all settings where students will be expected to act in a safe, respectful and responsible manner.

The 7 Mindsets are based on a three year research effort that began with the simple question: What do the world’s happiest and most successful people have in common? In search of the answer, we studied many of the happiest and most successful people who’ve ever lived. We reviewed the most extensive and important studies on personal achievement ever conducted. And we personally interviewed over 400 leading experts, some of the most successful men and women of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Our research revealed that the answer isn’t related to gender, ethnicity, or where they lived in the world. It had nothing to do with being raised in a loving home or a broken one. It didn’t matter if their families were rich, middle class, or impoverished. It wasn’t even connected to how far they advanced in school or the skills they acquired along the way. In fact, it turns out that the game-changing commonalities of happiness and success are based on how the world’s most successful people think.

What emerged from our research was a set of seven mental habits foundational to an enriched life. The7 Mindsets are a comprehensive blueprint for happiness, meaning, and success, written in simple, powerful language to teach and activate success strategies for people to live the lives of their dreams.

In the following pages, you will find a description of each of the 7 Mindsets, along with a summary of the key components of each that empower us to live our best lives. At the end of each section is one immediate action to take that will help instill a 7 Mindsets culture in your home. These will change the dynamic of your family’s daily life by invigorating your children to tap into their unlimited potential.

Following the 7 Mindsets overviews, we summarize our E.M.P.O.W.E.R. approach to driving intrinsic

motivation within students. With each step, we provide a Parent Tip to help you successfully

implement these methods in your home.

Every class enjoys a snack time during the school day, some in the morning and some in the afternoon. Snacks should be a small, healthy snack. Snacks should be sent with your child daily. Snacks dropped off at the front office may not reach your child by their scheduled snack time since the snack time varies from class to class.

Snacks will not be shared due to concerns for student allergies. Teachers will notify parents of the specific allergies in their classrooms.

For birthdays, parents can choose to send in a store-bought special snack to be enjoyed during the regular snack time. Parents may send this snack (cupcakes, cookies, fruit, etc.) to school that morning. All treats should be store-bought in the original package with ingredients listed. Homemade treats will not be accepted by the office. Teachers and paras will supervise special treats.

Please consider student allergies when sending in snacks and treats for special events. Your child’s teacher will share a list of the different types of allergies in the classroom.

Students may not receive deliveries at school, including balloons, flowers, outside food items, etc.

Students may deliver party invitations at school but the invitations cannot be addressed to specific students, and all students in class should receive an invite. At the beginning of the school year, you will be provided with the opportunity to share your contact information with your child’s classmates. The teacher will compile this information and send home only with students of parents that granted permission for their information to be shared with others.

Parents will be invited to join the class for 2 parties each year - a winter holiday party and an end of year party. Details will be shared with parents prior to these events.

EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT SERVICES

From BCS Student Handbook - The Exceptional Student Services Department meets the individual needs of students ages three through twenty-one who are eligible for services according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). A full continuum of services is available, ranging from the least restrictive to more restrictive environments, depending on the specific needs of the student. The department also supports schools in ensuring students with disabilities appropriately access the curriculum and provide specialized instruction as determined necessary by the Individualized Education Program (IEP). In collaboration with students, schools, families, and the community, the Exceptional Student Services Department assists students with disabilities in increasing academic performance and enhancing postsecondary options

EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM

From Georgia Department of Education website - Children start school at a designated chronological age, but differ greatly in their intellectual development and experience base. The Early Intervention Program (EIP) is designed to serve students in Kindergarten through grade five who are at risk of not reaching or maintaining academic grade level. The purpose of the Early Intervention Program is to provide additional instructional resources to help students who are performing below grade level obtain the necessary academic skills to reach grade level performance in the shortest possible time.

EIP Eligibility for Placement Criteria: Students are placed into the EIP program based on a variety of indicators, which includes results from local and/or State assessments in English language arts/reading and mathematics, EIP Rubrics, and/or portfolios, and/or local school checklists.

GIFTED SERVICES

Gifted Student – A student who demonstrates a high degree of intellectual and/or creative ability(ies), exhibits an exceptionally high degree of motivation, and/or excels in specific fields, and who needs special instruction and/or special ancillary services to achieve at levels commensurate with his or her abilities. For more information see State Board of Education Rule 160-4-2-.38

There are three steps in the process of identifying and placing gifted students: referral, evaluation, and eligibility.

• Referral- Students are referred automatically as a result of system-wide testing or they can be nominated. Three referral windows, Fall, Winter, and Spring are available. Referrals are reviewed by the school’s local eligibility team. The team determines which students will be formally evaluated.

• Eligibility -The eligibility team reviews the relevant information about the referred student. A decision is made by the team regarding eligibility or the need for further assessment.

• Evaluation- Following parental consent, the local school evaluates the student’s mental ability, achievement, creativity, and motivation through the use of nationally normed tests, instruments, performances, and standardized assessments. Students are not evaluated until 1st grade.

MISSION: Dedicated to rigorous educational tasks that challenge and motivate students while always being focused on continuous improvement.

Email: nhighsmith@bryan.k12.ga.us
Website: http://www.bryancountyschools.org/o/rhps
Location: 471 Frances Meeks Way, Richmond Hill, GA, USA
Phone: (912) 459-5080
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RHPrimarySchool/
Twitter: @RichmondHill_PS