Thank you for a short but amazing two days last week. While it may have been short, students jumped right back into this term's learning objectives. We are excited about the week ahead and eager to continue on the path to excellence with our students and school community. We've heard from students, teachers, parents, and our entire community that getting back to a "normal" routine is something we all look forward to.

We thanked staff for being amazing in the staff edition of our newsletter this week and wanted to take a moment to thank you as well. It seems the past few weeks have exemplified our core value of teamwork at every turn or change of plans that came our way. Our PTSA Board, parent volunteers, and community supporters have been such an incredible support in the month of January and we are incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to teach and spend time with your children each day.

As we enter a full 5 day week ahead, we offer a few reminders to keep things running smoothly:

• Family Life Curriculum Program will take place this week in PE class. Information has been provided in the last several newsletters, but we encourage you to review below if you haven't already.
• The Lady Rams have advanced to the next round of the Sectional Tournament and play their next game on Tuesday evening at 6:00pm at Norris Middle School.

• We need your help to decrease students being tardy to school in the morning!
• 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. 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.

• 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 – Jan 29

CTM Meetings – 5th, 6th , 7th, 8th, Math / 5th-7th SS (Room 115C)

Human Sexuality (students will attend during their gym class – Auditorium)

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

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

Rookie Teacher Academy 3:30-4:30pm (SAB Board Room)

Tuesday – Jan 30

CTM Meetings – 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th ELA / 5th-7th Science (Room 115C)

CTE Fair 8th Grade 11:00-11:45am (Gym)

Human Sexuality (students will attend during their gym class – Auditorium)

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

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

Girl's Varsity Basketball - Sectional Tournament vs. North Middle School

• 6:00pm at Norris Middle School

Wednesday – Jan 31

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

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

RMS Department Meetings 1:00-4:00pm

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

Thursday – Feb 1

Human Sexuality (students will attend during their gym class – Auditorium)

4-H Club 3:00-4:00pm (Library)

Board Games Club 2:45-3:45pm (Room 111)

Friday – Feb 2

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

Coffee & Conversation – Family Engagement Series with Mr. Corrigan 8:00-8:30am (Cafeteria)

Human Sexuality (students will attend during their gym class – Auditorium)

CTM Meetings - 8th SS / Science (Room 115C)

NAEP Testing (Selected 8th Grade Students)

Truancy Review & Support Meeting 10:00am-Noon (JMS Theater)

Saturday – Feb 3

TSA Fundraiser - Gallo Loco Mexican Restuarant Burrito Breakfast $5 (Rescheduled from 1/27)

Jan 27-Feb 3

Sectional Basketball Tournament at Norris

Attention Parents /Guardians of 5th, 6th and 8th grade students:

Students in 5th, 6th and 8th grades will participate in the Oak Ridge Board of Education approved Family Life curriculum during their Physical Education class on January 29-February 2. The programming will be age appropriate and address topics covered in the 5th, 6th, and 8th grade Health Education standards.

5th Grade Family Life Information

Lessons presented will be age- appropriate information on the emotional, social, and physical aspects of growing up. Boys and girls will be separated for this presentation but will watch the same video. The link for the video is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw1N06PKhu4

6th and 8th Grade Family Life Information

Lessons presented will be age-appropriate information on the emotional, social and physical aspects of growing up. Information on sexually transmitted diseases, refusal skills, abstinence, HIV/AIDS is also included. Students will remain in the same classroom, unlike when boys and girls were separated in the 5th grade program. This information will be presented by the non-profit, Let’s Talk 101.

Per School Board Policy 4.213:

A parent/guardian has the right to opt their child out of participating in this programming. If you want to opt your child out of programming, please complete the following form using the QR code/link below: https://forms.office.com/r/bxUdZaN1JU

If you would like additional information about the program, or if you have further questions, please feel free to contact Lauren Hawkins, Dean Williams, or Jamie Petrie at 425-9201 or by email at lmhawkins@ortn.edu, dwilliams@ortn.edu or jpetrie@ortn.edu

Congratulations to Quentin Delmau, the 2024 RMS Spelling Bee champion. Quentin is a three-time winner of the school bee and will represent our school in the regional spelling bee sponsored by the Tennessee Titans. Our runner-up, Lydia Naeve, was also an excellent speller and a strong competitor for fifteen rounds! Quentin won in the sixteenth round with the championship word extravagant.

A huge shout out to Ms. Douglas, our ELA Department, and the many staff volunteers who used teamwork to make sure this event happened after multiple delays from the weather last week.

The Robertsville Rams fell to Cherokee Middle School in a close game on Thursday evening in this year's Area Tournament bringing their season to an end. They had a fantastic year and we can't wait to see our 8th graders move on to play at ORHS and several others come back next season.

The Robertsville Lady Rams have been hard at work since returning to school from the recent snow closures. Last week, they defeated the Jefferson Eagles on Thursday evening and the Jacksboro Eagles on Friday evening to advance to the TMSAA Sectional Tournament. They defeated Sullivan Central in the first round of the Sectional Tournament at Cherokee High School in Rogersville, TN. This week they advance to the next round and face North Middle School (Lenoir City) on Tuesday at 6:00pm at Norris Middle School. Be sure to come out and cheer on the Lady Rams to show your support!

Congratulations to 8th grader Gabriella Dechene on getting 3rd place in the 8th grade group today at the Anderson County 4-H speech contest! She did an amazing job talking about different types of waves!

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

Dear RMS Parents and Students,

I am collecting quotes for a feature in the 2024 yearbook via an online survey. The topic of these questions is the "LITTLE THINGS" that bring you joy and happiness in life...things that make you smile, that make your day, that sometimes bring a bright spot in a day that's not so bright.

Students at all grade levels are encouraged to answer the survey and submit a photo (if desired) to accompany the quote if selected for inclusion in the yearbook. The survey link is NOT open to anyone outside the ORTN network, so students will need to complete the survey on their devices OR log in with their ORTN credentials if another device is used.

More specifics are available at the survey link. The deadline to respond is January 31, 2024. Thank you!

Dr. Julie Kinder-McMillan (jkinder@ortn.edu)

Yearbook Sponsor

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/