The River Hawk

Good Morning River Hawk Families,

WELCOME to our new River Hawk families and welcome back to our returning families! It's hard to see the summer fade away and know school starts already on Monday. However, the enthusiasm and energy our River Hawks displayed at Summer Check-in was contagious, and our teachers have spent the last three days preparing to welcome them into their new classes. The hope and promise of a wonderful new school year is in the air!

This weekly newsletter is a great resource and tool for YOU, our parents! I send it out every Saturday morning at 7 a.m. and try to make this a one-stop shop for things going on at our school so you're not inundated by numerous messages all week long. I override the setting in Parent Square so that all parents/guardians receive the email at 7a.m. You will always find the important dates section right below my opening note and then a wealth of information to keep you "in the know" so you don’t miss opportunities, applications, school deadlines, and information on school-wide activities and events. Please take a moment each weekend to read through my newsletter so you don't miss important school news!

The first bell rings at 8:10 a.m. and school starts at 8:15 a.m. Students should plan to arrive early to avoid the heaviest traffic and to provide them time to be scanned onto campus, with their ID card. There are two drop-off lanes at the front of the school. If you enter the right lane, closest to the school buildings, your student will exit on the right of your vehicle. If you enter the left lane, your student must exit on the left side (into the parking lot area) and walk down toward the gym to be crossed by one of our campus supervisors. Please, for the safety of all, do NOT allow your student to cross between the cars and kindly follow the instructions of all Rio Norte staff members.

The first day of school will have a special schedule. Students will go to all six classes. Our ROTATING BLOCK schedule will begin on Tuesday. Click here for the first day of school bell schedule. Staff will be available to assist students in finding their classes on the first few days of school. Wednesdays are Early Release days, beginning Wednesday, August 14th, with school dismissing at 1:30 p.m. All other days dismiss at 2:30 p.m. All other bell schedules can be found on our website.

I encourage you to check RioTV's website frequently and watch their daily episodes to see what information your student should be paying attention to in advisory each day. I also address students on RioTV weekly and will begin my SOAR series the second week of school, where I impart the expectations and importance of our S.O.A.R. motto:

Strive for success

Own our actions

Accept differences

Respect ourselves & others

In an effort to give you as much information as possible for the start of school, this is an unusually long newsletter (and the next few might be as well). Typically, I try to make these a quick read so you have what you need. Be sure to take the time to peruse the information and resources provided each week.

In this issue learn more about:

• Important Dates

• What is Advisory?

• Help us be good neighbors

• Direct Donation Fundraiser

• Parent Square
  

• Rio Merchandise Back to School Sale

• Back to School Dance ticket sales

• PTSA membership and Facebook Page

• Our School Counselors

• Library Information

• Importance of Attendance

• Math Calculator Recommendation from our Math Department

• Our Care Text (and email)

• The Personal Device Policy

• Cafeteria News and Menus

• City Bus Information

We hope your student is excited about Monday and can't wait to see what they accomplish this year. May each and every one of you have a fantastic weekend and find the information in these newsletters to be helpful throughout the year!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bennett

Parents we NEED your help! Rising costs are affecting all of us, including Rio Norte, as school budgets are not increasing to meet the demands of rising costs. Things as simple as paper and office supplies are costing up to 30% more on the same budget. Vendors with rising costs are charging more and transportation costs for field trips have skyrocketed. Our Rio Norte ASB wants to continue to provide our students with activities and events that will enhance their school experience. To ensure your money goes to the school and not another company, we are planning our own Direct Donation Fundraiser from August 28th through September 13th.

This means we'll need parent volunteers to help organize, sort and distribute prizes and most importantly we'll need your help in raising funds! We will be using a company called Pledgestar who takes a minimal fee for helping send out informative emails or texts to friends and families asking for donations. The donations from you and your student's supporters help fund so many incredible programs and activities put on by ASB and also helps ASB to support our team activities, events, our clubs and our teachers, to provide enriching activities for our students. The money we bring in will determine funding for field trips, assemblies, lunch time activities, subsidize dances, competitions and so much more. Further details will be coming soon!

Parent Square provides the district's main form of communication. If you do nothing, all communications will go to the email address you have on file with us. However, you can download the app and go into settings to select notifications, text messages or information to come in a daily digest. For more information click here.

Rio Norte uses a webstore (flyer below) as we've found it provides families a large variety of options and ships directly to your house. However this year we're doing a special Rio Norte Spirit Shirt (photo to the right), mimicking the popular Santa Cruz Skate brand. This shirt is being sold direct through ASB at the ASB window, cash or check payable to Rio Norte ASB, or on our ASB Webstore. This special edition is $15.

Our Back to School Dance is scheduled for Friday, August 30th from 6-8 p.m. More information will be in the next newsletter, but tickets will go on sale on August 15th for $25 and prices increase on August 22nd. Students who purchased the Groove Pack need to RSVP at the ASB window.

Parent volunteers are utilized in a different way at junior high, but we still WANT and need your help and our amazing PTSA is instrumental in supporting our school!

We're thrilled to invite you to become a part of our PTSA family! Each student that signs up will also enjoy fantastic monthly incentives, our first being a popsicle party. Simply visit JOIN PTSA and follow the steps to become a member today.

Please click this link to our PTSA Facebook page for updated information throughout the year.

At the junior high level, your child has an academic counselor to help with a variety of issues and support your student in their goals for success. Here is a link to Meet Your Rio Norte Counselors

The Rio Norte JHS Library will be closed for continued textbook distribution the first few days of school but will officially OPEN on Thursday, August 15th for students to come visit, work on homework, check out books, play chess, and more!

As of Thursday the library will be open before and after school, and during our students' lunch and brunch breaks. Our daily schedule is:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday = 7:45am - 3:30pm

Wednesday (early release) = 7:45am - 1:30pm - closed after school on Wednesdays due to staff professional development sessions.

If your student will be absent, please email our attendance tech, Ms. McDaniel at: lmcdaniel@hartdistrict.org or call the school at 661-295-3700 and press #1. Please note, Ms. McDaniel's email address is always at the bottom of every newsletter by the Rio Norte information.

Post-covid studies are showing the direct correlation attendance has on student success in school and the critical importance of students being a part of their daily in-person instruction. Please do all you can to minimize absences unless your student has a fever, is vomiting, or has diarrhea. We understand there can be unavoidable circumstances, but we appreciate your cooperation in scheduling vacations during school breaks and holidays!

Remember our A/B Block Calendar, pictured above in "Important Dates" shows all of our breaks, holidays, and minimum days for planning purposes. As stated above, please refrain from any vacations or trips on the CAASPP testing minimum days in May, listed as "min test" on that calendar. Thank you again for your support.

Students can use a chromebook at school to send a confidential email to riotip@hartdistrict.org while on-campus, or they can use 661-213-9276 to text confidential information after school hours. Please note that most issues will be addressed during business hours. If a student does not get a response within 24 business hours, their text/email may not have gone through and they should re-send or go to the office for assistance.

NOTE: Life-threatening and critically urgent issues should immediately be directed to the office during business hours or the appropriate agencies after hours, as texts and emails might not be seen until the next business day.

Thank you for your support of our Personal Device Policy and please remember this does include Smart Watches and earbuds/headphones. The first week of school we will give multiple reminders and warnings prior to confiscating devices. As of August 19th, we will start taking devices and documenting it if they are out in class, before school, during passing periods, or at brunch and lunch. Devices are sent to the office until the end of the day. If you have questions, please check our FAQ as it has the answers to the most commonly asked questions. The policy can be found on our website under the parents or students tab or click Personal Device Policy to read through it. If you still have any questions or something comes up, please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's Counselor or Assistant Principal as we are here to help. Students will be reminded if they need to reach you, they can always ask a teacher or come to the office to make a call.

8th grade math students can benefit from the calculator pictured above. It is NOT a required item, simply recommended if you're looking to buy one and you're not sure what to get. While most 7th grade students won't really need this type of calculator, if you're looking to buy a calculator, and not buy a different one next year, you might consider this as well.

Brenda Bennett, Principal

Shonna August, 8th grade Assistant Principal

Thomas Flores, 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

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, 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.