March RBHS BRIDGE Communication
Rock Bridge High School Newsletter: March 21, 2025
When we return from Spring Break, we will only have two months of school before summer break. Th remainder of the year will move quickly! I want to encourage all our students to use Spring Break as a moment to recharge and prepare for our push to the finish. With only eight weeks left to demonstrate your learning from this semester, every moment will count. Attending school every day you are physically able will ensure you have the best possible academic outcome of the 2025 school year.
Here is what you will find included in this BRIDGE.
- Attendance Goal Update
- CPS Cell Phone Reminder
- May 27 is CPS Last Day of School
- Academic Support at RBHS
- RBHS CFAE Teacher Nominees
- 2025 Courtwarming Kind and Queen
- 11th Grade ACT
- End of Course Exams
- Google Photos and YouTube Changes in CPS
- 2025 Teacher of the Year Nomination Form
- RBHS Performing Arts Presents HADESTOWN
- Winter Sports Wrap Up
- Senior Meeting (March) Information/Slides
- February BRIDGE Communication
- April Calendar
We wish you all a wonderful Spring Break!
Sincerely,
Jacob
Remember that our goal for the school year is 85% attendance according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's 90/90 expectation. In the image to the right, you can see the attendance percentages of all our grade levels as of March16, 2025. In the image below, you can see our overall attendance is 83.7%. This is a little higher than it was at the same time last school year. This is below our target for the year; however, it is not too late for us to achieve our goal. Our attendance can move back above 85% if we have improved attendance moving forward.
It is critical that students attend every minute of school they are physically able and their health allows. Teaching and learning continue when students are absent, and teachers are not able to appropriately re-create the learning opportunities for students who miss school. There is no substitute for being present in class.
Here is a copy of the letter I emailed on November 18th regarding attendance requirements for AUT and Courtwarming. All 9th, 10th, and 11th graders need to be aware that students with attendance lower than 85% are at risk of losing their AUT for the 2025-26 school year.
Recently the Columbia Public School Board of Education approved an adjustment to the end of our school year's calendar. The new last day of school this year is May 27th. Here is a link to the new calendar. This day will be an Early Release Day.
Please remind your student regularly that they should be utilizing their AUT, Advisory, and/or Study Hall time to complete school work, refresh their understanding of content, or get assistance with work that is challenging. Below you will find information about two different academic assistance opportunities we offer at RBHS.
As our year progresses and we get further into curricular content, it is inevitable that we will all need some level of academic assistance. Rock Bridge provides our Tutoring Center for all students during each of the 8 blocks. Our Tutoring Center is staffed by Math, Science, and Studies certified teachers and students with interest (and competency) in each of these contents.
9th graders are able to access this assistance during their Advisory class period. They can also use their time in Advisory to seek assistance from their 9th grade peers, Advisory Mentor, and their Advisory Teacher.
10th, 11th, and 12th graders are able to access the Tutoring Center during any portion of their AUT.
This is a friendly reminder that almost all RBHS Juniors will be taking the ACT on April 9th. All Juniors who opted in for this opportunity (428 Juniors) will be testing for all of blocks 1 and 2 on this day. Attendance will be taken in each student's assigned tested location. Students will receive more specific details when they return from Spring Break.
In April, many RBHS students will be taking an End of Course (EOC) Exam. See our RBHS EOC Testing Schedule below. EOCs are an important exam for the State of Missouri and can significantly impact Rock Bridge High School's state report card and our district’s accreditation.
Here are a few important details about the exam:
Preparation: Students have been preparing for the exam in their Algebra, Biology, English 10, and Government classes all school year long.
Encouragement: We encourage all students to give their best effort. Your continued support and encouragement at home are invaluable during this time.
School Impact: The collective scores of all 10th graders will serve as a benchmark for our school. The district’s overall EOC scores also affect the funding we receive from the state.
RBHS EOC Testing Schedule
- Government EOCs will be administered in Government classes on April 16.
- English 10 EOCs will be administered in English 10 classes on April 16 and 17. This is a two part exam and will require two class periods to complete.
- Algebra 1 and 2 EOCs will be administered in Algebra 1 and 2 classes on April 21, 22, 23, and 24. This is a two part exam and will require two class periods to complete. If a student took the Algebra 1 EOC while attending RBHS, they will not be required to take the Algebra 2 EOC.
- Biology EOC will be administered on April 28 and 29.
Each year we ask for your help in nominating a Rock Bridge High School teacher who deserves recognition as "RBHS Teacher of the Year". In 2024 our school community nominated and selected Mr. Austin Reed for this recognition. The teacher ultimately selected will be surprised with this recognition at our 2025 Flashback Assembly . If you know of a teacher who is worthy of the title "Teacher of the Year", please fill out the form below to nominate them for this honor. Nominations are due by Friday, April at 4th 4:00 pm.
Here is the nomination form for our RBHS 2025 Teacher of the Year Award.
