Welcome Back to School!

A Message from the Principal

Weekly Updates

Happy Friday! This week we continued our December Spirit Days with students and staff participating in themed days! Students have also been actively planning and preparing for the Snowman Door Decorating Contest and wrapping up important instructional activities across our classrooms. Today is mid-marking period 2. Progress reports will be available in Genesis on 12/23 at 12PM.

Please check out our Panther TV episode from this week: Episode 13

As we look towards next week, on Monday students will attend a special RPSD wrestling assembly to watch the high school JV wrestling team take on the Dover wrestling team. As a reminder Monday is an early dismissal day, leading into Winter Break. School will reopen on January 2, 2025.

On behalf of myself and the entire middle school family, we wish you the happiest of holidays and a wonderful new year! May you enjoy time with your loved ones and create memories to last a lifetime.

As always, please review the reminders below:

📰 New Information 📰

December Spirit Days: Please click on the picture for our December Spirit Days Calendar.

NJCAP Bullying Prevention Program: Students will be participating in bullying prevention lessons, which include topics such as bullying, sexting, and being safe on social media. These lessons are presented by the New Jersey Child Abuse Prevention Program. Lessons will consist of two 40 minute sessions for individual classrooms. Four 6th grade classrooms participated in lessons this week. The remaining classes will complete the lessons in January.

Item Drop Offs & Visitors: As a reminder from our student handbook, no deliveries are permitted throughout the day. This includes dropping off items such as lunch, water, clothing, laptops, money, cell phones, or forgotten academic items such as books, homework, or projects. Visitors are required to have a scheduled appointment in advance. No entry will be allowed without prior appointment.

Early Pick Ups: As a reminder, the school must be notified in advance of early pick up by written request in Genesis of the student’s parent/guardian, which will state the reason for the early dismissal as well as who is picking up the student. Anyone picking up a student early must be listed in Genesis and must be over 18 years of age. In addition, identification will be required.

📗 Previous Information 📗

Laptops: Please remind students that laptops must remain in their cases at all times to reduce probability of damage. Laptops should also be charged each night to bring them prepared for the following day. Damage to laptops will be strictly monitored.

Attendance: Please carefully review the attendance procedures, as explained in the Student Handbook: Attendance Procedures If you have any questions about attendance, please email Ms. Paterno at mpaterno@rpsd.org . A gentle reminder that students must be in their homerooms by 8:06 to be marked present and not tardy. Anyone arriving to homeroom after 8:06 will be marked tardy.

Student Dress Code: Please carefully review the student dress code, as explained in the Student Handbook: Student Dress Code A few gentle reminders as we start the year: Crocs must be in sport mode (with the straps up). No slide style shoes are permitted. Midriffs should not be visible and spaghetti strap tops can be worn only with another shirt over them.

Student Code of Conduct: Please carefully review the student code of conduct, as explained in the Student Handbook: Student Code of Conduct

Lunches: As a reminder, a la carte items are not included in meals and are a separate charge. If your child has a food allergy, please see link regarding Unique Allergy Menus: Unique Allergy Menu Form

Student IDs: Students are required to have their IDs at all times during the school day. This includes during lunch periods.

RPMS Clubs: For anyone joining a club or sport, there is a pay to play fee of $25. This will cover any clubs/sports for your child. The form is available in the main office. Club Calendar Link: Club Calendar

Bike Safety: I would like to reiterate the importance of bike safety as many students ride bikes to school on a daily basis. Daily announcements are also made as reminders, as it has been reported that students have been seen riding bikes through the middle of the parking lot. This poses a safety concern. Please speak to your child regarding safety when riding a bike.

🌞 PTA Information 🌞

The PTA is looking for parents to join this year. Children of parents who attend meetings will receive a homework pass to use in school. Please consider joining in order to support our school community. The PTA sponsors many events throughout the year and also fundraises for end of year activities such as our schoolwide picnic. The homeroom with the most active members will receive a party! Please click on the picture to open up the PTA Flyer.

The next meeting will be on January 8th at 7PM in the middle school cafeteria.