The RPS July Message
July 18th, 2024
Set an alert on your phone or mark your calendar for Wednesday, July 24th! It is the first day you can confirm and update your student’s information in R-Kids and be one step closer to being ready for the start of the 2024 - 2025 school year.
Student Verification allows us to update important information regarding your child, such as emergency contact, medical information, acknowledgment of access to certain District documents, and permissions for specific items such as NSAA consent or media release information.
This process is IMPORTANT for students at EVERY grade level! Verification must be completed to obtain your child’s schedule (RMS/RHS) or learn who your child’s teacher is (elementary).
If you are having trouble accessing your student’s R-Kids account, contact your student’s school directly and they can provide you with the assistance you need.
On behalf of the Board of Education and District Administration, thank you to all our staff, parents, and students for your input into our Strategic Plan Update. You will find a link below to download the 2024 - 2025 RPS Strategic Plan.
When we started to develop the new Strategic Plan, it was important for us to have insight from our most trusted partners in our school community. RPS received over 150 completed parent surveys, over 160 completed employee surveys, and over 900 completed student surveys (5th - 12th grade).
We typically revisit our Strategic Plan on a five-year cycle, coinciding with the School Improvement visit from Cognia. RPS received a visit from Cognia in February 2024. We used the feedback and the results of our internal parent, student, and staff surveys to guide the development of our five-year Strategic Plan.
Your feedback was so very important to this entire process. We can’t thank you enough for your continued support of Ralston Public Schools.
Children need healthy meals to learn and Ralston Public Schools offers healthy meals every school day. Your students may qualify for Free or Reduced Price Meals. Reduced price is $.30 for breakfast and $.40 for lunch.
If your student(s) qualified for free or reduced price meals at the end of last school year, you must submit a new application by Wednesday, September 25, 2024 in order to avoid an interruption in meal benefits.
Below is a link to the Free & Reduced online form. PLEASE NOTE: There is a language button at the top of the page to translate the form into several different languages.
LINK: https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application
For those who have already qualified for free and reduced meals for the 2024-2025 school year, approval letters were mailed out this week.
Information packets are in the process of being mailed out to District families who are currently not receiving any benefits from the Nebraska Department of Education. Packets include an application for free or reduced meal benefits and a set of detailed instructions.
If you have questions, please contact the RPS Food Service Department at 402-898-3430 or nicole.riccobon@ralstonschools.org.
Thursday, August 8th
• Meadows Elementary
4:30 - 6:00 pm
• Ralston Middle School
4:45 - 6:15 pm
• Seymour Elementary
5:00 to 6:00 pm (Westside Community Center)
• Wildewood Elementary
5:00 to 6:00 pm
• Karen Western Elementary
5:00 to 7:00 pm
• Blumfield Elementary
5:00 - 6:00 pm - School Families
6:00 - 7:00 pm - Open to the Public
Monday, August 12th
• Ralston High School
5:00 to 7:00 pm
** Mockingbird Elementary Open House is To Be Determined due to construction schedule. More information will be communicated through the school’s social media and direct communication with families. **
To increase instructional time for our students, Ralston Public Schools has decided to extend the school day hours on Fridays for the 2024 - 2025 school year.
The new dismissal times on Fridays will be:
• 2:30 pm for all elementary schools and Ralston Middle School
• 2:40 pm for Ralston High School
This change will take effect at the start of the 2024 - 2025 school year.
As a reminder, here are some key dates for the 2024-2025 school year and a version of the calendar you can download.
• August 12, 2024: First day of school for only Pre-K, Kindergarten, 7th and 9th grade (1:30 pm dismissal).
• August 13, 2024: All students report. (Regular dismissal day)
• November 27 - 29, 2024: Thanksgiving Break
• Friday, December 20, 2024: No School - Teacher Work Day
• December 23, 2024 - January 1, 2025: Winter Break
• January 2, 2025: Staff and students will start the second semester together
• March 31, 2025 - April 4, 2025: Spring Break
Calendars are also available on the District website. New calendars added include:
• Part-Time 3-Year Old (Monday/Wednesday) AM & PM Calendar
• Part-Time 3-year Old (Tuesday/Thursday) AM & PM Calendar
• Pre-K 4-Year-Old (Monday-Thursday) Calendar
• DHH ILP Pre-K Program (Monday-Friday) Calendar
Click HERE to be directed to the calendar page on our website.
Please click the following link to receive information on optional school supply lists for the 2024-2025 school year.
Ralston High School
• Tuesday, July 30th
10:00 am to 1:00 pm
2:00 - 6:00 pm (last entry at 5:30 pm)
Closed for lunch from 1:00 - 2:00 pm
• Wednesday, July 31st
7:00 am to 11:00 am
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm (last entry at 2:30 pm)
Closed for lunch from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Ralston Middle School
• Monday, August 5th: 7th grade Student Check-in and ChromeBook Distribution
8:00 to 9:15 am - 7th grade Last Name Alpha Group - A through F
9:15 to 10:30 am - 7th grade Last Name Alpha Group - G through M
12:00 (noon) to 1:15 pm - 7th grade Last Name Alpha Group - N through S
1:15 to 2:30 pm - 7th grade Last Name Alpha Group - T through Z
• Tuesday, August 6th: 8th grade Student Check-in and ChromeBook Distribution
8:00 to 9:15 am - 8th grade Last Name Alpha Group - A through F
9:15 to 10:30 am - 8th grade Last Name Alpha Group - G through M
12:00 (noon) to 1:15 pm - 8th grade Last Name Alpha Group - N through S
1:15 to 2:30 pm - 8th grade Last Name Alpha Group - T through Z
If you have any specific questions about the check-in process, please contact Ralston Middle School at 402-331-4701 or Ralston High School 402-331-7373.
Ralston Public Schools will provide shuttle service for Seymour Elementary students before and after school while class is held at the Westside Community Center.
The shuttles will pick up and drop off students at Seymour Elementary. More detailed information about the specifics of the transportation plan will be communicated to Seymour families in the near future.
In order to provide the best transportation service, we are asking Seymour families to please complete a transportation survey. Surveys need to be completed by Thursday, July 25th. Links to an English and Spanish survey are below.
Ralston Public Schools is still providing FREE summer meals for kids and teens this summer. Everyone in the Ralston school community 18 and under is eligible to participate and eat breakfast and lunch for free. No application and no registration. See the details below.
Food Sites, Dates, and Times
• Ralston High School (8969 Park Drive)
Breakfast: 7:30 to 9:30 am
Lunch: 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Dates: Monday through Friday (May 28 - July 26)
• Wildewood Elementary (8071 Ralston Ave)
Breakfast: 7:45 to 8:45 am
Lunch: 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
Dates: Monday through Friday (May 28 - August 9th)
Ralston High School will host its next monthly food distribution on Tuesday, August 6th. These events are in partnership with the Food Bank for the Heartland.
Families can begin to line up at 4:00 pm at Ralston High School (8969 Park Drive) in the main parking lot on the east side of the school. The food distribution will go from 5:00 to 6:00 pm.
Ralston High School staff volunteers will direct individuals on where to park and help with the food distribution.
IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM FOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLAND: Starting in August 2024, all Food Bank for the Heartland Mobile Pantry food recipients will be required to fill out a form (USDA/TEFAP self-attestation form (FDP-105)) providing their address, household size, if there are children under the age of 18 in the household, and attesting their household meets the income guidelines and/or participates in programs like SNAP or LIHEAP.
Participants will fill out this form each month they receive food at a Food Bank for the Heartland mobile pantry.
