Good Morning River Hawk Families,

I want to start by sharing what a great job our students did during our lockdown drill earlier this week. They took it seriously, listened to staff and asked some great, important questions. Our next lockdown drill will take place on September 27th during advisory, where they will practice the things they learned this week in their classrooms and our staff will run through our protocols and procedures.

This week we had our first visit from Pongo, a very successful Club Day, a great Musical Chairs Lunch-Time Activity (LTA) by our ASB, and our lunchtime Intramurals Dodgeball Tournament is heading into Final Four next week. Be sure to read our PE News below for an update and learn what's next for lunch time intramurals.

I ask our families to watch the RioTV episode below and listen to my serious message to students on Friday that fighting, nor the excuse of "play fighting," will be tolerated at our school. Rio Norte has an outstanding reputation of being a positive, safe place for students and our River Hawks know that my expectation is together, we create a place where all students feel SAFE, welcomed and supported. Please reinforce that fighting is not the way to handle disagreements and encourage your student to seek assistance from the office, a teacher, or go to you if they are experiencing conflict with another. I want to assure our community that in these instances students involved will be addressed and held accountable for their actions every time.

Additionally, we've received some community and elementary school complaints and concerns about the speed and/or dangerous actions of some of our E-bike/scooter riders. If your child utilizes these to get to school, there is a very important article below regarding rules for these items at school. We will begin checking next week if the e-bikes/scooters coming to school fit the acceptable legal guidelines for our junior high students.

Finally, we are extending our fundraiser until Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Please read below about the additional incentives we have shared with the students if we can reach our goal. If we can surpass it and hit $65,000, I will be slimed at lunch. We're currently close to $59,000, so I could definitely be in trouble. 🙂 But, our students will love it!

In this issue learn more about:

• New AP for Rio Norte!
• E-bike & Scooter Spot Checks and Safety
• PE and Intramurals News
• Sign-Up Genius for PE Sweats Distribution
• Fund it Forward FINAL push and extension to Sunday evening!
• Hart District College Career Fair this Monday
• Journalism Class Hook Burger Fundraiser

Repeated in this issue:

• Valencia High School MSA Jump Program application - 8th graders only
• PTSA Reflections Contest

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bennett

September 15th (Sunday):

• Fund It Forward Fundraiser Ends at 11:59 p.m.

September 17th:

• Progress Report Grades post to Infinite Campus (IC) after 3 p.m.

September 18th:

• Journalism Hook Burger Fundraiser, 4-9 p.m.

September 27th:

• Lockdown DRILL in advisory

September 30th & October 1st:

• PTSA Reflections Submissions are Due

CLICK HERE for a printable copy of the calendar pictured. Please use this calendar for our holidays, minimum days, and Early Release Schedule to plan as many appointments and trips during non-instructional times.

I am very excited to share that this past Wednesday, September 11th, our school board appointed Mrs. Lauren Dunn as Rio Norte's new Assistant Principal! Mrs. Dunn is sure to be a great asset to our team and is ready to hit the ground running very soon.

Mrs. Dunn joined the Hart District in July 2018 as a History teacher at Sierra Vista Junior High School. Prior to that she was a junior high History and English teacher in the Westside Union School District from 2009-2018. She had the honor of being named Teacher of the Year in 2018 before moving to our district. In addition to her time teaching, she also filled numerous leadership roles such as Community and Family Outreach Coordinator, New Teacher Orientation Coach, and worked in curriculum development and adoption. She has a Bachelor of Arts in History from California State University, Chico; a Master’s Degree in Education from Brandman University; and an Administrative Services Credential from Loyola Marymount University.

Most recently she had the privilege of serving as an Assistant Principal at Valencia High School, so she is very familiar with our community. Mrs. Dunn will oversee our 7th grade class and will utilize her prior experience in her role as our Special Education Administrator. While we do not have a start date yet, we are hoping to see her join us by the end of the month.

Congratulations and WELCOME to Mrs. Dunn!

With an increase in electric bikes on campuses across the nation, complaints are rising from parents and community members who are witnessing dangerous behaviors to and from school. We spoke to our SRO, Deputy Hellewell, due to calls about unsafe behaviors by our students and to better understand which bikes should or should not be allowed on a junior high campus. E-bikes/scooters should be purely electric with a rechargeable battery and NO MOTOR or throttle. Page 9 of our binder, clearly states: non-motorized bikes, skateboards, and scooters may be ridden... in a safe manner. As our students are under 16 years of age, we should only be seeing e-bikes with pedals fitting the guidelines listed above (picture). Next week, we will begin spot checking these vehicles with our deputy. Students will be informed if their vehicle cannot come back to campus and if it returns, parents will be contacted to pick it up. Please understand this is to comply with the law and ultimately for student and community safety.

If your student is riding a permissible E-bike/scooter, please take some time this weekend to discuss your expectations for their speed and behavior when passing by parents and little ones walking to elementary school, community members out walking, and while passing driveways & intersections where they are interacting with cars. We appreciate you stressing the importance of being safe, courteous, and respectful. Click here for an article on legal, appropriate E-scooters (we have no affiliation with the writer or site and share solely to help our parent community).

With some serious and life-threatening accidents occurring in our community, helmet safety is another important factor for any moving vehicle. All students riding bikes to school must have a helmet, but if your student is riding an E-bike or you're thinking of getting one, please consider the information shared by our local SCV Sheriff Department.

• Standard bicycle helmets (like what you would find at Walmart) are only rated at 14 MPH. These helmets are NOT safe for any class of electric bike. Electric bikes require helmets with a Mips or DOT rating.
• Mips rated helmets have several layers of foam, glass or gel, and styrofoam to cushion a rider's head on impact. The layers absorb energy upon impact to lessen the force on the head. Young riders will benefit from the full-faced version, as face trauma can cause just as much injury to the brain on impact.

• Here's a link for more info about Mips: https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/what-are-mips-helmets/
• DOT helmets are rated by the Department of Transportation, and are required for anyone operating a motorcycle. People purchasing these should only do so in person at a motorcycle or bicycle shop to assure proper fit. Additionally, there are a lot of counterfeit helmets on the internet which are NOT DOT rated, and offer no protection.

We thank Deputy Duxbury of the SCV Sheriff Department for this valuable safety information for the benefit of our students!

PE Sweats Distribution- If you purchased PE Sweats at Summer Check-in or during the first two weeks of school, they have arrived! The PE Department and our amazing parent volunteers (see sign-up genius below) will be passing out sweatshirts and sweatpants in PE class on September 19th and 20th.

PE Intramurals- We are so lucky to have an incredibly dedicated PE Department who regularly gives their lunch time to provide an incredible lunch-time Intramural Program to our students!

Currently, the Dodgeball Tournament has been going great! We are entering the final week of the tournament! Congratulations to our final four teams: Livvy Elite, Mrs. Welch’s Son’s, The Shorties and The Dodgers. The players from the top three teams will get custom team t-shirts that can be worn in PE. Here is the schedule for the coming week:

Monday- Final Four games

Tuesday- Championship Game and Consolation game (T-shirt game for 3rd place)

Wednesday- Tournament Champion vs. Rio Teachers and Staff!

• Flag Football is up next! We will have sign-ups at G-2 on Thursday, September 19th at brunch.

Cross Country Team - Soon Rio will form our team for the All-District Cross Country Meet. Tryouts to be part of our team will be on 9/25 and 9/26 in PE class. To prepare for tryouts we are offering after school practices from 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. on the following dates: 9/16, 9/17, 9/19, 9/20 and 9/23. Optional practices will resume once the team is formed. The annual Cross Country Meet will be held on November 13th at Central Park.

We have extended the deadline of our fundraiser through this Sunday the 15th at 11:59 p.m., so you and your supporters can help us reach our $60,000 goal! Our families and supporters are amazing and we are almost at $59,000! Please remember that no amount is too small, because every dollar helps! Your student can access their account at: http://pledgestar.com/rio to see updates. If you still need to create an account, here is the email with the directions. Yesterday on RioTV, Mrs. Welch announced that she would be slimed if we reached $55,000 and we did that today! She also announced Mr. Burleson would dress as a clown for a day if we hit our goal of $60,000 and today, Mrs. Bennett announced if we surpass our goal and reach $65,000 by Sunday night, she'll join Mrs. Welch in being slimed! Please help us get there by sending some emails or texts this weekend.

Thank you to every River Hawk family and supporter that has already helped us!

The Hart District Career and College Readiness (CCR) Department invites all Hart District students and families to their Fall College and Career Fair this coming Monday, September 16th from 6-8 p.m. at the West Ranch High School Gym. Please see the PDF below for a flyer with all the details and vendors that will be present.

Calling all 8th graders interested in Valencia's Medical Science Academy (MSA). Click on the PDF below (same as the image) to get further information about the application process and a clickable link for the application. If interested, you are encouraged to attend an informational meeting on Tuesday, September 17th at 6 p.m. in the Valencia High School Library. For more information, see the MSA WEBSITE.

Please note: STUDENTS must apply using their hartdistrict email account. If the form tells you to sign-in, check that you're in your hartdistrict account. Applications are due Sunday September 22nd - absolutely no exceptions so plan to apply early!

The National PTA has a long-standing commitment to arts education, and the Reflections program is a key part of this mission. Each year, over 300,000 students from Pre-K through Grade 12 create original works of art based on a student-created theme. This year’s theme, Accepting Imperfection, encourages students to explore their thoughts, feelings, and ideas through various art forms.

For over 50 years, the Reflections program has helped students develop artistic literacy, build confidence, and discover a love for learning that supports their success in school and life.

Students can submit original works in any of the following categories:

• Arts Categories

• Film Production

• Music Composition

• Visual Arts

• Dance Choreography

• Literature

• Photography

Submission Details:

• Submission Dates: September 30th or October 1st

• Time: 7:30 AM

• Location: Front Gate at Rio Norte Junior High

Make sure your student fills out this form to participate in the Reflections program.

Please email rionorteptsa@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Shonna August, 8th grade Assistant Principal

Lauren Dunn, 7th grade Assistant Principal

ATTENDANCE Needs: Email RNattendance@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.