Rice Middle School eNews

All students will attend a morning assembly with a special speaker provided by our PTA on Oct 8th. Please note your student's time and make every effort for them to attend.

Please find the Pep Rally Schedule Here

Pre-order the tickets by October 14th at www.RiceRavensPTA.org! Prices go up at the door.

Volunteering opportunities available at Sign-up to volunteer

Cross Country (CC or XC) is a running event in which teams and individuals run races on outdoor courses over natural terrain. The courses used at these events may include grass, mud, woodlands, hills, flat ground and water.

• There will be an informational meeting Wednesday night November 6th at 5:30pm for athletes and their parents.
• Please fill out the following google form if you’re interested. Even if you can’t make it to the informational meeting, please fill out the form.

October 9th is Walk and Roll to School Day! Let’s take a step (or pedal) towards a healthier lifestyle and a cleaner environment. So grab your friends and get moving for a healthier you and a greener Earth!

Join us in giving back! The Plano ISD PALs Socks for the Sole Drive plays a crucial role in supporting individuals facing homelessness or financial hardships in our community. By donating socks, we can alleviate a common but often overlooked need - keeping feet warm and protected. Together, we can provide comfort and promote the well-being of our neighbors.

• If you need to drop a lunch for your student you may do so in the assigned area in the front of the school between 10:30am -12:30am only.
• All 6th graders have A lunch and B or C lunch is determined by your students 5th period. See daily bell schedule here.

• Do not leave drinks on the lunch cart without screw lids. No fast food drink containers because they get knocked down and spill.
• According to the PISD policy, students may not receive lunch deliveries from Door Dash, Uber Eats, etc.

Got a favorite school memory or a special moment you'd love to share? We want to see it! 📸 Add your own photos to the yearbook and make this year’s edition truly memorable. Whether it's a fun event, a candid outside of school shot, or a group selfie with friends, your photos will help tell our school's story. Visit https://bit.ly/RiceYearbook25 for more information. Thank you for helping us create something special!

Students can find information about new after-school clubs by using the announcement tile on their web-desk. Please encourage your child to check the announcements daily!

Information about current clubs can be found at this link.

PACE provides services for students who require academically gifted services and have demonstrated the need for advanced, differentiated instruction. In grades six through ten, PACE becomes a daily academic course in the student's schedule also frequently referred to as the Humanities. In middle school (grades 6-8), the Humanities is embedded in the required Social Studies course taught by teachers trained in gifted education. For more detailed information about the PACE program, please refer to the following link: https://www.pisd.edu/giftededucation

If your child missed COGAT testing on Friday, Sept 20th please make every effort to have them in school Wednesday, Sept 25th for the make-up test.

Please make every effort to have your student in class on the following days:

• 12/9 - 12/11 Reading
  
• 12/11 - 12/13 Math
• 12/16 - 12/18 Science
• 5/12 - 5/14 Reading
• 5/14 - 5/16 Math
• 5/19 - 5/21 Science

Please make every effort to have your student in class on the following days:

• 4/10/25 - Reading 6- 8th
• 4/15/25 - Science 8th
• 4/22/25 - Social Studies 8th
• 4/29/25 - Math 6 - 8th

Need to pick up your student early?

• Send a note with your student the same day that states the time you would like your student to leave the classroom to meet you in the front office. Give them time to collect an instrument or items from a locker if necessary and to walk to the office.
• Have your student give it to the teacher whose class they are in during that time so the teacher can release them from class in a timely manner. Please do not email the teacher with this information.
• Meet your student in the front office to sign them out.
• Upload the official doctor or parent note to Skyward verifying the appointment after the absence. See instructions to upload a note in Skyward.

Will your student be out sick for the day?

Enter it in Skyward! No need to call or send a paper note! All parent and doctor notes are now entered in Skyward---even after a doctor appointment. You can use the web version or the app!

Future Absent Request Note

If your student needs to miss pre-planned multiple school days (beyond sick days or doctor appt.) a Parent/Guardian must fill out the absence request form in Skyward. See instructions to upload a note in Skyward. This form needs to be submitted at least one week before the absence.

Tardies

Students are expected to be in their classrooms by 8:25am each day. Students who arrive after this time will be marked tardy. Three tardies equals one unexcused absence. Please get your student here on time every day!

Report your child's absence in Skyward!

1. Log into Skyward Family Access (portal.pisd.edu)
2. Click on the child who is/will be absent
3. Select the "Attendance" tile
4. Select "Add Absence Request"
5. Select date(s) of absence and reason
6. Select "Save"

Attachments such as doctor notes can be uploaded if you have them, or added at a later date.

Note: A parent note or doctor's note is required to excuse an absence.

Lost and found items can be found in the cafeteria on the rotunda side. PLEASE have your student check often for their missing items. All unclaimed items will be donated to charity at the end of each 9 weeks.

Tickets are available PRIOR to the day of the event, BEFORE 3:00 p.m.

• All ticket sales will be online through Hometown Tickets at https://www.pisd.edu/Page/2304
• Ticket sales to the General Public will begin on Sunday at 8:00 a.m. for all games for the current week.
• More information at this link

Drop Off - Front driveway is for BUSES ONLY, do not use this driveway for drop off.

• 6th grade students AND their sibling/carpool partner - Dropped off and picked up along the driveway outside the cafeteria along the band hall. Students enter in the cafeteria. Parents exit on Gifford.

• 7th and 8th grade students - Dropped off and picked up along the driveway by Russell Creek. Students enter the building through front doors or pod doors (if open). Parents exit on Russell Creek.

• Walkers, bus riders and bike riders - Front Doors

Pick Up - The front driveway is for buses only. Please do not use this area as a pick up area.

• The bell rings at 3:45pm
• 6th grade pick up - cafeteria
• 7th & 8th grade pick up - South doors off Russell Creek Drive.
• Walkers and bus bike riders will exit through the front doors.

Please note the following:

• For everyone's safety, we have been asked by our neighbors to not use the streets along Gifford for drop-off/pick-up purposes---including Adavale and Banks Circles.
• Due to the traffic congestion in the back of the building, there will no longer be an entrance into the driveway by the football fields off of Gifford. This will be an exit only area.
  
• Police Enforcement Effective Immediately and tickets will be issued - No stopping and standing signs are here for your our students safety. Please adhere to all signs and do not park and wait for students on Gifford and Russell Creek Drives.
• Please note that carpool is congested, especially the first couple of weeks of school. Thank you for showing patience, kindness and respect to the parents and students around you as you pick up and drop off each day.

If you have concerns about traffic around Rice Middle School, you may contact the Plano Police Department at: https://www.plano.gov/1857/Traffic-Enforcement-Request.

Please be sure your student is following our dress code especially regarding hats and shorts that are too short, or jeans that have tears above the thighs. Review the PISD Dress Code here.

Students may not have their cell phones, earbuds, or other personal devices out during the school day. Students will put their devices away at 8:10am as they are dismissed to class until 3:40pm If you need to contact your child during the school day, please contact the front office (469.752.6002) and we will relay the information to them. Rice Middle School Cell Phone Guidelines

To protect all children from communicable illnesses, students infected with certain diseases are not allowed to come to school while they are contagious. Students should be symptom-free for 24 hours before returning to school. The guidelines below have been developed for the exclusion of students who have communicable or contagious diseases. A student with any of the following symptoms will be excluded from school until such time as the student is free of symptoms, has been satisfactorily treated, or submits a signed physician’s statement that he/she is not contagious:

• Temperature of 100.0 degrees or more. Student must be fever free for 24 hours, without medication, before re-entry.
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Student must be symptom free for 24 hours without medication before re-entry.
• Pain and/or swelling at angle of jaw.
• Undetermined rash over any part of the body.
• Undiagnosed scaly patches on the body or scalp.
• Red, draining eyes.
• Intense itching with signs and symptoms of secondary infection.
• Open, draining lesions.
• Jaundice

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