A Note From the Principal
Hello River Hawk Families,
The River Hawk Walk/Run was a great success in large part due to the support of our River Hawk's and their Families! We are so grateful and amazed by all of the parents who heard our plea earlier this week and helped fill ALL of our volunteer spots! We could not do this without our parent support and we are very appreciative of your time. Thank you to every family who donated - no amount is EVER too small and every dollar helps our PE Department provide a great program for our students. We also appreciate all of the families who donated water and oranges to help hydrate our runners! A final thanks to our PE Department for their hard work and PTSA PE Coordinator, Mrs. Owens, who organized this with them. Enjoy more pictures below.
The final 8 weeks of the school year will go very quickly and be very busy. Be sure you're taking a quick moment each week to read all new informational items in the weekly newsletter
so you don't miss anything happening at Rio Norte.
Finally, as we head into spring break, my wish for our students and staff is that each of you have time to truly enjoy doing something you love!
In this issue learn more about:
- Important Dates
- Regional Spelling Bee Results
- Spirit Wear Sale EXTENDED to this Monday, April 1st
- From the Hart Newsletter - April
- Remedy Athletix Cheer Flyer
Repeat of:
- 8th Grade Valencia HS Remaining Informational Dates
- CAASPP Testing Dates
- Attendance and 24-25 School Calendar
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Bennett
Important Dates
April 1st-5th:
- Spring Break
April 8th:
- School Resumes
April 8/9 & 10/11:
- Healthy Choices Curriculum in PE classes for 7th grade only (part 2)
April 12th:
- Specialty Elective Applications DUE for the 24-25 School Year (current 7th headed into 8th in fall)
April 18th:
- Open House and 6th Grade Family Night
- 6th grade families 5-6:15 p.m.
- Current Families 5:45-7:30 p.m.
April 18th, 19th, & 22nd:
- CAASPP (state) Testing - please have students present for these important testing days
- Minimum Days to focus on testing only
April 30th:
- Final PTSA General Association Meeting of the Year IN PERSON in the Rio Norte MPR at 5:30 p.m. - come meet the 24-25 PTSA President and Executive Board Members
CLICK HERE for a printable copy of the calendar pictured.
River Hawk Takes 10th in Regional Spelling Bee
Our sincerest congratulations to Paloma Arciniegas who represented us so well in the Regional Spelling Bee on March 20th. She placed 10th out of 41 competitors, making it through 7 extremely challenging rounds. She said it was crazy and crowded, but she had a blast. We appreciate you Paloma for Striving for Success!
EXTENDED to April 1st, The Rio Norte Spring Spiritwear Sale
The Spring Sale was so popular, they've extended our deadline to this Monday, April 1st!
Everything will be discounted 25% sitewide, including exciting new product lines and designs!
- Sale runs through March 26th
- 25% off all merchandise + 5% with code LUCKY5
- Free shipping on orders over $60
- $5 shipping on orders under $60
- No code is needed!
Choose from hundreds of designs and garments that are delivered to your home in days! You'll save 25% off the entire site! New product lines include Nike and Adidas! SHOP HERE
Additionally, see the image below for a $10 voucher, good for all students, faculty and staff! Valid once per household. To redeem, enter the code: BONUS10-SVM at checkout.
8th Graders - FINAL Important Dates for Valencia High School
A friendly reminder from the VHS Counseling Team:
If your student has not already completed the 2024-2025 VHS Course Selections Form, they must have them submitted prior to April 8th. Your choices are only requests and may be adjusted when we have our 1-on-1 in person meeting during your PE class on April 8th or 9th. The link to the course request form is below:
9th Grade VHS Course Request Form
Students MUST be logged into their Hart District Google Account to access the form and complete it by April 8th.
Students also have received an invitation to the VHS Counseling Class of '28 Google Classroom via their hartdistrict email.
- April 8th or 9th - Each 8th grade student headed to VHS in fall will have a 1 on 1 meeting with their VHS counselor to review course request selections and make adjustments as needed.
*Please note that only a few exceptions apply to the automatic rollover - Castaic Residents and a small group of students per their IEP placement. If you are uncertain if your student falls into these categories, please reach out to Mrs. Ferry at gferry@hartdistrict.org or your student's case manager (Spec. Ed.).
CAASPP (State) Testing Dates in April
Our CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress) testing dates have been set on our calendar all year for April 18th, 19th, & 22nd. We have made these minimum days this year in hopes that the rest will help re-focus students for the following day's testing, instead of continuing to have classes on days they test. We also intentionally structured the testing days around a weekend to break up the impact of testing fatigue before the final day on Monday, April 22nd. We are asking all of our Rio families to partner with us in doing everything you can to ensure your student is at school during these important dates. Please avoid pulling your student from school for appointments or travel wherever possible. We know the minimum days can be tempting for travel, but students perform best when testing on the set testing dates, in the original setting. Additionally, schools are now penalized if students do not complete state testing, which impacts our data and scores. We are a community that values education and we want our scores to continue to show the importance our parents and staff place on education! We appreciate your help!
2024-25 Hart District Calendar: Attendance Matters
The Hart District has the preliminary calendar out for the 2024-25 school year, which shows all holidays and breaks (those won't change). Additionally, it shows the Back to School Night dates for all Junior Highs and High Schools. Check back frequently as this calendar will be continually updated throughout the spring semester as more dates (such as Open House) are added. Click this link for the LIVE 24-25 district calendar or you can go to our website and click on the 24-25 Calendar quick link.
Attendance is so important because California schools are funded through student attendance. As of 1998, school districts no longer receive funding from the State of California for pupils who are absent from school. This includes ALL absences, even those relating to illness, such as medical or doctors’ appointments. That's right an excused absence doesn't make a difference. If the child is not present for at least some part of the day, we do not get the daily allotment for that child. We ask that you use the calendar above to plan appointments and vacations as much as possible around our holidays, pupil free days, and breaks. We understand that some things are out of your control, but anything you can do to minimize absences is appreciated. Of course, if your student is too sick (running a fever, vomiting, etc.) that they are contagious to others, they should remain at home. Studies continue to show a direct correlation between good school attendance and student achievement; we need your help to reinforce the importance of school attendance and to make every effort to send your child to school on a regular basis. We appreciate your support in maximizing our student attendance rate!
RIO NORTE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Thomas Flores, 8th grade Assistant Principal
Shonna August, 7th grade Assistant Principal
ATTENDANCE Needs: Email lmcdaniel@hartdistrict.org
Email: bjbennett@hartdistrict.org
Website: https://www.rionortejuniorhigh.org/
Location: 28771 Rio Norte Dr, Valencia, CA, USA
Phone: 661-295-3700