Rogers Middle School Newsletter

Dear Rogers' Families,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am delighted to share that we have had a fantastic start to the school year at Rogers Middle School. The positive energy around campus is truly inspiring, and it is wonderful to see our students so engaged and enthusiastic.

Our students are particularly enjoying the new updates to our campus, especially the Gaga Ball pits at our new playground. It’s heartwarming to see them having fun and staying active during their breaks.

Our teachers have been sharing that students are consistently demonstrating our Rogers CARE Values: Cooperate, Appreciate, Respect,and Excel. These values are at the heart of everything we do, and it is gratifying to see them reflected in our students’ behavior and interactions. We deeply appreciate all you do to support our community in demonstrating these values.

Our school-based planning team and shared decision-making team have many exciting ideas to continue driving and supporting our continuous improvement efforts. We are always looking for ways to grow and enhance our school community. If you have any ideas or suggestions that could support our growth, please do not hesitate to email or call me to discuss. We value your input and believe that strong partnerships with our families are essential to our success.

We are looking forward to a great October. Please mark your calendars for our Curriculum Night on Oct. 10th. This event will be a wonderful opportunity to meet your child’s teachers and some of our amazing community partners. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

A Big Fan,

Nick DiMartino

Principal: Mr. Nicholas A. DiMartino - Nicholas_DiMartino@westiron.monroe.edu

Asst. Principal: Mr. Cody Rogers - Cody_Rogers@westiron.monroe.edu

Lead Teacher: Mrs. Colleen Vay - Colleen_Vay@westiron.monroe.edu

Secretary: Mrs. Erica Kane - Erica_Kane@westiron.monroe.edu

Address: 219 Northfield Road, Rochester, NY 14617

Main office: 585-342-1330 | Fax: 585-336-3097
Website: https://rogers.westirondequoit.org/
Health Office: 585-336-3030
Transportation: 585-336-2992; link
District Office: 585-342-5500 and District website: westirondequoit.org

Social Media: Follow Mr. DiMartino on X/Twitter @N_Dimartino

OCTOBER

• Oct.10 - Go Home Early Drill
• Oct. 10 - Curriculum Night - 6:00-7:00PM
• Oct. 11 - NO SCHOOL- Superintendent's Conference Day
• Oct. 14 - NO SCHOOL- Indigenous People's Day
• Oct. 23-25 - Book Fair 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (In school)
• Oct. 24 - Family Book Fair Evening (Rogers Library)
• Oct. 28-30 - Spirit Week
• Oct. 31 - Fall Celebration

NOVEMBER

• Nov. 1 - School Pictures (Make-up)
• Nov. 26 - Pancake Breakfast 8:00-10 AM

• Dec. 6 - 4th Grade Fun Night
• Dec. 17 - 5th & 6th Grade Band Concert @ IHS
• Dec. 23- Jan. 3 - NO SCHOOL - Holiday Recess

6 DAY LETTER CALENDAR: click here

ROGERS CALENDAR: click here

2024-25 DISTRICT CALENDAR: click here

Greetings and happy school year from the Office of Instruction! Hopefully your student has enjoyed the start of the year and is settling in with their new classroom community. Each building has been lively and full of joy as students have embarked on their learning adventure for 2024-25.

We’d like to share our planned transition from the four quarterly Report Cards K-6 students receive to students receiving three Report Cards (Fall, Winter, Spring) starting in the 2025-26 school year.

This decision comes after multiple years of research and evaluation of our current K-6 Report Card. The process began in the 2019-2020 school year when we convened a Report Card Committee (RCC) consisting of teachers and families. In January 2020, we emailed a survey to K-6 families and had more than 360 responses. The major themes that emerged from the feedback was the desire for comments to be more personalized to each student and specific content areas, and to have a better understanding of where students are in relation to standards and expectations. Of course, later in March 2020 we experienced the COVID pandemic and the RCC was put on hold so we could focus on efforts on supporting students.

But the past couple of years we have reignited the K-6 RCC to redesign a more informative and family friendly Report Card. In February 2023, we emailed another survey to families and received more than 280 responses. Major themes included a desire for more clarity on what ES, MS, AS mean on K-4 Report Cards, more consistency with how comments are completed, and again more specific information pertaining to a child’s progress. One parent suggested, “Any areas reported as approaching standards should be accompanied by an explanation or suggestions on how parents can assist. Having the specifics helps us give more support at home.”

Taking all of this feedback into mind, throughout the 2023-24 school year, a committee met to review our current K-4 Report Cards and made potential revisions and recommendations that will be put in place for the 2025-26 school year. Those are:

1 – Move from AS, MS, ES on the K-4 Report Cards to 1, 2, 3, 4 rating scale like the picture to the right shows. See Example 1 below.

2 - Provide space for teacher comments after each component of the K-4 Report Card so specific comments can be made regarding student progress in relation to that content area. See Example 2 above.

3 - K-6 Report Cards will be sent out three times per year instead of the current four per year. This is beneficial for a few key reasons:

• More accurate student assessment and feedback: In our case Report Cards would better align to benchmarking schedule. Fewer reports allows more time for teachers to thoroughly assess student progress and provide more meaningful and accurate feedback to students and families regarding their progress.

• Reduced stress for students: A less frequent reporting schedule can relieve pressure on younger students, allowing them to focus more on learning and growth rather than constant evaluations.

• Alignment to curriculum pacing: The earlier part of the school year particularly in K-4 is spent establishing routines and classroom culture with a slightly reduced academic focus. A later first report card gives teacher's time to get into the academic work for a bit longer prior to the first report card.

• Streamlined Parent-Teacher Communication: A later 1st Report Card allows teachers to share information that better aligns to report cards during parent/guardian-teacher conferences.

Again, these changes will not take place until next school year. In the 2025-26 school year, K-4 Report Cards will be freshly revised and will be sent out three times per year. We will keep grades 5-6 Report Cards similar to what they currently look like to help with the transition to Dake, but grade 5-6 Report Cards will also be sent out three times per year in alignment with K-4.

If you have any feedback or questions toward this shift, please complete this form: https://forms.office.com/r/F47NcC5e3J. Our Office of Instruction will follow up with you.

The state-mandated Go Home Early safety drill is for Thursday, Oct. 10th - the start of a four-day weekend. All students will be released 10 minutes earlier than usual. If you pick up your children at school, please arrive 10 minutes early. Expect students who ride buses to arrive 10 minutes early. The K-6 Extension Childcare Program will open early and remain open until 6 PM. Crossing guard schedules also will accommodate.

Note: There is no school on Friday, Oct. 11th (Superintendent’s Conference Day) and Monday, Oct. 14th (Indigenous People’s Day).

• For the District or Letter Day Calendar, click here.

• Find your school calendar (Events Calendar) at this link. Read the directions at the top to filter by school.

Please remind your children that using a crosswalk is crucial for the safety walking to and from school. By using a crosswalk, accidents are significantly reduced, as drivers are more likely to expect and see pedestrians. The Irondequoit Police Department provides Crossing Guards at strategic locations throughout our district to ensure visibility to motorists. Our District strongly encourages all of our students to use crosswalks to ensure they arrive safely and return home safely as well. Thank you!

Get ready for the entire family to have fun on Saturday, Oct. 5th at Helmer Nature Center’s annual Fall Harvest Festival. A $20 pass is good for everything – including the always popular pony ride, all games and crafts! New this year: Tractor rides and an inflatable obstacle course! Your support helps our district’s “outdoor classroom,” programming year-round! To see HNC’s events schedule, visit them on Facebook: facebook.com/HelmerNatureCenter or their website: bit.ly/HelmerNatureCtr.

October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month! During the month of October, we encourage students, staff and community to strengthen their healthy habits by trying new strategies. Your family is encouraged to use the Wellness Calendar (see graphic) as a resource to start conversations and increase wellness strategies. Feel free to use the calendar in a way that makes sense for your family! A printable version is available at THIS LINK.

Safety is our highest priority. Here is a copy of our tentative drill schedule. We conduct lessons through grade level meetings and community circles on how to respond across each of the emergency response protocols. We appreciate your partnership to ensure safety for all. If your child needs individual support, please do not hesitate to reach out.

• Oct. 7 - Evacuation Drill
• Oct. 8 - Evacuation Drill
• Oct. 10 - Lockdown Drill
• November 7 - Lockdown Drill
  
• January 16 - Lockdown Drill

• March 6 - Shelter-in-Place
• April 25 - Evacuation Drill
• May 6th - Evacuation Drill

Join us for Curriculum Night! Parents will get to meet teachers and learn more about curriculum for this year.

October 2nd - Snow Sports Parent Meeting 7 - 8 PM

October 16th - Snow Sports Sign-Up 8:00 -8:50 AM (Cafeteria)

October 16th - Newspaper Club 3:05 - 4 PM (Miss. Lennertz Room)

October 21st - Builders Club 3:05 - 4 PM (Miss. Elliott's Room)

October 22nd - 4th Grade Garden Club 3:05 - 4 PM (Mrs. Borchers Room)

October 24th - Art Club Information Meeting 3:05 - 3:30 PM (Art Room #009)

October 30th - Jazz Band Starts 3:05 - 3:50 PM (Mrs. Doi's Room)

Reminder:

A Days - 4th Grade Intramurals, 6th Grade Band and Orchestra

B Days - 6th Grade Intramurals, 5th Grade Band and Orchestra

C Days - 5th Grade Intramurals, 6th Grade Band and Orchestra

D Days - 5th and 6th Grade Chorus

E Days - 5th Grade Band and Orchestra

S Days - 5th and 6th Grade Chorus

We had a successful Back to School Bash!! Thank you to everyone who participated and volunteered. If you would like to be a part of our Rogers PTSA team, please contact Rebekah Pope rjardas@gmail.com

Rogers Bookfair will be October 23rd - October 25th during school. Family Bookfair evening is October 24th from 5:30 - 7:30 PM in the library.

Pie sales have begun! Please see flyer below with more ordering information.

Rogers PTSA Reps: Rebekah Pope, Bridget Nowak, and Pete Nowak

Families, do you:

• Have a new cell phone number or new carrier?

• Have a new email address or work phone number?

• Need to update your emergency contacts?

Be sure to keep your child's school informed of any changes to your phone numbers or emergency contact information. Update info directly on the Infinite Campus Parent Portal via this link, or send in a note with your child. Questions about Portal Access? Contact Mrs. Diane Bretz via this email: diane_bretz@westiron.monroe.edu