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July 31, 2020

Dear RMS Parents and Families,

I hope everyone has had a great week!  We continue to work hard behind the scenes to prepare for the 2020 – 2021 school year. We hope to make it a year to remember…for all the right reasons 😊.  This email includes many important items so please read carefully.

 

1. 7th Grade Immunizations: North Carolina law now requires Tdap and Meningococcal vaccines for entry into 7th grade. If you are unsure if your child needs these shots, please talk to your child's doctor and make sure they get these shots BEFORE they start 7th grade. A copy of your child's vaccine record showing receipt of the Tdap and Meningococcal vaccines needs to be given to the school before they start 7th grade.

 

Despite COVID-19, this continues to be a requirement.  The state has indicated they do not plan to make a change to this requirement.  We have approximately 130 7th grade students we need shot records for. If you have these, but have not submitted them please do that as soon as possible.  You should scan or take a picture of the shot record and email it to our Data Manager, Jenny Walker, at jwalker3@wcpss.net  If you still need to get these shots please do so ASAP and then send Mrs. Walker a copy of the shot record.  

 

2. PowerSchools: We typically direct parents and students to Powerschools to view their schedule, grades, and other important information.  Powerschools is presently not available because of significant changes being made at the school level.  If for some reason you can access anything in Powerschools please know the information you see is not correct.

 

When the change from Multi-Track Year-Round to Single Track 4 was made, along with the addition of the Virtual Academy (VA) option, we were forced to realign our team structures.  Typically, we would direct you to Powerschools to see your child’s schedule and teachers.  We anticipate that will be available around August 26th.

 

I will send a message once Powerschools is available.  Once that happens you can expect teachers to work with students and parents to navigate and understand the system.

 

We know you will need to know your child’s teachers and schedules prior to the first day of school (August 17th).  We will be providing a paper schedule, along with many other important pieces of information to have a successful start to the school year.  Please see below for more information about what you can expect to receive and how we will get that information to you.

 

3. Drive Thru Supplies/Materials Pick-Up: We are in the process of creating “First Day” folders for all students (VA and Blended).  These folders will contain very important information and it is critical that you pick these up.  It will be permissible to pick up folders for other families if you confirm they’ve requested you to do so.

 

Some of the information (not all-inclusive) you can expect to receive include:

 

• Student schedules
• Team information (teacher, team name, contact information, etc)
• Daily Schedule, including Google Meet codes for each teacher
• Behavior Expectations for Remote Learning
• ELA novel for 1st quarter
• Math workbook for unit 1

 

4. Student Supply List: We are still finalizing school supply lists.  With a shift to a combination of VA and Blended learning we are taking a closer look at what truly is needed.  We hope to share this information soon, but you can expect a much smaller supply list than in previous years.

 

5. VA Enrollment: If you have signed up for VA (either fall only or fall/spring) you can expect an email Monday evening confirming your enrollment.  If you’re receiving this email, then you can expect to also receive that email.  

 

For families who do not currently get my weekly emails they will also not get an acceptance email. They have still been accepted, but may need to contact the school to confirm. I share this so that as you are talking to friends you can let them know this information.  

 

Additionally, please let them know that if they would like to begin receiving my weekly emails they should email Jenny Walker, our Data Manager at jwalker3@wcpss.net to update their contact information.

 

I would like to close by saying thank you so much to many of you who have sent words of encouragement and shown your support within the community.  This has been no small task to prepare for a year during so many unknowns, but we are doing it.  I am so impressed with our staff who have put in countless hours to be ready for August 17th. As we continue to move forward, we will need your patience, flexibility, and grace more than ever!  We are committed to making 2020 – 2021 a great year!

 

Sincerely,


Thaddeus Sherman

Principal