Welcome back everyone! I hope this summer has been an opportunity to spend time with loved ones, refresh, and recharge. As usual, there is quite a bit to share with you all, and I've tried to keep is as organized and concise as possible. Additionally, our bell schedule and school calendar are linked in the "documents" section below.

This will be an exceptional year at Romeo High School and we're looking forward to having our kids back. See you all soon!

Mr. Osebold

School Safety

We take school safety seriously and do a lot to keep you safe while you're at school (secure entrances, SafeEd staff, school resource officer, safety plans/drills, etc.). We will review our safety drills throughout the first few weeks of school. Here are two simple things students can do every day to help keep our school safe:

• Use Hall Passes - During school, students need to be where they are supposed to be (ie. in the classroom, lunchroom, etc.) whenever possible. When students do need to leave the classroom, s/he must have a hall pass. We have new hall passes that can be worn on a lanyard around the neck
• Report Concerns - One of the best things a student can do to keep our school safe is to report any concerns to school staff (teacher, principal, counselor, secretary... anyone). Tell us in person, email us, whatever... just let us know. We follow up on EVERY SINGLE report we receive. We'd rather investigate 100 reports that turn out to be nothing, than miss one that could be something...

Foods containing peanuts and tree nuts are highly discouraged. That means you shouldn't be bringing foods with peanuts or tree nuts to school. Additionally, we do not allow food in classrooms.

Dress Code

What is appropriate for school is similar to what is appropriate for grandma's house or church:

• No alcohol, drugs, or sexual paraphernalia
  
• No undergarments showing
  
• No low-cut tops
  
• Shirt bottoms must rest below the belly-button (ie. no crop tops)
  

Cell phones must be stored in the phone holders during class. This is true for all teachers, all classrooms, and every day.

Attendance & Tardies

Students need to be in school on time, every day (unless there is a legitimate reason for an absence). Additionally, students need to be on time to each class. Here is our tardy policy:

• 5 tardies: Detention
  
• 8 tardies: Meeting with your academy principal and parent
  
• 10 tardies: ISS and loss of parking pass (if applicable)

Years ago, Romeo Schools set some grading standards to help ensure grades were an accurate reflection of a student's knowledge. At the time, these standards removed some outdated practices (ie. extra credit for bringing in tissues) and provided additional opportunities for students to show mastery of skills and content (ie. retakes). Of course, much has changed/happened since then (covid/online learning, development of AI, etc.), so in the spring of 2023 these standards were revisited and updated. Information regarding the grading standard updates is included in the Grading Standards Parent Letter - August 2023, which start this 2023-2024 school year.

Here is Mr. Osebold's "Cliffs Notes" version of the updates along with the corresponding reasoning (in italics):

• The breakdown for grades will remain 80% summative (tests, quizzes, projects, papers, etc.) and 20% other (homework, classwork, practice, exit tickets, etc.).

• No change

• Cheating and academic dishonesty CAN impact a student's grade. Cheating may result in a zero for the assignment/assessment.

• Internet resources, most recently AI, has led to a significant increase in cheating and academic dishonesty. Additionally, we must help students prepare for college and the workforce where cheating has very strict repercussions

• Summative retakes will no longer be available. As has always been the case, teachers may allow retakes if the situation warrants it, but retake policies will be consistent across content areas (ie. all Algebra 2 classes, regardless of who the teacher is, will have the same retake policy). If a retake is given, that score will be the one that is represented in the gradebook. Students need to be prepared for all summative assessments.

• Allowing retakes has led to many students not properly preparing for the first test; assuming they can just take the retake if they don't do well. Additionally, students who needed to retake the summative the most were not taking advantage of this opportunity

Sophomore Orientation

Link Crew will be holding Sophomore Orientation on Thursday, August 24 from 9:00-noon. All 10th graders should plan to attend and meet in the RHS commons at 9:00AM on Thursday.

Open House

RHS/9GA Open House is the evening of August 22 (5:30-7:00). Open House is just that; an open house meet and greet and chance for students to visit their classrooms and meet their teachers. Please allow yourself enough time to visit all 8 classes.

9GA Open House

Since 9th grade is a big transition, we have a student orientation and parent meeting before Open House. Here's the schedule:

Student Schedule:

4:30 - 5:30 9th grade orientation at 9th Grade Academy, activities begin at 4:30

5:30 - 7:00 Meet up with their parent/guardian in student’s 1st hour class for Open House

Parent/Guardian Schedule:

By 4:30 Drop 9th grader off at the 9th Grade Academy

4:45 - 5:15 Parent meeting in RHS auditorium (Mrs. Arendts will present general information about upcoming year)

5:30 - 7:00 Walk over to the 9GA to meet your child in their 1st hour class for Open House.

Tutoring

RHS and 9GA offer free student tutoring after school, Monday - Thursday each week. Tutoring is in the RHS media center or 9GA collaborative space. We also provide bussing home after tutoring (3:40PM) on Mondays and Wednesdays. A schedule of teacher tutors will be shared after school starts. Tutoring will begin the week of September 18th.