RJ Richey Weekly Update
RJ Family News (September 20th-24th)
Message from the Principal
Dear Bulldog Families,
As the cooler days usher in the season of "fall fruitfulness", we have so much to celebrate at RJ. We also have so many fun, family events that are sure to keep you engaged and energized as we welcome fall and prepare to get ready for October next week.
We'd love to invite you to check out our RJ Richey Facebook page with so many photos and pictures that provide you a sneak peek into all the learning, growing, and fun happening at RJ Richey! You'll find photos of your students, our classrooms, classwork, and many snapshots of our school events.
You'll find a few quick photos shared below from our themed days this week too! Thank you to our Bulldog families for making this the best week YET at RJ Richey Elementary!
***Don't forget Bulldog families that our BCISD calendar has been updated and Monday, September 27th is a school day for students. Due to our COVID closures in the district previously, we are adding this as an instructional day for our Bulldog students.
In Bulldog Spirit, Pride, and Honor,
Jessica McMullen, RJR Elementary Principal
BCISD Updated 2021-2022 School Calendar
• Change September 27, 2021 from professional development to a regular student day.
• Change October 11, 2021 from professional development to a regular student day.
• Conduct a full day of school on December 16, 2021 rather than an early release.
These revisions were made in order to address the fact that RJ Richey was closed on September 3 and all BCISD campuses were closed September 7-8. Although the existing BCISD calendar included enough banked minutes to absorb the two district-wide missed days and the additional campus day, the Administration recommended a calendar revision to prevent lost instructional minutes so early in the year. Additional COVID complications and/or weather events are possibilities, so the Administration recommended the changes to preserve banked minutes for possible future needs. RJ Richey will also add two minutes to daily instructional minutes beginning with the 2nd six weeks on September 27 through the end of the year. This will allow the campus to “catch up” to the rest of the district in banked minutes in case of future needs.
Start with HELLO & Homecoming Dress-up Days Continue:
Start with Hello Week & Homecoming Dress-up Days for RJ:
RJ recognizes Start with Hello Week AND Burnet High School is celebrating Homecoming week with dress-up themes each day. RJ Richey is joining in on the fun!
This will take place on Sept 20-24th:
Tuesday - Twin Day
Wednesday - Wacky Wednesday
Thursday - Hat Day
Friday - Burnet Bulldog Day!!!
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Revised Campus Calendar
*As a reminder, our previous picture day in September has been rescheduled to November*
*ALL students have school on Monday, September 27th due to revised BCISD calendar*
**Out of an abundance of caution and safety procedures following COVID concerns, RJR has rescheduled our Book Fair and Fall Open House for October**
- September 9 - Students return to school from COVID Closure
- September 10 - RJR observes National First Responder's Day & 9/11 20th Anniversary
- September 12 - Happy Grandparent's Day **due to COVID-19 safety concerns and visitor restrictions, event/activities will be rescheduled for later in the spring *
- September 20-24 - Start with Hello Week & daily theme/activities
- September 23 - BHS Homecoming Parade
- September 24 - BHS Homecoming (Wear your Bulldog Spirit Wear)
- September 27 - Student Make-Up Day (from COVID closure) All students and staff come to school!
October Dates to Remember:
- October 11th: School Day for all students! (COVID-closure make-up day)
- October 11th-15th: Book Fair @ RJ
- October 12th: Open House / Parent Night @ RJ
- October 25-29: Red Ribbon Week
Character Matters: Courage News From our School Counselor:
As a school family this month we are delving into the value of COURAGE by examining how it looks, sounds, and feels.
We want to help our children be courageous and learn to conquer new things that frighten or scare them.
Children need reassurance that fear is one of our feelings and reminders that it's okay to be scared and feel afraid.
The definition they are learning this month for COURAGE is: Courage is choosing what is good, right,and kind even when it's hard or scary.
QUESTIONS YOU COULD ASK AT HOME:
1) What does courage mean to you?
2) Talk about a time you showed courage? What was that experience like?
3) When have you wished for more courage?
4) WHo is your role model or example of courage?Why?
Behind the Scenes Photos of RJ's Bulldog Pride!
October 2021 Red Ribbon Week
Check out our Red Ribbon Week 2021 Themed Days here:
BCISD & RJR Visitor Procedures : COVID-19 Update & Information
COVID Considerations and Updates
Visitors to Campus: We are pleased to allow visitors to campuses again for the 2021-2022 year. At the same time, we value the health and safety of students and staff, and we want to limit the number of possible exposures to COVID-19 as we return to school with optional face coverings.
Visitors to campus will be limited in the following ways from September 20 – October 20, 2021.
- Because high school students are of an age that allows families to make personal decisions about vaccination, visitors to BHS and QHS will not be restricted beyond normal procedures.
- Visitors to elementary and middle school will not be permitted to eat breakfast or lunch in the cafeteria.
- On the first day of school, parents of elementary and middle school students are permitted to walk their child to the classroom door, but not to enter the classroom.
- Beginning with the second day of school, parents of elementary and middle school students may walk their child to the classroom door after checking in at the front desk with their ID per normal visitor procedures.
- Visitors are permitted inside classrooms only when no students other than their own child are present in the room.
- Because participation is optional, campus events that occur before or after school will follow normal visitor procedures.
By October 20, BCISD will publish any updates to visitor limitations based upon public health guidance and local health data.
Attendance & Grading Questions:
Bulldog Parents,
Be sure to stay up to date with your student's grades and attendance. Click the link below for information on Skyward Family Access and accessing your child's grades and attendance.
Attendance:
Please be sure to send a note when your child's been out for any reason. With COVID cases and quarantines that necessitate numerous absences, absence notes are especially important for you to remember.
Progress Reports & Report Cards:
All of our RJ 3rd-5th grade Bulldogs will have progress reports viewable in Skyward at the 3-week mark of each grading period. In addition, all students in will have their report cards posted in Family Access for each 6-week grading period. Grades will be a combination of numerical averages for the 4 content areas and letter scores for Fine Arts, Physical Education, and Conduct.
Besides checking Skyward Family Access to monitor grades, another great way to stay informed is to review student work coming home. You'll be able to review what your child is working on in class, what grade level expectations look like, what topics were challenging for your student, which topics were easy for your student, and if your student made corrections.
We encourage consistent communication between family and school, so don't hesitate to reach out!
Report cards for the 1st 6 weeks will be viewable in Skyward Family Access on 9/30.
Updated Arrival & Dismissal Procedures & Requirements
Dear RJ Parents,
Thank you for all of our Bulldog family's help with our campus-wide procedures. We've seen such a great response when we all work together.
Please continue to help us in following the arrival and dismissal procedures so that all of our Bulldogs begin and end their days in the safest ways.
Important Attendance Arrival & Dismissal Updates, Reminders, and Requirements:
- All student arrivals and dismissals should access the building through our front doors and front circle.
- Thru Traffic is not permitted through the road behind the school. This is for BCISD staff and buses only. Please refrain from using this as a pass through or for accessing school grounds.
- The side and back parking lots are for staff members only due to campus access. If you need to park and walk your student into school, please use the front parking areas.
- RJ parking lots should never be a drop-off area for your students as this creates a safety hazard for our bus lanes being able to see students or pedestrians, and many times cars are not watching for students/parents in these areas.
- Our car rider line moves quickly each morning and our car rider line is finished each morning by 7:45. Although the lines appear to be long, traffic flows easily and quickly. This is the safest and best option for dropping your students off each day, as no other doors or building access is available.
- Checking students out early: Attendance regulations through the State and district require schools to track student's time in school....even after the attendance bell. ***Should you need to sign-your student out early during the day, please have your ID. All parents/guardians will be asked to sign your student out as we are required to track student attendance and parts of day out of school. We will be able to code and excuse your child's early checkout with a doctor's note returned the next day.
Daily Transportation Changes:
As a reminder, we are not able to change your child's transportation for the day through the front office or by emailing the school. However, if you need to change your child's way home, please complete the transportation request here:
Do you need to change your child's mode of transportation? Here's how!
Please go to https://www.burnetcisd.net/ , click on the Departments tab, then Transportation. In the upper right hand corner there is a link to change your child's method of transportation. This request must be made by 1:30pm. Please make sure you have included the the name of your child's teacher and only submit on the day you need the change made.
RJ Richey & BCISD Quick Links
Contact Us at RJ Richey Elementary
Website: https://rjr.burnetcisd.net/
Location: R J Richey Elementary School, East Graves Street, Burnet, TX, USA
Phone: 512-756-2609
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rjrichey