Rio Reporter
Winter Edition 2019
Message From the Principal
Happy New Year River Hawk families! We would like to thank all of the families that contributed to the success of our winter dance as well as our staff breakfast. The staff appreciates the constant support we receive from our PTSA and our Rio family.The Hart District welcomed Rick Wormeli for a conference this month, which has led to many rich discussions on quality instruction and assessment. We are always looking for ways to improve our practices to support our students.
Valencia High School will have a Q & A outreach for incoming 8th grade families at Rio Norte on March 20 at 8:15am and at Valencia High School on March 21 at 6pm. The presentations are identical. We are excited to have the Rio Norte Spelling Bee on January 31 at 2:30pm. The finalist will go on to the Los Angeles County Scripps Spelling Bee in February.
Have a great second semester River Hawks!
Thank you,
Audrey Asplund
Principal
Rio Norte Jr. High School
BEING GOOD NEIGHBORS
Please do not double park on Adobe Ct., or block driveways or emergency access for our neighbors during drop-off and pick-up times. We want to be courteous to the residents around our school. The city of Santa Clarita will be adding a small red zone to the right of the Rio exit to help with visibility when exiting school.
PTSA News
Thank you for your continued support with all of our requests for volunteers!
- Thank you for assisting with the winter dance and the all staff breakfast last month!
- Feb 14 is the Valentine’s Day dance, from 2-4pm. We are requesting volunteers to assist with goodies and water
- Feb 7 & March 7-PTSA meetings, @ 9am
- Feb 20 is the PTA Reflections gala at COC. The winners are on SCV PTA facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/scvptareflections/
- Student of the Month luncheons (1/25, 2/22, 3/22)
Thank you,
Elie Jetter, PTSA President and the Rio Norte PTSA E-board
Team Amazon
In English, students will be studying the following district essential questions: How does being a worker benefit and challenge people? How does the loss of work affect individuals? They will also be focusing on argumentative speaking and writing. In Mrs. Robb's science classes students are starting the new year out updating and reviewing Safety & Procedures. We start our Semester 2 science curriculum with Waves and Energy but we will soon be starting Chemistry where safety and following procedures is priority #1. During second quarter, in history, students learned about the creation of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They studied the presidencies of George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. The quarter concluded with the War of 1812. Students are continually improving their critical thinking and analytical skills through the study of historical events. In Math 8 we are getting into equations and systems of equations. In Algebra we are starting exponents and roots. Put on your calendar May 23, Grammy Museum field trip.
Team Columbia
Our Columbia scientists just finished their human body segment and we just ended with our frog dissections. The Science students loved dissections and we found our future surgeons. Up next we have the students learning all about the world of paleontology.
The World History students on Team Columbia have been learning about Europe during the Middle Ages. We will build on that and be studying the European Renaissance this month. Ms. Kratofil says a big “THANK YOU” to all the families who have been helping their children learn the “100 Terms” throughout the year—keep up the hard work!
In English class this quarter we're studying argumentative writing. Students will learn how to research topics of interest, gather data, and defend their opinions. As always, we will continue to find and read the books we love.
Both Math 7 and Accelerated Math 7 are working with variables to simplify expressions and solve equations. So exciting, real Algebra practice!! In 4th Quarter the students will be working in their Math Market Groups to create, market, price, pitch and sell a product; all sales will be on the morning of May 24th. Family members are encouraged to come. See you there!
The Columbia Games have been a great success so far this year! The Quarter 2 Quell winner will be announced on February 4. Please wear your Columbia t-shirt that day for our next competition! Also, Team Columbia raised $483.20 during our “Penny War”…all proceeds to be donated to Heifer International—we purchased a water buffalo (amongst some other animals)! Thank you for your continued generosity, Team Columbia!
Important Dates-January and February
Jan 29 @ 2:30pm, Jan 31-Feb 1@ 7pm & Feb 2 @ 2pm "It Snows" drama performance
Feb 5-6-Lifetouch spring portraits
Feb 8-Progress Rpt.-Qtr 3
Feb 14-Valentine's Day Dance 2-4pm and last day for yearbook ads
Feb 16-Math Counts Competition at CSUN- top 10 competitors will attend.
Feb 15 and 18-no School-President's Day
Important Dates-March and April
March 14-Minimum day for students
March 20-6th grade Jamboree
March 22-Report cards Qtr 3
April 1-5-Spring Break
April 11-Open House and Minimum day
April 29-May 7-CAASPP testing
April 26-Progress Rpt. Qtr 4
8th grade VHS registration information
March 20-VHS 8th grade parent meeting at Rio 8:15am
March 21-VHS 8th grade parent meeting at VHS at 6pm and Open House
Fire and Ice winter dance fun!
Winter drama production!
Happy New Year! from Ms. Asplund, Ms. Dos and Mr. Miles
PE News
Our Cross Country team finished in 3rd place at our district cross country meet in November. Congratulations to Angelina Teymouri and Scarlet Anderson who took first and second place in the 7th grade girl race.
The Turkey Bowl was an amazing experience for all students. ASB students organized and ran a spirited pep rally and cheerleaders entertained the crowd. The Red Team won a hard fought battle led by their quarterback, Evan Jaquez. The Blue team had a great performance from running back, Josh Book.
We are currently taking sign ups for our lunchtime volleyball intramural tournament. We plan to start games February 1st.
Upcoming Events:
- Fitness Testing 2/11-2/22
- Riverhawk Walk PE Fundraiser 3/28 & 3/29 (Packets will be sent home 5/01 & 5/04)
- District Track Meet 5/16
- 3 on 3 Basketball Lunchtime Tournament during 4th quarter
Team Nile
Helping your child plan, organize, and prepare for class can reduce a great deal of anxiety. Please check backpacks and make sure they are organized and stocked with supplies (several sharpened pencils, blue or black ink pens, and notebook paper). Please continue to monitor Infinite Campus to check grades. Students are required to copy down assignments and due dates for each class in the binder reminder. In math class, students copy math homework and test dates from the whiteboard in class. A new math website will be available at the end of the month. Ask your child to show you their English google classroom site.
Science agendas and due dates can be checked at www.sciencewithmadrid.blogspot.com and for history check www.mrstrohhistoryclass.blogspot.com If your child has been absent, please remind them it is their responsibility to check in with the teacher to pick up missed assignments (advisory). Thank you for helping your child have a successful last semester at Rio!
Team Rio Verde
Welcome to Quarter 3 Rio Verde!!
In science, students will be exploring gravitational potential energy while examining how the arrangement of objects interact at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system. We will continue to use our digital notebooks, as well as new digital warm up assignments in hopes to help the environment by not using so much paper! In social studies, Mrs. Bonilla's class will continue to watch the new nation grow. The United States will slowly expand from sea to shining sea as we take a look at the presidents who helped form this nation. In English classes, students are entering into Unit 3 - The Value of Work. This unit will not only focus on the benefits and challenges to work, it will focus on argumentative writing and
creating solid claims with supporting evidence. In Math 8, Mrs. Rippe will be teaching students how to solve multiple types of equations, including fractions. Students will then see how solving equations relates to the real world and then be shown how they can be used in their everyday life. Thank you students and parents for all your hard work this year!
Team Rubicon
Welcome to the new year Team Rubicon students and families...the third quarter is off to a great start already! Once we have finished our English class Spelling Bee, students will sharpen up their argumentative skills in preparation for speeches later this quarter! After the great increase in reading scores last quarter, we will continue reading independently, but with a keen focus on our Quarter 3 Essential Question: how are the risks of exploration in extreme conditions worth the costs or not? Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Ippolito's History classes are becoming familiar with the Feudal System and the rise of the Shogunate and Imperial culture in Medieval Japan. We will be transitioning to Medieval Europe in the next week and learning about the transition to a rural lifestyle, the development of Feudalism, and the rise of Christianity and the church in Europe during the "Middle Ages' that followed the Fall of Rome. In science, students are working on a body systems project. Students are assigned, in groups of 4 or 5, a body system and will present their system to the class. From there, we will move onto Evidence of Evolution, Inheritance & Genetics, Natural Selection, and Healthy Choices curriculum. In Math 7, students are learning about operations with integers and rational numbers, and in Accelerated Math 7, students just completed the percents unit covering important skills with concepts such as tax, discount and interest. All math classes will then transition into very key concepts of algebra with expressions, equations and inequalities. Upcoming and exciting Team Rubicon events to mark on your calendars are our Medieval Times field trip which will happen on March 13 and Math Market taking place on March 27!!
Team Shenandoah
This quarter the concentration in English is on argumentative writing. We've just started but eventually, it will include essays and debates. We have been having class spelling bees to determine our team representatives for the school bee at the end of the month. In history, we are currently studying Medieval India. Students have had the opportunity to work with Faxian’s primary account describing the Gupta Empire. Moving forward, we will be covering the civilizations of West Africa and reading from Ibn Battuta's rihla A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Traveling or simply, The Travels. For the third quarter of Math 7, we've moved on to learning about integers. Please ask your children about the songs that we've been learning. Integers will be followed by Mrs. VanDyke's favorite topic- algebraic equations! In Accelerated, students are experiencing all of the exponent rules. "When in doubt, write it out!" More fun and challenging topics to follow are Pythagorean's Theorem and algebra! In Shenandoah science we are studying evidence for evolution, unity and diversity. Students will be able to analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth as well as other evidences such as anatomical comparisons, embryology, and genetics.
Team Yukon
Yukon's English class is excited to have the winners of the class Spelling Bee go on to the school wide Spelling Bee Jan. 31 at 2:30 in the MPR. Winner of that will go on to the Regional Bee and the winner of that will go on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC!
Mrs. Sosa's class will be reading about the value of work and where teens fall into the job force. Quarter three will be focused on argumentative writing and utilizing the persuasive rhetoric by creating cereal ads in groups. This is a packed quarter seeing our 8th graders about to bridge the gap as they prepare for high school!. In History students will continue to watch the new nation grow. The United States will slowly expand from sea to shining sea as we take a look at the presidents who helped form this nation. Math 8 is exploring equations while Algebra is starting the functions and sequence unit. Yukon students are doing an amazing job and working hard!
Team Zambezi
Happy New Year from Team Zambezi teachers! In science, we are studying the history of life on earth as well as what helped animals survive. In English, we've begun the quarter by exploring what's new in space and reading President Kennedy's last speech, "Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center." We'll also examine the message of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" and use his words as inspiration to write our own "I Have a Dream" speech. The students will be working hard to prepare for their third quarter argument essay and we hope to end by spending some time with the Bard. In math, we are wrapping up operations with rational numbers, will and we tackle expressions, equations, and inequalities next. My students continue to surprise and amaze me as we navigate through our new textbook. In Social Studies, we will be leaving Asia and heading back to visit what remained of the Roman Empire. This is a unit full of fun, as well as dreadful things, knights and castles and the Bubonic Plague! We will be ending the unit with a team field trip to Medieval Times, where the students can see this time period come to life!
Rio Norte Junior High School
Rio Norte Mission Statement
The Rio Norte Junior High School community is dedicated to providing a safe, flexible, positive, and nurturing learning environment, in which all its members have the opportunity to experience a sense of belonging and personal growth, and all students have the opportunity to develop academic excellence.
Website: www.rionortejuniorhigh.com
Phone: 6612953700