Welcome Back Students!

We have had a great first week of school and it’s been fabulous to have students in the building. I am impressed and proud of how respectful and well behaved our students are in the building and lunch room. We hope students and families have had a great start and are starting to establish routines. As Principal, I want to encourage families to reach out to staff or administration with any concerns or ways that we can help to improve your students experience this year. I feel blessed to be a Spartan and hope you will feel the same way during the 2022-23 school year.

Thank you for an amazing start to the school year. A few reminders on attendance, if your child is unable to attend class please send Steph Ruegemer an email or call 685-4908. Students will need to check their emails and TEAMs daily for teacher communication.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Ruegemer

We had grade level meetings with our RHS students this week and will be talking to RMS students next week. We are on a journey to create consistency within our building and find positive ways to celebrate students who exhibit the behavior we want to see in students. We will be talking to students about being Respectful, being Responsible, and being Kind in all areas of our building. When we see it we will recognize it, and will make sure we communicate those positive behaviors with families. We hope that a great many of our families will receive these so we want you to be aware of “The ROCORI Way” in advance.

We believe firmly that the use of screens and cell phones is becoming an increasing societal issue and having negative impacts on student well-being. We are working hard to limit the amount of time students spend on cell phones in the building. In both RHS and RMS we do not allow students to utilize cell phones during class. In an effort to encourage positive interactions, we do not allow cell phones to be used during RMS lunch. If a cell phone is brought to the office for a violation we will return it at the end of the day to the student. If a second violation is brought to the office we will ask parents to come and get the cell phone. Please talk to your students about following this policy. As always, there are valid concerns that may facilitate exceptions in some cases. We will always work with students and families in these areas but please talk to teachers or administration in advance of those.

We are adjusting announcements in the building because we have many areas that do not have a working intercom and it can be difficult to hear. Morning announcements will be read at the beginning of second hour, by the teacher. Any announcements we have prior to 8:30 am we will get in that day, any that come later we will add to the next day. If students need to receive a pass to leave, we will read their name to come to the office when announcements are called. For any students that need a pass after announcements are read, we will send them a message to get their pass.

2022-2023 parking permits will need to be displayed in your vehicle no later than, Monday, September 19th.

Questions, please stop in the office

Course fees will be available to pay online by the end of the day on Friday, September 9th. When you log into your Family Access page, you will be able to see the course fees listed under Fee Management for each child and make a payment.

SENIOR PORTRAITS

Seniors, be sure to submit your senior portraits no later than November 1st. They can be emailed to yearbook@rocori.k12.mn.us

Details on portrait requirements are in the attached document. If you need someone to take your portrait, please send a message to yearbook@rocori.k12.mn.us

We are committed to providing a safe and caring climate and culture for our students and staff while in our school. Our district and building leadership continuously review our safety procedures in partnership with local law enforcement to be sure we are making the best choices for our school community.

Through the work of this partnership, ROCORI Public Schools has been adjusting our safety procedures. This year, staff and students will discuss and practice possible responses to the unlikely event of an active threat. These responses include hiding and barring entry into the classroom or other safe space, distracting or evacuating the premises to a safe location.

These safety procedures will be taught and implemented in phases throughout the year. If you are interested in learning more about our updated safety procedures, please contact your child’s school principal.

Information for talking to children about safety procedures: https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-safety-and-crisis/school-violence-resources/talking-to-children-about-violence-tips-for-parents-and-teachers

The Middle School Counselors will be starting 6th grade "Welcome" groups. All 6th grade students will be participating. This is a chance to get to know his/her counselor, learn more about who other staff in the office are, and ask any questions they may have.

ROCORI Schools will be celebrating Homecoming 2022 with numerous upcoming events during homecoming week which will occur from Monday, September 19th through Saturday, September 24th.

It is our intention to encourage everyone in the ROCORI community to get involved in homecoming and show their Spartan Pride. Here are some of the many events which will be available to participate in or attend.

Throughout the week at ROCORI Schools, students will celebrate homecoming during the school day with daily dress up themes, a walk through the schools with royalty and a grades 6-12 pepfest to help promote Spartan Spirit. However, most of the big events will happen outside of the school day.

On Monday, September 19th, the ROCORI Variety Show and Coronation will occur at 8PM in the RHS Gym. This event will feature numerous student acts displaying various talents and the announcement of the 2022 ROCORI Homecoming King and Queen.

On Wednesday, September 21st at 6PM the Junior Girls will compete with the Senior Girls for the Powder Puff Football Championship on Blattner Stadium at RHS. Following this event at 7:30PM the Junior Boys will play the Senior Boys in the Ironman Volleyball match in the RHS Gym.

Friday, September 23rd features the ROCORI Homecoming Parade at 4:15PM starting behind the DEF Building and ending at the parking lot by the stadium. Student groups K-12 are encouraged to show ROCORI Spirit by participating in the parade. We also need numerous family spectators along the marked route to cheer on the groups and pick up candy. At the end of the parade, various food items will be sold at the concessions area. The ROCORI Homecoming Football Game against Chisago Lakes will follow the parade starting at 6PM. The Fall Dance Team will perform right before the 6th grade football teams play at halftime.

Finishing the busy week on Saturday, September 24th, the Homecoming Semi Formal Dance will occur starting at 7pm for grades 9-12 in the RHS gym.

Although we did not include all possible homecoming activities in this announcement, we are trying to highlight some of the larger events. Please help celebrate homecoming by participating and showing your ROCORI Spartan Pride throughout the week at all events and don’t forget to buy your ROCORI Homecoming Button.

Go Spartans!

SEE LINK BELOW

Applications for Educational Benefits (Free/reduced lunch) can be found on this site. We encourage all families to complete this application. Any questions, contact barkerc@rocori.k12.mn.us

• Update Immunizations if you have not already done so.
• 7th Grade: Tdap & Meningococcal
• 12th Grade: 2nd Meningococcal

• Any New Health Issues please let Missy in the Nurse’s office know
• Update care plans for 2022-2023 School year
• All Prescribed Medications being taken at school need to have a Dr Note in the Nurse’s office.
• All medications Need to be kept in the Nurse’s Office unless discussed
• 6-8 - All Over the Counter Medication must be kept in the Nurses Office with a School form signed
• 9-12 All Over the counter Medications must have a form on file sign to have in school Nurses Office.

CLICK HERE FOR HEALTH SERVICES WEB PAGE

Administration:

Ryan Hauge - Secondary Principal, grades 6 - 12 - hauger@rocori.k12.mn.us

Josh Austad - Assistant Principal, grades 9 - 12 - austadj@rocori.k12.mn us

Jake Nelson - Assistant Principal, grades 6 - 8 - nelsonj@rocori.k12.mn.us

Stephanie Ruegemer - Assistant Principal, grades 6-12 - ruegemers@rocori.k12.mn.us

Joel Baumgarten - Activities Director - baumgartenj@rocori.k12.mn.us

Counselors:

Marsha Gilbertson - Guidance Counselor, grades 6 - 8 - gilbertsonm@rocori.k12.mn.us

Shelly Collison - Guidance Counselor, grades 9 - 12 - collisons@rocori.k12.mn.us

Kendra Schlangen - Guidance Counselor, grades 6 - 8 schlangenk@rocori.k12.mn.us

Amy Olson - Guidance Counselor, grades 6 - 8 - olsonamy@rocori.k12.mn.us