Rice Middle School eNews
Monday, December 16, 2019
Reminder: December 20th is an Early Release Day for All Students (12:40 PM).
Students Leaving School EARLY, meaning before 12:40 pm on Friday
Attention Parents:
On Friday, December 20th, the students will be participating in another Block Lunch from 10:45 am to 12:40 pm. Each student has chosen two sessions/activities to attend along with lunch.
If you plan to pick your child up during Block Lunch, please be sure to let your child know what time he or she needs to meet you in the front office to leave early.
Absences & Exam Week
Starting tomorrow, the 7th & 8th graders will be taking semester exams, and 6th graders will take a Math test. If you know that your child will be absent on an exam day or your child becomes ill, please contact his or her guidance counselor as soon as possible (469-752-6015). Please be aware that teachers are unable to finalize semester grades until the students have completed their exams.
Here are the periods that will be tested each day:
Tuesday, December 17
1st Period Exam
3rd Period Exam
Wednesday, December 18
2nd Period Exam
4th Period Exam
Thursday, December 19
6th Period Exam
7th Period Exam
Friday, December 20
5th Period Exam
Block Lunch Day
Plano ISD 2020-2021 Academic Calendar Approved Plano ISD
Plano ISD’s school calendar for 2020-2021 has been approved and includes two fewer school days for students and teachers, as well as an additional five minutes added at the beginning of the school day for early childhood, elementary and middle schools. School hours for high and senior high schools remain unchanged.
Other calendar features include a Wednesday, August 12, 2020 start date and a Thursday, May 27, 2021 end date, a full week off for Thanksgiving and spring break is slated for March 8-12, 2021.
Bell schedules for all campuses are as follows:
Early Childhood Schools: Beaty, Isaacs and Pearson
7:55 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Head Start
7:55 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Elementary Schools (grades pk/k–5)
7:40 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Middle Schools (grades 6-8)
8:25 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
High/Senior High Schools (grades 9-12)
9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Academy High School
9:20 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Health Sciences Academy and IB World School
9:00 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Special Programs
Elementary (grades K–5): 7:40 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Middle (grades 6–8); 8:25 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Secondary (grades 9–12): 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
PTA News
KEEP IT CALM WEEK
Thank you to our amazing staff and volunteers for a wonderful Keep It Calm week. We hope all of our students were able to relax, have some fun, and prepare for semester exams in a healthy way! Special thanks to Heather Coleman, Deema Ghata-Aura, Alpa Arora, Ms. Jimenez, and Mr. Mullins for their efforts in making Keep it Calm week successful!
AFTER SCHOOL CODING CLUB
Registration for the spring semester of our After School Coding Club begins on Wednesday, December 18 at 7:00 am on the Rice PTA Membership Toolkit site. Classes offered are "Drawing and Animation with JavaScript" and "Programming in Python. Class fee is $60 for PTA members and $80 for non-members. Registration closes January 15, 2020. Financial assistance is available, contact angie.ewing@pisd.edu for more information. See attached flyer for all the details!
AMAZON SMILE SUPPORTS RICE PTA
Don't forget to use Amazon Smile as you finish up your holiday shopping! Rice PTA receives a donation every time you order from Amazon Smile, at no cost to you. Visit our Amazon Smile site at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/75-2820380 or go to smile.amazon.com to get started and select "PTA- Texas Congress 7401 Rice Middle School" as the recipient of Amazon Smile donations.
Rice Takes 1st Place at Haggard Speech Tournament!
Congratulations to the members of the Rice Speech Team and to Mrs. Petropoulos for their first place win at the Haggard Speech Tournament on Saturday (in picture above). They had an exceptional day with 104 students advancing through three rounds of competition for events varying from debate to acting. Here are the final results:
- Placing 1st in Congressional Debate AND Extemporaneous Speaking: Kaaviya Shenbaharaman
- Placing 3rd in Congressional Debate: Oliver Ong
- Placing 2nd in Duet Acting: Jesse He and Richard Li
- Placing 1st in Storytelling: Kaitlyn Fan
- Placing 3rd in Storytelling: Harini Venkatesh*
- Placing 1st in Humorous Interpretation: Jesse He
- Placing 2nd in Readers Theatre: Maimuna Ilyas, Khushi Bhalani, Aanya Mohapatra, Aditya Mishra, Shourya Sharma, Avijeet Verma
- Placing 3rd in Readers Theatre: Zimo Chen, Bryan Hong, Nicholas Mihut, David Cui, Grace Zou and Janice Mak
- Placing 2nd in Dramatic Interpretation and 3rd in Humorous Interpretation:: Ayokanmi Adenle
- Placing 1st in Poetry: Harini Venkatesh*
- Placing 2nd in Public Forum Debate: Emily Hu and Ananshi Patel
- Placing 3rd in Public Forum Debate: Alex Zheng and Anuj Lohtia
*First time competing at tournament!
Academy Schools Application Deadline is Tuesday!
Attention 8th Graders:
Attached you will find information on the three high school Academy Programs. If your child is interested in applying for the Health Science Academy, IB Academy or Academy High School, please pay attention to the parent information meeting dates. All needed information about the application process can be found in the attachment and hard copies are available in the front office and counseling office. If you have additional questions, please contact the counseling office.
Important Application Dates
- December 18, 2019 (Applications close)
- January 10, 2020 after 3:30 p.m. (Notice of selection)
- January 17, 2020 by 9:00 p.m. (Commitment from student)
Check Lost & Found Before Friday, December 20th
We have many sad and lonely items which have collected in the cafeteria over the semester. "Many" meaning that we could cloth the state of Texas and provide enough water bottles to hold Lake Texoma...that may be a slight exaggeration, but we do have a lot of items! We are planning on donating these items on the last day of school. Please make sure you have your child check this area for any missing items.
Flu Prevention and Exclusion Policy
The flu season is approaching to us. The best way to prevent the flu is to get a flu vaccine every year, as soon as it is available. Flu vaccine is recommended for anyone over the age of 6 months (except for individuals with medical contraindications).
Other forms of prevention include proper hand washing, use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and staying away from sick individuals.
*School Exclusion Policy related to the flu - Children with fever ( temperature 100 degree Fahrenheit or higher), or any condition that presents with fever, vomiting, diarrhea are required to be excluded from school until they are fever/symptom-free for 24 hours, without the use of medication.
*Attached is more information about the flu and cold vs. flu.
MSA Food Bank
MSA is contributing to the already existing Food Bank at IACC, which serves around 80 families a week. MSA is collecting non-perishable food items, hygiene, and cleaning supplies all year round. There is a box in the rotunda. Please consider donating generously to help someone in need.
Half Gallon Milk Cartons & Paper Shopping bags
MSA is collecting shopping paper bags (clean and folded) for the local IACC food bank which serves around 50-70 families every Saturday. We will collect all year round.
We have a box in our recycling center (picture attached) or send to Room 817.
Thank you
Helpful Links!
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