February is always a short month and as usual it has flown by! Term 2 grades were posted on February 1 and awards ceremonies took place on February 7 through the 10th. On February 9, the RMS drama club performed Schoolhouse Rock Jr. for all RPS third and fourth graders during the school day and for families and the community in the evening. It was a great production! Congratulations to the entire cast and crew and drama advisor Mr. Bergman for putting on a great show! We had a successful Neon Social for grades 5 and 6 on February 16 thanks to the SGC students and advisors, Ms. Gervais and Ms. Bartoloni. Special thanks to the teacher chaperones who helped make it happen. The kids (and staff!) had a great time. See fun pics below!

March 2 - early release, 11:20 AM dismissal

March 6 - term 3 progress reports posted

March 9 - early release, 11:20 dismissal, IN PERSON parent conferences 1-3 PM and 6-8 PM

March 10 - early release, 11:20 dismissal, VIRTUAL parent conferences 1-3 PM

*sign up for conferences here: https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/John_W_Rogers_Middle_School_3

March 15 - Shamrock Classic Staff vs. 8th Graders Basketball Game, 6:30 PM

March 16 - early release, 11:20 AM dismissal

March 24, 25 - RHS drama production of Addams Family - several 8th grade students are involved

March 31 - grades 7/8 dance 6-8:00 PM

Thinking ahead, MCAS dates are as follows:

ELA grades 5-8: April 12 and 13

ELA makeups: 4/24 - 4/27

Math grades 5-8: May 10 and 11

Science, Technology and Engineering grade 5 and 8 only: May 16 and 17

Math and STE makeups: 5/18 - 5/26

5

Conduct

Evan Varroso

Zacary Murray

Molly Jackson

Madison Bradley

Hunter Storey

Timothy Riordan

Amanda De Oliveira

Brendan Kane

Mia-Belle Viator

Noah Davidson

Zion Davis

Effort

Caroline Corbett

Alexis Breivogel

Michael Albanese

Megan Sahn

Ryan Cook

Lily Nee

Tara Dinh

Olivia Scopa

Liddi Bailey

6

Conduct

Jayden McQueen

Avery Danforth

Sara DelPrete

Jayden Keller

Aundraya DaRosa

Kareen Fernandes

Brynn O'Brien

Nathan Quinones

Effort

Mariana De Souza

Philip Landy

Angela Langone

Avah Duffy

Aidan Barrett

Elizabeth Cunningham

Brihanna Gomes-Souza

Ella Damore

Nolan Craig

7

Conduct

Thomas Welch

Robert Visconte

Aaliyah Pinto

Miguel Melo

Welysson dos Santos

Joseph Petrosevich

Colin Flaherty

Andrew Alburqueque

Cameron Cicacz

Caitlyn Fitzgerald

Effort

Natalie Carter

Johanna Simpson

Pedro Alves

Ana Batista de Oliveira

Leandro Silva

Ryleigh Atkinson

Jasmine Whittmore

Celia Harlow

8

Conduct

Taylor Norton

John Marrero

Layla Meade

Cienna Tracy-Cordaro

Scott Kippenhan

Moses Soto

Jacob Camara

Jack Reardon

Andrew LeBarron

Effort

Davi Silva

Danny Nguyen

Cameron Taft

Bryan Soares Dias

Emma Rhadbane

Owen O'Brien

Neitsza Louis Charles

Elizabeth Papa

Paul Chaves

Snow Joliemore

Isabella O'Brien

Lila Colburn

This month, students in NJHS collected over 200 handmade Valentines cards to show thanks and appreciation to Veterans from our US armed forces. The cards were made by students in grades 5-8, and were delivered to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Brockton - the staff was happy to distribute the cards hospital wide, and the Veterans enjoyed reading all of the thoughtful messages from our students.

Members of the NJHS will be holding a Bake Sale during parent-teacher conferences on Thursday March 9th, from 1-3 and 6-8. There will be an assortment of cookies, brownies, and other sweet treats - cash and Venmo will be accepted. Please stop by and support the NJHS while visiting with your student's teachers!

Recap of February Events:

5th & 6th Grade Social

We had a great turnout at our annual 5th & 6th Grade Social! Thank you to our chaperones and student leaders for helping to make the event an afternoon to remember. Students arrived in their brightest neon outfits, danced, ate delicious pizza from Themis, and took pictures at the photo booth. Special thank you to Vicky Ribeiro (‘27), Nick Compte (‘27), Davi Sousa (‘27), and Mady Leoncavallo (‘27) for going above and beyond to support this event. We are so proud of your hard work!

Upcoming Student Council Events:

Lucky Grams - March 17th

RMS Student Council’s Student Services committee will be selling “lucky grams” during lunches until Tuesday, March 14th. Students will be able to purchase a candy gift to be delivered to a friend in the building for $2 each, or two for $3. Students must know their friend’s homeroom teacher’s name in order for the lucky gram to be delivered on time. Lucky grams will be delivered on St. Patrick’s Day (Friday, March 17th).

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Class T-shirt Sales - Now, through March 15th

Class t-shirts are on sale from now until March 15th.

Orders can be placed online using the following links:

• Class of 2027 (8th grade): https://www.customink.com/g/fvb0-00cq-g2sx

• Class of 2028 (7th grade): https://www.customink.com/g/fvb0-00cq-g28t

• Class of 2029 (6th grade): https://www.customink.com/g/fvb0-00cq-g2qf

• Class of 2030 (5th grade): https://www.customink.com/g/fvb0-00cq-g2j3

Students will receive their shirts during homeroom in time for the pep rally (which is scheduled for April 6th). These shirts can be worn for various school events such as spirit days, pep rallies and field trips. Each grade has a different color shirt. We will NOT be able to accommodate late order requests after March 15th.

7th & 8th Grade Dance - Friday, March 31st

We are excited to announce that this year’s 7th & 8th Grade Dance theme is Wild, Wild West. The dance will be held on Friday, March 31st from 6 to 8pm in the RMS cafeteria. Tickets are $7 each. Pizza will be served. All students must have a permission slip turned in in order to attend the dance. Please remember that all students need to be dropped off and picked up by an adult, and must be present in school the day of the dance to be admitted. Permission slips will be sent home in the coming weeks.

MCAS P(r)ep Rally - April 6th (Early Release Day)

With MCAS fast-approaching, we are eager to build student spirit and commitment to giving our best effort. RMS SGC will be hosting a pep rally where students can sign up to compete in games and help generate excitement. 5th and 6th grade will have a rally together, followed by 7th and 8th grade. Details to sign up for events will follow soon, so please remind your student to check their school email as the event approaches.

Spring Spirit Week! - April 3rd through April 6th

The RMS Student Council Unified Spirit committee will be announcing Spring Spirit Week themes soon. We do know that April 6th will be “Class Color Wars” (8th: black; 7th: green; 6th: teal/blue; 5th: white). Keep an eye out for more information.

Next Meeting:

The next RMS Student Council all-hands meeting will be on Wednesday, March 8th after school until 3:15 in the lecture hall.

**Families - please remember that you can follow RMS Student Council on Facebook and Instagram. If you have any questions or feedback, please email one of the advisors - Mrs. Bartoloni (kbartoloni@rocklandschools.org) or Mrs. Gervais (jgervais@rocklandschools.org)

I hope you all enjoyed February break!

Thankfully, it seems as though the number of flu and other illnesses is on the decline. Therefore, a note from the child's physician/clinician is required for a student's absence to be medically excused. Absences that are 5 days and longer require a note from a physician/clinician as well.

March is National Nutrition Month!!

March is National Nutrition Month. Although I don't want to promote more screen time, I listed a few free apps below that encourage movement.

Also, I've had many students come to me right off the bus/mid morning with belly aches; mostly due to hunger. Breakfast is so important and is available for free at school. Please encourage your student(s) to eat or grab a breakfast at the start of each day.

Get up and move apps:

NFL Play 60

Eat-And-Move-O-Matic

Charity Miles

7th Grade Physicals:

A copy of your child's physical exam dated during the 2022-2023 academic year must be on file. If you haven't already, please send in a copy. You can email it to me bhannigan@rocklandschools.org or you can send it in with your student.

Absences/Dismissals: Please call 781-878-4341 or email rmsabsences@rocklandschools.org to report an absence or let us know your child will be late.

Dismissals/Meetings/Nurse: Please remember to bring your up-to-date photo ID (driver's license, state ID, passport, green card) into the office when picking up your student for early dismissal, coming in for a meeting, or dropping off something to the Nurse. One of these forms of ID is required each time in order to pick up a student or to come in for a meeting or to see the Nurse. If one of your contacts is picking up your child for early dismissal, please let them know they need to bring one of these forms of ID into the office.

Chromebooks/Chargers: It is very important that your child brings both their Chromebook and charger to school everyday. Please be sure they have them before they leave for school each day.

CORI checks: If you plan to chaperone an RMS field trip or volunteer for an RMS event, you must have a valid CORI on file. Please come in to the Main Office with your driver's license or US passport and fill out the form. It can take a week or so for the CORI to come back. With field trips starting to be planned, please come in as soon as possible so you will be all set for when the field trip or event happens! If you are unsure if you have a CORI on file, or if your CORI is still current, please call the office at 781-878-4341 and we will look it up.

Withdrawals: If you are withdrawing your child from Rockland Public Schools, please be sure to complete and return a withdrawal form. You can come in to get the form, or email pdriscoll@rocklandschools.org for one to be emailed to you.

Change of Address or Phone Number: Have you moved and need to update your address? Please call the school at 781-878-4341 or email pdriscoll@rocklandschools.org and we can let you know what documents are required for proof of residency. Please also let the office know if your phone number has changed so we can update our records.

March is a long month and an exciting one! Please note that due to parent conferences and regularly scheduled professional development days, there are FOUR early release days this month:

• Thursday, March 2
• Thursday, March 9
• Friday, March 10
• Thursday, March 16

Parent conferences will take place as follows:

• Thursday, March 9 1:00 - 3:00 PM and 6:00 - 8:00 PM - in person
• Friday, March 10 1:00 - 3:00 PM - virtual

Sign up here: https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/John_W_Rogers_Middle_School_3

On the 15th, the traditional staff versus 8th grade students basketball game will take place in the RHS gym. This event, the Shamrock Classic, is a PAC fundraiser, the proceeds of which are used for end of the year activities for students. Tickets will be sold for $5 during lunches as follows:

• Monday, March 13 - 8th graders ONLY
• Tuesday, March 14 - all grades
• Wednesday, March 15 - all grades, if available

Pizza, snacks, and drinks will be available for purchase at the game. As the staff will be playing in the game as opposed to chaperoning, students must be accompanied by an adult at the event.

New activity alert: Common Threads knitting/sewing club is starting next week. See the flyer below for details.

Finally, good luck to our many 8th grade student athletes who will be participating in tournament games this week in basketball and hockey. Go Bulldogs!

As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Respectfully,

Cheryl Schipper

Principal