RH Newsletter
August 31, 2018
RH Calender Important Dates to Remember
September
3 NO SCHOOL-LABOR DAY
5 First Early Release of the Year
6 K-5 Back to School Night 6:00 PM
11 Scrip 9:00 AM
12 Volunteer Fair 8:45 AM or 6:30 PM
17 MS Back to School Night 6:00 PM
21 RHS Carnival 5:00 PM
Hello Raleigh Hills Families,
It’s not yet even September, but already we are well into the learning and growth of the school year. Our students and staff are off to an excellent start, there is high energy, curiosity, and a deep sense of mutual respect. While we are still working out a few wrinkles, which is typical for the start of the year, it is clear that we are building positive momentum for an amazing year ahead.
Each Friday throughout the year we send out a Newsletter to our community. It includes important upcoming dates, as well as helpful information about the school and district. Additionally, classroom teachers regularly send out communications to the parents of their students. In these ways we hope to keep everyone informed. If you ever need additional information, have questions, or have anything you wish to share, I encourage you to contact the office, your classroom teacher, or me. We’re here to respond, help, and serve. Here are the news items for this week.
Back-to-School — Curriculum Nights (BSN-CN)
Note: Our hope is that all families will attend BSN-CN. In order for everyone to be able to pay attention and listen to the teacher presentations, parents are encouraged to look for child care options for that evening, however we do not wish for this to impede anyone from attending the event.
Wednesday Early Release Starts September 5
Attendance Makes the Difference
When it comes to attendance, every day matters. According to the Oregon Department of Education, more than one in six Oregon students is chronically absent. Chronic absenteeism means a student misses 10% or more school days. That’s about two days per month.
Here at Raleigh Hills, regular attendance is paramount to children doing well in school. In fact, according to the Attendance Works Organization, by 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of school. By 9th grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.
Attendance habits are set the very first week of the school year, so please start building good attendance habits early. As a parent, you can help by establishing and holding to a regular bedtime and morning routine. You can also avoid appointments during school hours, as well as extended trips when school is in session. Thank you for sharing our priority of excellent attendance.
From the District Regarding Volunteers: Siblings/Babies
Volunteers should not bring younger siblings and babies to school when they are scheduled to volunteer. It is a safety issue. It is distracting in the classroom and other areas and causes a disruption when there are additional children in a classroom or other learning spaces. (This is direct language in AR: KAA) Please remind each other that this is a practice we are following in all schools. Thank you.
Arrival, Departure, Transportation, and Parent Drop Off and Pick Up
Before and after school, staff is at key spots so they can greet students and ensure a safe arrival and departure. Starting at 8:10 our doors open for students and families to enter, with K-5 students starting in the cafeteria and then outside, and middle school students starting in the library. At 3:05 p.m. when school is dismissed, students are escorted to their buses, to parents, or we send them on their walk home. Our buses drop off and pick up students in the front loop of the school and from 8:10-8:30 and 2:55-3:20 this area is exclusively for buses. Our parent drop off and pick up is the lower east side loop. You can access a map of this here.’’
Additionally, please keep in mind that if you arrive late to pick up your child, you will need to come into the school office. We do not allow students to wait outside alone after the dismissal process concludes. Also, we will not release students to individuals without a note or to those who have not been previously designated by you in your student’s contact list.
If your child is going home a different way the thier normal route please let the front office know as soon as possible.
Free and Reduced Lunch
You may access the online free and reduced lunch form through this link https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/depts/nutserv/Pages/Online-Meal-Applications.aspx
Pampered Chef Fundraiser Benefitting the Track
Jen Shirley is hosting an online Pampered Chef Fundraiser for our NEW TRACK!!! 15% of ALL SALES will go directly to the new track!!! Feel free to invite as many people as you want to shop online. The more the merrier! Catalogs will be in the office the first week of school, make sure to pick one up!
To start shopping, visit the RHS Pampered Chef fundraiser site.
www.pamperedchef.com/party/RHSTrackproject
For more information, please visit the RHS Pampered Chef Facebook Group! Join us!
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1754022521378019
Contact Jen Shirley at jenpdxs@comcast.net with any questions.
We Invite You to be Involved
As we start the year, we encourage you to be involved in our school community in whatever way you can, as research shows that parent participation strongly predicts student success.
Thank you for your partnership and for everything you have done to help your child and our school get off to an excellent start this year. I hope you all enjoy the Labor Day Weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone next week. And, as always, if you have questions or information to share, please feel free to get in touch.
Sincerely,
Peter