February 20 Monday Letter
"Effort Creates Ability"
FEBRUARY 20 - FEBRUARY 23
Contact Administration
- Thomas @ (208) 881-4437
- Justin @ (208) 516-0278
- Scott @ (208) 270-7785
Principal Principles
"Education is and will be the most powerful tool for individual and social change, and we must do all that it takes to facilitate it." -- Shiv Nadar
Important Upcoming Dates for the Week
If you see something that should be here but isn't, make sure to contact us to get it updated! For focus teams, please plan on being to the meeting prior to the start time so that the meeting can start on time. Your time is valuable and so is that of the other people on your team. If for some reason, you are unable to attend due to extenuating circumstances, please inform your focus team leader prior to the meeting.
- President's Day - No School
Tuesday, February 20:
- Tom Shimmer Presentation for Interdisciplinary Team Leaders (make sure sub is put in)
- Honor's Society Activity from 3:45-5:00 pm (Gym and Cafeteria)
- Basketball at the Madison Junior High Gym @ 4:30 pm (Girls play first)
- Combined RMMS Choir and Bonneville Choir Performance at the Performing Arts Center starting at 7:00 pm
- CHANGED! Team Leader Meeting in the Morning (School Improvement Meeting has been moved to next week!)
- Thunder Ridge Registration Presentation During History Classes in the Auditorium
- Content and Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Afternoon
- Basketball at the Eagle Rock Junior High Gym @ 4:30 pm (Girls play first)
- History Day Parent Night from 7:00-8:30 pm in the RMMS Vocational Building
- Extended FLEX Schedule (48-minute classes)
* 2nd - 9:32-10:20
* 3rd - 10:24-11:12
* Lunch (7) - 11:12-11:48
* 4:7 - 11:52-12:40
* 4:8 - 11:16-12:04
* Lunch (8) - 12:04-12:40
* 5th - 12:44-1:32
* 6th - 1:36-2:24
* Extended FLEX - 2:24-3:43
- Thunder Ridge Registration for Students During Science Classes in the Library (see e-mail from Nikie)
Important Things After This Week
If you see something that should be here but isn't, make sure to contact us to get it updated!
- Saturday, February 24 - 6th District Cheer Qualifier at Idaho Falls High School
- Thursday, March 1 - Literacy Focus Team Meeting in the Library at 8:00 am
- Wednesday, February 28th - Wednesday, March 7th - The library will be closed for the District Office to use for ESL Testing.
- Friday, March 2 - Last Day of the Trimester - No School (Teacher Work Day)
- Friday, March 2 - National History Day Competition
- Saturday, March 10 - Battle at the Bengal Den at the ISU Reed’s Gym in Pocatello.
- Tuesday, March 13 - D93 Middle School Bond Election
- Monday, March 26 - HOPE Squad Community/Parent Meeting at 7:00 pm in the RMMS Auditorium
Bus Duty Assignments This Week
TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE POLICY REGARDING LOADING AND UNLOADING OUR STUDENTS FROM THE BUSES, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ONE PERSON IS IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING ZONES DURING YOUR BUS DUTY.
Morning (8:15 am - 8:35 am) - Cafeteria, Commons Area, and Outside.
Afternoon (Please come outside as soon as the bell rings.) - South end of the building, Right out front where you can see toward the south end and north end of the building, and in front of the pavilion near the bus loading. This allows all assigned for bus duty to see all of the major areas where students congregate to wait. The essential area to be monitored is the south end (side) of the building. The first few minutes are critical as far as the need for supervision. If there are four people assigned, the fourth person can help where needed.
- Amber Harris (by the buses on the south end of the building)
- Janae Shaffer (by the buses near the pavilion)
- Juan Navarro (by the buses in the center near the main entrance)
The Following Week's Bus Duty Assignment:
- Ken Moeller (by the buses near the pavilion)
- Rob Powell (by the buses on the south end of the building)
- Angie Pipinich (by the buses in the center near the main entrance)
Upcoming IEP/504 Meetings
These meetings are on your Outlook calendar, but this is a reminder of what you have this week. If for some reason, you are unable to attend due to extenuating circumstances, please contact the person whose room the meeting is in prior to the meeting. Unless identified, meetings start as soon as possible after school.
- Tuesday, February 20 - None
- Wednesday, February 21 - None
- Thursday, February 22 - 3:50 pm - Rm. 32 - Elordi, Rothwell, Williams, J. Navarro, Jessen, Skoien
- Friday, February 23 - None
New Items to Be Aware of:
You all should have received a training module of sexual misconduct for staff to student. Our district is required to show that each of our staff members participated in training of this nature. It will take about 30 minutes, but it is good training with regard to not putting yourself in an uncomfortable position as well as providing direction as far as what to do if you believe someone else is demonstrating inappropriate behaviors with a student. Please try to complete this as soon as you can.
We are in need of judges for Regional History Day which is hosted by Rocky Mountain Middle School each year. Please see previous newsletters for more information. We need judges! You don't have to have any historical knowledge, just a willingness to help. We would need a time commitment from you from 8am-1pm on Friday, March 2nd. We will even serve you lunch! We know this is a teacher workday, but we would sure appreciate anyone who would be willing to help us out. Let Rona Johnson or Jami McLing know if you are interested and willing. This is a great opportunity for student teachers as well!
The counselors from Thunder Ridge High School would like to come and do registration for their students this week. The plan is for the counselors to meet with the students from Thunder Ridge during their History class on Wednesday. Students will report to the auditorium that day to get the information about registration. On Friday, the students will come down to the library during their Science class to actually register. On Friday, the counselors will want 5 – 10 students from each class at a time. If you have an assignment the students can work on during the rest of the hour that would be great. It will probably take 10 – 20 minutes for each student to complete the registration.
Old Items to Be Aware of:
- We have received the annual car raffle tickets that clubs, groups, and classes can use as a fundraiser. These are really awesome because the group keeps 100% of their ticket sales! If you need some or are interested, contact Thomas in the office.
- The Board voted and approved a bond to build a middle school and to fund essential projects including a new parent drop-off loop at Falls Valley, replacing the roof at Iona, and beginning the design work to renovate Hillcrest and Bonneville. The election for the bond will be Tuesday, March 13th.
- Here is the link to the fire drill procedural map and the evacuation procedural map. Here is also an updated roster for who is in which zones as well.
- With many transitions happening this year and in coming years, the district would like all teachers to know that they can view all available job openings at www.d93jobs.com. Also for your information, they are updating the district hiring procedures so that jobs will only be posted for 7 calendar days.
- Click here for information about the Idaho Master Teacher Premium if you are interested in working toward that. Since our district will be following the state model, nothing is actually done through the school or district.
- Please use the following links to assist in any preparation you may need for JPAS: JPAS Annual Orientation, Color Coded Domains IV and V, Professional Development Materials by Indicator (JPAS). In addition, anyone who appears on this spreadsheet must complete Domains IV and V (the portfolio/interview portion).
HOPE Squad Training
Professional Development
Grants and Other Opportunities
The Idaho Humanities Council is opening applications for major and mini-grants, research fellowships, and teacher incentive grants for projects and programs exploring literature, history, law, cultural anthropology, and other humanities disciplines. Please find more information here and here.
If you are interested in starting an after-school program to help enrich our students' lives during non-school hours, the Idaho State Department of Education is accepting grant applications for next year. Click on the grant application for more information.
CenturyLink Teachers and Technology Grant Site- Through this program, pre-K through 12th-grade teachers in public, private and/or charter schools in CenturyLink local service areas are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $5,000 to implement innovative technology solutions in their classrooms.
- Go to CapEdFoundation.org for instructions on how to apply for a Teacher Grant. The deadlines are the 1st of each month from September until March.