Rocket News
September 2022
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A letter from your Principal
Hello Royal Oaks Caregivers and Welcome Back!
We hope you all had a great summer--one where you were able to relax and recharge. We are excited for this year!
Let's start with a BIG WOW to all of you! The 7:40 start time (7:30 drop off) has not been an issue at all here at Royal Oaks. Nice job on getting the year started off on the right foot. It has been a really solid start to the year....one of the best in my humble opinion.
As we transition into our first full week next week, please keep in mind the importance of a healthy diet and consistent bedtimes. I am sure many of our Rockets, especially the youngest, have been coming home pretty tired. Their stamina will build as the year goes. Keep up the good work!
A highlight (at least for me) has been the opportunity to celebrate the great choices our Rockets are making by showing the Rocket Way. We celebrated this morning at our first Rocket Rally. Our Rocket Way consists of five major themes that we define and acknowledge with specific feedback. Our Rocket Way themes are:
Cooperation,
Assertiveness,
Responsibility
Empathy,
Self Control
I encourage Every Child to strive to earn at least one Rocket Award a year. Defining, teaching and acknowledging the Rocket Way is a great way to educate the "whole child"--something we believe strongly in here at Royal Oaks. Not only do we want our Rockets to excel at reading, writing, and math, but we want them to be able to:
- work with others, be a good friend, and problem solve with others (Cooperation)
- ask for help when you need it, try your best even when things are hard (Assertiveness)
- do the things you're supposed to do, make positive choices (Responsibility)
- understand how others are feeling even when you aren't in the same situation (Empathy)
- use your tools or strategies to be ready to learn (Self Control)
Royal Oaks is a great place to learn and work because of the efforts of everyone involved--students, staff, and caregivers. One of the reasons, I believe, Royal Oaks is a great place is because we communicate with each other and work together to make a strong community. Please continue to reach out with any questions you may have in order to make this year a great year for your child.
I look forward to working with all of you to make this year the best one yet!
Thanks for all you do and we will see you at the Rocket Run on Thursday, September 29th!
Go Rockets!
Click the link below to follow the School Facebook Page! Our page is filled with updates, reminders, and fun photos of our Rockets!
Royal Oaks Family Engagement Plan
Parents/Caregivers are partners in the educational journey of every child, every day. The collaboration of our staff and families is fundamental to supporting students to achieve their highest potential. To that end, we are seeking input from our Royal Oaks families in order to create a Family Plan that is inclusive of all and engaging for our families. Please keep your eyes open for an opportunity to participate in the creation of our Royal Oaks Family Engagement Plan. We will likely use some of our ROSCO meeting time to discuss and create. Stay Tuned.
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks for all you do!
Subs Needed!
As we prepare to start the year we are in need of awesome subs to help take care of our students when staff are out. Are you looking for a new opportunity? Do you know someone looking? Can you help spread the word? Please help us get the word out so that we can ensure that our students have the very best people supporting them even on days staff (teachers or support staff) need to be out. Having an ample supply of fantastic subs is also a great way to support our staff by allowing them peace of mind when they are out. Contact mtiseli@sunprairieschools.org with any interest/questions or contacts.
SEL Spotlight:
I am Jeannie Morriss, the new school counselor at Royal Oaks. Each month I’ll be sharing about the social emotional learning our school community is doing. Social emotional learning (SEL) is all about teaching and practicing the skills we need to care for each other, take care of our own feelings and needs, solve problems peacefully and become lifelong learners. Again this year, teachers will be teaching Second Step, a research- and evidenced-based curriculum to teach these skills. Throughout the school year, students will learn about growth mindset, goal setting, emotion management, empathy, kindness and problem solving. In our first unit, Growth Mindset and Goal Setting, students will learn how to pay attention, manage distractions, develop a growth mindset and practice goal-setting strategies. To learn more about Second Steps, check out the introduction letter listed below. As a school we will also be learning about our school-wide expectations of compassion, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy and self-control and practicing these expectations throughout the school. This week and next, classes visited different areas of the school to practice what the Rocket Way looks like in each area. Please reach out to me at 608-834-7266 or jhwinte@sunprairieschools.org if you have any questions about SEL.
Picture Day-Monday September 19th
Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month
REPORTING AN ABSENCE
Children who attend school regularly and on time are more successful in school as they do not miss important instructional time. These are important life skills to follow. We appreciated all that you do as parents to assist your children with developing positive attitudes and habits about school.
Parent(s)/Caregiver(s) may report a student absence to Royal Oaks by calling our Attendance Line at 608-834-7200, press 1 to report a student absence.
Please do not leave a message on the attendance line after 8:00 AM. You can call Ms. Colón
directly at 608-834-7210 anytime after 8:00 AM to report any absence or a student leaving early.
If we don’t hear from you by this time, we will contact you at home or work. We want to make certain of every child’s safe arrival. We will call every number on your child’s emergency contact list until we can reach someone. Please make sure these contacts stay up to date.
Please leave a short message with the following information:
· Child’s name
· Teacher’s Name or Grade
· Reason for Absence
· Who is calling
Please do NOT call your child’s teacher.
Your child’s absence will be considered UNEXCUSED if:
We do not receive a call or call back regarding your child's absence
If your family is planning an absence, please indicate in writing, the dates that your child will be gone. Send or give this to the main office PRIOR to the day of absence.
Welcome to our new Rockets and shared Rockets!
Charlotte Horant- Instructional Assistant
Karli Johnson- Orchestra Teacher, shared with (CH Bird, ES, CS, PVMS)
Ysarina Rivera- EL Assistant shared with PMMS
Meera Jegadeesan- El Assistant shared with (HE)
Paula Harrold- Cross Cat Teacher
Jeannie Morriss- School Counselor
Liz Olson- Learner Strategist & ALPS
Jacob Plautz- Lead Custodian
School Hours and Days
Monday---7:40 AM-2:40 PM
Tuesday--7:40 AM-2:40 PM
Wednesday-- 7:40 AM-2:40 PM
Thursday--7:40 AM-1:30 PM ( EARLY RELEASE DAY)
Friday--7:40 AM-2:40 PM
( Doors open at 7:30 AM)
Nurse Lori's Oops closet is in need of...
Girls:
Long sleeve tops sz. 7/8
Leggings sz. 8, 12
Shorts or capris sz. 5-12
Socks sz. Medium and Large
Boys:
Long sleeve shirts sz. Small & Large
Hoodies sz. Medium and Large
Safety and Procedures for Visitors & Volunteers
The audio-visual intercom system allows us to keep all exterior doors locked during the school day to monitor who is entering our schools. Once the instructional school day has begun:
All exterior doors will be locked during the school day.
All visitors and/or late arriving students must enter through the main entry doors.
Visitors/students need to push the doorbell button to gain entry.
Office staff will greet the visitor/student via the AV intercom.
Once identity and reason for entry have been confirmed, the individual will be welcomed to enter.
Please wait in the vestibule for your teacher to pick your student up. Please do not go through the office.
The following procedures will be used for visitor management:
Every visitor will be asked to provide photo identification to proceed beyond the office. In the event photo identification cannot be provided, the visitor will be required to remain at the front desk until identification can be verified by an administrator or staff member associated with the visit.
Visitors will be provided with a visitor badge that includes: name, picture, purpose of visit, who they are visiting, room number, and estimated departure time.
Visitors must wear the badge for the duration of their visit and check out at the main office as they leave.
Parents and caregivers who expect to volunteer or chaperone field trips can complete background checks now in preparation for volunteering later in the year. More information can be found on the district’s Volunteering in the District webpage. Once approved, they are placed on the approved volunteer list.
Protective Behaviors
As in previous years, we are continuing our Protective Behaviors program in all SPASD elementary schools. This is an abuse prevention program designed to educate children in the principles of self-protection. Kaitlyn Curtin, the School Social Worker at Royal Oaks, will be leading the classroom presentations. This will consist of a developmentally appropriate video and a follow up discussion. This year we will continue using the Play It Safe! Curriculum. Each classroom at Royal Oaks will have a Protective Behaviors presentation during the month of October. Your child(ren) will bring home a letter the day of the presentation.
Caregiver Information Night - You will have an opportunity to preview the videos on Tuesday, September 20th at Westside Elementary School (1320 Buena Vista Dr.). We will begin at 5:30 p.m. with an overview of the information taught in our Protective Behaviors’ classes and the themes that we teach. This will also be a time for questions and discussion. Then we will have each of the grade level videos set up in an area of the school for you to view the videos that your child(ren) will be seeing. If you have more than one child and would like to see more than one video, please let us know that evening so that we can accommodate you.