Rochester Middle School
April Newsletter
📆IMPORTANT DATES 📆
April Dates
- April 3rd- Early Release Day
- April 5th-7th- Beauty and the Beast Play
- April 6th- Saturday School
- April 11th- CTE Fair for 6th and 7th grade
- April 13th- Saturday School
- April 22-26 Spring Break
Upcoming in May
- May 8th- Early Release Day
- May 27th- Memorial Day No School
Check back throughout the month for updates.
Dear RMS Community-
We are in the month of April! This month seems like it is going to move fast with the addition of our April break.
April brings Spring sports and two Saturday School sessions on April 6th and April 13th. We also have the RMS presentation of Disney Jr.'s Beauty and the Beast at Spaulding High School on the weekend of April 5th-7th. There are a lot of amazing students working hard on this performance!
Leading up to April break, we have the RMS Olympics grade-level competitions. Dave Colson, Tracy Smith, and Kelsey Lloyd have worked hard in getting this set up, and teams are preparing for these competitions that happen every two years. I look forward to seeing it for the first time!
Respectfully,
Ryan Gilpatrick
Nursing News
April is Stress Awareness Month. We see a lot of anxiety and physical ailments that are brought on by stress. As adults and parents it is easy to forget that our students do experience stress and observe how we react to stressful moments. They observe the adults around them and sometimes take on those feelings of anxiety that we are showing.
We especially see this in our 8th graders as they prepare to move onto the high school. As adults we can help our students to recognize the signs of stress and anxiety and help by giving and showing them tools to help relieve some of that stress.
Here are some healthy ways to relieve stress for anyone, young and old:
Exercise, eat right, and get enough sleep
Use the 3, 3, 3 rule in the moment: name 3 things you can see, 3 things you can feel, and 3 things you can hear. This helps to ground you and focus on the present moment.
Take a break from all media including social media. With everything that is happening in our country and around the world, this can cause stress and anxiety in our teens, especially if they are watching how the adults in their lives are reacting to it.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and drugs.
Draw
Listen to music
Write in a journal
Spend time with friends and loved ones
Breathing techniques. These can be found by searching the internet. There are several different breathing techniques to try to find one that fits you best..
Saturday School Rules
STEAM CLUB
Steam Club will meet in room 145
6th grade will meet on Mondays 2:30-3:30
7th & 8th grade will meet on Tuesdays 2:30-3:30
RMS Book Club
The RMS Book Club kicks off April with some travel stories: A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck and Mosquitoland by David Arnold. Join us on Tuesday, April 2nd in the library from 2:30-3:15 to discuss these fun reads. Refreshments will be served.
Eclipse Resources
In case you haven’t heard, a partial solar eclipse will be visible from Rochester on April 8th 2:15ish - 4:30ish with 95% totality in Rochester around 3:30pm. Here are some resources for you and your students!
Rochester Public Library April 3rd Teen Eclipse Program
The teen librarian at the Rochester Public Library, Amy Lemelin, is hosting a Teen Eclipse program on April 3rd at 12:30 pm (We have an Early Release Day.) Teens who participate will get a pair of eclipse glasses they can use the following Monday to view the eclipse.
This sheet gives eclipse watchers good safety tips on watching an eclipse, and information about how an eclipse occurs.
Earth as a System from My NASA Data
For those who may want to do more with eclipses, this website offers mini-lessons, interactives and lesson plans for all things eclipse related, including creating some really funky eclipse glasses shades that make sure you don’t look directly at the sun.
One minute video showing the partial eclipse
This video shows what the eclipse will look like from Rochester with 95% totality at 3:30pm.
One last reminder…
Since Rochester won’t be in the path of totality, it is really important to stress to your students that they cannot look at the eclipse at any point without proper eyewear. Regular sunglasses are not good enough. Retina damage can occur and you won’t even feel it, so make sure you protect your eyes during this event.
Special NELMS Update
Last year a team from New England League of Middle Schools came to RMS to observe and assess, handing us a report of areas that are working and areas that need improvement. A team of 17 staff members met during the Summer of 2023 to finalize 3 goals based off of the report. As a staff we have been working on improving in the areas of Instruction, Culture and Climate, and Safety. In addition, the group was responsible for suggesting an advisory as an option into our daily schedule.
In Early March, Ms. DeTroia, Mrs.Keller, and Mr. Maserati attended a scheduling conference provided by NELMS. Here they looked at our current schedules, comparing it to other programs. They left with ideas and plans to improve RMS' daily schedule.
On March 24th-26th, RMS staff members attended the NELMS annual Conference in Springfield, MA. Here staff members were able to hear keynote speakers and attend breakout workshops on the adolescent brain, social-emotional learning, and information about advisories. I was in attendance with Adam Black, Caryn Costello, Al Spader, Lea Marshall, Marie Bahlert, Sandi McPadden, Kayla Roy, and Kathy Cotton.
We are excited to bring back more ideas and continue to improve our SEL and advisory work!
Student drop-of and pick-up
Please be mindful of driving safely when dropping and picking up students at Rochester Middle School. We have had some concerns expressed particularly about pick-up after 2:30 pm for intramurals, clubs, music, and sports.
Bus Information
All bus questions including routes, drivers, pick up and drop off times should be directed to the bus companies listed here.
Safeway (603) 382-0600
Student Transportation (603) 509-2904