Rice Middle School eNews
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
UPDATE: Fine Arts Renovation/Construction Starts March 4th
As mentioned previously, we are excited to announce new construction taking place at Rice Middle School. There is going to be a new Fine Arts addition and some other campus-wide refurbishment taking place between now and hopefully the beginning of the school year. We have been given a start date of March 2019. While the construction crew will not be entering the building until after the last day of school, they will be outside constructing the new addition. This is going to have a big impact on Rice's traffic pattern. Linked below is a PDF of the new traffic pattern we will be implementing once construction begins.
What to expect?
Construction begins in March for Rice Middle School’s Fine Arts addition, a renovation that was approved as part of Plano ISD’s 2016 Bond Election. The project will add much needed instructional, practice, and storage space in the band, orchestra, and choir areas.
When will construction start and how long will it last?
Construction will start around March 4, 2019, with a completion date in August 2019.
What will the presence of a construction crew look like on campus?
Construction will be mostly outdoors while school is in session with some work being done indoors during spring break and after school lets out for the summer. This schedule provides the contractor the ability to remain isolated from students and staff, while maintaining the everyday functions of the campus inside the building.
How will construction affect what is going on outside of the building?
See the Traffic Plan and explanation.
Please review the plan as there are some major changes:
- There will be no access to the back of the building, meaning the back carpool lane is gone.
- We are going to use the front driveway off of Gifford for bus drop off in the morning and afternoon. No carpool will be allowed in the mornings as well as the afternoons until the buses have exited.
- The bus lane along Russell Creek Drive will now be used as a carpool lane. There will be one-way traffic in this lane and would be best for the Andrews and Skaggs community.
- The driveway on the north side of the building (by the football field) will also be used as a carpool lane. This is a two-way lane, meaning traffic will be entering and exiting at the same location. The exit will be RIGHT TURN only. This lane will be best for the Wyatt community.
- The west side of Gifford (southbound) is still posted as “No Parking, Stopping, Standing, etc.” so please do not drop your children off on that side of the street.
- The east side of Gifford (northbound) is posted as “No Parking” between certain hours of the day (morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up), BUT you can use this as a location to drop your child off in the morning.
We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we make some exciting upgrades to our school.
Rice PTA Volunteers Needed
Rice Middle School is hosting an event on Wednesday, February 20th for approximately 50 Principals. Our PTA would like to show them our warm Rice hospitality and provide breakfast for our visitors. If you are able to provide food and drinks, or would like to help set up and clean up, please sign up below. All items must be dropped off at Rice between 8:00 am and 8:15 am on Wednesday, February 20.Please provide hot food in a crock pot or other heating device to keep it warm, if possible.Thanks for your support! Contact volunteers@ricepta.org with questions.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0e4cabab2aa64-principals1
Rice Makes History!
The Rice students below worked for months to create amazingly detailed and researched projects for the Dallas-area Regional History Fair, which was held on February 16, 2019. Students who placed 1st or 2nd will move on to the state competition in Austin on April 27th.
Individual Essay
Haniyyah Zia
2nd Place Individual Exhibit
Sai Mavankal
3rd Place Individual Exhibit
Dhriti Mittal
1st Place Individual Performance
Madhalasa Iyer
1st Place Group Documentary
Vinod and Vivek Venkataraman
2nd Place Individual Documentary
Suden Prashar
1st Website
Frank Xu and Abraham Zhang
Congratulations again to these students and Adam Dyer, who are in the photo below! We are so proud of your all for your hard work! Good luck as you move forward in the competition!
End of Year Planning
Please be aware of our end of year calendar when making travel arrangements. The last day of school is May 24th and finals are given May 21st-24th. STAAR and End of Course Exams will take place from May 7th-17th. Due to State testing, students will be unable to take their exams early. Students will need to be present during part or all of the week of May 20th in order to complete their school year. We appreciate your understanding and support in making your child's school year successful!
2017-2018 School Report Cards
English
The 2017-2018 School Report Cards for Rice Middle has now been released, and posted to the Rice website. The report provides information concerning student performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), as well as information on student enrollment, class size averages, and financial expenditures. The information contained in the School Report Card is described in the “School Report Card Definitions.” The Federal Report Card is also available at https://tea.texas.gov/FRC.aspx. If you have any questions concerning the School Report Cards, please let us know. Thank you for your continued support of Rice!
Spanish
Los boletines de informe del gobierno del Estado de Texas del 2017-2018 para la escuela Rice han sido publicados en el sitio de internet Rice website. El reporte proporciona información sobre el rendimiento de los estudiantes en la prueba STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) que es el nombre del programa de evaluación académica para los estudiantes en las escuelas públicas de Texas, así como información sobre estudiantes inscritos, tamaño promedio de la clase y gastos financieros. La información contenida en el reporte de progreso de la escuela es requerida por la ley estatal y se describe en las "definiciones del boletín de informe de la escuela". Si usted tiene alguna pregunta acerca del boletín de informe de la escuela, por favor háganoslo saber. Gracias por su apoyo continúo a la escuela Rice.
PTA News
A. Lunch Duty
The staff would like help supervising students at lunch, to include include playing games with the kids, talking to them, reminding them to recycle and stack trays neatly, and asking them to be seated if not getting food/throwing away trash. If you are able to help, please sign up for a shift here:https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0e4cabab2aa64-lunch
B. We need 14 new members by February 19th to win a XOXO award. You could be that 14th member so don't wait and sign up at http://ricepta.org.
C: 2019-2020 Rice PTA Board
Our nominating committee is also looking for members to serve on next year's PTA Board and make the 2019-2020 school year a wonderful one for our Rice Ravens! Available officer positions include:
· President
· Treasurer
· VP of Membership
· VP of Programs
· VP of Ways & Means
· VP of Volunteers
Please feel free to contact volunteers@ricepta.org if you are interested in serving or would like more information about any of these positions and other chairs like Communication and Copy Room Coordinator.
Follow us on Facebook and Like Rice PTA Facebook page to stay informed about PT
AVID Parent/Student Information Night
DATE Change: AVID Parent/Student Information Meeting, February 27th
Is your student Interested in AVID for the 2019-2020 school year? Would you like to know more about the AVID program?
Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) is a yearlong elective that teaches study skills, provides in class tutorials, encourages leadership and community service, and requires students to participate in courses of rigor. Recruitment for the 2019-2020 school year will get underway soon. If you are interested in your child joining AVID next year, or would just like more information, please attend the Parent/Student Information Night on Wednesday, February 27th, at 6 PM in the library. Our AVID coordinator, Mrs. Dyer, will present information about AVID at Rice and the high school level. Current and former Rice AVID students will share their experiences as well.
What: AVID Parent/Student Information Night
When: Wednesday, February 27th, 6 PM
Where: Rice Library
Mark Your Calendars: Spring Open House
Please join us for Spring Open House on March 4th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. This is a wonderful opportunity to mingle with teachers, view student work, and see what your child has been and will be studying. There is no set schedule for event. Parents may come and go as they would like.
Plano Arts Summer Art Enrichment Program: Pre-Approval Enrollment List
Check the Lost & Found
Hey students! We need you to check the lost & found right away! We have jackets, lunch boxes and binders galore! They need to find their home and be returned pronto! Please check the lost & found in the cafeteria and in each grade level as well. Items will be donated by Friday, March 11th.
Important Information from Nurse Yang
Attention 6th Graders:
Please read this linked letter for required immunizations in order to enter 7th grade. A separate parent letter with your child's detail immunization requirements will be mailed to you in March 2019. These required immunizations are due by last day of school, 5/24/2019. You can also view your child's current immunization record on file with the school on https://parentviewer.pisd.edu/
Flu Season Is Here!
To learn more about seasonal influeza, please click on the link below:
https://www.pisd.edu/cms/lib/TX02215173/Centricity/Domain/233/Influenza2014-2018A.pdf
Guidelines for Exclusion due to Communicable Disease
Communicable Diseases – Exclusion from school for health reasons
Mean Green Summer Debate Camp
Flexible Seating
Are you looking to clean out old items and can’t find a buyer on Facebook? We have the solution for you! We have some teachers experimenting with flexible seating and are looking for some donations (stools, comfy chairs, exercise balls, mats, whatever it may be) to give a try. You can bring these items to the front office and we will let the teachers know they are available.
Student Events for the Next Two Weeks
Friday, February 22
- Orchestra Pre-UIL Concert - Rice Gym - 6:00
Saturday, February 23
- One Act Play Contest - Jasper HS
- Rice Ravenclaw FTC regional championship at Wylie East HS - more info found here
Wednesday, February 27
- Choir Pre-UIL - PWSH - 5:00
Eco Club News
Bottle Caps and Tin Cans!
The Eco-Club @ Rice needs plastic bottle caps of all sizes and colors. We also need tin cans of all sizes. Please wash them and bring them to Room 817. We appreciate your help. Thank you.
Cartridges and Electronic Devices
The Eco-Club at Rice is participating in a program called Cartridges for kids. They are a Product Recover Service that collects ink cartridges, cellphones, laptops, Ipods, tablets, ereaders, to provide help to children in need. Please consider donating any of these items instead of disposing them once they are no longer being used. For more information visit: http://www.cartridgesforkids.com/
Helpful Links!
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