Rice Middle School eNews
Friday, February 15, 2019
Rice Middle School Fine Arts Renovation/Construction Beings 2/25!
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 February 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 February 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 February 25, 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.
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.
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!
Collin County Spelling Bee Results!
Congratulations Satvik Mahendra, 8th grade, who placed third in the Collin County Spelling Bee last night. Satvik now moves onto the Dallas Morning News Regional Spelling Bee, which will be held on March 9. We wish him good luck at regionals!
District Science Fair Results
Honorable Mentions:
Mark Yang
Rida Salim
Mihika Mishra
Medha Kandimalla
Manuja Sathish Kumar
Third Place:
Anika Damle
Second Place:
Anusha Batikeri
Aneisha Gupta
Kevin Sun
Katie Yin
Raghav Ramki
First Place:
Jason Xu
Anjali Iyer
Amith Yedavalli
Adil Hussain
Anthony Wang.
CONGRATULATIONS again, and good luck to all 17 students who will compete in the Dallas Regional Science Fair on Feb. 23 at Fair Park.
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.
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
PTA News
A. Time to Sign up for a PTA Membership
While you’re in Membership Toolkit, sign up for your 2018-19 Rice PTA membership. Families need to renew each July 1 for the coming school year. Signing up for PTA doesn’t mean you have to volunteer, although we appreciate those who do.
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.
B. Complete your Volunteer Application Now
Rice Middle School PTA new and returning volunteers for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year must complete an online volunteer application through PISD to be eligible to volunteer. Get a head-start and submit your application today at https://www.pisd.edu/volunteer.
You can also select the Rice opportunities that you are interested in volunteering for through our Rice PTA Membership Toolkit athttps://ricemspta.membershiptoolkit.com/home - just log in and click on the "Volunteering At Rice 2018-19" form to submit your preferences.
Contact volunteers@ricepta.org with questions. Thank you in advance for your service to the students and staff at Rice!
C. Please Continue to Send in Your Box Tops
Hello, Parents, We would like to thank the families who have contributed to the Box Tops fundraiser. With your help, we are expecting to raise money just like previous school years. Thank you!
For this year our target is $500. Please continue to support our school by sending in your Box Tops! It's easy: just tear or cut off the Box Tops logo from your grocery item boxes and have your child bring them to the front desk of the school where a container is there to collect them.
D : Attention Moms of 8th grade boys
The Legacy Chapter of Young Men's Service League is conducting its annual membership drive! Young Men's Service League is an organization of mothers and sons formed to encourage young men to pursue philanthropic involvement in their community and to enhance mother/son relationships. Membership is open to mothers of sons who are entering the 9th and 10th grade in the fall. For more information, please contact Shannon Hodges at shannon.hodges91@gmail.com.
When: Tuesday, February 5th - 6:30 – 7 pm
Where: The Deerfield Clubhouse in Plano
Please like the Rice PTA Facebook page to stay informed about PTA activities!
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
Rice Cheer
We’ve got spirit, yes we do! We’ve got spirit, how ‘bout you? Seventh grade parents and students, we are now recruiting cheerleaders and mascots for the 2019-2020 school year. Do you like showing your school spirit? Are you interested in being a leader on campus? Have you thought about Rice Cheer? If you want to know more information about this exciting, extracurricular activity, please attend the upcoming information meetings for parents and students and get all the details.
Student Interest Meeting (bring your lunch)
Thursday, February 14th
B Lunch - Mrs. Dyer’s room (516)
C Lunch - Ms. Marcus’s room (728)
Mandatory Parent and Student Meeting
Tuesday, February 19th
6:00 PM
Rice Library
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 15
- One Act Play Performance - Rice Cafeteria - 6:30
Thursday, February 14 - Saturday, February 16
- Middle School Basketball Tournaments
Friday, February 22
- Orchestra Pre-UIL Concert - Rice Gym - 6:00
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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