The RMS Runway
January 15, 2024
Volleyball Tournament!
On December 22, 400 students participated in the annual volleyball tournament, our greatest turnout to date! Students formed their own teams and competed in a double elimination bracket hoping to be crowned the student champions. After a full day of athleticism and school spirit, the Bojangles finished in first place followed by runners up, OTF, Only the Family.
Teachers Win the Finals!
The Bojangles faced the staff team in the culminating event. The Bojangles fought hard, but came up short. Congratulations to the staff team champions! Thank you to all of our participants for a successful tournament! The event raised $455 for the Dracut Food Pantry.
School Spirit on Display!
8th grader Kelsey Hudon was a force on the court.
Project 351
RMS Ambassador: Lucas Hart
On Saturday, January 13, 2024, eighth grade RMS Project 351 Ambassador Lucas Hart was one of 351 ambassardors from across Massachusetts who attended Launch Day, celebrating the first day of what will be a year of service work. Lucas spent the day in Boston at the JFK Library, attending a program honoring Dr. Martin Luther King & Coretta Scott King. Speakers at the event included Governor Maura Healy and other community leaders and changemakers.
A Day of Service
Lucas was nominated by teachers was selected him to represent RMS and the Dracut Community. Lucas and Principal McGuinness worked alongside hundreds of volunteers to distribute food to Chelsea residents.
La Colaborativa
After the morning program, Lucas and Principal McGuinness engaged in an afternoon of service at La Colaborativa, a Latina-led organization that partners with Latinx immigrants in Greater Boston to provide a number of programs including food distribution, housing security, health and education programs serving immigrant communities. Next up: Lucas will be coordinating a spring clothing drive to benefit Cradles to Crayons!
December Students of the Month
Congratulations to the following students:
Pheonyx Acosta, Anna-Maria Badia, Karla Brambila, Michael Buote, Kelsey Coger, Fabiola de Souza, Matteo Dos Santos, Anthony Driscoll, Jayden Dubey, Madison Furtado, Carston Gardner, Alyani Irizarry De Leon, Conner Jewer, Jayvien Kim, Lasonya Koy, Nolan Mann, Nikki Meletlidis, Teagan Mello, Victoria Mercer, Marvin Mikhael, Benjamin Newbury, Mackenzie O'Connell, Faithful Oladele, Mia Parra Schuurman, Cailin Rivard, Ryann Rourke, Josef Salvo, Joseph Simpson, Timothy Tedesco, Maddox Tripp, Kevin Tully, Sulaiman (Junior) Turay and Dylan Walsh
How is a student selected for student of the month? Teachers nominate students who demonstrate one or more of the Community of Caring values: Caring, Respect, Responsibility, Trust & Family. Students receive a certificate and attend a breakfast on the last Friday of the month.
Eighth Grade NAEP Testing: February 6, 2024
National Assessment of Educational Progress
Richardson Middle School will be participating in NAEP testing on February 6, 2024. NAEP, is a national assessement of what our nation's students know and can do in various subject areas. A group of randomly selected eighth grade students will participate in math or reading. Results will be released at the national, state, and district letters. NAEP is not designed to report individual student results. Families will receive a letter from the school the week of January 22, 2024 if their child was selected to participate. The testing takes approximately ninety minutes. For their participation, students will receive a certificate of community service.
Attendance
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to have success in school. When students are not present in school, they miss out on instructional opportunities and may not make adequate academic progress. Some students may disengage from learning as they get further off-track and may even drop out of school in the future. While there are justified reasons a child may miss school, such as an illness, RMS is here to work with and support families to ensure that their student regularly attends school.
Students are considered chronically absent if they miss more than 10% of school days. The school calendar includes180 days. A student missing 18 or more days per school year is considered chronically absent. If this pattern continues year after year, the student will have significant gaps in their learning. Prior to COVID, during the 2018-2019 school year, 11.76% of RMS students were considered chronically absent. COVID caused a dramatic rise in the number of chronically absent students. During the 2021-2022 school year, 23.44% of RMS students were chronically absent. This dropped to 14.27% during the 2022-2023 school year, but despite the drop, the number still remains too high.
RMS adminsrators regularly monitor student attendance. Letters and/or phone calls are sent at a minimum of each quarter to keep families informed of any excessive student absences. Our aim is to uphold the expectation that students attend school and prevent a student from becoming chronically absent. Families are strongly encouraged to reach out to RMS if they need assistance, we are here to help.
i-Ready
Students will be taking their mid-year i-Ready assessments in math and reading. The assessment window opened on January 8, 2024 and mid-year assessments will be completed by February break. Students are expected to put forth their best effort so that teachers will have accurate student achievement information. We look forward to celebrating student growth in both subjects!
Students who have SOAR blocks on their schedules have time during the school day to work on their personalized learning paths. Why are the personalized learning paths important? The personailzied learning paths provide students with lessons based on their individual skill levels and needs so your student can learn at a pace that is right for them. This work provides students with additional practice and reinforcements in math and reading. Students who would like to work on their personalized learning pathways may also join the after school program with Mrs. Butler. This free program meets every Monday after school. Families who would like additional information about i-Ready should reach out to their student's teachers and/or administrators. There are also online resources for families, please see the link below.