October Newsletter
October 1, 2021
Greetings RRHS Parents and/or Guardians,
As the 2021-22 school year started, we were looking forward to bringing normalcy back to our daily routine. Despite the mask mandate and other restrictions due to Covid, we are able to have ALL students and staff back in our building each day, unlike a year ago at this time. Extra-curricular and co-curricular school activities have resumed this fall and are currently in full swing as we close in on the end of the 1st quarter. One great change to the year is seeing the turnout and support of our students at after school activities. They have displayed ‘Rider Pride’ and have brought great energy to these events.
Back on August 25, which seems like a long time ago, we welcomed the freshmen Class of 2025 to Red River. Dr. Arason, Dr. Walters, Mr. Nelson, Officer Robbins, and I met with all the freshmen to review the student handbook, discussed rules, policies, and expectations, and informed them of all the extra and co-curricular opportunities we have to offer here at Red River High School. Dr. Walters and myself have met with sophomores, juniors, and seniors during the month of September to go over school expectations and the code of conduct.
In years past, Mr. Nelson has invited members of our junior and senior classes to be mentors for our freshmen. They receive training and are prepared for their mentorship. Mr. Nelson and his mentors have continued to hold meetings this quarter, following the guidelines to keep everyone safe, during small group discussions. Mentor meetings include topics such as character, leadership, teamwork, and school pride. The mentor meetings take place every other week during the 1st quarter. The mentors become a role model and resource for the members of the group.
As the year continues please follow our academics and activities on the following Twitter accounts, @RRHSActivities and @RRHS_Riders for updates on all that is happening at Red River High School. This years hashtag is #RED (Ride Every Day), meaning that we take advantage of every opportunity and do our best day in and day out!
As always, we appreciate your involvement in your son's/daughter's high school experience as we look forward to a year of growth in the 2021-22 school year.
In 'Rider Pride',
Tony Bina
RRHS Associate Principal, L-Z
Mark Your Calendars!!!
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Fall conferences will take place Thursday, October 7th and Tuesday, October 12th from 4:00pm-7:00pm. There is no set schedule for individual students, so you can come any time that works for your family.
Please see below for a list of teachers that may have limited availability for conferences:
October 7th
Mr. Barta (Choir) will be available AFTER 5:30
Mrs. Black (Speech) will NOT be available
Mr. Glasoe (Math) will NOT be available
October 12th
Mr. Barta (Choir) will be available AFTER 5:30
Mrs. Black (Speech) will NOT be available
Mrs. Holien (Spanish) will NOT be available
Ms. Kraft (Life Skills)) will NOT be available
Mrs. Martin (Aviation) will NOT be available
Mrs. Schreiber (Global Ed) will NOT be available
Mr. Selnes (JROTC) will NOT be available
Picture Make-Up/Retake Day
Picture make-up/retake day is set for Tuesday, October 19th from 9:00am - 10:00am in the Red River Commons.
Other Important Dates
October 13- Early Release
October 20-22- No School (Professional Development/Admin Conferences)
October 27- Early Release
October 29- End of Quarter 1
November 10- Early Release
November 11- No School (Veterans Day)
November 25-26- No School (Thanksgiving Break)
Red River Updates
Attendance Reminders
Now that we have been in school a few weeks, we would like to remind families of attendance procedures:
*When your student is missing school for any non-planned reason:
1. Call the attendance line:
A-K-- 701-746-2409
L-Z-- 701-746-2410
Please leave a voicemail with your child's name, the absence reason, if/when they will return to school, your name and phone number.
2. Have your student contact their teachers via email that they are out of school so they can get any work they may need. Have students also check their Google Classrooms for missed assignments/notes.
*When your student needs to leave school early:
1. Call the attendance line and leave a message.
2. Inform your student of the time they are leaving.
3. Your student should let their classroom teacher know that they are leaving during their class period at the beginning of class.
***Please note- To limit classroom interruptions, the office does not send notes or call into classes to remind students that they are leaving.
*When your student is arriving late (tardy):
1. Students must sign in/out in the main office with their attendance secretary. They will receive a note to give to their teachers about their absence.
*When your student has a planned absence for an extended period of time:
1. Call the attendance line
2. Attendance secretaries will give your student a "pre-excused absence" slip that will require teacher signatures.
3. This slip should be returned to the main office prior to their leave.
HOSA Updates
Exciting news!! We have kicked off the start of the Health Occupations Students of America club, here at Red River with an awesome start. Before I discuss the duration of our meeting I want to introduce the new cabinet for the 2021-2022 school year. Starting off, our president, Avanthi Wujetunga, Claire Huebener (vice president), Katie Evans and Olivia Olson (secretaries), Jordyn Knott (treasurer), Ketevan Chomakhidze (reporter) and last but not least, Molly Petersen (historian). The cabinet has actively tried to get HOSA to be more well known around our school by creating multiple social media accounts, making announcements, putting up posters and informing peers. This paid off at the first meeting on Tuesday, September 21st. The cabinet met a lot of new faces and saw a lot more younger individuals as well as more boys take interest in the club. During the meeting we discussed different ideas of what we could do as an activity for the month of October, and later on had everyone at the meeting vote for what they would like to do most. One of our ideas (which took the lead) was creating gift bags for children in the pediatric unit at Altru, as many of those kids would probably appreciate a little Halloween spirit during hard times. The idea is not set in concrete due to the restrictions of Covid 19, but the cabinet is actively trying to work with the hospital to make this idea come to life. As of now, that sums up our first meeting. We would love to have more people at the next one, and we hope for the rest of the year to be as successful as this past week.
Grand Forks Japan Exchange
Greetings Students and Parents,
Did you know that for the last 28 years we have had an ongoing exchange with a Japanese city? Unfortunately, due to the pandemic we have suspended travel. But to maintain the relationship, this year starting in October, we are exchanging a series of “video letters.” If you would like to send a short message, or a video showing Grand Forks life, perhaps your favorite place in Grand Forks, or you making your favorite recipe, please visit our website or contact the program coordinator.
https://sites.google.com/a/mygfschools.org/sister-city-exchange/ or Jason Hawley jhawley130@mygfschools.org
Performing Arts
District Updates
Parents Lead
Substance Use Prevention Tips
Make sure your child knows your rules — and that you’ll enforce the consequences if rules are broken. Kids are less likely to use nicotine, alcohol, and other substances if their parents have
established a pattern of setting clear rules and consequences.
Source: https://drugfree.org/