Quist Weekly News
March 11, 2022
Dear ROYALS Families,
As we wrap up the third quarter and prepare for Spring Break and the final quarter of the school year a number of things are happening. This week’s news contains important information about Conferences, Upcoming CMAS testing, and our Spring Parent Survey.
Conferences
Teachers will be available on Monday, March 14th from 12:30p - 6:30p, with limited additional appointments times throughout the week.
From 12:30p - 3:30p we will have a scheduled conference in person or virtual option. To schedule your appointments or access zoom links for virtual sessions, please click HERE. Please note you must indicate in the comments section if you are wanting a virtual or in-person appointment. The ZOOM links for virtual sessions are in the document HERE.
Then from 3:30p - 6:30p we will have 3-5 minute arena-style conferences (Conferences take place first come, first served). Please be prepared to wait. Out of respect for everyone's time, our teachers will be keeping conferences to 3-5 minutes. This means you should expect to meet for a total of 15-25 minutes combined for all subjects.
6th/7th Grade will meet at their Pathways classroom for core subjects, Explore classrooms for Explore Learning
8th Grade will have individual rooms/meetings for all subjects
Please click here for a map of teacher locations
If March 14th doesn’t work for you, please email your child’s Pathways teacher, they will assist you with finding another way to meet. This also applies to those that are needing additional time.
CMAS testing
When we return from Spring Break, we will begin our State testing window. As indicated in our assessment schedule here, this year is back to the full battery of CMAS assessments: Math, English Language Arts in all grade levels, and Science in 8th grade.
This year’s state testing will be our school’s second typical assessment year. As a school, we value the information we gain from these assessments. Here are a few ways State assessments help your child, our school, and our district.
You and our educators will be able to see how your child is learning compared to other students across our district and our state as well as how your child is progressing towards grade level expectations.
Your child will be able to practice test-taking skills with this type of test to prepare them for their immediate future (SAT, ASVAB, Industry Certification Assessments) and beyond.
The data collected helps our administrative and district teams determine if curriculum and instruction practices are working.
Finally, the results are used to assess our school and provide a rating.
These state tests are administered electronically where the students use their Chromebooks to take the exams. This means that it is imperative that students have their Chromebooks and chargers with them each day and that students charge their Chromebooks fully each night for the following day. Please help us give your student the best chance to show all they know by having Chromebooks ready to go.
If a student forgets their Chromebook or if it loses battery life during the testing periods, they will have to be sequestered away from their classes until all the tests are done that day. They will then have to wait for make-up testing that could extend the time of testing for them through the end of April and miss several of their classes during that time.
Our goal is to support our students in their participation in these assessments and to make as little an impact on their school day as possible. Should you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at tnorrisbuck@sd27j.net.
Parent Survey
This year we have faced many challenges due to many factors that are beyond our control. Regardless, our mission remains the same “Develop Hearts & Minds”. We are committed to this vision because we believe that EVERY single one of our ROYALS matters. We believe that they have what it takes to be the leaders of tomorrow and will continue to work diligently to help them get there.
I believe this pandemic has done a lot more damage to our students than I'd like to admit. Coming back, they have struggled to engage in the learning and to interact with each other in a safe and respectful manner. We are having to re-learn how to be kind to each other. We have had to re-learn how to be respectful of each other. And, more importantly, we have had to re-learn how to be learners. The journey has been challenging for our entire community.
As we continue to focus on the things that we can control and improve our practice, we need your help. Your input (your voice) is invaluable to us. We know that there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Our entire ROYALS staff will continue to be All-In, but in this process, we need you to help us. Please take a minute to fill out THIS survey. The results of this survey will be used to help us improve our current practices.
Thank you for completing the Spring 2022 Parent Survey by clicking HERE.
In closing, a wonderful way to show appreciation for our teachers is by providing dinner/snacks during conferences. Our PAC voted to continue with our tradition of conference dinner donation envelopes. Unfortunately, our vendor has been delayed in shipping the envelopes. Thanks to our advertising sponsors, we have been able to fund conference dinners. We could still use your help! Using sponsor funds decreases our ability to fund some important items needed at Quist. We are looking to fund additional radios for ROYAL patrol, and items for teacher appreciation week in May. Therefore, we plan to move forward with collecting envelopes when we return from Spring Break. Additional details will be sent in the coming weeks.
Have a great weekend! We look forward to meeting with you next week.
Best,
Trina Norris-Buck, Ed.S.
Lead Learner/Principal
Quist Athletics - Spring Athletic Registration Now OPEN!
Wrestling:
End of season celebration is March 17th. Quist will purchase pizza; here is a Sign-up Genius if you are able to donate drinks, chips, or a sweet treat. All items must be store-bought (for a list of ingredients) and individually wrapped.
Soccer/Track:
All matches/meets have been added to our school website - please check there for schedules of events.
Parent Volunteers - Track has a heavy volunteer need - please contact Kate Brown (cbrown@sd27j.net) if you are available to assist in timing/recording results/measuring.
Soccer Referees - Please contact me if you have experience as a soccer referee. I will put you in contact with our contractor, Mile High Officials.
First practice - Friday, March 18. All of our coaches are teachers and they have conferences on Tues-Thurs - this is the reason for starting practice on this date
Meeting for families is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, 5:45 - 6:15. Please come meet the coaches, learn about eligibility, sign up for volunteer opportunities, and ask any questions you may have!
All Sports:
Pictures have been scheduled - track will be April 8 and Soccer will be April 15. Please stay tuned for links for optional purchases.
Please check IC for fees that need to be paid. All fees must be paid before participation in contests can happen. Please bring payment (cash or check) to the RQMS main office. Please contact Kate Brown if you have questions.
Athletes must have a current physical submitted (FamilyID or brought to the RQMS office) before any participation in either practice or contests can happen.
Eligibility is pulled on Thursdays and shared with athletes during practices on Fridays. If an athlete is not eligible, this impacts next week's games. In order to become eligible, the athlete needs to complete an Eligibility Rubric (here is the link) AND improve the grade in the classes with D or F grades. 2 or more Ds or 1 F is considered ineligible. Additionally, an athlete could be ineligible if they are not showing RISE/ROAR behaviors in their classes. If there are concerns, teachers will communicate with families about what is happening and coaching will be provided to show improvement. Rubrics are also available in the office and from coaches.
Thank you for all of your support and grace! We couldn't do this without you!!
Catherine "Kate" Brown
Activities/Athletics Director
Rodger Quist Middle School
(720) 507-6209 - Google Voice (can receive text messages)
Classwork Assistance
Open Enrollment
Quist Middle School
Email: gmartin@sd27j.net
Website: sd27j.org/quist
Location: 13451 Yosemite Street, Thornton, CO, USA
Phone: 303-655-6950
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Quist-Middle-School-810932252446307/