Mustang Roundup
September 23, 2020
Dear Mustangs,
We are off to an awesome school year! We realize this beginning of school has been like no other, but please remember this too shall pass. Our teachers, administrators and staff continue to be committed to helping every child achieve at the highest level possible. Thank you for your flexibility and patience as we navigate these uncharted waters. We are planning a virtual Open House for the beginning of October. Please continue to read the Mustang Roundup and listen for ParentLink phone messages. If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call at 803-985-1650 or send an email.
September and October A/B Day Calendars are below for your convenience.
Early Leave Day
School Pictures
B Day Students will have their picture taken on Wednesday, October 21
Virtual Students with last names beginning with letters A - L can have their picture taken at the school on Wednesday, October 21 between 11:45 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Parents may park in the front parking lot (car rider entrance). Students may enter through the side door at the cafeteria. Parents are asked to wait in their vehicles while students get their picture taken.
Virtual Students with last names beginning with M - Z can have their picture taken at the school on Thursday, October 22 between 11:45 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Parents may park in the front parking lot (car rider entrance). Students may enter through the side door at the cafeteria. Parents are asked to wait in their vehicles while students get their picture taken.
* Electronic forms for ordering pictures will be available soon. More information to come.
Progress Reports
B Day students will receive their progress report on Wednesday, October 7th.
CogAT and IOWA Testing
COvid-19 Update:
Tracking COVID-19 in Our District
Last week the district shared a dashboard of information regarding DHEC data along with our district's own dashboard. the DHEC report is updated on Tuesday and Friday and includes data for every school in the state on both cumulative and rolling 30-day counts of confirmed cases.
Our district dashboard COVID-19 Dashboard will be updated daily (excluding holidays) with school-level information and a district summary. This dashboard provides access to everyone seeking the latest and most accurate information. In a time when fear and anxiety continue to be off the charts, we believe it is vital to make this information available to staff, parents, and our community at-large. This presents the unfiltered view of what we are encountering at each campus—the direct impacts to staffing and student instruction. As outlined in our Return to School: A Safe Reopening Plan for Students and Staff, this information will be used to inform and guide internal decisions and conversations regarding a return to in-person five-day-a-week instruction.
When there is a probable or known case in your child's class, you can expect to receive an e-mail notification from your child's principal. Unless your child is determined to be a close contact, there will not be a phone call notificaiton. When appropriate, notifications will take place at the classroom, school, team, and/or district-level. Close contact notifications will be completed by each school nurse.
Key points about the new data include:
- The reporting does not mean that students, faculty or staff contracted the virus at school.
- Unlike a nursing home, where residents live at the facility, students, teachers and faculty come and go from school and are active in their community and could come into contact with the virus outside of a school setting.
- The reporting will include kindergarten through 12th grade students in private and public schools
- At this time, college students will not be captured in these reports, although several colleges and universities are choosing to announce cases on their websites. Students residing in South Carolina to go to school are included in South Carolina’s daily numbers, reported out by county based on current address.
- Only those individuals who physically attend school on a regular basis will be included in the counts
- Sports coaches, tutors, part-time employees, kitchen staff, custodial and maintenance workers and other school employees with a physical presence in schools will be included in these reports. Those students who participate in virtual instruction but are on campus regularly for extracurricular activities will also be included.
- Some school districts, including Rock Hill, may choose to self-announce cases before they are reflected in DHEC’s twice-weekly reports
- There may be in a delay in what cases are included in DHEC’s online reporting, as the agency works to receive the information, review it and confirm it before presenting it online.
Desk Shields
cub scouts
- Cub Scouts enjoy great adventures and fun activities with kids their own age in a family-friendly environment. Scouting leads to new friends, strong values, and increased self-esteem. Maximize your child’s ability to succeed in life. All kindergarten through fifth grade boys and girls are invited to sign-up on September 23 or 24, 2020 via Zoom. Let Cub Scouting be your foundation for success!
Visit www.adventurestartshere.org to register for our upcoming Zoom recruitments!
Bus Transportation
For Phone Support, call 803-980-2022.
For Email Support, message bushelp@rhmail.org.
The 2020-2021 school year will require significant changes to keep students and teachers safe. This starts in the morning and ends in the afternoon when students ride the bus to and from school. Per the guidelines released by the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE), ridership will be a maximum of 67% of standard capacity; buses will be loaded back to front; roof vents and windows will be opened to maximize ventilation; and students and drivers will be required to wear masks. Take a moment to review the DHEC and SCDE school bus protocols at DedicationtoEducation.com and our district's plans available in our Return to School: A Safe Reopening Plan for Students & Staff guide (pages 38-41).
Request bus transportation and monitor your child's bus route on the MyStop App. This tool will allow parents and students to see exactly where the bus is on morning and afternoon routes. This helps to reduce wait times at bus stops and ensures parents know where children are in the afternoon when conditions beyond our control cause transportation delays. For additional information, please visit our Transportation website. Download Today for Apple or Android!
Transportation information can be accessed for your student(s) using E-Link and MyStop.
E-Link must be accessed first before you can access MyStop.
You can access more information to set up the account here
Free Breakfast and lunch for all!
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting hardships placed on families, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted us the ability to feed all students for free. The Emergency Seamless Summer Option program, or SSO, has been approved to allow all enrolled students to receive a free lunch and breakfast every day. This program has been extended through December 31, 2020, or until federal funds run out. Once the program ends we will continue our participation in the National School Lunch Program in which students pay based off of their meal status. We will begin serving free meals starting on Tuesday, September 8.
For families who have added funds their K12 Payment Center meal pay accounts, you have the option to request a refund or leave funds in the account so you're ready when the free meals program ends later this year. To request a refund, please contact our Food Services Department.
School menus, including nutritional information, are available on the district website and the Rock Hill Schools mobile app.
Students in the Virtual Academy are able to order meals for pickup at select locations. For more about online ordering, watch this video.
Technology/District Laptop Support
For General Technology Support, call 803-324-TECH. For RHSVA Students Only, call 803-324-RHSV. As we adjust to new routines and processes, our Technology Services team aims to provide support to ensure students have access to a laptop for use at school and home. District-wide we support more than 20,000 devices, and are prepared to meet your needs. New this year, families may call our technology support hotline at 803-324-TECH (8324). Additionally, students and families participating in our Virtual Academy have a dedicated number for support. If there is a technology question specific to the RHSVA, please contact 803-324-RHSV (7478). If your child's district-issued laptop is in need of repairs, please call 803-324-TECH. In the event the laptop needs to be worked on by a technology team member, you will be asked to bring the laptop to the Flexible Learning Center located at 1234 Flint Street Extension.
Hot spot application form
**Please only apply once.
Contact Us
Interim Principal - Seberina Myles: smyles@rhmail.org
Assistant Principal - Heather Jackson: hjackson@rhmail.org