October RBHS BRIDGE Communication

Mission: Rock Bridge High School is a community in which ALL students and staff inspire each other to become lifelong learners.

Homecoming is in the rearview mirror, and it will be November when we return next week. Before we know it, our 1st semester will be wrapping up and students will be preparing for their final end of unit assessments. Please talk with your students about setting appropriate academic goals for themselves as we near the end of this semester.

Below you will find information about the following.

• October Attendance Update
• Freedom Requires Responsibility for AUT
• Instructional Values Highlight: Movement
• Academic Support and Tutoring at RBHS
• 2025 Homecoming Court
• RBHS National Merit Semifinalists
• 2025 RBHS Hall of Fame Inductees
• On Golden Pond by RBHS Performing Arts
• RBHS September BRIDGE Communication
• November Schedule
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We hope you are enjoying this Fall season!

Sincerely,

Jacob

Last year, we had approximately 82.8% of students in attendance 90% of the time. This year we want to raise this number by 3% points moving our overall percentage of students who attend 90% or greater to over 85%.

A student would need to miss 25 days of school in single year to have attendance lower than 85%. We are confident that we can achieve our goal!

As you can see from the image below, we are almost 3 full percentage points higher this year than we were at the same time last school year. Thank you for your support in our efforts!

We know that families have the greatest influence on their student's decision to attend school each day or not. In the interest of transparency and clear understanding of how poor attendance will impact a student at RBHS, we put together a list of reasons to attend school every day a student is able.

1. When a student misses a class, they miss 90 minutes of instruction and work. This is the best time for students to gain clarity regarding their understanding of expected learning. Ultimately, students who attend school every day they are able perform better than students who miss school regularly. When a student misses class unnecessarily, they have to take ownership of the learning they missed and, figuratively, dig out from the hole they find themselves in.
2. AUT for 10th, 11th, and 12th graders can be removed from a student's schedule and replaced with a Study Hall when students are not performing appropriately at school. We've just had our first IPR and made the decision to remove AUT from the schedules of students who are not performing appropriately. RBHS Administration and Counseling teams will continue to monitor student behaviors, grades, and attendance in the interest of motivating students to demonstrate the "Responsibility" that necessary for the "Freedom" that comes with an AUT.
3. 9th, 10th, and 11th graders who end the school year with lower than 85% attendance will be automatically considered for enrollment in a Study Hall instead of AUT for the 2026-27 school year. There is an appeals process for these actions and RBHS Administration and Counseling will take into consideration days missed as a result of documented medical reasons.
4. Students with appropriate attendance consistently out perform their peers on standardized tests such as ACT and End of Course Exams (EOCs). Student performance on EOC is a significant part of a school's state report card each year.

At Rock Bridge High School, we work to operate within the cultural motto of "Freedom with Responsibility". This means that we trust our students enough to provide them freedoms that they would not experience at other schools, and as long as our students are demonstrating the ability to be responsible students, they will be granted these freedoms. Our AUT (Alternating Unassigned Time) is one of the best examples we have of living this motto. Students who demonstrate basic "Responsibility" expectations are granted the "Freedom" that comes with an AUT.

After our first IPR this semester, AUT was removed for any students who were not meeting basic academic expectations. Our Counseling and Administration teams are constantly monitoring student performance related to behavior, grades, and attendance for the purpose of providing the proper supports when students are not achieving/performing at appropriate levels.

It is important to note that for current 9th grade students to earn AUT for their 10th grade year, they student must have an attendance rate of 85% or better, must have 10 or fewer referrals, and must have earned 6 or more credits when we finish this current school year.

In the August BRIDGE Communication, I shared our newly identified, RBHS Instructional Values. I plan to highlight each of these individually in the coming BRIDGE Communications. This month I'm sharing a little insight into our "Movement" instructional value.

• Movement: Lessons are designed to include student movement with an instructional or community building purpose.

Classes at Rock Bridge are approximately 90 minutes in length, and while our students have dedicated movement breaks during passing periods and lunch, these are not enough for most of our active students. Asking a student to "sit still" or remain seated at a desk for 90 minutes is not appropriate for a majority of our teenagers (or adults). So, in order to help keep our students cognitively engaged, we should be asking them to participate in some type of physical movement that is for the intentional purpose of instruction or community building near the middle of every class period.

Please consider spending some time soon talking with your student about the Movement happening in their classrooms.

At Rock Bridge High School, we work to operate within the cultural motto of "Freedom with Responsibility". This means that we trust our students enough to provide them freedoms that they would not experience at other schools, and as long as our students are demonstrating the ability to be responsible students, they will be granted these freedoms. Our AUT (Alternating Unassigned Time) is one of the best examples we have of living this motto. Students who demonstrate basic "Responsibility" expectations are granted the "Freedom" that comes with an AUT.

After our first IPR this semester, AUT was removed for any students who were not meeting basic academic expectations. Our Counseling and Administration teams are constantly monitoring student performance related to behavior, grades, and attendance for the purpose of providing the proper supports when students are not achieving/performing at appropriate levels.

It is important to note that for current 9th grade students to earn AUT for their 10th grade year, they student must have an attendance rate of 85% or better, must have 10 or fewer referrals, and must have earned 6 or more credits when we finish this current school year.

Thank you to our wonderful Homecoming Court for their wonderful leadership at Rock Bridge High School. This group truly does an amazing job representing RBHS!

Congratulations to our Homecoming Queen and King, Sophia Jenkins and Bruno Campos!

Rock Bridge Seniors Keaton Hall, Sophia Li, Jenna Linn, Lorelei Guan, and Annalise Powell, and Benjamin Nguyen (not pictured) have each earned the distinction of semifinalist in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Less than 1% of high school seniors in the United States achieve this honor. Congratulations!

During Homecoming, we inducted three new members into our Rock Bridge High School Alumni Hall of Fame. Thank you to Kate Garnes (06), Myles Hinkle (90), and Mary Ellen Crowley Ternes (80) for giving back to our current RBHS Community!

Kate Garnes

• Kate is a 2006 graduate of RBHS! While here, she discovered her love of performing through show choir and musical theater. After graduation, she pursued her passion, performing at Disney World and Universal Studios for the last 15 years! She has also written a book (Mixtape: How to Stop Listening to the Recordings of the Past”) that encourages teens to stop listening to the lies they have believed for so long and start accepting the gladiator of greatness that is inside them!

Myles Hinkel

• Myles was a member of the class of 1990. During his time at Rock Bridge, Myles was a member of the Men’s tennis, basketball and soccer teams and later served as assistant soccer coach, leading the men’s team to two district championships and being the 18th ranked team in the country. Myles professional career has included positions of Advancement with University of Missouri, Columbia College and Missouri United Methodist Foundation. Mr. Hinkel now serves as Executive Director of the Thompson Foundation for Autism and Neurodevelopment.

Mary Ellen Crowley Ternes

• Mary Ellen is a 1980 graduate of RBHS! While at RB, she was a member of the women’s tennis team. She has always been concerned about the environment, and this passion influenced her career path to pursue both a Chemical Engineering and Law degree. She is nationally recognized in the fields of chemical engineering and environmental law and advocacy. Her practice brings over 30 years of in-depth experience at the intersection of energy, manufacturing, air quality, hazardous waste management, infrastructure and disaster response.

The purpose of the Rock Bridge High School Alumni Hall of Fame is to honor RBHS alumni who have gone on to great success in their field and represent the wide varieties of possibilities one can aspire to (achieve) with their Rock Bridge High School education.

If you know of a worthy RBHS Alumni, please nominate them by emailing Tammi Cook.

• November 4: NO SCHOOL Teacher Work Day
• November 14: NO SCHOOL Teacher Work Day
• November 24: Thanksgiving Assembly
• November 26: NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving Holiday
• November 27: NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving Holiday
• November 28: NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving Holiday