Romig News

We look forward to welcoming everyone in this week for parent teacher conferences! The goal of scheduling time to come into the building for parent teacher conferences is to alleviate crowding. If the time you need to come isn't "available" in the scheduler, please don't let that prevent you from coming in when you can. Thank you! Click here to access the Conference Scheduler

This is also the last week to make donations to PTSA's Rai$e for Romig fundraiser. Here's the link if you're interested in donating. Thank you!!

• 10/28 Student release at 1 pm
• 10/29 Student release at 1 pm
• 10/30 No school for students
• 11/2 Modified bell schedule (regular school hours)
• 11/3 No school for students
• 11/6 Modified bell schedule (regular school hours, DanceWest field trip)
• 11/11 No school for staff and students

I also want to reiterate how appreciative I am of the families, students, staff, and community. Your faith and support was evident this week as we navigated a precautionary school evacuation. Thank you. On Thursday we took some time to talk directly with students about the incident, the expectations, and to give the students time to ask questions. Please please please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns as well.

There have been a few questions about student cell phone use during the evacuation, so I'd like to clarify why students are not permitted to use their cell phones during an emergency response. Keeping students off their phones is an important safety measure, especially on a campus with more than 1,000 students. Phone use can spread misinformation, overwhelm communication lines, draw additional people to campus creating traffic and parking lot congestion, and distract students from critical instructions. Keeping phones off allows students and staff to remain focused on following directions and maintaining everyone's safety.

I know that many people have a lot of feelings after an incident like this, which is a very normal response. I encourage you to talk with your students about being a safe member of our school community. For additional resources that can be helpful in discussing school safety, please visit this website. If your student has any follow-up needs, please contact the school, and we are happy to assist your family.

Thank you again for your support,

Bethany Essary

Principal, Romig Middle School

• This week's events at Romig
• Parent Teacher Conferences 10/28 and 10/29 Details
• Volleyball and Romig Spirit Wear Info
• Modified bell schedules for 10/28, /10/29, 11/2, 11/6
• Upcoming Romig and other community activities, including MathCounts, Homework Help, Counseling Cafe and more
• Healthcare info from the nurse
• Pre-order your yearbook

Homework Help

Need a little extra help with your school work? Have to come to school early anyway and want to knock out some homework? Just want a quiet place to work with access to a teacher who can help if you need it? Homework help is available every Tuesday morning from 8:30 - 9:15 and be open to any student who wants to come! Students do not need a participation form to come to Homework Help. Students are welcome to attend whenever they want the time or help!

When: Tuesdays

Time: 8:30 - 9:15 am

Where: Room 105

Who: Anyone who wants to work on assignments with teacher support

Wednesday, 10/28

1:30 - 4:00 pm, 5:00 - 8:00 pm

Thursday, 10/29

1:30 - 4:00 pm

With over a thousand students, our building will get overcrowded fast if we aren't careful! To mitigate crowds and reduce your wait time to chat with teachers, we ask that parents sign up using the conference scheduler to choose a time to come in. This is the same scheduler that you probably used to schedule elementary conferences. But unlike elementary, you aren't signing up for a time to meet with a specific teacher, but a time to come into the building. Teachers will be in the MPR and gym at individual tables to meet with families. Click here to access the Conference Scheduler

1. Sign up for a timeframe to come in: Click here to access the Conference Scheduler
2. Come to Romig during your time (it's ok if you're there for more or less time than your window!)
3. Teachers will be in the MPR and gym during conferences. You are free to meet with the teachers in any order you like.
4. We will have administration and other staff available as well to answer questions. Counselors and student support staff will be available too. (That was a really long winded way of saying we're all here and available to connect!)

• Students will be dismissed at 1 pm on both Wednesday and Thursday. Students are not allowed to hang out at the building without their adults after dismissal.

• The half days mean an altered schedule. Here's the bell schedule for Wednesday and Thursday. If your student attends part time or if they take classes at West, please check in with your student about how the bell schedule change for conferences will impact them. If you have any questions about the bell schedule, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you!

Our library is hosting a Scholastic Book Fair from October 26th - 29th. Families are welcome to shop online or stop by during parent conferences. The book fair is open to students during the school day as well.

Monday: 9:15am - 4:15pm

Tuesday: 8:15am - 4:15pm

Wednesday: 8:15am - 8:00pm (middle school conference night)

Thursday: 8:15am - 8:00pm (high school conference night)

Deadline to submit art designs is this Friday, October 30

Over the past few years, we've had many parents and staff raise concerns about young people consuming energy drinks. More frequently we read about young people suffering from heart problems related to high-caffeine intake in short periods of time. Teachers see the impacts daily when students drink too much caffeine - they're jittery and can't focus, later crashing (and unable to focus). So our team decided to dig into the research to see how worried we should be. Turns out, we should be pretty concerned. The research consistently supports limited intake of caffeine for middle-school aged students, so much so that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that adolescents do not consume any energy drinks at all.

Our next step was to learn more about how the Romig community feels about this. We solicited feedback from both parents and staff. An overwhelming majority of both groups agreed that middle school age students should not be drinking energy drinks. Ninety-one percent of parents who responded said they support an energy drink ban. Next, our team reviewed the family feedback, the staff feedback, the research, and other schools' and districts' policies to develop a policy for Romig. Beginning on October 20th, students are not be permitted to have energy drinks on the Romig campus, at school-sponsored events, or on school transportation.

Romig will not allow energy drinks at school, but we will also explain to students why. We will address the concerns surrounding energy drinks during BaseCamp. If a student brings an energy drink to school, we will hold onto it until the end of the day. If the drink is already open, it will be discarded. For purposes of this policy, an energy drink is a beverage marketed for energy, alertness, performance, focus, or stimulation and typically containing added caffeine, stimulants, or ingredients such as guarana, taurine, or similar compounds. Examples may include products labeled as “energy,” “energy shot,” or “pre-workout” drinks. This policy doesn't include milk, juice, or other school-approved drinks.

1. Cap caffeine at 100 mg/day
   (Caffeine isn't recommended, but if consumed, limit it to one coffee or soda)

2. No energy drinks. Period.
   Pediatricians say kids and teens should skip them entirely

3. Don’t stack caffeinated drinks
   Latte + soda + energy drink = dangerous

4. Don’t slam it
   Speed matters as much as amount

• Weight Training Group A
• Volleyball Practices You should have received an email notice about whether your student athlete practices in the morning or afternoon

• D&D Club Meets 4:15 pm - 5:45 pm
• MS Battle of the Books Practice 4 - 4:45
• Volleyball Practices
• Weight Lifting Group B
• Debate Practice, Chess Club, Homework Help 8:30 am - 9:15 am
• VoA Parent Night: Recognizing Concerning Behaviors and Mental Health Support in Schools, 6 pm -7:30 pm in the West-Romig Library

• No volleyball or afterschool activities today
• Early release at 1 pm
• Parent Teacher Conferences 1:30 - 4, 5-8

• No volleyball or after-school activities today
• Early release at 1 pm
• Parent Teacher Conferences 1:30 - 4

• Staff In-service day
• No School For Students

If you are interested in purchasing a Romig volleyball t-shirt or hoodie, you can buy direct here.

If you are looking for general Romig spirit wear, check out our spirit store here. Go Romig Trojans!

The counselors will start hosting lunches throughout the year! Some lunches will focus on fun ways to get to know others and make new friends, while others will focus on building skills, such as organization, goal setting, completing assignments, coping strategies, and managing anxiety. Students who participate will receive an incentive! More info will be shared with students as lunches are scheduled.

Yearbooks are available for purchase on the LifeTouch Yearbook website. To purchase your students yearbook:

• Go to LifeTouch Yearbook Pay
• Romig school code is 1761927
• Last day to pre-order yearbooks: April 9th
• There will be a limited supply of yearbooks available for purchase at the school at the end of the year

Other Info: Yearbooks are passed out to students on the second-to-last day of school near the end of the school day. Pre-ordering is the only way to guarantee your student gets a yearbook!

MathCounts is a fun, competitive math program for students who enjoy accelerated math and challenging problem-solving.

is through Q Parent Connect.

Enter the details - you can excuse the entire day or a portion of the day. (Click on the image to make it larger - shows where to click to enter the info!)

You can also call to excuse an absence. Call 907-742-5200 and choose option 1. Due to the high volume of calls we receive, it is likely you will be asked to leave a message. We check messages throughout the day.

If you are asked to leave a message, please include:

• Student's first and last name
• Date of the excused absence or the time and date of the blue pass being requested
• Reason for the absence.

To report an absence via email, send the email to Ms. Allison (Hutson_Allison@asdk12.org).

We are incredibly fortunate to be part of a community where volunteers support the Anchorage School District students, teachers, and staff through commitment and service. If you are interested in volunteering at Romig MS this year (including chaperoning any events), you can complete the ASD volunteer application now! All volunteers must be approved prior to visiting the schools. Be sure to select any schools you might want to volunteer at. It takes 1-2 weeks for volunteers to be approved. Thank you for all you do! Learn more about volunteering in ASD here.

October

• 10/27 Romig West Library, 6 pm, Recognizing Concerning Behaviors and Mental Health Support in Schools
• 10/28 Parent Teacher Conferences Students released at 1:00 pm (Conferences 1:30 - 4, 5-8)
• 10/29 Parent Teacher Conferences Students released at 1:00 pm (Conferences 1:30 - 4)
• 10/30 Teacher In-Service Day | No School for Students

November

• 11/2 No BaseCamp (regular school day, modified bell schedule)
• 11/3 Teacher In-Service Day | No School for Students
• 11/6 DanceWest Performance (West High Auditorium) modified bell schedule
• 11/9 Romig Veterans Day Celebration
• 11/11 Veterans Day | No School
• 11/26 Thanksgiving | No School
• 11/27 No School

December

• 12/7 Intermediate & Advanced Band Concert
• 12/10 PTSA General Meeting 9:45 am
• 12/14 Orchestra Concert
• 12/15 Choir Concert Date may change
• 12/15 Beginning & Jazz Band Concert
• 12/17 Sign-up deadline for wrestling, xc skiing, and girls basketball
• 12/17 Last Day of Quarter 2
• 12/18 Teacher Work Day | No School for Students
• 12/21 - 1/1 Winter Break

• 1/4/27 First Day of Semester 2!

• 2/25/27 Cake Auction
• 3/15 - 3/19 Spring Break | No School

Click here to access the ASD School Year Calendar

Sign-up deadlines (4:30 pm):

12/17/26 Coed Wrestling

12/17/26 Girls Basketball

12/17/26 Coed Cross Country Skiing

3/11/27 Coed Track & Field

Main Office Hours: 8:30 - 4:30

• Follow Romig on Facebook and Instagram!
• Registration Questions: Registrar Megan Pledger, Pledger_Megan@asdk12.org
• Attendance and General Questions: RomigClerical@asdk12.org
• Online Payment Questions: Kayla Grant, Grant_Kayla@asdk12.org
• Activities or Student Services Questions:
• Assistant Principal, Allison Little, Little_Allison@asdk12.org
• Assistant Principal, Jen Birtz, Birtz_Jennifer@asdk12.org
• Curriculum or Program Needs: Principal, Bethany Essary, Essary_Bethany@asdk12.org