Parent Newsletter

Hi RMS Families,

We wanted to send you a thank you for being awesome in our transition to RMS Co-Principals. We appreciate all of you taking the time to come to open house, parent teacher conferences, and all the time spent working with your children at home to make sure they are having the best experience possible. We also appreciate all the feedback we have received as we have done rounding with parents at our open house and Parent Teacher conference night. As a reminder you have another opportunity to meet with your child's teachers on Tuesday Oct. 14th.

If you ever need anything please feel free to reach out. We look forward to seeing all of you at an upcoming event, whether it be a sporting event or one of our concert nights that will be here before you know it.

Thanks,

Mr. Cunningham and Mrs. Graf

Oct 14 - Parent Teacher Conferences - 4 - 7PM

Oct 15 - Picture Retake Day - 7:45 - 10:45AM

Oct 17 - 8th Grade Marching Band Night - 5PM

Oct 21 - RMS Cabaret Concert - 6PM

Oct 22 - 7th Grade Career Day

Oct 23-24 - NO SCHOOL

New to our building this year is an attendance email address for Parents and Guardians to use to report that your student will be absent. As always, you can still call and leave a message with attendance. It is important that you let us know in advance if your student will be absent. That way attendance can be marked accordingly and automated absent phone calls will not go out. Adding RMS as a contact in your phone also helps you to know who is calling, if your student needs something. Thank you!

Attendance Email: rmsattendance@mywusd.org

Attendance Phone Number: 920-262-1480 - EXT 5811

RMS Families and Community Members, We are excited to have started the year very positively at RMS. We especially thank our students, staff, and parents for the positive start. One of the areas of concern we have heard is with after school traffic. As you all know, Hall Street can get congested and this is causing delays in getting the RMS buses to the High School. Last year we implemented a new traffic plan, with buses exiting to E. Main St. via Rocky Road which helped alleviate those issues. This year hasn’t been as smooth as years past and looking for everyone to please bring patience and understanding after school to keep all students and drivers safe. We also have people that are driving a little too fast for a school parking lot. We would appreciate slowing down to keep our students as safe as possible. Our hope is that when Highway 16 reopens our traffic will begin to flow better as in years past. We want to remind our parents that our solution is to have the buses line up in the back teacher parking lot at dismissal (near the cemetery). We also politely ask parents to not drive into the back teacher parking lot. We need to safely load the buses in the back and ask parents to pick up in different locations. Currently due to road closure on Highway 16 the buses exit the parking lot and turn left onto Rocky Road (against normal traffic in the lane nearest the cemetery) and then exit right onto Main Street. Once 16 has re-opened buses when exiting the parking lot will turn left onto Rocky Road (against normal traffic and in the lane nearest to the cemetery), and then exit left normally onto Main Street. (See image below.) This will also free up space on Hall Street for parents that are exiting Rocky Road via Hall Street. As of right now, parents will still be able to pick up on Rocky Road. However, we ask that parents do not drive in the right lane on the opening corner of Rocky Road during after school pick up. Once you have passed the barricades and cones, you will be free to move to the right and pick up your child by the flagpole. We also ask that you do not stop in the left lane of Rocky Road in order to keep the road free for buses to safely exit the parking lot as they leave school grounds. We appreciate your patience while we try to improve the after school pick-up process. In order to alleviate some of this congestion, we encourage parents to plan their pick-up along Hall Street, in the pool parking lot or have your student walk to an agreed upon location along Boughton Street or another location that makes sense for your situation. We appreciate your partnership as we are looking to improve student safety. Yours in Education, Mike Cunningham Leigh Ann Graf

The Boys Basketball Season starts Friday, October 27th. First practice is October 27th. First game is November 11th.

The first book due date of the school year is here! If your student checked out a library book during the first few weeks of school, please remind them to either return or renew it soon. Starting mid-October, overdue notices will be sent via email to help keep families informed.

October is also a great time for students to dive into spooky stories—and we have a wide selection available in the RMS library! Reading just 20–30 minutes a day can make a big difference, helping students grow their vocabulary, build empathy, and strengthen critical thinking. The most important thing is to encourage a consistent reading routine at home.

Thank you for supporting your student’s reading journey!

Picture retake day is October 15 from 7:45 - 10:45AM

• The RMS school day will begin at 7:45AM and dismiss at 3:15 PM on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On Wednesdays, school will begin at 7:45AM and dismiss at 2:10PM.

Whether you are interested or not, we ask that you please fill out the form below either way.

https://sealasmile.wisconsin.gov/Consent/Program/SelectProgram

Please watch the video below for more information.

On Skyward Family Access, parents will find the 2025 Free and Reduced Price School Meal form. Forms can be turned in to any of the district schools. A new form must be completed each school year.

Under Wisconsin Statute 120.12 (22), students who qualify for free and reduced lunch will have the cost of their exam(s) waived. Families must complete the paperwork for free/reduced lunch each year. If you have not yet done so, that paperwork should be completed by October 1st to ensure that there is no gap in your student receiving free/reduced lunch benefits.

Riverside Middle School T-Shirts are available for $10. Please bring Cash or Check to the Main Office.

Google Chat will be shut off for 6th and 7th graders this year.

Thank you.

Riverside Middle School - 920-262-1480

Main Office - Ext 5801

Bookkeeper - Ext 5802

Attendance - Ext 5811

Student Services - Ext 5821

Fax - 920-262-1468

Riverside Middle School on Facebook at https://shorturl.at/HnSJA

Watertown Unified School District on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WatertownUnifiedSD

Watertown Unified School District on Instagram at instagram.com/watertownusd