Ram Report - Parent Newsletter

We hope that you have had a wonderful Summer Break and are soaking up the last week with your families. We have an exciting year planned and can't wait for students to fill our classrooms and hallways again soon. Teachers and staff are reporting back on Monday morning to begin the important work preparing for the year ahead.

This newsletter is devoted to several important announcements about the return to school. We hope that you'll find some time over the next few days to review and help ensure a smooth start to the school year.

Important Dates for the Return to School

Thursday, July 20th - Back to School Bash at RMS 5:30-7:30pm

Friday, July 21st - 5th Grade Orientation at 9:00-10:30am

Monday, July 24th - Student's First Day Back to School - Middle Schools dismiss at 12:45pm

Tuesday, July 25th - Full Day of School at RMS - Dismiss at 2:45pm (K-4 Early Dismiss)

Wednesday, July 26th - Regular Wednesday Dismissal at 12:45 pm.

Have a great week, and please don't hesitate to reach out if there is anything we can do to better support your student or family!

-Nick Corrigan, Principal, njcorrigan@ortn.edu

-Christy Free, Vice Principal, ccfree@ortn.edu

-Christopher Williams, Dean of Students, cewilliams@ortn.edu

We are a thrilled to have your child join us for the 2023-2024 school year. We know that transitioning to a new school can be a little overwhelming and we want to do our best to make the transition as smooth as possible. In an effort to calm nerves and set your child up for success, we would like to offer school tours to our new 6th – 8th grade families during our Back to School Bash. A Skylert email message was sent out earlier this week by Mrs. Christy Free (Vice Principal) with details on how to sign up.

5th Grade Families - students received a tour last Spring and will receive additional information and tours during 5th Grade Orientation on Friday, July 21st from 9-10:30.

Please reach out to Ms. Christy Free at ccfree@ortn.edu with any questions.

Schedules are near complete; however, students are still enrolling at RMS. Our School Counseling Department is working hard to ensure everyone's schedule is built and classes are balanced. They will be finalized and ready to share for pickup during the Back to School Bash on Thursday, July 20th from 5:30-7:30.

Please understand that while there may be some applications sharing teacher names and/or classes, these should not be considered as an official schedule as changes are made in Skyward. Schedules will be available for families to view in Skyward on Friday, July 21st.

Mr. Nick Corrigan - Principal

I have spent the past 13 years devoted to teaching middle school students and am grateful to have a rounded experience teaching multiple grade levels and subject areas. I set out to become a teacher after finding inspiration in teaching children’s martial arts classes while in high school. I enjoyed seeing my students’ progress both on and off the mat and particularly enjoyed watching their self-confidence soar as they pushed themselves to learn more. Both of my parents were in the military, so martial arts was one of the constants in my life as I moved to a new city or state almost every year of my elementary education. When we finally settled down in Knoxville, TN, I had some serious gaps in my education as a result of being in classrooms with so many different state standards and varieties of curricula. Middle school teachers made the difference for me and began the hard work of filling in the missing pieces! I didn’t understand it at the time, but as an educator now reflecting on those years it makes much more sense why some classes were so tough, particularly math. Thanks to some incredible teachers and late nights with my dad helping me on homework, I ended up just fine and math was no longer such a challenge. I share this brief story only in hopes of sharing my “why.” I can't wait to meet our new RMS students and know that we will have a great year together!

Mrs. Christy Free - Vice Principal

My name is Christy Free and I am starting my fifth year serving as the Vice Principal at Robertsville. My husband also works for Oak Ridge Schools and I have three sons who attend the district as well. We love Oak Ridge and are very proud to call this wonderful place home! It is my honor to serve the students and families at Robertsville. I look forward to working together to make this the best year yet!

Mr. Christopher Williams - Dean of Students

Hello! My name is Christopher Williams. I am excited to be serving as the Dean of Students here at Robertsville Middle School! My passion for education comes from seeing students succeed! Success in Academic Achievements, Success in Meeting Behavioral Expectations, Success in Building Strong Relationships with Peers and Staff Members, and Success in Athletic Achievements! As students go throughout their educational careers, some days will be better than others, but as long as they give their best effort, they will find success educationally and in life! My Interests outside of school consist of spending time with my wife Renee, and my two sons CJ and Corey. I also love sports! I enjoy being part of the Robertsville Middle School Family!

Hello from your counselors – Mrs. Best and Mrs. Sanford! We’re so excited to welcome back our RMS students and to welcome and get to know our newest students! We hope you had a wonderful summer!

We look forward to seeing most of our students and parents at the Back-to-School Bash on Thursday, July 20th from 5:30-7:30 pm. Students will be able to pick up their schedule that night, meet teachers, and practice with their locker. We will have CJ’s Tacos and Southern Sips food trucks available as well. Schedules will be visible in Skyward that night.

For students going into fifth grade, we also have an orientation planned just for them on Friday, July 21st from 9-10:30 am in the gym. Students will meet their homeroom teacher that day and have an opportunity to feel a little more comfortable about things before the first day of school. Parents will have the opportunity to get any questions answered at that time. We hope you can make it!

Schedule changes are only available for elective classes, and we do not make changes within the first week of school. There will be a form available in the counseling center to request an elective change beginning July 31st. Changes can only be made up to August 18th. Students can also request a schedule change form from their elective teacher, as they will also have them available. Forms must be turned in to the counseling center with appropriate signatures by August 18th.

Our fifth grade students will have an opportunity to sample all the elective options within the first two weeks of schools and will be asked to choose an elective on Wednesday, August 9th. They will begin in their elective class on Thursday, August 10th.

If students need to see a counselor throughout the year for any reason, we ask that they complete the online “Request to See a Counselor” form located in Clever. Once students complete this form, the counselors will receive an email and will work to schedule students based on their availability. If the situation is an emergency, we ask that students please make note of this in the comments section. We ask that students please be patient and know that we will get them scheduled as soon as possible. If it will take more than a day, we will reach out to the student by email or through their teacher to let them know.

Parents are always welcome to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. Kristy Best works with 5th and 7th grades – kbest@ortn.edu. Tarah Sanford works with 6th and 8th grades – TASanford@ortn.edu.

For students picking up a backpack and school supplies, those will be available for pickup on the first day of school starting at 7 am. You should have received a call and email if you are on the list to receive these supplies. 5th and 6th grade students will pick up their backpack in the Restorative Learning Center located beside the Counseling Center. 7th and 8th grade students will pick up their backpack in the chorus room. We generally have most school supplies available in the counseling center if a need arises throughout the year.

We can’t wait to see all of our students back on July 24th!

Online Student Transportation Registration – As shared in our newsletters earlier this summer, families were asked to register their child for transportation services next school year. Any family wanting transportation services at the opening of the 2023- 2024 school year had until July 10, 2023, to register for guaranteed services the first week of school. All students requiring transportation should register for transportation services regardless of past rider-ship history. The online transportation registration (found in the Skyward Family Access Portal.) will remain open for the remainder of the school year and we ask that if families still need to register for bus transportation to complete as soon as possible!

ORS Transportation Department will be able to provide a higher level of service, with fewer route changes, if we can reduce the number of students registering to ride a bus who have no intentions of riding a bus at this time. Completed online transportation registration forms will automatically go to First Student Transportation Department.

Parents can look over the stops via the Versatrans My Stop app and check for any mistakes or changes. These need to be submitted to the Transportation Department by end of day Wednesday 7/19/23.

• NOTE: Some stops have changed from last year to make things more efficient. Unless it is a warranted safety issue, we will keep the stops as they are currently.
  
• NOTE: Some students ride a different bus in the morning and afternoon.
  

Transportation Dept Information & Points of Contact can be found at:

https://www.ortn.edu/district/bus-routes/

Click for MyStop Onscreen Login for Computer

• Username: (use student’s name) firstname.lastname
• This is case sensitive–example: john.smith

• Password: (use student birth date) in this format 03122007 for March 12, 2007

MyStop phone app is also available in your app store

Go to:
Versatrans My Stop™ provides mobile access to bus information. This app displays the location of the user’s assigned school bus, as well as the estimated time of arrival to their stop. Students can plan for late or on-time arrival, and prevent missed pick-ups or being left outside in inclement weather.

• Native mobile app

• Integrates many parts of the Versatrans® suite

• Push notifications for users

• Secure log in and user management

• Updates in real time

Can’t Access the My Stop App?

If you are having difficulty accessing the My Stop App please take the following steps:

1. Please confirm the following:
2. You have downloaded the App from Tyler Technologies.
3. You are using the legal student name as listed in Skyward.
4. You have selected all lower case letters.
5. You have placed a period between the first and last name.
6. The birthdate is correct and only consist of 8 numbers.

If this information doesn’t allow you to successfully download your child’s My Stop App Account contact Administration at your child’s school.

Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up at Robertsville

Arrival

Gym Car Rider Loop Student Drop-Off begins at 7:00 a.m. (car rider loop beside gym)

• Students are to be dropped off at the curb behind the gym past the bus loop. Please pull forward to make room for the cars behind you.
• Students exiting vehicles should walk in front of the car they are exiting
• Any students walking to school must use the crosswalk areas
• The back door will be locked at 7:40 a.m. each day, so please do not drop-off in the back area after that time. All drop-offs after 7:40 a.m. should be at the front entrance only (Robertsville Rd. side)
• Parents will not be permitted to enter the building from the Gym Loop. All parents must check-in at the Front Office.

Front Bus/Car Loop (Robertsville Rd.) drop-off begins at 7:10 a.m.

• Please make sure the bus loop is clear of buses before dropping off at the front.
• Students should be dropped off in the right lane only. The left lane will be used for passing traffic.
• Students should never be dropped off in the left lane to avoid crossing in front of the right lane traffic
• In the morning prior to 7:40, parents should not park in the right lane to come into the building. There are designated areas for parking in the front loop.
• Parents should pull all the way forward before unloading
• Bicycles should be locked up on the bike rack beside cafeteria. All bicycle riders must wear a bicycle helmet.
• Front doors will be unlocked and used for students to enter before school.
• After 7:40, students should enter through the Front Office if the front doors are locked.
• All guests/visitors should check-in at the Front Office.

Dismissal

Bus Riders: Dismissed Front Bus/Car Loop (Robertsville Rd.) beginning at 2:45 PM.

Car Riders: Dismissed to gym for pickup in the car rider loop beside gym after buses are dismissed.

• Students will be called out to load their vehicles in the order in which their parents arrive.
• Please follow the traffic flow arrows on the pavement when driving through the lower lot and complete the entire loop through the lower parking lot, waiting to turn right up the hill at the gym will cause traffic delays
• Until all buses have been dismissed, all cars will be required to turn right out of the loop and exit via Ivanhoe Rd.
• Parents should pull all the way forward before unloading
• Do not park or wait in your car in the no parking zones or in any teacher parking lot
• Do not park and leave your car unattended while waiting

Walker/Bicycle: Dismissed to leave RMS campus by foot, exiting the front door of the building after bus and car riders have been dismissed, typically around 2:50pm. This includes those being picked at either adjacent church parking lot.

Our focus during these times is to ensure that all students arrive to school safely. We hope to accomplish this in a manner that is efficient to ensure that your time is also respected. Please be sure to reach out to a member of our administrative team if there are ever any concerns or feedback that you would like to pass along.

The link below provides a copy of the 2023-2024 Student & Family Handbook. A few friendly reminders to keep things running smoothly!

Cell Phone Policy

Students are required to turn off phones and place in lockers when they arrive to school. Students are not permitted to have phones throughout the building. In the event of an emergency, parents can contact the RMS main phone line (865-425-9201) and students may use the main phone line to contact home.

Dress Code Expectations

The Board of Education believes that appropriate dress and grooming contribute to a productive learning environment. The Board expects students to give proper attention to personal cleanliness and to wear suitable clothing. Students are asked to wear simple, comfortable clothing that is clean and neat. Shoes should always be worn. Students are not to wear clothing which compromises safety or modesty; nor clothing which is disruptive to the educational process.

A few reminders about dress code:

1. Students are not permitted to wear pants or shorts with holes above the knee. This includes wearing any type of shorts or leggings underneath ripped attire.
2. Clothing or accessories which contain or suggest offensive or obscene symbols, signs, slogans or words degrading any gender, cultural, religious or ethnic values.
3. Clothing or accessories which contain or suggest language or symbols oriented toward violence, vandalism, sex, drugs, alcohol or tobacco.
4. Clothing that resembles sleepwear such as lounging pants, or other lounging items. This also includes house shoes.
5. The following types of apparel:

• skirts and dresses that are inappropriate for bending, sitting, standing and reaching.
• attire that is disruptive to the instructional process which may be inclusive of, but not limited to: bare midriffs; halter tops; short shorts; tight, see through, or revealing clothing; or clothing which allows underwear to be exposed, (examples include, but are not limited to: sagging pants, tank tops, spaghetti strap tops, muscle shirts, etc.
• A belt is mandatory if pants or shorts will not stay at the waist without one.
• Mid-thigh is the appropriate length for shorts, skirts, and dresses.
• Mid-thigh length top is appropriate for covering leggings.

6. Hats, head coverings, athletic headbands not worn during athletic event, bandanas and sunglasses are not to be worn inside the school building.

7. All students must wear shoes. It is strongly suggested that students wear shoes which either enclose the foot or are secured with heel straps.

10. Coats, jackets and blankets must be removed upon arrival at school, be placed in lockers until the student leaves the building.

7th Grade TDAP Booster - Required Immunization!

• All 7th graders Must have a record of their 7th grade Tdap vaccination on file at RMS to begin their school year. Please ensure this is completed ASAP. Contact our school nurse, Meg Evans with any questions or concerns at 865-425-9201.

Additional Medication Information

• The medication administration policy of the Oak Ridge School System states: every effort should be made to avoid the necessity of children being given medication at school. If under exceptional circumstances a student is required to take medication during school hours, only the school nurse or the principal’s designee may assist the student. It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to bring this medication to school and remove any unused medication when treatment is completed. The medication form can be found here: Authorization_for_Medication_Administration.

We are fortunate to have a dedicated School Resource Officer at Robertsville. Officer Askren loves coming to work each day to support our students.

"I’ve been with the City of Oak Ridge for 4 years and I am passionate about my service to the community. I have a Bachelor’s of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from Heidelberg University. This will be my second official school year with Robertsville Middle School. I look forward so much to the new memories and new friends that will come with this year. Without a uniform on you can find me enjoying good eats around town, playing with dogs, and participating in several sports or outdoor activities." -Officer Askren

We wanted to take this opportunity to inform you that the grading scale at Robertsville Middle School is different than the elementary school. At Robertsville Middle School each of the core classes and special areas will implement the displayed grading scale. We realize that this will be a change and adjustment and we want to make sure we communicate it to you prior to the start of school. Please feel free to reach out to your child's teachers if you have any questions about grades.

For most assignments, grades are updated in Canvas throughout the week. Teachers are asked to update Skyward on a weekly basis. Skyward is the official holding place for grades of record.

Canvas is our learning management system. We utilize Canvas in order to communicate with students and parents including announcements, information that is important to the class, links to resources to help support in class learning and also digital assignments.

Our 5th grade team does a great job providing updates on their Canvas pages. We encourage parents to spend at least 10 minutes each week with their child logged on to Canvas and read the details for each teacher's page, announcements, and assignments.

In Canvas our teachers work to provide:

• Announcements - A weekly look at what will be taught throughout the week
• Assignments - Some assignments will be digital and completed through Canvas and some will be analog and completed on paper. The goal for teachers here is to update with information to help explain the assignment and the due date.
• Calendar - A student calendar that shows all of the student's class and helps to color code each. The calendar allows for parents to see due dates for assignments, quiz and test dates.

Oak Ridge Schools Board of Education has approved the decision to transition to Southwest Foodservice Excellence (SFE) beginning with the 23-24 school year. At this time, it is our understanding that the prices for meals will not change. The prices are listed below. As more information becomes available this summer, we will ensure to provide an update in a future newsletter closer to the start of the school year. Additionally, SFE offers an online application to see the school menu! While the menu hasn't been posted yet, the information is below for you to save and reference closer to the start of the school year.

Food Service Accounts can be paid and managed online through the Skyward App. See the attachment below for more information on how this works.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Meals are not provided free to all students. Students may receive meals at no cost if they are enrolled in Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2 schools, if they are Directly Certified, or qualify through a household income application.
• To be eligible for free or reduced-price meals, parents must submit a household income application. The application for the 2023-2024 school year will be sent home the first week of school. We will also include a digital copy in a future newsletter.

Athletics

Middle school students are not able to participate in sports until they enter the 6th grade. This is a regulation established by the TMSAA. During students 5th grade year, there will be information shared about tryouts in the Spring of 2024. RMS has a school sponsored football, girls volleyball, cross-country, boys basketball, girls basketball, track and cheer team. 5th graders are encouraged to come out and cheer on the Rams next season!

Clubs

RMS has several school sponsored clubs! These clubs are sponsored by an RMS staff member and provide an excellent opportunity to interact with peers outside of the classroom. Check out the list below for more information.

About

The Robertsville Middle School Parent Teacher Association (RMS PTSA) is part of the RMS family. Our purpose is to support fun and educational programs, events, services, and opportunities to our children, to enrich their academic experience. We work closely with the school administration, faculty, and staff to help our students achieve all that they can.

Membership

There are membership dues each year typically set around $5.00.

Volunteer

Research shows that students whose parents are involved in their school get better grades, do better on tests and have fewer disciplinary problems at school.

What is your talent? Community outreach, back to school activities, spirit gear, RAM Perks reward program, assisting with the book fair, the Reflections art program, fall donation drive, visiting author receptions, or providing items for events like our teacher/staff luncheons, intercessions, and State testing.

While you DO NOT need to be a member of PTSA to be a volunteer, we would like to invite all adults AND students with an interest in RMS to join and have a voice in how PTSA funds are used to support RMS. Volunteer forms are in the back-to-school packets or may be found on the Forms page of PTSA website.

Our Elected Officers for the 2023-2024 School Year

• President, Brenda Miller
• Vice Presidents, Traci Little
• President Elect, Beverly Bauman
• Treasurer, Chip Fischer
• Secretary, Carla Tingle