Panther Tales

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Dear Ridgeview United Families,

It has been wonderful to welcome students back to school this week! We've had an engaging start with class meetings, device distribution, and a focus on building strong relationships between teachers and students. At RCMS, student safety is our top priority. This week, we conducted various safety drills to ensure that our students are well-prepared and confident in handling emergency situations. Our RCMS staff also hosted talks within their classrooms to explain class expectations and strategies for success during this school year. We are looking forward to an enriching year for all our students and staff!

Please review the important information below, including our upcoming calendar of events, announcements, and a brief update on the exciting activities our students have been involved in this week.

Wishing you all a fantastic weekend!

Principal Garrett

Honor Roll Celebration (Students Only)

We are looking forward to celebrating our RCMS honor roll students from spring semester 2023-2024 with a "Pop-In" celebration on Friday, August 16th during school. This will include last year's 6th and 7th graders who are currently our new 7th and 8th graders. Keep up the great work- we are excited to celebrate you!

New Locker Requirement: All students will be required to have a locker this year. During the day, back packs (and phones) will be stored in the locker. Students will be permitted regular access to their lockers each day. We believe this change will help reduce congestion in our hallways and ensure that our classrooms are distraction free. All families are asked to pay the locker fee using this link to the OSP payment site.

August 8th: Band Instrument Fitting, 5:00-7:00 pm

August 11th: Proof of Residency Due Date (all 6th and 7th Graders)

August 12th: Chorus Parent Meeting, 5:00-6:00 pm (6th Grade and New Chorus Families)

August 14th: Morning Donut Sales. $2 per donut, cash only. Proceeds benefit RCMS PTA.

August 15th: i-Ready Diagnostic (ELA)

August 15th: Orchestra Instrument Fitting, 5:00-7:00 pm

August 16th: i-Ready Diagnostic (Math)

August 20th: PTA General Meeting, 9:00 am, RCMS Media Center

August 21st: First Dress-Down Day. $5, cash only. Proceeds benefit Foundation & PTA.

August 23rd: PBIS Kick Off

August 22nd: i-Ready Night, 5:00 pm, RCMS Media Center (Scroll down for info!)

September 9th: Winter Sports Physicals Due (Tennis, Tumbling, Basketball)

September 12th: Curriculum Night

September 27th: Foundation Parent Party & Auction

October 10th: Patherpalooza

All RCMS Students will receive a device this week or next. Unlike elementary school, middle school students take their device home with them each night. Please make sure your student charges their device every night!

It is important that you are familiar with the responsibility that you and your student take when receiving a device, including the charges for damages. Below are informational sheets for your reference. Before a student can receive a device, a parent/guardian must complete the FORMS link acknowledging various informational and responsibility statements.

If you owe a fine from last year, your student will receive a device after the fine has been paid using the online school payment hub.

New this year, our counselors will be serving students based upon the first letter of the student's last name. This will help ensure that all students within a family are served by the same counselor and allow continuity with the same counselor as students move from grade to grade. This is a change from prior years when the counselors were assigned by grade level.

In case you missed it, you can learn more about our new counselors in Last Week's Panther Tales!

Last Names A-K: Dr. Marika Long longm6@fultonschools.org

Last Names L-Z: Mrs. Ceniceros cenicerosi2@fultonschools.org

Our Fall sports teams are gearing up and Panther Pride is in the air! Soccer (Boys), Softball, Volleyball (Girls) and Cross Country are all Fall Sports. Soccer, Softball and Volleyball do require tryouts. Please check the Athletics Page on the School Website for updated information on athletics, try outs and physicals!

RCMS Foundation: Did you know that the reason we have so many sports teams, and the reason why our 6th graders are permitted to play, is due to the funding and support provided by the RCMS Foundation? In fact, the RCMS Foundation provides 100% of the funding for baseball, basketball, softball, soccer, volleyball and cross country.

Without that support, the majority of our teams and programs would not be possible. Thank you Foundation Members!

All volunteers must be registered with Fulton County Schools before they can volunteer in the school. Please complete the required online training and registration process so that you can serve in our Panther Community!

Support the RCMS PTA! The RCMS PTA offers a vital connection between the teachers, parents, and students. By joining the PTA your contribution goes towards enhancing the classroom experience for your child, providing support systems for the teachers, and celebrating the diversity of our RCMS community. PTA funds are utilized in many ways, one of them being mini-grants to support teachers in the classroom.

Last year, with your support, the PTA was able to fund 15 mini-grants to the teachers/staff at RCMS. One of the grants was for Sensei Davis. With the funds, all students taking Japanese were able to have a special lesson conducted by the Consulate General of Japan! 8th grade students were also able to host a tea ceremony showing their gratitude towards teachers, staff, counselors and coaches. Join our PTA here : https://www.ptarcms.org/

Also, please join us for our first General PTA Meeting on August 20th at 9:00 AM in the RCMS Media Center! Our speakers will include Mr. Garrett and a representative from FCSS Transportation.

RCMS uses a Mathematics and Reading program called i-Ready. i-Ready is an online program that will help us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth, personalize their learning, and monitor their progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child where they are and provides us with data to inform instruction.

On August 15th and 16th, your child will take a very important diagnostic assessment for this program. The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your child’s needs. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning.

i-Ready Instruction provides students with lessons based on their individual strengths and areas for growth. These lessons are interactive and provide strategic support to keep your child engaged as they learn. If a student performs below grade level on the i-Ready Diagnostics, we will request and require that the student receive support by the following:

• Attending Extended Learning (multiple days after school until 5:15)

• Attending Saturday Academic School Sessions

• Completing additional at-home practice in i-Ready

Also, we use i-Ready to help us make class placements and future course recommendations, so encourage your child/children to do their best! Should you have any questions or concerns related to i-Ready, please feel free to reach out to your child’s ELA or Math teacher as they can provide more guidance to ensure your child is successful!

Thank you for your patience during this week as we continue to perfect our carpool procedures together! For student and staff safety, we ask for your support:

• The morning carpool lane operates 8:30 - 8:45 a.m. No drop-offs prior to 8:30 a.m. Students may not be left unattended prior to our opening.
• No drop-offs at the front doors. After 8:45, a parent should escort the student into the office for a tardy check-in. Bus riders are never tardy even if the bus is late.
• The afternoon carpool begins at 4:05. All students should be picked up by 4:20.
• Be ready as soon as you pull into carpool for your student to enter/exit without assistance.
• Pull all the way forward in the carpool line.

• Walkers and bike riders must have a permanent walker pass approved by the front office. You may not drop off or meet your student in our parking lot, at the front doors, at the park or elsewhere in the neighborhood.

• Students may only ride their assigned bus unless a bus change note is sent by the parent/guardian and approved by the office.
• The bus is an available alternative if you find the carpool line to be too lengthy.
• Early Dismissal: Students may not be checked out later than 3:30 p.m.

If ever an issue, concern, or question comes up, we ask that the following steps are taken. Following this Communication Protocol will help us to ensure that parents are able to receive prompt responses to their questions.

1. Contact the teacher; if not resolved,
2. Contact your assigned school counselor; if not resolved,
3. Contact the grade level administrator/Assistant Principal; and if not resolved,
4. Contact the principal

For requests of an urgent nature, please contact the school's front desk.

Contact information for all staff members and teachers can be found on the school website staff directory or on Infinite Campus.

Rumors: In recent years, we have experienced an uptick in false information or rumors being spread among group chats, texts and "group-mes". Before spreading information, we ask that you please contact the school to verify that the information is correct. We will respond. But please understand that it may take some time for us to investigate and discern the facts before we can respond.

The perception created by false information can drive unnecessary fear and anxiety. It is incredibly difficult to correct false information once it has been spread. Please help protect our Panther Community by verifying all information before disseminating it.

Last year's party was so much fun, we could not wait until Spring to hang out again. Our Parent Party is coming up on September 27th! The Parent Party & Online Auction support our RCMS Foundation. Last year, we were able to raise $20,000 to support our RCMS music and athletics programs! You can purchase tickets here. If you have an auction item to contribute, please fill out this form!

The Panther Store is the ultimate destination where Panther Pride comes to life. Throughout the school year, you can purchase uniform shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and other Panther merchandise. Our store is conveniently located inside the school near the gym. We are open every Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30-9:00 AM for students and guardians to buy items or pick up online orders.

To help with the start-of-school rush, the Panther Store will open every day from August 5th - 16th, 8:30- 9:00 AM. Click here to shop today!

Returns & Exchanges: Items can be exchanged or returned at the Panther Store during store hours. Items will only be accepted for a return or exchange if they have not been worn or washed and still have the garment tag on them.

Registration is open to all 6-8th grade boys for Junior Raiders Lacrosse. The team plays a fall and spring season and welcomes new players. While Junior Raiders is not an official part of RCMS, it is open to our RCMS students. Jr. Raiders is a separate community-organized program from Riverwood Athletics.

Please reach out with questions or interest. meredith.foushee@gmail.com

More Info: https://riverwoodathletics.com/teams/4483488/boys/lacrosse/middle-school

Thank you to these local businesses who have chosen to support our Panthers. Please consider supporting them in return!

Interested in becoming one of our Corporate Partners? Please check out our 2024-25 Sponsorship Packet!

Besides Panther Tales, Ridgeview Charter Middle School has several ways you can stay up-to-date on news and happenings. Follow us on our main Facebook and Instagram pages for a peek into the daily life of RCMS, plus read success stories about some of our RCMS alumni!

Email: Ridgeview@fultonschools.org
Location: 5340 South Trimble Road, Sandy Springs, GA, USA
Phone: (470)254-7710
Twitter: @RCMSPanther