RMS Weekly Update

9/29- Book Fair Begins

10/1- COUNT DAY

10/6- Picture Retake Day

Cross Country

9/27

• Hanson's Invitational Bethesda CC

10/1

• Dakota Invite Dakota HS @4:30 pm

Football Game

9/30

• Seneca Middle School Home @3:30 pm

Girls Volleyball Games

9/29

• RED- Iroquois Middle School Home @3:30 pm
• WHITE- L'anse Creuse South MS Away @3:30 pm

10/2

• RED- Seneca Middle School Away @3:30 pm
• WHITE- Iroquois Middle School Home @3:30 pm

DO NOT send in lunch or treats for students other than your own. We can not accept food deliveries for lunch tables and friends. Door Dash and other delivery services are not allowed for any reason.

The state legislature has not yet passed a budget for this fiscal year, but we hope that will occur by early next week. Beginning this school year without the School Aid Budget in place presents many challenges. Until there is an approved budget at the state level, the status of funding of Universal Free Meals under the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) remains unknown. Our Board of Education recently took action to have a plan in place for the meals program until we know the final budget.

There are two possible scenarios the district is prepared for after the state budget is approved:

• The state budget passes with the meals program intact. In this case, RCS will continue to provide free meals for all students.

• The state passes a budget that does not include the meals program. In this case, the Board of Education approved a resolution to continue funding free meals for an additional 30 operating days.

Should the State budget not include the free meals program, the district will resign from CEP, notify families, and allow a minimum of 30 operating days for families to submit Education Nutrition Benefits applications so that they may qualify for the free or reduced-priced meal program.

The goal is to allow for a smooth transition from free meals under the Michigan School Meals program to a possible return to full pay, reduced pay and free meals for students.

Picture retakes will be held on October 6th. This will be for all students that need retakes as well as those who have not had a picture taken yet this year. If your student is retaking their picture they will need to bring in the original order. All students will be photographed for a student ID. Please see the following attachments for ordering information. Ordering will be open now until October 9th for pictures to be delivered to the middle school. If you oder after that date you will pay a shipping charge for your order to be shipped to your home. Picture orders are not required to be photographed for a student ID.

When your child is absent from school, it's important to understand how their absence will be

recorded and how you can ensure it's properly documented.

All absences begin as unverified, which means that the school and home have not been in

contact regarding the student absence. To change an unverified absence to a verified absence,

please contact the school. This could be a phone call, email, or a note sent with your child upon

their return. If this occurs, the school will update the attendance record to reflect a verified

absence.

Households need to provide supporting third-party documentation to have an absence

reclassified as an excused absence. This documentation helps the school understand the

nature of the absence and allows it to be coded as excused. Examples of documentation that

can lead to an excused absence include, but are not limited to:

● Student illness

● Medical/Dental/Vision appointments

● Bereavement

● Court appearances/Legal obligations

● Approved educational opportunities

● Other reasons approved by the building administrator

Please ensure all documentation is submitted within 7-10 days of an absence to allow for

accurate record-keeping.

Religious observances shall be considered excused absences. Documentation is not required.

For attendance concerns, the school will issue a letter when a student reaches ten absences. In

the rare instance that an attendance concern continues to twenty absences, parents will again

be notified by letter and the case may be referred to an attendance enforcement officer.

At the elementary level, a student who is picked up one to 30 minutes prior to dismissal will be

issued a tardy for that part of the day. A student who is picked up 31 or more minutes prior to

dismissal will be marked absent for that part of the day.

All 7th graders are required to have updated immunizations or a waiver before the start of the school year. If your student is not up to date or you have received a phone call from our office, please complete the requirements below asap. Check the list below to be sure your student is up to date. Below are links with more information. Waivers must be turned into the office.

Immunization Requirements

Waiver Information

November 4 Facilities Bond Update – "Reaching the Finish Together"

Watch our Facilities Bond Video of the Week and learn about the transformational impact our new STEM & Robotics Center has had on launching our students' futures.

Make sure you order your 25/26 Yearbook! Yearbooks do not come with your picture order. Login to Jostens.com and order yours today!

Students will have time to shop during their ELA classes during the bookfair. You can click the link below to preview and purchase online.

Book Fair Information

Please keep an eye out next week for Ski and Snowboard Club announcements!!

Art club is almost here. Art club is a great opportunity for RMS students to create art outside the classroom in a relaxed and less-structured studio environment. There are two different clubs to choose from. Work with Mr. K on Mondays or Ms. Kerbelis on Thursdays. Permission slips can be picked up from and returned to the office. Studio days begin in October.

All are welcome!

Builders Club is the largest service organization for middle school students and is sponsored by our local Kiwanis Club. Focused on community service, Builders Club is a student-led organization. Students choose the projects and work together to complete them. Every student has a voice. Meetings take place weekly, before school, on Tuesdays. Our goal is to complete at least one project each month. Students can participate in any of the projects that interest them.

By joining Builders Club, you get the chance to:

• Meet new people in grades 6-8 and make new friends

• Build Leadership skills

• Work to make our school and community a better place

Previous projects:

• Visiting Macomb County Animal Shelter

• Breakfast with Santa volunteer (with preschoolers)

• Working at Concession Stand (basketball games)

• Builders Club garden

• Raising money and awareness for the Homeless

• Visiting and volunteering at Samaritan House

• Sending cards to Veterans

• Making blankets for MCREST women and children’s shelter

• Visiting Wellbridge Nursing Care and making crafts with the residents

You can join anytime!

It is not too late to sign up for Drama Club! If interested click the link to the sign up.

Drama Club Sign Up

Please click the following link to access our RMS Drama Club Newsletter.

RMS Drama Club Newsletter

General School Counseling Updates:

We are now at the end of our 4th week of school and routines should be established for our students. One of those routines should be checking Powerschool and Schoology a few times a week to make sure that all assignments are completed. Teachers are beginning to grade assignments and have scheduled tests /assessments in the next few weeks. Please remind your students that when they are absent, they are responsible for completing all missed assignments and checking with their teacher to get any materials they need. This can be a learning curve for some students, so gentle reminders from parents can be helpful. If you need help accessing Powerschool or Schoology, please reach out to your child’s counselor. We are here to help and make sure all of our students succeed!

★ 6th Grade:Our 6th grade students are ROCKING this year!! In my weekly meetings with teachers, they have shared that our current 6th grade students are generally ready to learn, kind to each other, and helpful. Throughout the year we will be focusing on our theme of We “R” ROMEO - Accepting, Responsible, and Engaged. All of us at RMS appreciate working with our parents to continue emphasizing those qualities in school and at home. It has been a great start to the year and I look forward to watching our students grow.

Mr. Brad Martz, Principal

Mrs. Katie Lackowski, Administrative Assistant