Panther Tales

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Dear Ridgeview United Families,

We’ve wrapped up another great week at RCMS! Students are settling into daily routines, building connections, and getting involved with fall sports tryouts. I’m happy to share that our official student count is now at 1001—exceeding the spring 2024 projection of 952. We’re grateful to the many families who continue to place their trust in our school and staff.

Tomorrow, August 22nd, we’ll be honoring our spring semester 2024–2025 honor roll students with a special “Pop-In” celebration during the school day. Students who earned all As, or all A's & Bs, will be celebrated with a trophy, treat, certificate and will have their names displayed in our front office. We’re proud of their hard work and look forward to celebrating their achievements!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,
Principal Garrett

Pictured with Mr. Garrett and Dr. Looney: Ms. Entrup, School Literacy (ELA) Coach Entrup@fultonschools.org and Ms. Toler, School Math Coach tolere@fultonschools.org

August 22nd: Honor Roll Celebrations (7th & 8th Grade), During School, Students Only. Sign up to volunteer HERE.

August 25th: Softball parent meeting, 5:30 pm in Room 204

August 26th: FCS Writing Base Assessment, During School, {Scroll for Info}

August 26th: Soccer parent meeting, 5:30 pm in Room 204

August 28th: Curriculum Night & Title 1 Night, 5:30 pm, RCMS {Scroll for Info}

September 3rd: Deadline for Purchasing FCS Device Protection Plan {Scroll for Info}

September 5th: Winter sports physicals due

September 12th: Chorus All-State Applications Due

September 17th: School Picture Day (Uniform Dress Code required)

October 3rd: Parent Party & Auction; Purchase tickets HERE {Scroll for Info}

October 9th: Pantherpalooza; Purchase tickets HERE {Scroll for Info}

October 23rd: Hispanic Heritage Month Concert (All music programs)

If your student previously attended Lake Forest Elementary, please note that Ridgeview is NOT a Community Eligibility Provision school. This means students do not automatically receive free meals at breakfast or lunch, but must complete an application in order to do so.

To ensure your child continues to receive school meals without interruption, we urge you to complete a new meal application as soon as possible. You can submit your application online by visiting www.myschoolapps.com.

If you have any questions or need assistance, contact the Fulton County School Free & Reduced Team at 470-254-2220 or FreeandReduced@fultonschools.org.

On Tuesday, August 26th , all students will take our first District Wide Fulton County School's Writing Baseline Assessment.

Purpose of Assessment:

• Assesses students’ writing skills at the beginning of the school year

• Provides students with meaningful opportunity using multimodal texts

• Serves as an additional writing data point aligned to GMAS and reflect ELA standards

• Serves only as a baseline and will not be taken as a grade

RCMS students will begin the assessment at the start of the school day in Homeroom. Please make sure your students are on time, have had breakfast or are getting breakfast at school, and are ready to show their writing skills!

Experience a (shortened) day in the life of your child at RCMS! Spend approximately 10 minutes in each classroom as you learn about the standards, curriculum and content areas in each class- while getting a chance to meet the teachers and ask questions.

This is a very good way to get to know your child's teachers and understand what they will be studying without the crowds of Panther Peek! Don't miss it!

• 5:30–6:00 PM – Homeroom: Title I School Update, Clubs Info, and Student Schedules

• 6:00–6:10 PM – 1st Period

• 6:14–6:24 PM – 2nd Period

• 6:28–6:38 PM – 3rd Period

• 6:42–6:52 PM – 4th Period

• 6:56–7:06 PM – 5th Period

• 7:11–7:21 PM – 6th Period

• 7:25–7:35 PM – 7th Period

• 7:39–7:49 PM – 8th Period

• 7:50 PM – Dismissal Bell- You made it through the day!

We are excited to announce our new honor roll banners for current 7th and 8th graders! Keep your eyes on the front office and cafeteria walls! We will be celebrating current 7th and 8th graders that earned either all A's or all A's & B's at Ridgeview last year with treats, trophies and certificates! Congratulations!

With Canvas, parents can stay connected to their child's assignments, grades, course materials and teachers all in one place. Canvas makes it easier to support your child's education at home. If you have not already set up a Canvas Parent account, or downloaded the Canvas Parent Ap, you can learn more information about how to do so by clicking HERE.

FCS is offering a new optional Device Protection Plan which provides an affordable way to protect against unexpected costs or fees due to accidental damage, loss or theft of your student's FCS-issued laptop. You can purchase this plan while completing the student enrollment process in Infinite Campus or by calling the Technology Help Desk at (470)254-4357. This plan MUST be purchased before September 3rd. For more information, you can download the information packets below.

If you did not already submit a sports physical for your student this school year, and they wish to try out for a winter sport, you must submit their physical no later than September 5th! Pro-tip: Submitting the physical forms early gives our coaches time to correct errors before tryouts begin and prevents your student from missing tryout days.

Winter Sports:

Basketball (Foundation Sport Open to 6th-8th)

Tennis (7th & 8th Only)

Tumbling (7th & 8th Only)

Boys Volleyball (7th & 8th Only)

We are thrilled to announce that morning intramurals will begin after Labor Day and will continue twice a week from 7:30am to 8:15am. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in activities such as basketball, indoor soccer, and fitness. Students must have an intramural form and health insurance form on file prior to participating. Please click HERE for more information about the intramural program, and for links to the required forms.

Let's make this a fun and energetic experience for everyone!

Coach Kimberlee Lloyd

lloydk@fultonschools.org

Student Success Skills are a set of skills that will be taught in all schools, to all students, by all teachers throughout the school year. Teaching these skills will support students in creating a foundation for managing emotions, healthy relationships, understanding and empathizing with others, being responsible and safe, and learning to cope with difficult life situations. Parents can access this online program by creating their own Rethink Ed Parent Account or through your student’s ReThink Ed Student Account via ClassLink. You can learn more about Student Success Skills and how to access the program materials by clicking Here.

We are excited to see that so many students are already plugging into our music programs and trying out for sports! We also have two big social events coming up that you will not want to miss: Parent Party (for the grownups!) and Pantherpalooza (for the students!) More information is below in the Events section. Please note that advance ticket sales for both events will be ONLINE only! Purchase your tickets today and do not forget to join the Foundation to support our students and get your 2025-2026 window cling!

Contact: RCMSFoundation@gmail.com

Let's Go Panthers!!

Join us for our Annual Parent Party & Auction benefitting the RCMS Foundation. Tickets include admission to the party, drink tickets, food and -most importantly- the chance to meet and mingle with the RCMS parent community! Tickets are available on the Foundation Website by clicking HERE. Foundation Members receive a discount on tickets.

Our incredible auction will be available online again this year! You do not need to attend the party to bid in the auction. If you have items to donate to the auction, please complete this Google Form and our committee will be in touch.

Join us for Ridgeview’s Fall Festival – a fun-filled celebration for RCMS students only!

Date: Thursday, October 9th

Time: 4:00 - 6:30 pm

Location: RCMS Field

Tickets: $25 before October 3rd (online only!), $30 day of the event. Foundation Silver Memberships and above receive one free Pantherplaooza ticket.

Purchase tickets on the RCMS Foundation Website.

Students who purchase tickets in advance will get early admission!!

Get ready for an exciting afternoon packed with games, food, music, bounce houses, and Panther spirit! Pantherpalooza is all about having fun and bringing our Ridgeview community together. It’s the perfect way to kick off the fall season, connect with friends, and celebrate everything that makes Ridgeview special.

Big news, Ridgeview Charter Middle School students! You can travel to Peru with Sra. Holguin in Spring 2026! Students will gain new perspectives, develop a sense of independence, and build skills for the future through this experience. Register for the information meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity here: https://rsvp.eftours.com/gz3p6vs

Cleaning up for the new school year? Recycle your outdated devices while supporting Sandy Springs Education Force (SSEF). Novus Solutions will wipe your data and keep your devices out of the landfill. A $25 donation per car provides vital funding for SSEF’s impactful programs in public schools in Sandy Springs- including RCMS! SSEF will cover additional recycling fees for certain items (like TVs, CRTs, and printers), but welcomes extra donations to help offset these costs.

Got Pics of our Panthers doing anything RCMS Related? Submit them to PanthertalesRCMS@gmail.com and you might just see them here!

Japanese 7th Grade and Connections Students are mastering their characters and writing! Zoom in for some impressive work!

We kicked off PBIS with our first Pep Rally where Panthers pledged to "ROAR" by showing Responsibility, Organization, Attitude, and Respect

Cross Country kicks off and it's clear....our Panthers Love Running!

Thank you Coaches.....

Information published in Panther Tales is limited to communications directly from RCMS, RCMS PTA, RCMS Foundation, Fulton County Schools or our feeder schools and can be submitted it to PanthertalesRCMS@gmail.com.

If you wish to share promotional material related to a local opportunity such as a camp, sports program or other business geared towards our students, you can learn how to distribute your materials through Peach Jar by clicking here.

We will be featuring our corporate partners in each issue of Panther Tales. If you have a business (or know of one) who is interested in supporting our Panthers, please visit our Corporate Partners page and learn how you can help our students AND have your business feathered here!