RHMS Monthly Parent Bulletin

Hello, Bengals! A warm welcome to our new families, who are now officially in our system, and welcome back to our families who have been with us. I hope this newsletter finds you doing well and enjoying these glorious days of summer. Apologies for interrupting your regularly scheduled summer fun! Just want to welcome you and get some dates on your calendar.

Though it may seem that vacation hasn’t even started yet, I know it’ll be just days before the dreaded school supply displays come out in stores! We want you to catch those summer sales, so we’ve included our updated supply lists in this bulletin.

Also important for back to school shopping is DRESS CODE! Yes, we do have one! We have very much updated it, and every time I read it I think how could this NOT be followed. You’d be surprised! The policy is included in this bulletin for you to read prior to shopping (on page 18 of our handbook). Thank you in advance for your support.

Now for the important dates: Bengal Day is on Thursday, August 6 from 8:00 to 2:00. For those of you new to RHMS, Bengal Day is the day you’ll get your child’s schedule, chromebooks, PE uniforms, etc. Since most of our textbooks are now online, we will not be checking out textbooks, but a student may do so at any time throughout the school year for those few classes that still have textbooks. Bengal Day is an open house type of approach, so you can come anytime between the hours of 8:00 and 2:00. I will say, however, that if past patterns repeat themselves, it’s always busiest 8:00-10:00. The kids are excited and can’t wait to find out their schedules and whether or not their friends are in their classes. If you come early, lines might be a little longer, but you should still be able to get through in an hour at most (that includes time to socialize!). We will have a variety of items for sale, too, like PE uniforms, sweats, and yearbooks, so parents have asked me to remind families to bring a checkbook. Some items are sold by Friends of Rolling Hills, our parent club, and some are sold by the school, so it might be helpful to bring your checkbook instead of one single check. We will also have the option to pay via Square, so a card is accepted, as is cash and Apple Pay. Kids also get excited thinking they’ve found a way to hack our system and find out teachers before Bengal Day. Though this may in fact be true, I do want to share that we’re rearranging schedules right up until the 1st day of school, so if they check online but do not actually pick up their schedules, know that some changes may occur.

While I have your attention, I also want to make note of our chromebook policy. We check out a chromebook to each student, and they’re expected to carry it with them to and from school. We are very conscientious about the weight of the backpack because of the chromebook, so please look through supplies and what your child is bringing back and forth and let teachers know if it seems to be too much. It is also getting more and more costly for us to continue with this program, as students do not always care for the equipment carefully, so please talk to your students to reiterate they must be careful with the device. Also, I think it’s important to note that the restrictions/filters we have in place on our chromebooks are only active when the device is connected to the school wifi. If they are using the device on your home wifi or any other wifi, there are no blocks in place unless you’ve done so through your home internet provider. If you have concerns about how best to put restrictions on your home wifi, contact your internet provider. The school wifi does have restrictions on websites, searches, etc. This information is detailed in the paperwork that comes home to you, but not everyone reads all those papers carefully, so I’m trying to call special attention to it here.

The other important date is our Back to School Night, which is when you have the opportunity to meet your child’s teachers and learn about the curriculum they’ll be studying in each class. Back to School Night for 7th and 8th graders is on Thursday, August 20, 5:30-7:15. The night is meant to be for parents to learn about their child’s curriculum, so please plan accordingly for childcare. The schedule is included in this bulletin. Back to School Night for 6th grade is on Thursday, August 27, 5:30-7:15 and is more of a boot camp approach for parents to learn all the new ways to access information, grades, etc to support your child. Sixth grade teachers will be sending schedules as it gets closer.

I know there is much in the news about cell phones. I would like to reiterate that RHMS is an “Away for the Day” school, and has been since 2023. Please click this link to learn more about our policy. Of course, any medical needs will be written into a student’s health plan and/or IEP and allowed.

Traffic is always a special treat, especially at the start of the year. Please familiarize yourself with the flow of traffic map and share it with any other adults who may be responsible for pick up/drop off. A copy of the map is included in this bulletin.

Now that you have a few important dates on your calendar, sit back, relax, and enjoy the fun that is summer vacation! Enjoy every moment with your children; before you know it, they’ll be leaving the home! We thank you in advance for sharing your children with us; they are truly the most rewarding part of our jobs and we can’t wait to see their bright smiling faces on the first day of school (my favorite day of the year!), Wednesday, August 12.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program of summer activities. Enjoy!

Debbie

If you are receiving this Bulletin and your student will no longer be attending Rolling Hills Middle School, please email our registrar Danielle Vander Veen at dvanderveen@buckeyeusd.org as soon as possible.

Thank you

School Hours

http://rhms.buckeyeusd.org/ Please save this link.

Alma

Bell Schedules

Bulletins (Student / Parent)

Calendar (School year)

Calendar (Student Events)

CJSF Info and Forms

Dress Code (p18)

GATE Info

Handbook

Homework Access

Menus Breakfast/Lunch

Online Payments

Sports Info and Schedules

Suggested Supply List

Transportation Info

2026/2027 CALENDAR is available on our school website and is included in this bulletin.

FACEBOOK: This is a fun way for us to share photos from day to day activities and other events. RHMS Facebook

We will be hosting a Welcome Bengal Day on Thursday, August 6th, between the hours of 8:00 am and 2:00 pm. This will allow students to pick up their schedules (by bringing in their blue chromebook form that was mailed home), pick up chromebooks, purchase PE clothes, sweats, yearbooks, binder reminders and get all the other info they need for the 1st day of school. You may come anytime between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm. If you are unable to attend, you can come to the office to pick up your child’s schedule and purchase Life Fitness uniforms after Bengal Day but prior to the first day of school. Your child’s schedule will also be available on the first day of school in the front office.

Prior to the new school year starting, there are often school supplies on sale and parents are interested in what they might provide for their child’s upcoming return to school. Some items will need to be restocked throughout the year. The following supply lists have been developed for parents who wish to know what supplies might benefit their child at their grade level. These lists are made available for the convenience of our families.

Please note: California law states that school districts must furnish the necessary supplies needed for classroom use. The items on this supply list are recommended/optional supplies. Providing these items is voluntary. If, for any reason, parents choose not to send supplies, the necessary items will be provided for all students.

The first day of the 2026/2027 school year is Wednesday, August 12, 2026.

School starts promptly at 7:50 am every day.

Dismissal is 1:10 pm since it is an early release Wednesday (2:04 pm every other day).

This night is intended for parent only, so please plan childcare accordingly. You will receive a schedule to follow on Bengal Day, and a copy will also be available on Back-to-School Night outside the front office. More details to come, but for now, mark your calendars:

6th Grade - Thursday, August 27th 5:30-7:15pm

7th and 8th Grade - Thursday, August 20th 5:30-7:15pm

Middle School Dress Code Policy

“The Governing Board expects that students will present themselves in an orderly manner which
will not disrupt the educational program at school. Their appearance should be neat, clean, and
acceptable to the general society and in keeping with the activity at school. The Governing
Board considers this to be a judgment area of the site administrator or the school (BP 5132).”
The dress code also applies to activities after school (e.g., dances, sports) and off campus (e.g.,
field trips, away sports).

The school administration recognizes that fashion trends may keep it from being easy for
students to find appropriate clothing; however, it is important to maintain a proper learning
environment. Parents/Guardians and students are requested to take the proper steps to ensure
their school wardrobe meets the standards of the dress code.

Students are expected to “dress for school, not the pool.” We want to make schools a safe
place for all kids. We believe that all students should be able to dress comfortably for school
without fear of unnecessary discipline or body shaming. Students should not feel “picked on”
because their bodies developed differently. To that end, our dress code policy is as follows.

Dress Code Policy
The primary responsibility for a student’s attire resides with the student and their
parents/guardians. The school district and individual schools are responsible for seeing that
student attire does not interfere with the health or safety of any student, and that student attire
does not contribute to a hostile or intimidating atmosphere for any student.

1. Certain body parts must be covered for all students
a. Clothing must be worn in a way that private parts and torso are covered with
opaque (not see through) material.

2. Students must wear
a. Shirt–must be in alignment with above (1.a)
b. Bottom–pants, shorts, sweatpants, skirts, dresses, leggings must be in alignment
with above (1.a)
c. Shoes–activity specific requirements are permitted for Life Fitness

3. Students cannot wear
a. Violent language or images, or symbols/abbreviations of such
b. Images or language depicting drugs or alcohol (or illegal items/activities), or
symbols/abbreviations of such
c. Hate speech, profanity, pornography
i. Images, symbols, abbreviations, or language representing any of the
above
d. Clothing that makes visible private parts and torso
e. Visible undergarments
f. Bathing suits
g. Helmets, hats, or headgear that obscures the face, except as a religious
observance or health requirements (like a mask)

The appropriateness of clothing in question per this dress code will be left to the discretion of
the administration and/or designee.

Consequences for being out of dress code are as follows:
Students out of the dress code may be asked to change into different clothes (school issued or
extra clothes on hand) and will receive disciplinary consequences as defined below. These
articles of “Dress Code” clothing are to be returned to the school office at the end of the day and
the student’s clothing will be returned to them at that time.

1st Violation: Warning, change of clothes
2nd Violation: Change of clothes, Home contact, loss of 3 merits
3rd Violation: Change of clothes, Detention, loss of 5 merits

Safety of our students, staff, and parents is a top priority. Please look over the flow of traffic in the parking lot. Please follow these guidelines and listen to all staff on campus. We want all Bengals safe.

For safety, we will be chaining off the main parking lot area between the hours of 8:00 am and 9:00 am. Below is an image to show where the chains will be blocking off the parking lot, and the flow of traffic. The orange stars represent the chains.

**Please note the Orange Stars are chains closing the parking lot.

**Please note the Blue Stars are 15 minute parking spots.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to the assistant principal, Sean Gallagher, via email at sgallagher@buckeyeusd.org

LATE ARRIVALS TO SCHOOL: Students arriving to school after 7:50 am, for any reason, need to sign in at the office and obtain a pass to class.

CHECKING YOUR STUDENT OUT EARLY: Students may only be checked out early by an adult whose name is listed on the student’s contact tab in Alma. An identification card must be shown since we will not know every adult listed in Alma as a contact or an emergency contact. Please allow enough time to follow this procedure as it will not be waived because people are in a hurry.

ABSENCES: If your child is absent, please call the school at 916-933-9290, extension 4 or by using the on-line absence form (Bookmark this link), first thing in the morning. Please know that students are considered to be chronic absentees if they are absent more than 10% of the school year to date, whether absences are excused or unexcused.

INDEPENDENT STUDY CONTRACTS: The state of California requires that Independent Study Contracts may only be set up for students who will be out of school for three (3) or more CONSECUTIVE days not to exceed 15 days per year. Please note you must give the school a minimum notice of five (5) school days to take out a contract! We thank you for planning ahead. Please be aware that contracts cannot be taken out due to illness, and interdistrict students do not qualify for contracts.

Rolling Hills Middle School

Asst. Principal: Sean Gallagher

Main Office: 916-933-9290

Dana Lee (contracts, ext 3003),

Danielle VanderVeen (attendance, ext 3002)

Website: RHMS Website
Location: 7141 Silva Valley Pkwy, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
Phone: 916-933-9290
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063610507614