RMS Principal's Report for April 11, 2020
By Cameron Jackson, Russellville Middle School Principal

Students with internet access: 

Teachers will be assigning work via google classroom starting April 13- May 1. If you have a workbook or any paper copies at home, we encourage you to take a picture of your work and scan/email/or text that picture to your teacher to receive credit.

Students without internet access:

Your child should have received an April Work Packet (April 13-May 1) on Friday, March 27.If your child did not receive a paper copy please email cameron.jackson@russellville.kyschools.us or call 270-726-8405.

At this time RMS has elected not to collect work from March 16-April 2. We will give more guidance on work collection procedures after spring break. So, please hold on to that completed work.

NTI Expectations

During NTI Days, all students at RMS are still “going to school”, but are doing so from home. 

During these days, students at RMS will be assigned work digitally by their teachers. That work can be found on the RMS NTI Dashboard. 

RMS teachers will be posting daily work and/or updates. Every class at RMS will have at least one grade entered per week which will count towards students 4th Quarter Grade. (The 4th Quarter started on Wednesday March 11.) 

Students are expected to keep up with the workloads presented by teachers and due dates as they are assigned. 

Where can I find NTI information?

NTI information can be found at russellville.kyschools.us website and click on the middle school tab, after that click on NTI Dashboard to access your teachers google classroom.

NTI Calendar                                                                 

KY Eliminates K-PREP and Accountability Testing for 2019-20

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has officially removed the requirement for accountability testing for KY Public Schools for the 2019 - 20 school year. 

For RMS, this eliminates: 

6th Grade testing in Reading & Math

7th Grade testing in Reading, Math, & Science

8th Grade testing in Reading, Math, Social Studies, & On-Demand Writing 

Resource: myOn Digital library access

Our students will have free access to the myON digital library and daily news articles they can access from home during the current COVID-19 school closure period. This will help them continue reading and learning—and provide additional opportunities for them to explore topics they are interested in. 

Thousands of digital books with optional reading supports for students from pre-K through grade 12. 

Five daily myON News articles, which are written by journalists and reviewed by a child psychologist, along with an archive of previous issues. These resources can be accessed on any digital device that is connected to the Internet and are available 24/7. myON books can also be downloaded onto mobile devices for offline reading. 

How to log into myON 

Go to: https://www.myon.com/school/russellvilleindependentreads 

Log in with the following credentials 

Student username: read Student password: read 

Resources to support reading with myON

• _{What is myON?—provides more information about these resources} 

• _{Welcome to myON video—provides step-by-step instructions for logging in and reading} with myON 

• _{Offline reading tip sheet—provides instructions for accessing, setting up, and reading offline} using free myON mobile apps 

• _{Reading myON books offline video—offers step-by-step instructions for selecting and using} the appropriate myON mobile app 

• _{At-home family reading activities—provides suggestions for supporting and sharing in your} students’ reading experiences 

What can I do at home? (Reminder)

As a parent, we encourage you to:

• Hold daily check-ins with your child and focus on their progress on school-assigned work. 
• Directly support your student’s learning by:
• Helping your student study from notes
• Helping your child study for assignments & assessments

Athletics and Extracurriculars? 

Athletics - The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) instituted a stop of all athletic activities for Middle and High Schools in KY effective from 3/14 through 5/1/2020. This includes any organized gathering or scheduled activities. There will be no practices, games, individual lessons, fundraisers or on-campus/off-campus scheduled activities during this time. You may read the KHSAA rulingHERE. 

Extracurriculars - Per RISD Superintendent Flener, all RISD Extracurriculars will practice the same stoppage guidelines issued by the KHSAA for athletics. 

 Student Meals 

Meal Delivery and pickup will continue to occur between 9:40 a.m.-12:00 noon on a new schedule of days: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Meals will be delivered for multiple days at a time and pickups will work the same way: Meals will still be delivered during Spring Break

Mondays - Meals distributed for both Monday and Tuesday

Wednesdays- Meals distributed for both Wednesday and Thursday

Fridays- Meals distributed for Friday.

Schools (front office areas only) and Central Office (355 S. Summer St.) will be open and staffed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

All RISD buildings will be CLOSED all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

RISD personnel will be available by phone Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.; if your phone call is not answered, please leave a message, and we will get back with you.

Need a Tutor? There are FREE ones ready to help! 

The Green River Regional Educational Cooperative (GRREC) is offering FREE online tutoring assistance to any student in need of help! To get some help, use this LINK to submit a request! 

Student Assistance - Family Needs 

For those families that have specific needs, the RISD Family Resource and Youth Services Center will continue to serve those needs. If you have specific needs such as clothing, household essentials, medical and dental care, food beyond those meals provided during the week, or any other child based need, please don’t hesitate to contact RMS YSC Coordinator, Mrs. Debbie Browder at debbie.browder@russellville.kyschools.us or you may call (270) 726-4799. 

Counseling & Mental Health Resources 

Dear RMS Families,

          This will be our new reality for a little while and it has been an adjustment.  I look forward to hearing from you all, even if it’s just a quick email to say hello. Let me know how you are spending your time and if you have any questions. If you or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis, please go to the nearest emergency room or call 911. You can also access the following: 

http://suicidehotlines.com/kentucky.html (Kentucky resources) 

Community Counseling Resources (access by clicking on the link) 

Digital Resources for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (access by clicking on the link) 

In addition, I will be setting up a Counselor’s Classroom via google to share videos, resources, lessons, and social-emotional learning challenges for students to access. These are not mandatory or for a grade but encouraged for all. I will be sharing the class codes soon so students can join my classes and stay connected. Please do not hesitate to contact me during the hours of 8:00-4:00 Monday-Friday. 

Thank you,

Elizabeth Dye 

Important Upcoming Dates for RMS

At this time all Field Trips are being postponed and possible cancellations.