RMS E-News 11/09/2009
November 9, 2009
At approximately 10:48 am, the fire
alarm sounded. This was not a scheduled drill; the building was
evacuated. Upon investigation, administrators determined that the
alarm was triggered by melting wax during a science lab experiment.
At no time were students in any danger.
The evacuation was successfully
completed, and students returned to class at approximately 10:51.
RMS E-News 11/06/2009
Posted Date: 11/10/2009
Principles for Success at Ridgeview
Middle School:
Character Education, Accountability, Relationships, Encouraging
Pride and Excellence
Panthers!
Time flies when you are having fun! It is November and this is
going to be a short six weeks with the Thanksgiving break, mid-term
exams and projects. I just counted 27 school days until winter
break!
As you know, Ridgeview has been reviewing its Re-teach/Re-do policy.
I want to thank the students, teachers and parents for their input.
The district is also reviewing the policy and related procedures. At
this time, Ridgeview will be making a change for the third six-weeks
grading period. The time period for which students have to turn in
missing/late work (not due to an absence) for no grade reduction,
will be 1 day instead of 1 week. Students will still be able to turn
in work for a maximum grade of 70 before the grading deadline, which
is the Wednesday before grades are due every three weeks. At this
time, we are not changing the policy for tests and exams; but, we
predict a change for next semester as the district more clearly
defines its procedures.
Success is the ONLY Option!
Holly Galloway Ph.D.
Principal
Re-teach/Re-do Change
Lesson Assignments (Homework/Daily Work/Class work)
Effective November 9, students will have 1 day from the date the
assignment was not turned-in, or the day the student learns that
they received a failing grade, to make-up/re-do the assignment for
full credit. If the assignment is turned-in after the one day period
and before the grading deadline (the Wednesday before grades are due
each three week grading period) the student can receive a grade of
no more than 70%.
Ridgeview Receives Gold Performance
Awards
The Texas Education Agency released its 2008-2009 Gold Performance
Acknowledgments (GPA). There are 15 indicators available for
recognition at the district and campus level. Ridgeview earned
recognition for the number of our students scoring at the "commended
level" on Reading/ELA and Social Studies tests.
Science Spot
Eighth grade students are starting a
new unit, Natural and Human Effects on Earth's Systems. This unit is
about understanding how changes in Earth's cycles affect life and
the environment by predicting results of changes in cycles,
analyzing the effects of human and natural events, and describing
how human activities modify soil, air, and water quality. Students
should be able to answer the following questions by the end of the
unit.
-
How has modifying the nitrogen,
carbon, and water cycles affected the environment?
-
How have natural events affected
the extinction or endangerment of some species?
-
How have human events affected the
extinction or endangerment of some species?
How have humans modified soil, water, and air quality?
Math Teaser -
Students can see Dr. Galloway for the answer
Lemonade Lovers
Question: On Monday, Mia drank half the contents of a pitcher
of lemonade, and then her sister Tia drank half of what was left. It
takes half a package of lemonade mix to make a pitcher of lemonade.
The sisters always make a full pitcher of lemonade.
Mia and Tia plan to drink the same amount of lemonade after school
on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
What is the least number of packages of mix needed to provide enough
lemonade for 5 days?
How much lemonade will be left in the pitcher at the end of the
week?
Coats for Kids.
Ridgeview is competing with other middle schools in Central Texas in
collecting the most gently used and new coats for the Coats for Kids
project. This is a campus-wide focus on donating coats to the
millions of freezing children around Central Texas. This program has
been helping our neighbors for 23 years. Please clean out your
closets and donate any coats that may not fit your families any
longer. We have a goal to collect 700 coats of all sizes and we need
your help! The collection boxes in which you or your student may
place the coats will be inside each of our entrances. We will also
have people available to collect coats at the Parent Drop-off area
on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Erase the R-word Campaign
Ridgeview Middle School students are pledging to erase the R-word.
This is a campaign started by Special Olympics. In 2004, Special
Olympics changed its terminology from mental retardation to
intellectual disabilities in response to a call from the athletes
who felt the negative connotations associated with the term
retardation. Take the pledge and add your name to the growing list
of people who have already made the same pledge online at
www.specialolympicstexas.org.
Family Fun Night -CATCH (Coordinated
Approach to Children's Health)
On November 17, 2009 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., right here on the
Ridgeview Campus, the CATCH program will have a variety of
activities and information for parents, students, and staff to
enjoy.
6:00-6:15 Welcome/Introductions/Presentation-Ridgeview Cafeteria
6:15-7:15 Vendors/Physical Fitness Activities
-
Joanne Johnson: Health Services
-
PTA: Doreen Meyer, Stacy Roberts,
Emily Rowe: Healthy Lifestyles Committee/Promoting Healthy
Living in the Community
-
Doreen Meyer: SNAP Fitness
-
Sarah Nielsen/Michelle Smith:
CATCH Booth
-
Katie Lombardi: American Heart
Association
While people are roaming and gathering
info from vendors, there will be healthy GO snacks available, and
all can participate in different fitness activities including:
-
Sit-ups and push-ups
-
Sit 'n reach/trunk lift
-
Knock-out basketball
-
Queen of the court volleyball
-
Walking and running the track
-
Boot camp stations (black top)
At 7:15, everyone will relocate to the
gym. At that time, Becky Kohn's dance students will perform.
Ridgeview Recycles Day
The PTA Go Green Committee presents our first Ridgeview America
Recycles Day event.
-
Sunday, November 15
-
1:00-3:00pm
-
Ridgeview parking lot
Bring your paper, cardboard,
fiberboard, plastics #1 and #2, tin, steel and aluminum and we will
take it to the recycling center. FREE magnets for the first 100
people!!
8th Grade Day is November 24,
2009
T-shirts are being ordered for all RMS
8th graders for this event. (If your family is experiencing
financial hardships at this time, please contact your child's
advisory teacher.) We want all students who want an 8th Grade Day
t-shirt to have one. T-shirts are $7 from Nov 2 - Nov 20 and $10
from Nov 23-24. (Please note that our 8th grade Positive Rewards
Committee would like for all 8th graders to wear the Great Gobbler
Games t-shirt on the end of the year reward trip, so it will be
helpful to have the t-shirt for that event as well.) There is a
Parent Info Night on Nov 11 at 5:30pm, in the RMS lecture hall.
Supplies needed: Wheel Barrows, Coolers, Baked/Dried Pumpkin Seeds,
Tennis Balls, Baseball Bats, Tricycles, Dried Corn Cobs or Dried
Corn on the Cob (250-ish; please send them in as you collect them),
Tarps, Orange Cones, Soccer Balls, Bags of Ice, Large Buckets,
Cabana Tents, and Sidewalk Chalk. Monetary Donations are accepted
(mark donations with your name). Please contact Chrissy Sphar
(chrissy_sphar@roundrockisd.org ) or Val Williams
(val_williams@roundrockisd.org) with questions or for more
information.
Open Nominations for
Talented and Gifted
Open nominations for Talented and
Gifted Program services begin November 16, 2009. Nomination packets
will be available in the counseling office or on-line on the RRISD
website beginning November 16th at 8 a.m. Directions for accessing
the packets on-line are included on our Ridgeview Counselor website
under 'informational flyers'. Completed referral paperwork and
permission to test must be received by 4pm on Friday, December 4th.
Nominations may be completed by teachers, parents or by the student,
but parent permission must be obtained for the evaluation process.
RMS E-News 10/30/2009
Posted Date: 10/30/2009
Panthers!
Red Ribbon week was a great success. Thank you PTA
for your help. Students enjoyed the dress-up days and learned from
the video lessons shown during advisory this week. Mr. B'Smith has
started meeting with 6th grade teams
during advisory to be proactive in preventing bullying. Our message
for students is to Speak UP!, Reach Out!, and Be a Friend! Please
contact Mr. B'Smith or Mr. Damron for more information.
RRISD and Ridgeview will also be participating in
"Project-Alert" an evidence-based program that gives students
insight, understanding, and actual skills for resisting substance
use. Project ALERT successfully addresses tobacco, alcohol,
marijuana and inhalants, the substances teens are most likely to
use. The lesson will be taught to 6th
grade students and more information will be sent home regarding the
lesson schedule and content. Please visit
www.projectalert.com for more information.
Happy Halloween!
Success is the ONLY Option!
Holly Galloway Ph.D.
Principal
Fall Back
Daylight Savings Time ends this
weekend; do not forget to set your clocks back 1 hour Sunday,
November 1 at 2:00 a.m.
Science Spot
Eighth grade students are finished
with their unit on Forces that shape the earth. Challenge them with
this brain teaser!
"One of the volcanoes on the Hawaiian
islands just erupted and sent all kinds of rock and ash into the
air! I just saw it on the news!" Fred spouted, running into the
room. Everyone paid close attention to the television set as they
changed it to the news channel. Liz, knowing that isn't true, said,
"Hawaii? I think not". How did Liz know the eruption never happened?
Hint
Hawaii has eruptions everyday. The way
Fred explained it, is what is wrong. 
Answer
The type of volcano on Hawaii is a
"Shield" volcano, and the volcano Fred explained is a "Composite"
volcano. A shield volcano has slowly flowing lava with no ash
spouting out. Every volcano on Hawaii is this way. On the other
hand, a composite volcano shoots out rock and ash, with a small
amount of lava. A good example would be Mt. St. Helen's. If a
composite volcano were to erupt, it would not be on Hawaii.
 
Math Teaser - Follow the Bandits
Philo, a Greek merchant, is traveling
across a vast desert. Suddenly, he is attacked by a group of bandits
who steal his bundles of silk and ride off into the wilderness.
Badly shaken, Philo sits down in the meager shade of a lone,
scraggly palm tree to plan what to do next. He decides to search for
the thieves, following their tracks.
A few weeks later, Philo arrives at a
city and spies the bandits, who promptly flee into the desert. Philo
attempts to follow them, but he quickly loses sight of the culprits.
However, he knows from overhearing their plans that they will visit
seven other cities to sell the silk they have stolen and then return
to the city where he is now.
In order to recover all his silk,
Philo wants to visit the cities in the same order as they do, but he
does not know what that order will be. How many different routes
could the bandits take?
Hint
How many different routes could the
bandits take if they visited one other city? Two other cities? Three
other cities? Four other cities? Do you see a pattern?
Answer
On the first leg, the bandits could go
to any one of seven cities, so there are seven possible routes. They
have six cities left for the next stage, then five, four, and so on.
Altogether, they could follow any one of 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1,
or 5,040, different routes before returning to their starting point.
So, by randomly picking a route, Philo has a 1 in 5,040 (or 0.019
percent) chance of finding the right one.
Coats for Kids
8th Grade Leadership class
is coordinating a campus-wide project focusing on donating coats to
the millions of children without coats around central Texas. This
program has been active for 23 years, and last year alone,
distributed 30,200 coats. Ridgeview Middle School is participating
in this project to donate as many coats as we can and hope to exceed
our goal of 700 coats!
Starting November 9, 2009 you will be
able donate your coats to the various bins located around the school
campus. A schedule for picking up at Parent Drop-off in the mornings
and at other school activities is below. The school can only receive
your gently used coat donations until Friday, November 20,
2009.
November 5: Coats for Kids Collections
at 7th Grade Volleyball Game (at Ridgeview)
November 3: Coats for Kids Collections
at 8th Grade Football Game (at Dragon Stadium)
November 10, 12, 17, and 19: Coats for
Kids Collections at Parent Drop-off 7:00am - 8:00am
Please clean out your closets and be
ready to donate! For more information, visit:
http://www.coats-for-kids.org/
PTA Reflections 2009-2010 Contest
Students can create an original work
in one or more of the following categories. The theme this year is
'Beauty is.'. Entries are due to the library by Wednesday, November
4, 2009.
-
Photography
-
Visual Arts (drawings, paintings,
sculptures, etc.)
-
Dance
-
Film Production
-
Literature (poems, stories etc.)
-
Music
Erase the R-word Campaign
Ridgeview Middle School students are
pledging to erase the R-word. This is a campaign started by Special
Olympics. In 2004, Special Olympics changed its terminology from
mental retardation to intellectual disabilities in response to a
call from the athletes who felt the negative connotations associated
with the term retardation. Take the pledge and add your name to the
growing list of people who have already made the same pledge online
at
www.specialolympicstexas.org.
CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Children's Health)
Information
As many of us know, the American Heart
Association also associates with the CATCH program. After all,
having a healthy lifestyle will reduce the risk of heart disease,
high cholesterol, and obesity! In February, "Heart Month" we will be
doing activities on campus that will help raise money for the Heart
Foundation and incorporating CATCH ideas as well!
8th Grade Exploration
In continuing with career and college
exploration, 8th graders will have the opportunity to explore the
Princeton Review Future Finder program during the week of November
2-6, 2009. This program allows students to view information about
hundreds of universities around the country. There are also
scholarship information and interest inventories that they can
explore. As freshmen next year, they will be able to communicate
with their counselor and exchange their college search information
via the future finder program.
District hosts Festival of Bands
Due to inclement weather, the Round
Rock ISD Festival of Bands was postponed. The 10th Annual Festival
of Bands has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. at the
RRISD Athletic Complex on Parmer Lane. This annual event is designed
to showcase the musical accomplishments of the RRISD band programs
across the district, with proceeds used for festival expenses,
transportation, and professional development for all Fine Arts
teachers K-12 across RRISD. Tickets are $6 each for adults and $5
for students (pre-school aged students are free) and can be
purchased from any RRISD band student or at the gate on the evening
of the Festival. However, the adult public is encouraged to purchase
a special donation ticket for $7, which will earmark $1 to help
provide partial scholarships for private music lessons for students
who need financial aid.
RRISD to offer free seasonal FluMist Clinic
Round Rock ISD Health Services will be
holding a seasonal FluMist Clinic on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 4 p.m. at
the RRISD Performing Arts Center, 5800 McNeil Dr. in Austin. The
district received approximately 500 doses of FluMist and will be
available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Clinic will close
once all doses have been administered. The FluMist can only be
administered to children ages 2 to 18 who do not have asthma or
reactive airway disease and are not allergic to eggs, gentamicin or
gelatin. Parents must accompany students who are receiving the
vaccine. This vaccine is for the seasonal flu, not the H1N1 flu.
Cedar Ridge HS Signing Event for Charter Students
On Monday, November 2, 2009 between
5:00 and 7:00 p.m., Cedar Ridge will host a "signing" event for all
charter Cedar Ridge students. The event will take place at the
construction site on Gattis School Road where all future Raiders are
invited to attend a come-and-go ceremony to sign their name to the
foundation of the main competition gym floor. After this event the
floor will be covered with hard wood, which will permanently affix
each student's name to the foundation of the school. Permanent
markers will be provided for students during the event. Parents and
students should park in the front parking lot and enter the front of
the building where they will be guided to the main gym. We ask that
after signing, students leave the construction site to alleviate
crowding and traffic congestion.
The PTA Go Green Committee presents
our first Ridgeview America Recycles Day event.
Bring your paper, cardboard,
fiberboard, plastics #1 and #2, tin, steel and aluminum and we will
take it to the recycling center. FREE magnets for the first 100
people!!
Parents, do your students tell you what is happening at
school? Here is a tip for learning more about their experiences at
school. When it comes to communicating with your middle school
students, sometimes what you hear is more important than what you
say. When parents take the time to listen, students get the message
that what they have to say is important. In turn, this makes them
more likely to listen to your thoughts on the subject. If your child
starts a conversation, try to make time for it right then. Children
are more likely to open up when they pick the time and topic. Also,
resist the temptation to jump in or ask your child lots of
questions. As soon as you begin to ask questions, they are likely to
stop talking
Holly Galloway Ph.D.
Principal
Tuesday October 20, 2009 is early release.
Classes release at 1:30 p.m.
Susan G. Komen Receives nearly
$700 from Ridgeview Middle School