Hello, Ram families!

I hope my email finds you all as well as can be expected in these very different days and weeks.

We started the second phase of remote learning on Monday, April 13th.  The administrative team members and I have been communicating with staff.  Foremost, they have been very happy to see and hear from their students. They also have been very pleased with the desire of students to engage as they are missing the structure and challenges that they usually get in the typical learning environment.  If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the teachers for explanations and support. I also encourage you to have your Ram set time during the office hours to ask questions and seek guidance for themselves. Staff members have daily office hours.  Those hours are not the same for all staff, so hours should allow some flexibility for students and families.

I will continue to share information with students via their school email accounts.  Please make sure you remind students to check email regularly (just like we do for our own jobs).  All email correspondence between students and teachers should be conducted through the WCPSS provided accounts.

Regarding seniors, I think I need to add more clarity to the issue of being “done” for the year.  Yes, it is true that those who were passing on March 13th will get credit and seniors are now held to a 22-credit standard across the state.  Those 22 credits must include all required courses, so some students will still need to show proficiency to earn credit for required classes if they were not doing so on March 13th. We are hopeful that seniors will continue to engage in remote learning for the remainder of the course.  The learning that continues will have an impact on the future for many of our seniors, so please encourage them to stay connected with the courses. Learning will not stop.

As for seniors, we are still gathering and awaiting information regarding end-of-year processes, celebrations, graduation, etc.  Much depends on the decision that our government leaders must make. In the meantime, the school staff is operating based on what we feel we must do regardless of final decisions from the state and county.  There are still recognitions, etc. that we can prepare for. To support senior families, we have started a senior FAQ.  It has been added to the Students tab of our school website.  As we have answers to questions and information we can share, we are placing it in this evolving document.  

We were planning to have a parent meeting on April 28th for parents to prepare for graduation.  Since we do not know at this moment what graduation will look like, you may hold that time slot but know that we might need to pivot and do something different.  I promise to share updates as soon as we know where we are headed.

Regarding device and hotspot requests, we will have to deliver these in stages.  As of this mailing, I have not received notification that we will get computers or hotspots for RHS yet. From what I can gather, hotspots and computers are a hot commodity across the nation - as to be expected.  We have to wait until we get the hardware. We have prepared methods to safely distribute and will notify families who have stated needs as soon as we know the devices are coming and feel confident they will arrive.  Please note that we may try to turn this around in 2 days, so we will need support to pull this off as planned.

Food distribution continues at RHS.  Check the information here to see if there are sites closer to your home to make it more convenient for you.

MVP workbooks for Math I, 2 and 3 are still available for pick-up.  Workbooks are provided one unit at the time. We are offering the workbooks to students who are currently enrolled in these classes and they are available from 11-1 each day at the same time and location as our food distribution. Please know your child’s math course and teacher’s name when you come for pick-up.

AP teachers are preparing AP exam prep materials.  If teachers are requesting that copies be made available, they will also be available in the 11-1 window each day alongside the math materials.  It is important to know what each individual teacher is doing for support.

I know some of you are asking about refunds.  As best I can figure it, the county is taking this in stages.  We are preparing for field trip refunds first. Prom refunds are on the table as we wait on the directions from the county.

Reminders from Past Weeks

I want to remind you that WCPSS also has resources listed for families who are experiencing great stressors at this time and need community support.  Those resources are at the bottom of this page.

Several folks have asked for Driver Education Certificates.  We do not have staff at school to handle these and WCPSS has clearly said that we cannot issue them at this time.

Several of the parents of juniors have asked about ACT scores.  It is my understanding that the company will mail scores directly to parents five-to-eight weeks after the test was taken.  You will not have to wait until we reopen school to get scores.

The yearbook company has reached out to me.  We were able to pull it together to go to print and we will work out a plan to make sure that folks who bought one will get it.  We have limited copies available for purchase online. Once these are gone, we will not be able to get additional copies.

Hang in there RamFam!  I look forward to having a little more of a routine next week and maybe we can feel just a little more connected!

Best,

Mrs. Lassiter