Hello, Ram families!

I want to remind you that Friday is a teacher workday.  While teachers do not have anything synchronous planned, I just wanted you to know that most staff will be engaged in meetings with colleagues to prepare lessons for the remainder of the school year.

Several folks have asked when learning ends.  Our last day of school for students is the same as it would be in the school building which is June 12th.

Next week is staff appreciation week.  It is sad that we cannot be together to share the event. I hope you and your Ram family will email staff or give them a social media shout out next week to thank them for persevering through the pandemic along with you.

As the year goes on, we will make a determination about the return of items and possible pick-up of items.  We talked about taking up AP texts at cap and gown pick-up, but some students might still need them to study.  We are going to need them to prepare for next year.  I am sure that we will need to collect library books and such, as well. 

I have put the AP exam schedule near the bottom of this email.  It is repeated from last week.  Please, please make sure you have dates and times on the family calendar.

FOR SENIOR FAMILIES

WCPSS continues to review options for recognizing seniors.  There are several ideas for recognition floating around.  We have to wait to see what WCPSS directs regarding recognitions.  I do not have an estimated time for this decision.  I do know that the county wants to honor graduates and is working with Board Chair Sutton and Supt. Moore to review the options.

REPEAT:  Regarding seniors, please remember that any updates regarding seniors will be added to the FAQ.  The FAQ is on the school website under STUDENTS and CLASS OF 2020.

REPEAT:  If any senior attended WCPSS from kindergarten through twelfth grade and believes he or she has had perfect attendance for all of those years, we need to know right away to give us time to research and respond.  Please email Mrs. Jane Stever (jstever@wcpss.net) and copy Mrs. Kelly Nilles (knilles@wcpss.net) to notify the school.

REPEAT:  We are also making plans to distribute caps and gowns from 10 AM to 1 PM on Wednesday, May 13th.  This event will be a drive-through event.  Please plan to enter near the football field and drive to the front of the building.  The items will be put in the trunk of the car or through the window to provide little opportunity for contact.  Be prepared to have the student’s name written on a piece of paper that can be seen from a distance.

REPEAT: Student Services is asking that families please continue to send emails of college acceptance letters.  Letters can be emailed to your child’s counselor.  We need this information as soon as possible.  We still want to honor seniors in some form of a senior awards celebration and this information is included.

REPEAT:  We are requesting that seniors who have been awarded a scholarship please take a picture of the scholarship letter and give it to your counselor as soon as you can.  We normally are asking for these via morning announcements, but we are not in a situation where we need to make a quick sweep to see where we are. It has been fun to hear from students when they have learned that they were awarded scholarships.  Truly, I have done a happy dance at my house when I have gotten the word (and I know I am not the only one).  This information is also needed asap as we include it in our senior celebration.

REPEAT:  WCPSS and Wake Tech are trying to find a way to hold a virtual parent meeting regarding classes for next year.  We are working through details and hope to have that information to you soon.  

PERTAINING TO ALL GRADE LEVELS

Grading for grades 9-11:  I am sure most of you are aware of the changes determined by the State Board of Education this week.  You received an email from WCPSS today that reads:

The most significant change in the information affects students in grades 9 through 11.  They will be given a choice for how they are graded on both year-long and semester courses currently in progress: 

• A numeric grade for the course, the highest grade representing learning as of March 13 or as improved through the semester

 OR

• Pass/Withdrawal.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction will be providing additional information on grading in the next 7-10 days. Once that information is received, we will provide more details on how grades will be handled in Wake County, in alignment with the new state-wide policy.  Meanwhile, we hope that this new policy will ultimately benefit all students regardless of their circumstances.

I am sure you will have questions in the coming days.  I will share updates as soon as I have them.

I know that most families are very aware, but I want you to make sure your AP Ram is ready to take the AP online exams.  To that end, here are the dates and times that the exams will be administered online.

May 11:  US Government and Politics @ 4 PM

May 12:  Calculus AB and BC @ 2PM, Human Geography @ 4PM

May 13:  English Lit @ 2PM, European History @ 4PM

May 14:  Chemistry @ 2PM, Physics 1 @ 4PM

May 15:  US History @ 2PM

May 18:  Environmental Science @ 4 PM

May 19:  Music Theory @ 12PM, Psychology @ 2PM

May 20:  English Language and Composition @ 2 PM

May 21   World History @ 2 PM

May 22:  Statistics @ 2PMSpanish Language @ 4PM

REPEAT:  Mrs. Ellis, our Career Development Coordinator, asked me to share some updates with you regarding opportunities available even now.  We often remind students of these things over the daily announcements, but we need to make sure families are reading and searching out opportunities with Mrs. Ellis.

• For up-to-date Career articles, resources and leadership & job opportunities for students, please follow @RHSCareer on Twitter.  
• There are many career and college planning resources, information about the school's Business Alliance and notifications about local Employment, Internship and Volunteer opportunities located on the RHS Career Services website: bit.ly/rhscareerservices
• Students interested in learning more about enrolling in the CTE Internship class (Fall 2020 or Spring 2021) must listen to the Internship Information Virtual Workshop recording: https://t.co/MZ4WhPGgh1?amp=1

REPEAT:  A few of you have asked about Drivers Eligibility Certificates.  We now have a procedure for the release of certificates.  After you contact DMV and get an email with the DMV appointment information, you will forward that email to Dean Tracy Miller (temiller@wcpss.net) with a request to set up a time to get the certificate from school.  We will only release certificates by appointment.  You will need to take a picture of the Driver Education Certificate and email it in advance of your meeting at school.  The person who contacts you to set the appointment will tell you where to email the picture of the Driver Education Certificate.  Please limit the number of people who meet with the school representative to the parent and student for whom you are requesting the certificate.  When you come to the school at your scheduled time, you must bring:

• Student’s birth certificate or passport
• Proof of address if the current address is different than the one listed on the Driver’s Education Certificate or the address listed in PowerSchool. The address must be verified for the NC Real ID.

As mentioned in the past, we will contact families regarding the pick-up of hotspots and computers upon arrival.  To those who are contacted, we ask that you arrive following our directions to make sure we have a limited number of people on-site.  We also need to assure that all folks on-site follow safe health practices to protect all who are in contact.  You will see that our set-up allows for social distancing and limited opportunities for contact.

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.

Stay healthy and Ram Strong!  

Best,

Mrs. Lassiter