Hello, Ram families!

It seems that school-related things have been a bit busier this week.

Before I start anything else, I want to wish all the moms a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

Thank you to all who sent emails and other forms of thanks to staff this week!  Special thanks goes to the PTSA for the gift cards to help staff cover expenses as they transitioned to remote instruction.

I need to make sure that I speak to student engagement this week.  I know it is very hard to maintain interest when you are not in a classroom with our usual interactive learning.  I know that seniors who were passing on March 13th and have all requirements completed for graduation feel that they do not need to participate.  I also know that when the governor announced that school buildings would remain closed for the rest of the year that the wind totally left the sails of the ninth through eleventh graders. I need to make sure families are totally processing participation and what it means...or lack of participation and what it means.

First, I am concerned about seniors who are headed off to college and could be missing foundational skills and information to prepare them for college-level work.  I predict a steep curve for adaptation if the seniors are chilling right now.  

I also worry about seniors who have college acceptance that might be predicated on satisfactory completion of certain courses.  If a senior is not doing well and has in mind that he or she is going to drop the class, I strongly recommend that the student contact the college or university to make sure that a withdrawal will not impact final admission.

For the students who will still be in high school next year, I am very concerned that skill deficits will be great.  I know that remote learning cannot replace classroom instruction.  We have been trying to make sure that we mitigate the loss as much as possible, but students must continue to engage.  Let me give you an example.  When we are setting up classes for next year, we will have students who had the complete prerequisites in fall sections, but they will not have all of the content if they were in spring sections.  Students in the next level of a course who was also in the spring section will feel the difference and recognize the skill gaps.

Students also must remember that they will need the required courses and the number of courses to graduate on time.  That said, every student in 9-11 should seize every opportunity to get over the hump to a passing grade.  Parents, please make sure you are monitoring that Quarter 3 grade.  Students have the grand opportunity to improve their grades before they are finalized, so this is the time to make sure there are no failing grades this semester.

I am putting this food for thought out there because we will start a new year and this scenario is inevitable.  I want to make sure families are keeping students engaged as much as possible to prevent gaps to the extent we can prevent them while working together.

Senior Information

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Remember that the drive-through cap and gown pick-up event is Wednesday, May 13th from 10 AM-1 PM.  All seniors who have not received your Jostens products need to plan to pick them up.  We are not planning a second event for caps and gowns.  We will distribute cords to seniors if they have arrived.  Some have not arrived just as the Latin Honors stoles have not arrived.  We will figure something out about additional distribution as we have these items. Please remember that you will 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.

We hope that the special recognition from PTSA for Seniors will be ready for distribution.  Therefore, we would like for as many seniors as possible to come by the school during this time.

As we are approaching graduation, whatever that form might be, there is some information we need to collect from you.  In this email is a link that directs you to the end of year survey that we give to seniors at the end of every year.  Please complete your survey as soon as you can by logging into your wcpss account.  We would like to have a survey returned from each student. 

https://forms.gle/oSroMHRnLia4Ce95A

Regarding graduation, we are working with the district to explore options for how we can celebrate our seniors.  While we would love to host traditional ceremonies, we also recognize that the current pandemic does not allow that.  We are committed to recognizing seniors during the same time period in June when we would have hosted graduations and are working to preserve as many aspects of our traditional graduation ceremony as possible.  We look forward to getting you more details within the next week.

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.

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.

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.

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.

PERTAINING TO ALL GRADE LEVELS

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If you are interested in taking an introductory Music Theory class in the 2020-2021 school year, please email Ms. Nilles (knilles@wcpss.net) your name and the course you would like to drop in order to add Music Theory.

Mrs. Nuckles, our bookkeeper, has worked with the clerical staff to mail a letter to all families who purchase parking permits. She needs to know how you want to handle the refund. You must return the letter to her asap to let her know if you want the money if you wish to apply it to parking for next year or you wish to donate it to the school system.  As you get the letter, please return to her with an answer.  She has been instructed to issue refunds with a deadline next week, so do not miss your opportunity for a refund.

Mrs. Nuckles is also processing prom refunds.  She is starting with refunds to the folks who were first to purchase tickets and moving forward in chronological order.  I have signed the November checks and will be signing more as she can process them.  We will go as fast as we can, but there are lots of steps to each refund.  Just know that we are working on it diligently.

On Tuesday, May 12th at 1:30 PM, Wake Tech will be offering a Virtual Live Presentation for 11th and 12th graders who are interested in knowing more about Wake Technical Community College.  The live session will explain the curriculum, college transfer & health science programs. They will also discuss the admissions process and other resources, tutoring, athletics & clubs/organizations on campus. If you are interested, please sign up at this link:  https://forms.gle/DM4ZCErUpykozQH47.  A Google Meets invitation will be sent a few minutes before the presentation to interested students' WCPSS email for them to gain access to the virtual forum.

We are planning to distribute 2020 yearbooks soon! A pick-up date will be set and announced once the yearbooks are delivered to RHS in early May. Jostens is preparing a virtual yearbook-signing for the students. More information to come soon! There are 32 yearbooks left for purchase through www.jostensyearbooks.com. You can help us make sure every senior's able to remember this historic year by donating a yearbook. Using the link, enter "Senior Donation" when prompted for a name. Please contact Rebecca Hatcher at rhatcher@wcpss.net if you have any questions. 

The Rolesville Athletic Club (RAC) is a volunteer-based organization devoted to providing our student-athletes at Rolesville High School with the best equipment, facilities, and opportunities available.  Monthly meetings are held on the first Monday at 6:30 pm in the Rolesville High School Media Center (2nd Floor). Currently, we are having online video meetings.

We need YOUR help as we continue to grow and improve the Rolesville High School athletic program into one of the best in the state of North Carolina.  One way to support the Rolesville Athletic Club is by volunteering in one of the Club Committees: Apparel and Merchandise; Communication; Concessions; Facilities; Fundraising and Sponsorship; and Membership.

The Rolesville Athletic Club includes dedicated administrators, coaches, parents/guardians, teachers, and community businesses and members who together raise monetary funds each year.  Our various fundraisers have included the Boston Butt Sale, Chicken Plate Sale, Golf Tournament at Zebulon Country Club, and Ram Walk.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and visit our website! 

Repeat

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.

As the year goes on, we will make a determination about the return of items and possible pick-up of items.   Principals were informed on Wednesday that the county will inform us about student and staff closeout processes.

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.

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 @ 4PM

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 @ 4PM

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

May 20:  English Language and Composition @ 2PM

May 21   World History @ 2PM

May 22:  Statistics @ 2PMSpanish Language @ 4PM

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

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 the 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. Address must be verified for the NC Real ID.

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