Panther Press
January 30, 2015
Parent Survey:
The Georgia Parent Survey is for the purpose of providing the state feedback about local schools. This survey contains 24 questions and is similar to a survey that students complete. A Spanish version of the parent survey will be available soon. Parents will be able to complete the survey using their personal computers, smartphones or iPads. All parents are encouraged to participate in the Georgia Parent Survey because the data will be used to calculate the School Climate Star Rating. However, there is no mandatory participation rate for parents. Survey responses are anonymous and will be submitted directly to the Georgia Department of Education for analysis. Data results from the Georgia Parent Survey will not be available to the public and will not be posted online. The survey link is http://apps.gadoe.org/schoolclimate/parents.nsf/Survey.xsp Thank you!
Georgia Student Health Survey 2.0:
There are two versions of the Georgia Student Health Survey (GSHS) 2.0. The first version is for middle and high school students (grades 6 – 12), and the second version is a short survey for elementary students (grades 3-5). At least 75% of students at each grade level (3-12) must participate in the GSHS 2.0 to be eligible for the School Climate Star Rating. Students at Riverwatch will complete the survey in January. Survey responses are anonymous and will be submitted directly to the Georgia Department of Education for analysis. The survey is offered at no cost to all Georgia public school districts and private schools that wish to participate. We will let you know soon when the Spanish version of the student survey is available. Copies of the Georgia Student Health Survey 2.0 questions are available online by clicking on the word “online” to the left.
Student Recognitions:
Congratulations to the following students! All have been recognized in the month of January for outstanding achievement. Way to go Panthers!
Spelling Bee Champion – Sindhu D.
Spelling Bee Runner Up – Julia C.
Geography Bee Champion – Radu C.
Geography Bee Runner Up – Hunter A.
Creative Communication Honor for Publishing Poetry:
Lindsay C.
Allie D.
Cole D.
Jimmy L.
Jenny W.
Emma Grace A.
Oratorical Contest Winners:
Girls Category
Srija S.
Vivian S. (runner up)
Boys Category
Krishi K.
Hunter A. (runner up)
Congratulations to these Riverwatch students for being selected for the2015 Georgia All-State Band:
Hannah L. - 1st chair oboe (highest score in the state)
Henry X. - 6th chair clarinet
Annie P. - 10th chair clarinet
Daniel S. K. - 16th chair clarinet
Cody X. - 20th chair clarinet
Minjae L. - 1st chair bass clarinet (highest score in the state)
Chris P. - 3rd chair bass clarinet
Brian C. - 2nd chair alto saxophone
Manas A. - 1st chair baritone saxophone (highest score in the state)
KatherineL.- 2nd chair trumpet
Alvin L. - 4th chair trumpet
Tad K. - 6th chair trumpet
Rebecca K. - 13th chair trumpet
Joey J. - 1st chair trombone (highest score in the state)
Megan C. - 3rd chair percussion
Erica H. - 7th chair percussion
Pranav K. - 1st clarinet alternate
Pritam K. - 1st bass clarinet alternate
These students began preparing in August for two rounds of auditions at the district and state levels. Membership in the All-State Band is the most prestigious honor any individual band student can receive.
Riverwatch has the highest number of students in Georgia selected for All-State Band. This accomplishment is rare and speaks to the dedication and hard work of many students, not just the ones listed above.
We want to extend a HUGE congratulations to all of our tech fair participants. They not only did a fantastic job with their projects, but they were a great example of what a RMS Panther is. The followinglistshowsstudents who placed this year in the county tech fair. They will go on tocompete in the state technology fair later this year. We wish them luck!2014-2015 Technology Fair: hosted by Forsyth County Schools
Riverwatch Middle School
Digital Video Production:
1st Place- Sudarshan D.
Game Design:
3rdPlace- Esha S.
Multimedia Applications:
1st Place- Remington Y.
2nd Place- Nithik B.
Robotics:
2nd Place- Aryan G.
Technology Literacy Challenge:
1st Place- William A.
Web 2.0 Internet Applications:
1st Place- Krishi K.
Football Information Meeting:
There will be an information meeting for the parents of any 6th and 7th grade student who is interested in playing football next year. The meeting will be on Monday, February 9th at 6:00pm in the cafeteria. We will discuss the football program, off-season morning workouts, spring football practice, 7th grade tryouts, summer camp, and more. If you have any questions prior to the meeting please contact Coach Brumbelow.
Lost & Found:
Our lost & found closet is over-flowing. Please encourage your student to look in our lost & found closet located in the front office for missing items or on the clothing rack located just outside of the Counseling office for jackets, hoodies, etc. All remaining items will be donated next Friday, February 6, 2015.
Science Olympiad Information - Science Olympiad will February 4th & 11th from 4:15 – 5:30 in room #448 to prepare for the competition on Saturday, February 14th.
itslearning News:
itslearning has released a student app. It is available in the App Store and the Google Play store. We found the lightweight app to be a communication tool that provides an additional connection point for students. While the app can be downloaded by any user type, students are the target audience.
Below are some important features to note about the app:
· Students will authenticate with their username and password the first time they open the app. They will also be asked to setup a four-digit pin that will provide quick access to the full platform from the app.
· The app displays assignments, tasks, messages, notifications (graded assignments, feedback) and calendar events. Student can click on the assignment, tasks, notification and will be taken to the full task in itslearning in a browser.
· Push notifications are available.
· At this time, the planner is not viewable on the app. However, assignments included on the planner will be pushed to the student’s assignments/tasks list on the app.
· The app does not provide a parent view.
A full description can be found at the link below.
http://www.heraldonline.com/2015/01/06/6673860/new-mobile-app-from-itslearning.html
School Nutrition News:
Changes in milk choices at breakfast beginning Jan 20, 2015
As a part of the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act, USDA set limits on some key nutrients in school meals, one of them being sodium to promote healthy blood pressure. Starting with the 2014-2015 school year, the amount of sodium allowed in the daily breakfast meal is limited to 540 mg in K-5, 600 mg in 6-8, and 640 mg in 9-12. These limits are based on the average 5-day week menu that includes a breakfast entrée, two ½ cup choices of fruit and low fat/nonfat milk.
Due to the way cocoa is processed, a carton of nonfat chocolate milk provides 180 mg of sodium as compared to 125 mg for the other flavored and unflavored milks. To help us meet the sodium targets noted above, nonfat chocolate milk will no longer be offered as a breakfast milk choice. We will continue to offer the other Mayfield milk choices: skim, 1% low-fat, as well as nonfat, low sugar strawberry and vanilla flavored milks based on customer preferences. Students will be able to enjoy their favorite nonfat chocolate milk at lunch because the sodium limits set for lunch are higher.
Additional changes to the breakfast menus and a pilot-testing of healthy yogurt & fruit smoothies will be coming in the spring menus. Remember that eating breakfast at school is a convenient and a healthy way to start the learning day.
Forsyth Co. School Nutrition Program
PTSA News:
The Riverwatch PTSA wanted to thank you for all your support thus far! Because of you and your generosity we have funded almost all grants requested for 2014-2015. Many of these grants support our students with technology and software programs, along with special speakers and programs. It is hard to believe that this school year is more than halfway finished!
It is also time to begin thinking about next year and our new PTSA Board. If you have any questions about what we do, what each position entails or interest in serving on our 2015-2016 Board, please contact Kelli Crowder at or Laurel Petty at .
We are also in the planning phases of an exciting event to be held this Spring, Rock for the Arts. Additional information is included in the Panther Press. If you would like additional information or have an area of interest you may wish to volunteer in, please contact Vicki Eckley at .
GO PANTHERS!!
Rock for the Arts:
We are delighted to announce a new program to RMS, called Rock for the Arts!" We plan for our event to be held after school on Friday, May 1, 2015. We will invite our students and their families, the community and business leaders to Riverwatch, see the work of our students and help expand the opportunities for the future of Riverwatch students.
We began this program with the initial backing of the Forsyth County Arts Alliance by a $3,000.00 donation to be used for rewarding our students in their progressive use of many artistic talents. This year’s initial program will include:
Dance: Any type of dance performed by any student or group of students, choreography skills, floor gymnastic routines; any type of expression of movement.
Literature: Written stories, illustrated stories, story readers, journalist; any expression of information,
Music: Bands, solo instruments, student written music, student performance of music, groups we will create to perform together; any expression of music
Film: IMPROV comedy routines, one-act performances, films of broadcasting, stories, events, scripts written and filmed by students; any expression of performing arts.
Visual Art: Paintings, photography, drawings, sculpting, ceramic (bowls, cups, etc); any type of hands on art that is a visual expression.
Fashion: Designing clothes, accessories, modeling (clothing supplies by local shops); any expression made with fashion.
This event will be made possible by our student talents, and hosted by parents and viewed by our communities. As you can see, an event such as this will need volunteers to make it successful. There are many ways that you can help us get this off the ground. We will have a couple of parent meetings to discuss the details. If you are interested please contact Vicki Eckley at her email address - .
Counseling News:
No More Homework Tears!
In response to a need identified on the Riverwatch Counseling Departments needs assessment survey, the counseling department is pleased to sponsor a parent coffee and conversation event which will focus on study skills. Learn how to harness the power of learning styles and other techniques to:
o Help your child be more confident when taking tests
o Make studying easier for your child
o Help your child study more efficiently
o Help your child retain more information when they study
Please join in the Riverwatch Media Center on Tuesday, February 10 at 9:30 for this very informative and useful presentation.
Announcing upcoming Counseling Small Group Opportunity for 7th graders:
We will be starting a new “Changing Families” group this month. This small group is designed for students experiencing a significant change in their family structure (parents marital separation, divorce, parent starting to date, remarriage, birth/adoption of new sibling, etc….).
If you are interested in your child participating please contact Dr. Brown ()
Thank you!
Lambert High School Academic Booster Club and Dr. Gary Davison, Principal- Lambert High School, invite you to join a conversation for our students.
Our students are facing a lot of stresses beyond just their academics, arts and athletics programs. Some are managing it, but others are not. It is time for an honest conversation.
Please join Dr. Gary Davison and the Academic Booster Club officers at one of the following gatherings for a dialogue about some or all of the serious concerns facing our students. We do not promise a perfect answer: but a dialogue between Lambert High School and our Lambert Families. This is critical in order for us all to be available to our kids in the most effective way.
We hope you will join the conversation. Please join us at any of the three locations. The topics will be the same and all meetings are open to any Lambert family.
· Alcohol/Drugs
· Texting and driving
· Managing Stress/everyday life
· How to be a prepared young adult
7pm-8pm (we will start promptly at 7pm)
Bridle Ridge Clubhouse – Thursday, January 29
Grand Cascades Clubhouse – Wednesday, February 4
Three Chimneys Clubhouse – Thursday, February 5
Please direct Questions and RSVP to Carole Hoemeke at
Substitutes:
We are in need of substitute teachers. If you are interested in subbing, please call the front office and talk to Liz Taylor. The main line is (678) 455 – 7311 extension 0. We will coordinate with the BOE to set up a substitute training here at RMS. Thank you!
Track and Field:
Tryouts for 7th and 8th graders will be on February 18th, 19th, 20th. All students must have a physical on file with the school. Flyers are available with our coaching staff and you will find additional information on the school website.