Roosevelt Middle School eNEWS | May 30, 2023
New Announcements:
- Roosevelt School News
- Principal’s Message
- Community Resources
- The Camas Ridge Carnival is Back!
Schedule of Events
This Week
MAY 29th (M): NO SCHOOL
- No School, Memorial Day
MAY 30th (T): B DAY
- Drop Off COVID-19 Test Kit
- 3:40 PM – 4:40 PM, Chess Club in the RMS Library
MAY 31st (W): A DAY
- 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Orchestra and Choir Concert in the RMS Gym
JUNE 1st (TH): B DAY
- 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM, Fifth Grade Family Welcome
JUNE 2nd (F): A DAY
- 2:35 PM, Early Release from School
Next Week
JUNE 5th (M): B DAY
- 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, 6th Grade Cultural Festival
JUNE 6th (T): A DAY
- Drop Off COVID-19 Test Kit
- 3:40 PM – 4:40 PM, Chess Club in the RMS Library
- 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM, Band Concert in the RMS Gym
JUNE 7th (W): B DAY
JUNE 8th (TH): A DAY
- 8th Grade Promotion Fees and Permission Forms Due
- 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM, RMS Theatre Production:Taming of the Shrew
- Show starts at 6:00 PM
JUNE 9th (F): B DAY
- 2:35 PM, Early Release from School
**A and B School Calendar for 2022 – 2023
Principal’s Message
Good morning, RMS families!
We hope you had a great holiday weekend as the countdown to the end of the school year begins in earnest. After this short week, we have only two weeks left of school and the flurry of activities, classroom projects and end-of-year events that characterize school in June.
And, with only thirteen school days left, now is a great time to sit down with your student, review the term and make a plan to finish out the year. We’ll do the same in House this week and next, and having a family member who can support from home is a powerful way to bridge between school and family. Students can talk to teachers before and after school, during break and during lunch if they need to catch up, complete work or check-in.
In addition, please note: Friday, June 9 is the last day teachers will assign summative work for the year. Beginning Tuesday, June 13, we start laptop inventory and students will turn in their devices for the summer during House. Please be on the lookout for spare devices, extra charging cables, and random black neoprene sleeves in your midst at home and please support your student in returning items to school– thank you! Predictably, and even with so much time and attention spent on a tech reset, teaching expectations and providing students who need extra support with a tech plan, across the district, middle schools have seen extreme damage and significant breakage, as well as lost devices. At RMS, we are doing our best to recover what we can and regroup for next fall.
In these final weeks in House, we’ve completed some of our last digital citizenship lessons for the year, sending students into the summertime with new language to apply to their learning. Our focus has been on ‘digital drama,’ and asking ourselves the question: Who are you online? If you haven’t already checked in out, Common Sense Media is a go-to resource for us in schools and where we draw many of our lesson plans. We’ve also used the acronym T.H.I.N.K. with students:
The same idea applies to interpersonal communication, too!
This week, we will run a lesson about hate speech online. Unfortunately, we are continuing to see and hear about instances of students using racial slurs and biased speech towards others and as yet another approach in our work towards building empathy and understanding as well as continuing to deliver tangible consequences, we would like one more lesson this year to bring awareness and encourage students to speak up. Peers encouraging others to ‘say something’ if you ‘see something’ is one of the best ways we know to help create the community we want to see… this forms the basis of our CORE program at RMS and students interrupting hurtful and targeted language fundamentally supports a safe and positive school climate.
Finally, on the topic of school safety, security and belonging, if your student is on Instagram specifically, can you please talk to them about posts being made on several accounts? ‘Confessions’ and ‘ship’ accounts seem to be popular and at least three different accounts have come to our attention recently that are inappropriate and distracting for middle school students. Ask your students to see their Instagram account, look at what they’re posting and consider what others are saying. We like this resource, this article, and this guide all from Common Sense Media for talking to students about the indelible digital imprint they are leaving. Thanks for taking a moment today to research, report and reach-out.
We hope you enjoy the remainder of this school year and wish you a wonderful summer holiday coming quickly, keeping safety and belonging in mind.
Many thanks,
Courtney and Mike
School Safety @ RMS and 4j
This week, we had yet another reminder about school safety when RMS went into a district-directed ‘secure’ based on reports of both a bomb threat and a school shooter at South Eugene High School. If you did not get our emails or texts on Thursday, May 11, please contact Skye Stier at stier_s@4j.lane.edu.
Incidents like this give us all pause and cause incredible stress and worry, particularly when we think about dropping our beautiful children off at school each day. We count on our schools to be safe places and recognize that sometimes, it can feel like a leap of faith to send our students through the front doors each morning.
Please know, we feel the impact, too, and outlined below is our approach to school safety. Though there are myriad variables, we know what to do in the event of emergencies and we follow both our standard protocols and our intuition, and guide students to do the same.
Our first step in school safety is planning and preparation. Our administrative team has had extensive training– more than 30 hours– in the Standard Response Protocol. We have also both participated in and led district exercises for reunification procedures. In turn, we have prepared our staff, our front-office has a ‘go-box’ in the works, and we have access to the Raptor Alert on our devices. On Thursday this week, we will practice an evacuation drill using our Raptor system for messaging and accounting for students.
We do drill regularly. When we drill, we try to be very overt with students about why, what they need to do and listen for, and the importance of following the instructions of adults who have the information. In the case of Wednesday’s ‘secure,’ we told students we were closing our building based on events at SEHS and debriefed with students on Thursday during House, including ‘lessons learned.’
Overall, we practice:
- A hold– we wait in classrooms for a hallway to clear, i.e., bodily fluids, a sick staff or student, etc.;
- A secure– no one comes in or out of the building and business goes on as usual inside the building because the threat is outside our building;
- A lockdown–we lock ourselves in our classrooms in response to a danger inside our school;
- An evacuation– we leave the building to get to safety. Depending on the nature of the threat, an evacuation might look different from a regular fire drill.
Any adult in the building can call a lockdown at any point either from the app on their phones or by immediately texting or calling the front office. It is crucially important that during an emergency in the school building, students follow the direction of school staff.
Along with drills, we talk to students specifically and say: If you see something, say something. For students and staff alike, if something doesn’t seem right or is out-of-the-ordinary, when in doubt, we ask them to report. School safety is one of the reasons we work relentlessly on building a culture of belonging and connection– we have to work together and be together to learn, support each other, and take care of each other if we’re worried about someone or something happening at school.
It may also be helpful to know that when there is an emergency, first responders, including police and fire, also use the Raptor app so adults in the building have access first hand to law enforcement information and directives which we then communicate school-wide. In the case of the SEHS lockdown, evacuation and reunification last Thursday, staff who had the app on their phone were much more able to prepare students and respond. Administrators work directly with law enforcement and district directors to make decisions and send out communications.
We understand that as parents, it’s hard not to have access to minute-by-minute updates when a school moves into a ‘secure’ or a ‘lock-down.’ Our goal is to get you information as quickly, evenly, efficiently and as accurately as we possibly can without overwhelming you or our systems. Situations at schools are dynamic and ever-shifting and while we plan as much as we can, invariably, different variables will arise.
We’ve heard from some of you that it would be helpful to have information about how incidents resolve. While we don’t always know the outcomes, if we do, we try to share what’s transpired. Do know there is extensive follow-up and debrief between schools, the district, and law enforcement so those variables during emergencies become more and more predictable.
If you would like to discuss school safety further, please don’t hesitate to reach out. It’s difficult to talk about or even consider and in our current climate, we do and must continue to plan. We welcome your questions and considerations– thank you!
Digital Citizenship to Finish out the Year
Over the course of the year, we’ve had periodic lessons about digital citizenship in House. These have included examining our digital footprint, cyberbullying, and tech well-being. We primarily source lessons through Common Sense Media; there are really outstanding family resources on this site, too.
Coming up in the next three weeks, we’ll be completing lessons including Who Are You Online? Countering Hate Speech Online, and Digital Drama Unplugged. While the lessons vary for grade level and age, we re-craft the existing lessons to be relevant for middle school students and rely on the relationships students have created, grades 6 through 8, to have meaningful and thoughtful discussions. We hope you will hear about these lessons from your students and as a result, have an opportunity to discuss the questions and scenarios presented in House.
Students and Tech- What’s Your Take?
Tech is ubiquitous, there’s no question! We’re curious what you’re seeing at home, and the kinds of ideas and responses your students have when you discuss tech use. As we work to craft new tech goals and parameters for student laptops next year, we’d love to hear from parents.
Would you take a moment and fill out our tech survey? It’s linked here and will give us valuable feedback on our next steps as a school. If you are interested in having a parent conversation or lending your voice to a larger effort of support responsible tech use at middle school, please reach out directly to Courtney: leonard@4j.lane.edu.
Thank you!
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Month across the nation. It’s the ideal time to open up a conversation, reach out, and spread awareness about the significance of the problem in our schools and communities—and what we can do about it. With better awareness we can decrease stigma around mental illness, educate students and teachers about symptoms, encourage seeking help for oneself and others, and promote creating a culture of caring and connectedness in our schools and communities. For more resources, please visit https://www.4j.lane.edu/safety/mental-health-resources/.
Mental health issues affect us all. You may be among the one in five Americans with a chronic mental illness. Or, you may have experienced temporary symptoms at some point in your life. If not, a friend, spouse, child, or co-worker may suffer from depression, anxiety, or another mental health condition.
Unfortunately, although we have made progress, the stigma around mental health persists. While some people are open about their mental health problems, others keep it a close secret. Mental health problems and suicide have risen to epidemic proportions among children and youth, causing major concerns in our communities and school systems. Of special concern are students who have mental health issues who have not been identified and are not receiving treatment, affecting their academic and long-term life outcomes.
Volunteering Info
RMS eNews Editor Needed
RMS is seeking a dedicated and reliable parent volunteer to compile our weekly “eNews” newsletter. This newsletter is an important communication tool that keeps our families informed about the latest news and events happening at our school.
The volunteer will be responsible for collecting articles from school administrators and putting them together in a timely manner using Constant Contact, as the eNews is sent out to parents on Monday mornings. Most of the editing and compiling work can be done throughout the week (the average volunteer time is a couple hours per week) with a small time commitment on Sunday afternoon/evening or Monday morning.
Consistency is key, so we are looking for a volunteer who can commit to being available every week to ensure the newsletter is sent out regularly. This is a great opportunity to get involved and make a positive impact on our school community.
If you are interested in volunteering for this important role, please contact Laura Fuhriman or RMS eNews directly. We appreciate your support and commitment to our school.
Incoming Freshman News
Transitioning from 8th grade to 9th grade is an exciting time and can raise many questions. This section is devoted to helping parents and their 8th grade students find answers to (most) of those questions. Check here for information regarding end of school activities at RMS, summer programs and information about high school.
SEHS SUMMER BRIDGE 2023! South Eugene High School’s Summer Bridge program is open for registration! All incoming 9th-grade students are welcome to register for the July 31- August 4th experience. Students will meet new friends, learn about high school from student leaders, earn credit, and have fun! Please click here or use the links below to view the flyer and register:
High School Webpages for “Class of 2027”
Most of the local area high school host a webpage dedicated to incoming freshmen. Check out these links here:
**Not all of the webpages have been updated for the “Class of 2027” yet.
Observing Your Student in Canvas
Would you like to be able to see what your student is doing at school in Canvas? Become an Observer on Canvas. As an Observer you will be able to check grades, monitor assignments and due dates, as well as communicate directly with your student’s teachers.
**To be set up as an observer, use this link to request a pairing code. Then click here for step by step instructions on setting up an Observer account. The same instructions can also be found by watching this video in English or Spanish.
Summer Camps
Summer Row Camp
PNW Teen Mindfulness Retreat
Mindfulness retreats (hosted by Inward Bound Mindfulness Education) provide young people with the rare opportunity to experience uninterrupted and genuine insight into their own life experience while connecting with their peers and mindfulness teachers in a welcoming and safe community. Come for the fun & friends. Stay for the calm & community.
Suggested Age
- 15 to 19 years
Cost
- Sliding scale: 1% of annual household income, up to $2,500. Learn More.
Duration + Location
- 6 days, 5 nights at Pack Forest Retreat Center in Eatonville, WA
Application Deadline
- June 22, midnight
Dates
- Starts: July 6, 2023
- Drop-off: 4:00 PM
- Ends: July 11, 2023
- Pick-up: 1:00 PM
**Click here to see the flyer or here for more information and to register.
Axe Soccer Camp
Registration is OPEN NOW for the 32nd Annual Axe Soccer Camp!
2023 Camp dates are Monday, June 19 through Friday, June 23 from 9 AM until 2 PM. Camp T shirt and soccer ball are included with registration!
To register or for more information visit: https://www.sesoccerclub.org/axesoccercamp
Summer Track and Field Camps
2023 Free UO Summer SAIL Program
Curious about college and exploring your interests?
Registration is NOW OPEN for the 2023 Student Academy to Inspire Learning (SAIL) Summer Program!
SAIL is a FREE week-long summer program hosted on UO campus where students get to experience college firsthand through exciting, hands-on, and interactive activities taught by distinguished UO Faculty. We offer in-person Day Only programs as well as Day + Residential Programs where selected students will get to stay in a UO Dorm Hall!
There are 18 different programs being offered this year including Spanish, Italian & French Languages Program.
Discover what college life is all about with SAIL! Visit our website sail.uoregon.edu for registration and additional details.
**Click on the links to check out the flyer (Spanish and English).
Willamette Valley Youth Football and Cheer
Churchill/South Youth Football and Cheer, a tackle football and cheerleading program open to youth in grades K through 8th, will open for registration on May 1st.
The season will begin August 21st. People interested in cheer should sign up by August 1st to be included in the uniform order. Scholarships are available.
The team is part of Willamette Valley Youth Football and Cheer.
For more information, contact south.churchillboard@gmail.com.
**Click here to check out the flyer.
SEHS “All skills” Youth Volleyball Camp
SEHS Volleyball Camp is designed to help athletes at every level to improve their volleyball skills. Our coaching staff and high school athletes will instruct on fundamental skill work, offensive and defensive skills and short-sided game drills.
When:
- Monday, 6/26 – Thursday, 6/29
- 9:00 AM -11:00 AM
Equipment needed:
- Athletic shoes
- Comfortable active clothes
- Knee pads (optional)
- Bring a long sleeve shirt
- Water bottle
Cost:
- $125
Camp Goals
The goal of SEHS Volleyball Camp is to provide a place for kids to learn the fundamentals of volleyball, gain valuable team experiences and build a competitive volleyball community.
Camp Director:
Alicia Chamness and Zoe Scott
**Check out this flyer for more information and for the registration form.
Summer Art Camps with Emerald Art Center
Our summer program is designed for youth to explore a variety of visual and digital art and cultivate creativity. Students will develop new skills and techniques in drawing, painting, digital art and more. Using traditional mediums, iPads/iPencils for each student and the Cricut Explore 3, these camps are for ages 11-14.
Our instructors are working artists with extensive experience teaching art to youth and have crafted the program to allow kids the flexibility and freedom to be creative, have fun and develop skills they can use not only in art, but in life!
Session 1: DRAWING WHAT YOU SEE & DIGITAL DRAWING GAMES
- July 18-21, Tuesday-Friday from 1:00 PM – -5:00 PM
- Ages 11-14
- $160/ $140 Early Bird (price ends June 30)
Session 2: DESIGN AND PRINT YOUR OWN ZINE, USING GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRINTMAKING
- July 25-28, Tuesday-Friday from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
- Ages 11-14
- $160/ $140 Early Bird (price ends June 30)
Session 3: DIGITAL ART, STICKERS & T-SHIRTS
- August 1-4, Tuesday-Friday from 1-5 pm
- Ages 11-14
- $160/ $140 Early Bird (price ends June 30)
Session 4: PAINTING!
- August 8-11, Tuesday-Friday from 1-5 pm
- Ages 11-14
- $160/ $140 Early Bird (price ends June 30)
“An excellent camp for older kids, focused on building art skill and not entertainment, group activities or busy work.” – Parent Feedback
“It was an awesome program. Just the right amount of freedom and direction.” – Parent Feedback
Our website has more info, scholarship forms and registration links.
**Check out the flyer for more information (in Spanish and English).
Community Resources
The Camas Ridge Carnival is Back!
We are inviting all Camas Ridge Alumni at Roosevelt to come back for the Carnival!
We are looking for student volunteers to run carnival game stations, work the face painting booth & much more! Shifts are 1 hour long, so you can still enjoy the fun. We are offering free admission for student volunteers! Sign-up to Volunteer here!
4J Pride Fest
NEHS GSA is putting together a Pride Fest you won’t want to miss! Heck, maybe you want to volunteer as well:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c44abaa2da0f9ce9-4jpride#/
Either way don’t forget to check it out.
Mental Health Support
Free Access to Care Solace
4J families, does your student or a family member need help with mental health care? Eugene School District 4J is providing students, staff and their families’ free access to Care Solace, a confidential care coordination service, to help provide an additional layer of care and address the growing need for mental health care and substance abuse treatment.
Care Solace will connect you to verified community care providers matched to your needs, including providers that accept your medical insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, or sliding scale options for those without insurance. Their care companion team is always available. Get help finding care providers that meet your needs at caresolace.com/eugene or call 888-515-0595 anytime, day or night, in any language. (Note, Care Solace is not a mental health service provider or emergency response service. In the event of a life-threatening emergency, call 9-1-1 or the National Suicide Hotline at 800-273-8255.)
Learn more: 4j.lane.edu/2022/03/care-solace-mental-health-care-coordination-service/
Familias de 4J, ¿Necesitan ayuda con la atención de salud mental de algún miembro de su familia? El Distrito Escolar de Eugene 4J brinda a los estudiantes, el personal y sus familias acceso gratuito a Care Solace, un servicio confidencial de coordinación de cuidados, para ayudar a proporcionar una capa adicional de atención a la salud mental y tratamiento de abuso de sustancias para abordar la creciente necesidad de atención mental.
Care Solace le conectará con proveedores de atención comunitaria verificados que se ajusten a sus necesidades, incluidos los proveedores que aceptan su seguro médico, Medicaid, Medicare u opciones de pago por escala de ingresos para aquellos sin seguro. Su equipo de acompañantes de cuidados siempre está disponible. Obtenga la ayuda de contactos que satisfaga sus necesidades en caresolace.com/eugene o llame al 888-515-0595 en cualquier momento, de día o de noche, en cualquier idioma. (Tenga en cuenta que Care Solace no es el proveedor de los servicios de salud mental ni un servicio de respuesta a emergencias. En caso de una emergencia de vida o muerte, llame al 911 o a la Línea Nacional de Suicidio al 800-273-8255).
Infórmese: 4j.lane.edu/2022/03/care-solace-mental-health-care-coordination-service/
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If you or a loved one is struggling with mental health right now, please check out these links for support. You are LOVED, we miss you, and can’t wait until we are all back together again!
- HOOTS (Helping Out Our Teens in Schools) is offering mental health support by phone for students, families, and staff of 4J high schools during school closures. The phone line is accessible from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday and is staffed by crisis counselors who normally work HOOTS clinic or work on CAHOOTS. Video support is available from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM on weekdays and is accessed by emailing hoots@whitebirdclinic.org with your name and preferred time. HOOTS is able to provide short term counseling and mental health support, resource referrals and OHP sign up. Students, families and staff of 4J please call (541)246-2342.
- A chat-line for students. Teens are available to help daily from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM Pacific Time via call, text, chat or email (adults are available by phone at all other times). YouthLine is a free, confidential teen-to-teen crisis and help line. No problem is too big or too small for the Youthline!
- A national 24-hour, toll free confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth via call, text, and chat: 866-488-7386 – The Trevor Project
- YouthEra has virtual “drop-ins” from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM on Discord Streaming live (moderated chat) with two state-certified youth peer support specialists, on Twitch Monday-Friday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
- All of the phone services are free and confidential. See also Youthline as part of Lines for Life.
- Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the United States, anytime, about any type of crisis. A live, trained Crisis Text Line Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from our secure online platform. The volunteer Crisis Counselor will help you move from a hot moment to a cool moment.
- Safe Oregon, the 24/7 statewide school safety tip line, is here for you; for all students and the whole community. Anonymously or confidentially report student safety concerns (suicidal ideation/thoughts, cyberbullying, child abuse, drug/alcohol abuse, etc.) and we will pass this information to school personnel and law enforcement (when necessary).
15th Night Resource Guide for Youth by Youth
The 15th Night Youth Action Council (YAC) is so excited to share their Resource Guide For Youth By Youth. It includes all kinds of resources for young people in our community; from emergency shelter, to job application assistance, reconnection to school, or where to find a meal on Fridays at 4pm, this resource guide covers it all. Read more.
Earn Free Money for Roosevelt!
You can help Roosevelt earn money for our school by registering your credit card with eScrip. Earn money for Roosevelt every time you shop at Market of Choice, Sizzle Pie (& other local restaurants). Register your credit/debit cards, designating Roosevelt Middle School—Recipient ID #6723045. Click on this link to get started.
Sign up for the Community Rewards program by linking your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to Roosevelt. You can search by our name or by our non-profit number GB554.
Download the Box Top for Education App in Google Play or the App Store, sign up (or sign in) and take a picture of your receipt within 14 days of purchase. It will automatically credit the school for each product. For more information, click on the link above.
| Roosevelt Middle School | Phone: 541-790-8500 | Attendance: 541-790-8525 |
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