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Friday Focus

Welcome to the Friday Focus. Our weekly newsletter will be posted here. It will include the Administrator's message, important updates, and fun things happening around our school.

RMS Friday Focus, March 22, 2024

Important Dates

March 22 - 7:00-8:30 Spring Social - Decades Dance
March 26 - Choral Concert
April 5 - End ofQ3
April 6 - 14 - Spring Break - NO SCHOOL
April 15 - Start of Q4
April 23-25 - State testing, all grades (we have multiple plans for makeups)
April 24 - 6 pm - NYC Family Meeting, RMS auditorium.
April 25 - 6 pm - Montreal Family Meeting, RMS auditorium.
April 26 - 7 pm - Spring Talent Show
 

Thoughts from the Rolling Desk

sports based mural

(Our newest mural, thanks to Ms. Ellis and her mural class - now in the PE corridor)

Well, nothing says “welcome to Spring” in Northern New England quite like a forecast for over a foot of snow. Thankfully it appears that the snow will start after our Friday night social is over tonight and we will be done with the snow by the time school begins on Monday, meaning the last day for students is still projected to be June 14th.  Please be careful this weekend and leave yourself plenty of extra time to get places.

RMS Math Counts Team

Congratulations to the RMS math counts team. (not in order)  Andy Zhang, Simon Yegorov, Haoyi Liu, Agastya Chakrabarti, Michael Brooks, Harvey Vale Dwyer, Ian Bick, Martina Vale Dwyer, Alan Zhang, Ella Zhang, and Pranav Sivakumar.

The geese recently secured a second place finish in the state tournament held in Keene (Including four individuals inside the top 12). This marked the end of a successful season for one of the youngest teams in the state - who qualified more mathletes for the state event than any other school. We are so proud of Coach Wharton and the team

flag outside RMS

This week it was brought to our attention that the wind event we had earlier in the week had done significant damage to the flag in front of RMS. Thank you to Janice Starkey and the rest of the front office and custodial crew who procured a new (and larger) flag quickly so that we were able to continue to fly it proudly. 

Working in the world of NCAA Athletics for 12 years left me finally attuned to the chaos that seems to descend in March.  High stakes, highly publicized tournaments in many different sports capture the imagination of many.  Years of being involved brought some great memories (the men and women's basketball teams making the Final Four one year at LSU) and interesting ones (Lubbock, Texas in March is not as beautiful as you might think). What always struck me was that the players and teams who managed to continue to have fun and enjoy what they were doing were the most successful. This is something I hope we can bring to students at RMS. To see each day as an opportunity to be successful and to block out outside pressure. To find the joy in practiced processes, and to relish an effort undertaken with classmates. There can be a real genius in joy.

Tomorrow promises to be challenging and whether you choose to experience it outdoors during the last gasp of winter or indoors in a more cozy space, we hope you find that Joy.  As always, be safe, stay well, and take care of each other. 

Tim Boyle
Principal
 
Anissa Morrison
Associate Principal
 

School News, Information, and Resources

RMS Cafe

Current menu is available online. 
Our link to the updated price list is available.

RMS works hard to accommodate the dietary needs of our community, so if you have any questions, concerns, please contact Austin Jacobs.  

The RMS lunch program is run “in house” and does not follow a state or federal program.  If your family may benefit from assistance for meals, please contact Robin Morley-Ploof in the office for more information.  The program is confidential and runs the same way as the more traditional cafe meal funding program. 

If you have any questions regarding payment, please contact Janice Starkey in the main office.

 

Student Council Updates

  • Last Social of the Year Tonight.  7:00-8:30, $5 admission.  Annual "Decades Dance" with prizes for great outfits.  SAGE will be running concessions for the evening.
  • March Haven Drive is up and running.  We seek baby items including diapers, wipes. baby food, formula etc. 
  • Student Council will again be collaborating with Hanover Parks and Rec to run the town Easter Egg Hunt here at the Middle School next Saturday March 30th.
RMS Spring Runs 2024

Are you an 8th grader interested in running at the Highschool next year? Join other 8th graders 3 days a week from the end of March till the beginning of June to prepare for the fall cross-country season. Runs will be on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons starting at 3:15.  More information available here

 

Sign Up for Softball

Ms Frederick, Mr LaCrosse, Ms Ellis, and Ms Deyett are again teaming up to coach the Hanover Rec Softball team.  Practices will be here after school on the RMS field.

 

Baseball Registration

Registration for middle school baseball through the Hanover Youth Baseball League (formerly Dresden) is now open and can be accessed at the following link: 2024 Hanover Youth Baseball Registration

 

The middle school program includes games against other area middle schools and is open to all Richmond Middle School students as well as any other children residing in Hanover, Norwich or Etna.  Home games and practices take place at Sachem Field (behind Campion Rink).  Games will start in late April and run through early June.  For more information, please email dresdenbaseballassoc@gmail.com.

 

Camps etc.
Science Day

Attention all scientists!! We are thrilled to announce the return of Science Day at Dartmouth, taking place on Saturday April 13th, 2024 from 10am - 3pm on the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover, NH! Come join us for a day filled with fun interactive experiments and demonstrations led by current Dartmouth students and staff, learn about their work, and find out about what they love to do. Students and families will have a chance to meet researchers training across various scientific areas including but not limited to Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, and Math. Activities are geared towards students ranging from 5th to 10th grade, however all are welcome (note: all students must be accompanied by an adult). More details on Science Day events and pre-registration can be accessed via the link below. We look forward to an exciting day filled with scientific exploration with you all!

Website:

https://academic-outreach.dartmouth.edu/programs/science-day

Registration:

https://forms.gle/77iMFe9ZRdqo3UtH8

If you have any questions, feel free to email scienceday.dartmouth@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you!

 

Engineering open house 

The Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College welcomes community members and families into our labs and workshops to showcase engineering education and innovation. The annual Thayer Open House will take place on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

All ages are welcome, and this is free and open to all. No registration or RSVP required!

Free parking is available in the parking garage under the Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center (ECSC) at 15 Thayer Drive in Hanover.

Find more information at: engineering.dartmouth.edu/events/open-house.

 

Science Summer Camp Offered by CRREL

June 24 - 28.

Come join us to “Explore Weather, Climate, and the Environment”, as we launch the GEMS Summer Program at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), Hanover, New Hampshire.  We invite Middle School Students, 7th, and 8th grade, for a week-long scientific exploration and hands-on approach to discover the weather, climate, and the environment in which we all live.  The camp is funded by CRREL so is free of charge.  Follow the link https://www.usaeop.com/program/hanover-nh/.and click on “Apply Now.”

 

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Summer Camp Available for lovers of RPGs and card based games.

To get more details about The Fourth Place Youth Programs click on https://thefourthplaceforgeeks.com/pages/summer-day-camp-2024-detailed-info

Full information here.

 

Interested in other area Summer Camps?

Information available about area opportunities. 

 

 Fundraising opportunities

Please join us in raising funds in raising funds for our fitness room upgrade though shopping at Hannafords.  Hannaford Helps Schools  Additionally you can raise money for the PTO by eating pizza on Wednesday (more information below).

 

RMS Fitness room needs your help

Last spring our PE department, spearheaded by Missie Rodriguez, secured a grant from the Dorothy Byrne foundation to refurbish the RMS fitness room, which is currently stocked with machines purchased when the new school opened. The grant is contingent, however, on raising funds to match the grant, so it is in this spirit that we are beginning a campaign to raise the money (approximately $30,000)  to make equipment upgrades to expand our fitness and PE offerings at RMS. 

We have made progress toward our goal, but still need more help!

Thank you for your continued support of our school and community.  The Dresden School District is a 501(c)(3) organization, tax ID #02-0264870. Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. 

 

Want to play Chess?

Join other students at the Howe Library on Monday nights.  View the full information.

 

Video resources on Parenting

The Hartford Community Coalition, in collaboration with All Together, has created a video resource for parents around the issue of substance use.  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqXDs4lfGktax1oPHd8lMlRpMOsZOkSil

 

Family Programs offered by Outright Vermont

Outright Vermont (https://www.outrightvt.org/) is an organization that supports LGBTQ+ youth and families around Vermont and neighboring areas. They offer a support group for families:

Trans Parent Group - Online - First Monday of every month 6-8pm. Support group for parents and caregivers of trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive youth. Email info@outrightvt.org for more information and links

 

RMS Health Office

health office door

Prescription Medications

Does your child need to take prescription medication during school hours? Students must keep all prescription medications in the health office and have a signed medication form as well. The medication form and additional information can be found here: Health Office Website

If you have questions regarding health programs, or anything related to the health of your students please reach out to Nurse Abby


RMS Gaggle
3/22/24

Join us for a PTO meeting on Wednesday, March 27th @ 7pm in-person at the RMS library or on Zoom! Principal Boyle will be joining us to share the current plans for the “end-of-middle school celebration” for our 8th graders and to listen to parent thoughts about these evolving plans. In addition to a myriad of other helpful updates, we will be voting to approve the updated RMS PTO by-laws. We would really benefit from having many voices at the table..so we hope you will join us!  Click on this March 27 Agenda link for more details.

Can’t make the PTO meeting, but want to share you thoughts about the role of the PTO at RMS…here’s your chance! We’ve developed a short 5-minute survey for RMS parents and caregivers that invite you to complete. This survey will help shape the future of the RMS PTO and ensure that the organization is relevant to the school community we are trying to serve. Thank you for your help!  https://form.jotform.com/240636247425153