Republic Middle School
Family Newsletter
Empowering Leaders to Grow and Serve
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RMS Families,
As principal of Republic Middle School, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for allowing me to serve you the past three years and as we move forward into the 20-21 school year. This back to school letter will provide you with need-to-know information to begin the school year, as well as any event updates and details.
Thank you,
Allison Dishman
RMS Principal
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Important Updates:
We realize that this coming year will be different than any other year with uncertainty and quickly changing landscapes. We want to assure you that we are working hard on many plans, procedures, safety protocols and instructional methods to meet the needs of all our students throughout the year. Our goal is to partner with you and the community to communicate clearly and regularly.
There will be MUCH more communication forthcoming on 8/14/20 with regard to health protocols and learning plans!
Masking Update:
Masks are required for all students and staff throughout the day and at events
Open House Update:
Open House will move to a virtual format this year. More information to come from teachers!
Virtual Open House:
August 18th 4-7pm
*1st Day of School-Monday, August 24th
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Online Back to School Forms
Nearly all back to school forms will need to be completed online through the SISK12 Parent Portal by August 12. As a reminder, the Parent Portal is a tool that parents can use to monitor items like meal balances, grades, attendance, etc. We recommend using it throughout the school year!
This tool makes the back to school form process as easy and smooth as possible for our families. Please login to the Parent Portal and complete the needed forms by August 12. ALL students (preschool through 12th grade) must have a parent/guardian complete these required forms. Take note that specific forms must be completed for students to participate in various activities, including technology usage.
To find the Parent Portal CLICK HERE or simply visit republicschools.org and click on the "Parent Portal" icon. This can also be accessed through the district's free mobile app. As a reminder, to login use the email address you have provided to the district and enter the password you have created. If you’ve forgotten it, simply click on the “forgot password” button and follow the prompts.
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Fall Sports Information
7th and 8th grade only
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In order to try out for any sport, all student athletes must have a complete physical, proof of medical insurance, and a drug testing consent form turned in before the first day of practice.
Filling out this form does not guarantee your child will be on the team. This information is being collected for communication purposes.
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Random Student Drug Testing
7th and 8th grade only
Per Board of Education policy, if your student plans to participate in any activities, athletics, clubs, or organizations they must have a random student drug testing form on file.
The random student drug testing consent form is a one-time enrollment for a student's entire school career (7-12 grades). If your student turned one in last year they will not need to submit a new one for this year, or for any additional years your student attends Republic School District.
If your 7th or 8th grader plans to participate in any of the qualifying activities during the 2020-21 school year, they must have a copy of the random student drug testing consent form on file. RMS does have two enrollment windows for this process. For all fall or winter activities, or year-long clubs, enrollment consent forms must be turned in by September 4th.
For athletic/activities taking place in the spring, the second enrollment window is open from January 5th-January 19th.
A copy of the consent form can found by clicking here.
For questions or comments please contact the main office at Republic Middle School: 417.732.3640
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Fall Sports
7th and 8th grade only
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First Day of School
On the first day of school students are encouraged to ride the bus to school or to be dropped off using the car line.
Traffic Flow Information
Here are a few things to keep in mind when dropping off or picking up students:
- Only let students out of your car in the designated drop-off sections of the traffic route.
- Be aware of potential pedestrian students along the traffic route.
- Please follow the arrows on the maps. Deviating from the provided traffic route can be a potential safety hazard for pedestrian students, and may frustrate other drivers.
- Do not park along the traffic route at any time.
- Be courteous to other drivers.
- When picking up, do not arrive more than 15 minutes prior to dismissal as that creates traffic congestion. From the time of dismissal, it will only take 13-15 minutes for every child to be picked up.
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Arrival and Departure
- In the morning, upon arriving at school, all students are required to wear a face covering and sanitize hands upon entering the building.
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Only students needing to eat breakfast will report to the cafeteria.
- Students not eating breakfast will do the following:
- 6th grade students will report to the auditorium.
- 7th and 8th grade students will report to the large gym with 8th grade sitting in the stadium seats and 7th grade sitting in the wood bleachers.
- Students will release at the end of the day in a staggered progression based on teams.
- Students riding buses need to board them as soon as they get outside.
- Students walking home need to exit the building through the social studies wing exit or main entrance and proceed home immediately after school.
- Students are not allowed to walk through the parking lot to meet rides. Students awaiting a parent pick-up need to exit out the back of the building.
- The only students who should be out waiting for the bus are the shuttle bus riders.
- All students should be out of the building by 3:00, unless they are being supervised by a teacher or coach.
The building is opened at 6:50 a.m. Students are dismissed at 2:40 Monday-Thursday and 1:40 on Friday. Any student or group in the building after 2:45 p.m. must be supervised by a teacher or coach.
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Republic School District is pleased to partner with Teacher Lists to make your school supply shopping easy. By visiting https://www.republicschools.org/schoolsupplies you now have the option to use one click online ordering or to print supply lists and go to the store directly for purchasing. Local vendors will also have these lists available, just as in the past.
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Attendance
Attendance is extremely important and students are expected to be present and punctual for classes throughout or during the school day. When students miss school, their grades may suffer as well as their social environment, BUT attendance incentives will not be implemented at least for the first semester. RMS attendance goal is for 92% of students to be in attendance 90% of the time. Our overall building goal is for 96% student attendance. For more information on attendance policies and procedures please see the student handbook on the RMS webpage.
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Weekly Friday
Early Release
Students already enrolled in Tiger TEENS will be supervised during release time (2:05-3:05 p.m.) at no additional expense to families. Middle School students not needing daily after-school supervision could still register through Tiger TEENS for the release day only at a cost of $4.00 per week. To attend Tiger TEENS, families will need to sign up in advance. Registration details can be found at: republicschools.org/STRIPES360.
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Starting this year, students who selected to ride a bus for this school year during online registration will need to login to the Parent Portal to see bus information. Bus letters will no longer be mailed out. For those who have completed online registration by August 12, bus information will be viewable on August 18 in the Parent Portal. Those who have not completed online registration by this date will experience a lag in being able to view transportation details in the Parent Portal.
If you do not see any bus information in the Parent Portal August 18, 2020, please call the Transportation Department at 417.732.3680. Information is updated nightly in the Parent Portal.
Due to the volume of students being routed, bus stop locations and times need to be adjusted, so please check the day before school starts for the most up to date bus stop information. Questions regarding transportation can be directed to 417-732-3680.
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Lunch Accounts:
The district Food Service Department offers daily breakfast and lunch options. Meals may be prepaid by submitting cash/check to the school office in a sealed envelope with the student's name and amount enclosed on the outside of the envelope. Another option for payment can be done through the Parent Portal. For meal prices and additional details visit: https://www.republicschools.org/foodservice.
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Free/Reduced Meal Applications:
We ask that all families complete the free/reduced meal application for their child, even if you do not plan on using the benefit.
A new application must be completed annually.
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The Republic School District offers quality and affordable student programming during non-school hours through STRIPES 360. Care is offered before and after school daily and during days that school is not in session. The Tiger STRIPES/TEENS program will be using online enrollment only for registration. As a reminder, each year students must re-enroll in this program.
Registration for Tiger STRIPES/TEENS will require a $30 registration fee along with the first two weeks of tuition. Online or in-person payment is available. A STRIPES 360 staff member will be available at all open houses and orientations to answer questions, but no payments can be accepted at that time. To register for Tiger STRIPES/TEENS and to learn more about STRIPES 360 programs, visit republicschools.org/STRIPES360.
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Chromebooks will be deployed the first day of school. More details to come. |
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It is vital to student success that all RMS families have updated contact information. You may contact the RMS office at any time to update your information or use parent portal to do so. Be reminded that communication with building teachers and administrators is always available and important. Below you will find many of the communication tools you may access:
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Website: republicschools.org and republicschools.org/rms
- District Twitter: @republicschools
- Building Twitter: @RepMoMiddle #rmsculture
- District Facebook: Republic School District
- Building Facebook: Republic Middle School
- Email/phone
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Tiger Talk e-newsletter: Sent on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month during the school year. Parents who have provided an email account are automatically signed up. Others can sign up on our website.
- Mobile App
- Voice calls and text messages at the building and district level (All numbers provided will receive these notifications, there is no longer a need to opt-in as in the past. However, opting out is still an option.)
- Canvas
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August/September/October
8/14
Parent Portal opens (schedules available)
8/18
RMS Virtual Open House
8/24
First day of school, 7:40am-2:40pm
9/1
Picture Day (more information to come)
9/7
Labor Day, District Closed
9/11
End of Progress 1
9/18
Progress Grades Distributed
10/2
SI (School Improvement) Day, no school for students
10/12 and 10/13
Parent/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7pm
Teachers will contact families to schedule conferences based on needed support. More details to come.
10/23
Picture retakes
End of 1st quarter
10/29
Grade Cards Distributed
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