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Greetings, 8th Grade Families and Students!
As indicated in our
January family newsletter
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we are taking a new approach to sending off our 8th grade students to the high school. The goal is to create a special last day of school for our 8th grade students that is designed by and for them.
This special day will take place on Friday, May 17.
As in the past, 8th grade students will not need to attend school on the district's last day, May 20.
Our first step in designing the 8th grader's last day was to gather input from students. Since this event is to celebrate their three years at RMS, we wanted to see what they preferred for this event and to do our best to meet their needs. In January all 8th grade students had the opportunity to complete an online survey. Of the 390 8th graders, 294 participated. Below are the survey results and how RMS will incorporate this feedback on May 17.
SURVEY RESULTS:
What would you like this event to be named?
8th Grade Graduation
8th Grade Celebration
8th Grade Promotion
8th Grade Ceremony
8th Grade Field Day
PLAN BASED ON RESULTS: The name of the event will be "8th Grade Graduation."
What dress attire would you like?
Casual
T-shirt (designed and provided by the school to students)
Semi-formal
PLAN BASED ON RESULTS:
The attire for the event will be casual. Students are invited to wear normal school attire for the event.
What activities would you like?
Field Trip
Ceremony
Free Time Outside
Breakfast/Brunch
PLAN BASED ON RESULTS: There will be activities planned for 8th grade students throughout the entire day on May 17 based on student feedback. During the first hour of the day students will participate in a locker clean out and general check out processes. From there a ceremony will take place at 8:50 a.m. As the below data piece indicates, parents are invited to attend and it will be filmed (more to come on this piece). Our next step is to gather student feedback on what they want to take place during the ceremony, but in general terms student superlatives and accolades will be distributed along with 8th grade completion certificates. This year we will have a photographer taking photos of each student as they receive their certificate that will be made available to families for printing.
After the ceremony concludes students will enjoy one more lunch together in the RMS cafeteria, and will then have "free time outside" per their feedback. We will be gathering student input to determine what activities will be available during this time. With the time remaining after the ceremony, a field trip wasn't feasible. However, we are excited to be able to provide both a ceremony and a free time portion of the day for our 8th graders.
What level of parent involvement would you like?
Parents invited to ceremony
Students and school faculty only
PLAN BASED ON RESULTS: Parents and guardians are invited to join us for the ceremony portion of the day at 8:50 a.m. We will also be filming and sharing the ceremony for those unable to attend, but wanting to watch. More details on this will be shared in the coming weeks.
In summary, "8th Grade Graduation" will take place on Friday, May 17. This will be our 8th grade student's last day of school. Students have voted to host a ceremony (where parents are invited to attend), and will then enjoy activities outside for the last half of the day. Students have opted to wear casual school clothing for the day.
Additional details regarding the ceremony and outside activities will be shared at a later time. For now, mark your calendars for May 17! We are looking forward to implementing "8th Grade Graduation" designed by and for the students!
Working Together,
Allison Dishman
RMS Principal
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