Hello Upper School Families,
It is with great joy that I reach out to you with this, the first Upper School Newsletter of the 2021-2022 school year. Though we are still held by the bonds of this terrible pandemic, I am utterly grateful that we can have our students on campus and learning in person. I look forward to an adventurous year ahead. You will notice that there are some new sections to the Newsletter...I hope you enjoy!
There is a rather large amount of important information below, please take the time to read through it, and enjoy some fun pictures from our Griffin Gathering this past Friday. Without further ado, WELCOME BACK MY WONDERFUL GRIFFINS!!!
Yours Truly,
Stefanie Rivera
Upper School Division Head
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- New International Student Orientation-Monday August 23rd, 11:30-12:15. All new international students, and any international students who have not been on our campus due to COVID should attend.
- New Student Orientation-Monday August 23rd from 12:30-2:00 pm is our new student orientation. All incoming 9th graders, plus all 10th, 11th, and 12th graders new to Roycemore must attend. Students should plan to arrive at school between 12:15-12:30, and come to the Library.
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Tuesday, August 24th is the first day of school. The day begins at 8:20 and ends at 3:30. I encourage students to arrive early that day in order to get their schedules, set up their lockers, and reconnect with their peers.
- When you arrive for the first day, please go to the following rooms: 9th grade - room 235; 10th grade - room 236; 11th grade - room 237; 12th grade - room 232. Teachers there will have hard copies of your schedules and your locker assignments and combinations ready for you.
- A reminder from the front office: if you have not yet turned in any required medical forms, please get those in ASAP.
- Our hours of operation remain the same. The building will be accessible to students daily from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm. For their safety, please do not have students arrive at school prior to 7:30, as they will not be able to enter the building and there will be no supervision available.
- This is the first weekly newsletter of the year. The newsletter will typically come to you every Sunday morning. Please be sure the read it each week.
- A reminder to bring plenty of face masks, as all will be masked and socially distanced.
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Welcome to High School 9th Graders!
Transitioning from 8th grade into high school can be an exciting but also difficult time for our 9th graders. Brand new this year, we have created a 9th-grade support team. This team of dedicated administrators and teachers has collaborated to create a series of events to support 9th graders in this transition. We kicked things off on August 10th with our first ever 9th-grade retreat. Fun was had by all as we played games, gave out prizes, enjoyed some pizza and time to socialize, and even embarked on a scavenger hunt throughout Evanston. Our next event will likely be a bowling outing, coupled with an academic check-in prior to first-quarter grades coming out. I am very excited to be a part of this team and look forward to supporting our youngest upper schoolers as they begin their high school adventure.
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Vaccinations & Quarantine-Important!
All students and families, please be aware that if there is a COVID positive exposure to you/your student, only students who are fully vaccinated and have provided a copy of their card to the school have the opportunity to NOT have to quarantine.
We highly encourage all eligible Upper School students to get the COVID-19 vaccine prior to the start of school. If you have already been vaccinated, please provide a copy of your COVID vaccine card to forms@roycemoreschool.org
Should a student have to quarantine for an extended period of time, (separate from a whole cohort closure) that student will make up some classwork when they return to school. Teachers will provide asynchronous work to complete while they are home so that their learning continues. Families will work with the homeroom teacher to discuss a specific plan. This will vary by grade and class, but could include the continuation of work from the classroom, morning work assignments, reading and responding to text, an extension of learning from the integrated unit in the classroom, completing a selection of choice board activities, and/or completing activities through our digital platforms.
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5 Ways to Help Your Teen Be Successful in High School
Let’s face it—it’s likely been a few years since you were a student, and you might not remember the ins and outs of high school specifically. However, you do have the benefit of hindsight, which likely taught you that success in high school can be directly related to success in college and beyond...
Want to read more? Click this link to access the full article: https://www.verywellfamily.com/how-to-help-your-teen-succeed-in-school-4087561
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School Wellness Screener
It is the School’s expectation that all families will adhere to the guidelines published in Roycemore’s Health & Safety Plan to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. On a daily basis, families will be asked to answer the questions below in an app developed for Roycemore by alumnus Effie Zimmerman ‘21, and his company Visionapps, School Wellness Screener (https://schoolwellnessscreener.com/) to attest to being symptom-free each day. Within an hour prior to coming to school, all must complete the questionnaire on the app.
If the student attests to being symptom-free, they will receive a QR code to show that will allow them entry to school. If an individual cannot attest to being symptom free, their information will be shared with the administration to follow up with the individual. Individuals must be fever-free for 24 hours prior to returning to school. If a student answers YES to one of the symptoms below, they will either need to be symptom free for 24 hours before returning have a physician’s note to indicate that their symptom is not contagious, or a negative PCR COVID-19 test or complete a chronic condition form to have on file to indicate that their symptom is not contagious.
Student-Parent Handbook
Parents and students, please be sure to read our handbook in its entirety. There is a ton of important information in there! It is expected that all families and students review the handbook, and are aware of its contents. It can be found on our website here: https://roycemoreschool.org/student-life/student-links/
Hand Cut Foods Lunch Update
Last year, Roycemore families had the option of having their children receive lunch from HandCut foods or receive a commensurate refund in student fees. This year, Roycemore removed lunch service from student fees and entered into a partnership with HandCut Foods that is a more streamlined process allowing families to order lunches and pay for specific days. We are very excited about this new arrangement because it gives families more flexibility and will reduce food waste.
As of Tuesday, August 17th each family has been set up with an account in the HandCut application and you can login at: app.handcutfoods.com. If you would like to participate in the HandCut program, login and follow the instructions to set up the details of your account. Accounts leverage a prepaid/drawdown process in which you will be asked to load a specific amount as a credit on the account. Each time you order, the meal will be charged against your balance. The process will allow you to order/pay for lunches on specific days and to choose to receive no meal on others.
Please note-the deadline for ordering meals for the first week of school has already passed; the usual deadline is Wednesday at noon for the following week. So students who haven’t had time to look into it yet will want to plan to pack lunches this first week of school.
Interested in Hosting?
Global School Access is seeking host families for Roycemore School international students. Requirements include a private bedroom in a safe home, daily transportation to and from school, nutritious meals, and the love and understanding a young person needs to enjoy a successful academic year. Compensation is available to offset the costs of hosting. There will be local support and communication provided throughout the student’s stay. For more information, please contact Anita Chávez-Berry at 773-891-6625, or anita@globalschoolaccess.com.
Griffin Great!
Please join us on Saturday, September 11th for a Griffin Greats session with Amanda VanAllen!
Amanda VanAllen is an Emmy Winning TV News Anchor for PHL17 in Philadelphia.
She started her career at ABC News in New York where she produced for the early morning news show 'World News Now.' After spending a little under three years in network news she landed her first on-air TV job for Fios 1 (a small cable station in New York City and Long Island). She spent less than two years there and headed to WFMZ-TV in Allentown, Pennsylvania before accepting a job in Cleveland—where she would go on to win three Emmy awards for her reporting. Amanda recently moved to Philadelphia and is now anchoring PHL17 Morning News.
Amanda went to Oberlin College where she double-majored in African-American Studies and English and was a two-sport athlete (basketball/volleyball). She also has a Master's Degree in Broadcast Journalism from New York University.
Notes:
Views expressed by Griffin Greats are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of their employer or Roycemore School.
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Student-Parent Handbook Link
Attendance
If you know your student will be absent on an upcoming day due to a medical appointment, college visit or other needed reason, please be sure to email: attendance@roycemoreschool.org. Students who will miss school should also take a form to their teachers for signatures and to get information on any classes they will miss. Forms are available in the Upper School office.
Calendar
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