December 22, 2017

A Message from Mr. Ross... As nearly 700 students and staff members eagerly await the digital clocks in the school to turn to 2:40 PM on Friday, December 22nd to commence the beginning of an extended holiday break, I’m reminded of the importance of the “school” in our Hudsonville community and will be equally excited to see the return of our students and staff on Monday, January 8th.

The “school” is one of the most important institutions in our community and serves as a hub for learning, discovery, collaboration, and the arts. In addition, the “school” is a warm, safe, and nurturing haven where people who look different, talk different, and believe differently come together to form a cohesive community.

Riley Street Middle School is a special place to learn and work because of the tremendous students, strong families, and a staff that cares deeply about the success of every student.

We are far from being a perfect place and have a number of goals we are working on in the areas of school climate, teaching a n d l e a r n i n g , a n d a c a d e m i c programming. Continuous improvement is at the forefront of all that we do to make our “school” an even better place for the children and families that we serve.

As we approach the halfway point of the school year in January, let me encourage you to reach out and let us know how we’re doing: the good, the bad, and everything in between. The feedback we receive from our students and parents, while not always easy to hear, is most valuable and helps us get better.

Enjoy your holiday break!

Riley Street ReminderA MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM RILEY STREET MIDDLE SCHOOL

Riley Street Middle School 2745 Riley Street, Hudsonvile, MI 49426

Phone: 616-896-1920

SAVE THE DATE ~ The Shark Tank will be coming to Riley Street Middle School on Friday, February 16, 2018. All 8th grade students will be creating an invention or an innovation of a product to parallel the Industrial Revolution of the 1800's.   Each student will give a five-minute sales pitch and display a prototype to a panel of adult "Sharks" who will listen to the pitch, fire questions back, and make the students think on their feet. If you would be interested in receiving more information about the event or would like to participate, please contact Lois Atkins at latkins@hpseagles.net or 896-1920 or sign up on Signup Genius.

Ski & Snowboard Club ~ HPS Students, siblings and parents interested in purchasing Discount Ski Club Cards to Bittersweet Ski Resort in Otsego, should sign up now with the new Eagle Ski & Board Club online system.  You will be able to purchase club cards ($16), bus passes ($20) and Eagle ski and board merchandise, along with club apparel. Cards allow discounted rates on lift tickets and rentals.   eagleskiclub17.itemorder.com

Middle School students will also be able to purchase a bus pass ($20) allowing for bus rides to bittersweet.  The Middle School Club dates are:

Tuesday, December 26 Monday, January 15 Monday, February 12 Monday, January 8 Monday, January 22

Late registration will be accepted through Friday, January 12 - Cards issued week of January 15.

We have created a new bulletin board in the main hallway titled, “Our Riley Family” and we need your help! We would love to get our hands on your family pictures to hang on this board! Feel free to submit your holiday card, a picture of just your kids, or a great family shot. Have your child bring these pictures to the office. Thank you in advance!

Winter 2 Sports ~  Sign-ups for Winter 2 Sports are underway. These Sports include Girls Basketball, Wrestling, and Boys Swim and Dive. A sports physical and athletic code must be on file in the office before students will be allowed to try-out or practice.  $75.00 pay to participate fee is required for all athletes - this fee is paid one time per school year.

Winter 2 Sports Tryouts: 7th & 8th Grade Girls Basketball Jan. 15 (4:15-5:45 pm), Jan. 16 & 17 (2:50-4:30pm)

Winter 2 Sports Practice Times (Non-Cut Sports): 7th & 8th Wrestling  -  There will be an informational meeting on  Jan. 11th at 3:00 in the media center and practices will begin the week of Jan. 15th. First week of practice schedule: Jan. 15–19 from 3:00 -5:00 p.m. at Riley Street Middle School’s Cafeteria. 7th & 8th Boys Swim and Dive - Practice starts Tuesday, Jan. 16 from 3:30 - 5:30 with practices the first week as follows:Tuesday - Thursday (Jan. 16-19) 3:30 - 5:30.  There is a shuttle bus provided to the High School for all Swim and Dive members.

After School Homework Help ~ After school homework help is available as follows: MONDAYS - 6th Grade - Room 209 TUESDAYS - 7th Grade - Room 116

WEDNESDAYS - All Grades - Media Center THURSDAYS - 8th Grade - Room 105

It will begin right after school and will end at 3:30pm. Students must have their own transportation home.

Lunch Money ~ This is just a reminder to keep enough money in your student’s lunch account. Send a check or cash with your student and we will deposit it in his or her account. Remember to put your student’s first and last name on the check so it can be applied to the correct lunch account. Deposits can be made in the mail slot on the cafeteria door or at sendmoneytoschool.com. There are applications for free and reduced lunches available in the office or at lunchapp.com throughout the year.

Parents of 6th Grade Students: Immunizations ~ Most 6th grade students need a couple of new immunizations (Meningitis and T-dap) after turning 11 and before entering 7th grade. Students are assessed as they enter 7th grade and must be up-to-date before they can start school for their 7th grade year. As your 6th grader has their well-child check-ups and receives the updated immunizations, please obtain a copy of their updated official immunization record and give a copy to the RMS office anytime this year. (We are required to have a copy of this official document in their file.)

Immunization Waivers ~ If you are a parent who chooses to waive immunizations for your child, please know that if you haven’t gotten a new waiver since your child turned 11, you will most likely need to get a new waiver which states Riley Street Middle School as the current school and also includes the new immunizations that were not previously required. Getting a new waiver requires making an appointment at the Ottawa County Department of Public Health (Hudsonville Branch Office Phone: 616-669-0040). Only waivers that are obtained this way are accepted as valid. If you have any question or would like us to check on the current waiver, please contact Anne Erickson at 616.896.1920 or at aerickso@hpseagles.net.

Riley Band Band Notes Congratulations to all of the Riley Middle School Band Students for their outstanding performances at the December 6th Concert! What an enjoyable experience for the students and families.

The Riley 7th & 8th Grade Bands have started to rehearse music for the upcoming MSBOA Band Festival in February. We have applied to perform on Wednesday, February 28th at West Ottawa Harbor Lights Middle School Performing Arts Center. This performance will take place during the school day. Performance sites, dates, and times are set by MSBOA and we will forward the details as soon as we get the information. These performances are free and open to the public.

We will be looking for a few parents to travel with us as chaperones for our 7th & 8th Grade Band Festival performances in February. Please contact Mr. Sheckler if you are interested in joining us. Volunteer forms are available on the Riley Middle School main web site. The Hudsonville Band Boosters are accepting Family Fare receipts to earn cash back for our band programs. Any Family Fare receipts can be dropped off at the Riley MS band room.

The Hudsonville Band Boosters is happy to announce that Jimmy John's is sponsoring us as our “Restaurant of the Month’” offering a 10% donation to the band programs.  Please show your support at Jimmy John's of Hudsonville on Tuesday, January 23rd anytime between 5:00pm and 10:00pm to be a part of this great fundraiser!

We are all busy - right? Why not feed your family the fastest sandwiches with the freshest ingredients? Save the date and make it a Jimmy John's night!

The money raised will assist the Booster program in providing the finances, manpower, and awareness needed to present our young musicians with exceptional music education and performance opportunities. 

No need to bring in the flyer or mention the Band - anyone that makes a purchase helps out the Band - so please spread the word!

       

     

 

   

 

BOX TOP CONTEST ~ Michael Eshleman, Davion Sumrell, and Ben Maki were our fall Box top winners. They each received 2 movie tickets to Celebration Cinema. A new Contest starts in January and runs through the end of the school year. Please turn in trimmed box tops (NOT expired) in bags or envelopes of 25 to be entered in to the contest. There is a collection basket in the office. Remember……WRITE your name on the bag or envelope. There will be 3 winners drawn on June 6, 2018. EACH winner will receive 2 movie tickets. Thanks for supporting Riley Middle School!

Renaissance News Gold Level Members

With December upon us, it’s time to announce our newest Business of the Month! We are happy to say that Hudsonville Lanes will be offering a FREE GAME OF BOWLING - no purchase necessary!

Thanks to Hudsonville Lanes for being a proud supporter of the program and we thank them for their efforts in honoring our Renaissance kids.

It's businesses like this that make our community great!

Riley Renaissance Students of the Month Riley Street Middle School prides itself in having students that do what is right, do their best and treat others as they want to be treated. Last week, the staff had the opportunity to nominate four students from each grade to showcase our Riley Renaissance Students of the Month. The criteria is broad and we left it very open ended to our teachers. After considering a number of nominations, we are pleased and honored to announce the following students as December Students of the Month. They are....

6th Grade: Jae Vanderbeek, Brooke Henry, Mitchell Hoeksema, and Bryson Huber7th Grade: Cheyenne Jones, Ceana Smith, Jaxon Siler, and Riley Anes8th Grade: Anna Brandt, Emma Inchauste, Keegan Hall, and Brandon VanKlompenberg

Each student will receive a Renaissance Student of the Month T-Shirt, an Eagle lanyard, and a pizza party with the rest of the student of the month members at the end of the year as a way to recognize their efforts. Our heartfelt congratulations go out to them! We are excited to see who will be next for January.

Emma Jae Ceana Inchauste Vanderbeek Smith

Anna Brooke Cheyenne Brandt Henry Jones

Keegan Mitchell Riley Hall Hoeksema Anes

Brandon Bryson Jaxon VanKlompenberg Huber Siler

SNOW DAY PROCEDURE FOR HOT LUNCH

T h e w e a t h e r o u t s i d e is fr ightful… .but what’s for lunch tomorrow?

If school is cancelled on a Monday through Thursday, the menu that was supposed to be served on the snow day will be moved to the next school day. The original menu from the return day will not be served. If school is cancelled on Friday, Friday’s menu will be cancelled and we will serve the published menu on Monday. We will also Tweet the menu on Twitter @jenhudfood and send out a note via School Messenger. Contact the food service department at 457-2400 if you have any questions. --Mary Darnton, Food Service Director

Freshman Orientation (for current 8th Graders and their parents)

February 21, 2018

7pm at the Freshman Campus

Auditorium

UPCOMING DATES

Dec. 25 Christmas Break Begins

Jan. 8 Classes Resume

Jan. 12 Early Release (Classes dismiss at 11:15)

Jan. 26 End of Term M3 End of Semester 1 (Foreign Language)

Jan. 29 P/T Conferences (3:30-7:30pm)

Jan. 31 P/T Conferences (4:00-7:00pm)

Feb. 2 Early Release (Classes dismiss at 11:15)

Feb. 5-6 Winter Break

Feb. 21 Freshman Orientation (for current 8th Graders) 7pm at the Freshman Campus

March 9 End Trimester 2 (and Term M4) Early Release (Classes dismiss at 11:15)

March 30 Spring Break (no school)

April 9 Classes Resume

Important Links Food Service Menu http://www.jenhudfood.org/images/Menus/Secondary/Jan-2018-Secondary-Menu.pdf

Hudsonville Athletics http://www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org/rileystreet/athletics/index

Community Ed Information http://www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org/communityed/

Community Bulletin Board http://www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org/rileystreet/community-bulletin-board

TCB http://www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org/rileystreet/school-news

Hudsonville Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion sex, national origin, age, height, weight, marital status, handicap, disability or limited English proficiency in any of its programs or activities. The following office has nondiscrimination policies: Personnel Director, Hudsonville Public Schools, 3886 Van Buren, Hudsonville, MI 49426, (616) 669-7747.