From Roger…
Dear Parents,
Our school motto, Leaders of Change, matters now more than ever.
Our country, our community, and even our schools are reckoning with a difficult reality… the reality that not all of us have equal access to justice based on the color of our skin, the zip code in which we live, or the gender or sexual identity that we hold. Many of us are becoming increasingly more aware that our fellow citizens (our colleagues, our neighbors and, most importantly to us, our students) have and continue to experience the very real and negative effects of racism and intolerance.
At Realms High School, we celebrate and honor diversity and the full and equal inclusion of all voices, all bodies and all identities. We intentionally weave the examination of topics related to social and environmental justice into our curriculum and classrooms. We teach students to understand and analyze the dynamics of racism, privilege, and inequality. And we do so with a commitment to ensuring students are presented with resources and discussions that highlight multiple perspectives and viewpoints on these important topics. We design our work with students in this way to set the stage for them to become future leaders in our community, country and the world.
In the words of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, students need “windows, not just mirrors“ in order to fully understand the world around them. Our students need books, videos, and articles that bring to life the voices and experiences not just of the dominant culture but also of non-dominant groups in our society in order to become informed critical thinkers.
Two examples this trimester include our Literature in Society course (11th grade) and our Power and Privilege Learning Expedition (10th grade). Students in Literature in Society are exploring material connected to the theme of “Resistance” and are diving into the book Born A Crime, by Trevor Noah. See Michelle’s letter here. In our 10th grade Power & Privilege Expedition (this expedition integrates across the students’ Art, English and Social Studies courses) students are exploring issues directly connected with leaders of change, power, privilege, racism, bias and how these themes show up in history, current events, literature, and art. Students will examine video, text, and art based resources that surface these themes, including reading the book Just Mercy as part of their Lit & Comp 2 class.
Our work in helping young people become leaders of change in their communities is ongoing. We know that this work is hard, and will require open and respectful dialog, including the willingness to engage in courageous conversations with each other when opinions differ. We must do this work together with our students, parents and community members…. Which means we are committed to both LISTENING, and action. If you would like to share your thoughts, or engage in a courageous conversation – we stand ready… please reach out.
In partnership and on behalf of the team here at RHS,
Roger
Here are a few resources for more information:
- All Students Need Anti-racism Education, from Teaching Tolerance
- Bend LaPine School Board Resolution on Racism
- All Students Belong – ODE’s new rule prohibiting racist symbols
CANVAS – RESOURCES & PARENT OBSERVER TIPS
Canvas is our new Learning Management System and it allows for parents to connect to their student’s courses and be a support person for learning at home. This week the District hosted a Canvas For Parents session. It is recorded and can be viewed on the District website.
Additionally, two great documents that might help if you are struggling to get connected with Canvas are here:
DOWNLOAD: Linking Students to Parents in Canvas
DOWNLOAD: 10 Tips – Parent Observer Accounts
OFFICE HOURS, OFFICE HOURS, OFFICE HOURS!
Our teachers offer Office Hours which are designed to be a time for students to GET HELP with any questions, concerns or struggles they may be experiencing. We STRONGLY RECOMMEND that students who might need a little extra support, motivation or guidance make use of these times. Teachers stand READY to help!
So far, only a handful of students are using these times to access help! We’d LOVE to see that change! See below for times, or download a PDF of our Daily Schedule.
TARGETED STUDY GROUPS
What, When, Who, and Why?
In addition to Office Hours, our Student Support Team has created a schedule of small groups in the afternoons (see above) designed to give specific students extra support on the assignments of the week in a “targeted study group” format. We know that distance learning can be hard… but our team is here to help.
Students (and parents) who have been invited to one or more Targeted Study Groups should have received an email last week with the specific times, teacher and subject.
If your student is struggling in a class, we suggest the following steps:
- Attend Office Hours to get help – often!
- Share the struggle/concern with your Crew teacher – problem solve together
- Request to be part of a Study Group – make request through your Crew teacher **
- And, you can ALWAYS call or email us, any time!
NEW PARENT ORIENTATION NIGHT
Thursday October 8th. 6:00PM. On WEBEX.
We are excited to invite all new families (both parents of freshman AND families from other grades new to Realms) to an orientation presentation on Thursday October 8th from 6:00PM – 7:00PM.
At this session you will have a chance to:
- meet teachers and other parents
- learn more about assessment at RHS including our standards based grading approach, our student led conference system and more
- experience a little bit of “Crew” in breakout rooms
- ask questions about curriculum
STAY TUNED FOR ACCESS TO GRADES!
By the end of this coming week (Friday October 2nd) you should begin to see assignments, standards and grades appearing in the teachers’ gradebooks. At Realms High School you will be able to access ongoing grading information through PARENTVUE. Our teachers will be using Canvas for feedback on student work, but actual grades will be entered into the Synergy gradebook (ParentVue is your portal).
Parent TO DO ITEM: Be sure you have logged into ParentVue NOW. You can see your student’s schedule, access teacher contact information. track their attendance, and soon… view their grades. We also ask that you use the Updates/Enrollment button in the upper right corner of the ParentVue screen to update all of your contact information and/or student health information. If you have not yet logged into ParentVue, do so ASAP! If you have any problems, call 541-355-5500 or email [email protected]
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL & MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT AVAILABLE!
Counseling, Social Groups and More
We have an amazing support team at Realms High School who knows and believes that students’ academic health and social-emotional well being are intricately connected.
Stephanie Harris is our awesome Counseling Intern. Steph works closely with Alix Keel is our school psychologist, Kat Tomsic (our SPED EA), and the rest of our staff.
Steph is already working with students this year and is excite to meet you if you haven’t’ met her yet. Check out her web page here with links, or her video below. You can also see what she has available through her Canvas course that should be available to all students!
HEALTH SURVEY FOR 11TH GRADE
Between October 5th and October 8th we will be giving the Student Health Survey sponsored by Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority. This 30 minute health survey is completely anonymous and is designed to gather statewide data on teen behaviors geared at improving our efforts to intervene and support students in navigating this period of their lives.
There is a letter attached here with more information and, should you choose, an opt out form as the survey is voluntary.
PSAT FOR JUNIORS – SIGN UP ASAP
We will be administering the PSAT test here at Realms HS. This test is optional but is helpful for students seeking merit based scholarships and for students who want to practice for the SAT. This test is typically designed for Juniors. We have a limited number of PSAT openings still left and the deadline to sign up is Oct 5th – if you haven’t already signed up and would like to, simply email [email protected]
The PSAT test will be on Saturday 10/17 here at RHS and there is a $25 fee.
ATTENDANCE
Yes – we ARE taking attendance!
ATTENDING SYNCHRONOUSLY: Students are expected to be in their scheduled WebEx classes every day. Synchronous WebEx classes happen in the mornings on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Teachers take attendance and we expect students to REMAIN in class and engaged the whole time in order to be “present virtually”.
If your student misses one or more live WebEx classes they should email the teacher or you can call our attendance line so we can keep our attendance records accurate. Our attendance Secretary is Lisa Johnson and she can be reached at 541-355-5429
We also track students’ participation in Canvas during their afternoon asynchronous learning time. Students are expected to complete between 2-3 hours per day of asynchronous work (this will vary significantly by student and course load) in the afternoons/evenings and teachers can track this participation through Canvas Activity reporting function.