december 2011 newsletter.pub

December 2011
752-0300
Michael Kaufman, Principal
First Semester Exam Schedule
First semester exams are scheduled for
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, January
18, 19, and 20, 2012.
Wednesday, January 18th
full day of school
Exam hours - 3rd and 6th
Thursday, January 19th
half day of school
Students released at 10:38 a.m.
Exam hours - 1st and 2nd
Friday, January 20th
half day of school
Students released at 10:38 a.m.
Exam hours - 4th and 5th
First Semester
Attendance Appeals
If your student has been absent more than 10 days in any one
class, they must appeal their absences for the hour(s) they are
over. Forms will be available in the main office at both the
high school and at RETC beginning Wednesday, December 14,
2011 to January 6, 2012. Completed forms must be returned
to the main office by Friday, January 6, with all the appropriate
documentation attached. If you have any questions, please
contact the high school office at 586-752-0300.
Student Discount Sports Passes Available...
Save money all winter long and attend
all the home sport contests here at RHS.
For only $20 you can watch 30 girls basketball games, 30
boys basketball games, 7 swim meets, 8 hockey games and 2
wrestling meets. Pick up your DISCOUNT sport pass in the
athletic office.
School Closing Information
In addition to our Instant Alert System that notifies parents of school closings, we are listing the
television and radio stations which you can tune
in to during snow or ice storms to check to see if
Romeo Schools are in session for that day.
* WWJ—950 AM
* Q95.5—FM
* Channel 4
* WJR—760 AM
* Channel 2
* Channel 7
Rarely does this happen but in the event school is
cancelled during the day, please discuss with
your child where he/she
should go when school is
dismissed early.
Interpretación en español disponible poniéndose en contacto con
Celia Ciecko (586) 281-1732
Spanish interpretation available by contacting Celia Ciecko at
(586) 281-1732.
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Romeo High School Key Club
Caught Being Good...
Is a program that offers staff an
opportunity to reward students for
"doing the right thing". The positive recognition could be anything from
helping clean up a science lab without being
asked or turning in found money. We are
proud of our students that make the right
choices and want to recognize them.
Adam Nelson
Brad Reckling
Abigail Vecore
Taylor Dutcher
Wyatt Bevins
Lyndsey Houser
Ben Winn
Karly Rapp
Victoria Flores
Carina Sanchez
Shawn Hillis
Chandler Zawadzki
Katie Race
Claire Romine
Michael Grifka
Hey, Skiers & Snowboarders!
Join the RHS Ski &
Snowboard Club on our
weekly trips to Pine Knob
Ski Resort!
We have ski excursions
planned for the following
Thursdays: Dec. 8, Dec.
15, Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26, Feb. 2
and Feb. 9. Bus transportation to and from
Pine Knob is available each week. Pick up
your payment coupons for this season’s trips
in the Main Office, the Athletic Office, or see Mrs.
Kowalke in Room 610 or Mr.
Robertson in Room 302. Payment is due at the end of the
day on Tuesday to reserve
your spot for each Thursday’s
trip. Don’t miss out – think snow!!
Last month RHS Key Club attended the Fall
Rally in Frankenmuth with about 300 other Michigan
Key Club members. It was a lot of fun! We all
learned a lot about how to be better Key Club Members (and how fun it is to be one!), and it was a fantastic learning experience! We also participated in a
March of Dimes Walk and raised over $2000! Members had the chance to make Medical Dolls, learn
about fundraising for Leukemia and Lymphoma, and
many other service ideas. And of course we had a delicious chicken dinner.
This month the Key Club is having a toy drive.
Toys will be delivered to needy elementary children
at a Christmas party. The toys are due for packing by
the 15th. We are collecting Barbies, Hot Wheels and
stuffed animals; we are also collecting hats and mittens for the children. Anyone planning to attend
this Friday night’s basketball game at RHS on December 9th, may bring a toy to be donated to the
toy drive instead of paying admission to the game!
Help Key Club provide a Merry Christmas to the
needy children.
Some of our other upcoming events include:
Kiwanis Christmas Breakfast on December 7th from 8
a.m. to 11 a.m., Kiwanis is meeting with us for a
breakfast feast to celebrate the upcoming holidays
with preschool children at Croswell
Senior Center: We’re playing Bingo again and making a Christmas craft with the seniors at the Romeo Nursing Center! This will take place Thursday, December 8th
Serve-a-Thon: We’re participating in an all-day event
with other Michigan Key Clubs and Circle K
groups at the University of Michigan! This will
be on Saturday, January 21st
District Convention (DCON): All Key Club members
in the Michigan district are meeting at the Radisson Hotel in Kalamazoo for a weekend of workshops, service projects, elections and (of course)
fun! This will take place from March 9th to March
11th.
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“PROFICIENCY” ON STATE – REQUIRED TESTS HAS A NEW DEFINITION
Romeo Community Schools is taking a proactive approach to communicating with parents and the community concerning scoring changes to the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) and
Michigan Merit Exam (MME) tests this year.
Each year, our students along with all other Michigan public school students in grades 3-9 are required
to take the MEAP and eleventh graders are required to take the MME. If you haven’t already, you will
soon begin hearing news reports about new cutoff scores, or “cut scores” that the Michigan State Board
of Education recently adopted for these tests. Rather than rely on the news media, we encourage parents
to use Romeo Community Schools and the Michigan Department of Education for the most accurate
and current information.
So, what are cut scores and why has the Michigan State Board of Education changed them? MEAP and
MME cut scores separate test takers into various categories, such as advanced, proficient, partially proficient and not proficient. Michigan’s previous cut scores for these state tests were set at a very basic
level. Raising the cut scores will give Michigan parents and students a much better sense of whether
they are adequately prepared for the next step in their education and a future career in a global economy.
The new cut scores represent a significantly higher standard for student achievement and are intended to
more accurately reflect a student’s progress toward college and career readiness. On some tests, students
previously could have answered as few as 40 percent of the questions correctly to be considered proficient. Under the new scoring system, students will have to correctly answer a much higher percentage of
questions. Michigan is one of only three states in the nation (along with New York and Tennessee) to
move to this top tier level of test scoring.
Like school districts across the state, Romeo Community Schools’ MEAP and MME proficiency results
are expected to decline when publicly released next spring. While we anticipate an initial drop in the
number of students reported as “proficient,” we are confident this change will be temporary due to ongoing school improvement efforts and student support.
If a student is reported as “not proficient,” it does not mean that he or she isn't gaining academic skills
or knowledge expected for his or her grade level. It means that on the day of the test, this student was
not yet proficient on the material being tested. Many students may require additional help and/or time to
master these skills. Actually, by the time parents and the school receive the MEAP/MME results from
the state, many students identified as “not proficient” will have closed the gap.
The MEAP and MME tests are only two of several measures used in our district throughout the year to
insure that students are making academic progress. We maintain high standards for our students and
their test scores are consistently among the highest in the state. We anticipate this trend will continue
even with the new cut scores.
We will be examining our curriculum to respond to this more challenging level of test scoring. In addition, our staff will focus our professional development efforts on enhancing our abilities to rise to the
challenge presented to these recent changes.
Undoubtedly, parents will have many questions about the scoring changes. We will continue to provide
information through a variety of communication channels such as newsletters, email, our website, parent-teacher conferences, and more.
For more information, contact your school principal or visit the Michigan Department of Education web site at
http://1.usa.gov/statetests.
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Teen Intervene
Alcohol and Other Drugs –
Macomb Family Services Prevention Department
Teen Intervene is an evidencedevidenced-based prevention program for teens before or shortly after their first experience with alcohol and other drugs.
The program consists of two group sessions with a Prevention Specialist in which the teens are guided to
look at the pros and cons of use and, if necessary, determine willingness to change, set goals towards reducing/eliminating their use, and acquiring skills to help achieve these goals.
Immediately following the second session, another meeting aims to include a parent/ guardian whenever
possible. The purpose of this session is to encourage parenting behaviors that promote healthy lifestyles in
their youth.
Upcoming Group Sessions: (Choose One Option)
First Option:
December 8, 2011 from 6:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. AND
December 15, 2011 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. (Last 30 minutes is a parent session)
Second Option:
January 17, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. AND
January 24, 2011 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. (Last 30 minutes is a parent session)
PHONE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED
586--752To Register, please contact: Jynil Schneider, Prevention Director, 586
752-9696 x. 210
Classes are held at:
Macomb Family Services Romeo office, 124 West Gates, 48065
The fee for the class is $25.00 (cash or check to Macomb Family Services)
Fee can be reduced or waived if it would keep teen from participating.
Federal and State funding has been provided through Macomb County Community Mental Health/Office of Substance Abuse to support project costs. Support
has also been provided through United Way Community Services and private donations. Recipients of substance abuse prevention services have rights protected by State and Federal law and public rules. For information, visit or call an MFS Recipient Rights Advisor at (586) 226-3440
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RHS FINANCIAL AID NIGHT
Who: Junior & Senior Parents
What: Financial Aid Information Presentation
Where: RHS Auditorium
When: Wednesday, January 4th @ 7:00 p.m.
Why: To learn more information about the
financial aid process
The RHS Counseling office invites you to learn up-todate information on applying for financial aid, including the FAFSA online. A local Financial Aid representative will present information and answer your
questions. Hope to see you there!
RHS Counseling Office
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Stephen Henderson: Help get young minds
into books
Read.
Turn off the television, and read.
Put down the video games, and read.
Stop fussing with your sister, and read.
My mother used to say all those things to me. Now I say them to my son and my daughter.
For me, reading was an escape, a teleport to worlds filled with adventure or intrigue or fantasy, places far
flung from my home in Detroit. But my mother had to open up those possibilities for me, by filling the
house with books and pushing me toward them. Eventually, it was what I wanted to do. With my own
kids, the cycle repeats.
It's hard to imagine how that would work, though, in homes with no books, for families who have no
books. But in metro Detroit, this is often the situation. Which is why the Free Press, every year around the
holidays, asks the region to give the Gift of Reading for needy families. Give books to kids and they will
forever own the stories, imagination and ideas in them. And they'll grow to be parents who give that gift
to their own kids.
The importance of that cycle has never been clearer. Last month, the Free Press and several other local
institutions launched Reading Works, aimed at making 80% of metro area adults functionally literate by
2020. Right now, in Detroit, 47% of the adult population (the workforce) can't read beyond a sixth-grade
level. Statewide, the number is one in three.
It's a perfect complement to Gift of Reading, which intercedes in the problem on the other end, when children are just beginning to crack open the wonders of pages and bindings. The goal this year, like last, is
ambitious: Collect around 37,000 books, including 25,000 that will be distributed to every child in early
education in the Detroit Public Schools.
It sounds big, but it requires only the smallest gesture. Buy a book. Drop it at one of our collection centers. And we'll make it a gift that inspires and delights. And educates. We need to get more kids to turn off
the televisions, put down the video games, and read. So many need books to do it. With your help, Gift of
Reading can get them started.
Stephen Henderson is editorial page editor for the Free Press and the host of "American Black Journal,"
which airs at 1 p.m. on Sundays on Detroit Public Television. Contact Henderson at [email protected] , or at 313-222-6659.
NON-DISCRIMINATON AND ACCESS TO EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC REGARDING NON-DISCRIMINATORY POLICY
In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title II of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, it is
the policy of the Romeo Community School District that no person shall, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or
ancestry, gender, disability, age, height, weight, genetics or marital status be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination during any program, activity, service, or in employment . Any employee or member of the community of Romeo Community Schools, believing to be discriminated against should contact the Executive Director of Human Resources and Operations, 316 North Main Street, Romeo, Michigan 48065, 586-281-1429. Inquiries
related to discrimination on the basis of “student” disability should be directed to: Director of Special Services, 175 Croswell, Romeo, Michigan 48065, 586-752-0212.
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DECEMBER
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Student of the Month Breakfast, RETC
Progress reports
Professional Learning Communities (PLC) early dismissal
Choral concert, 7:00 p.m.
Band concert, 7:00 p.m.
Winter recess begins end of day
JANUARY
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19, 20
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25
27, 28
26
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School resumes
PTO Meeting, 9:15 a.m., lecture room
Board meeting, RETC, 7:30 p.m.
Professional Learning Communities (PLC) early dismissal
Student of the Month Breakfast, RETC
Professional Development Day – no school
Exams, Students a.m. only, records p.m.
End of semester
Professional Learning Communities (PLC) early dismissal
School House Rock Live, 7:00 p.m.
Educational Exploration, RHS, 7:00 p.m.
CTE Open House, 6:00-8:30 p.m., RETC
Romeo Senior High School
11091 West 32 Mile Road
Romeo, MI 48065
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
Romeo, Michigan 48065
Permit #71
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Sara Murray, President
Anita Banach, Vice President
Joseph A. Fortuna, Secretary
Ed Sosnoski, Treasurer
Terry Davis, Trustee
Michael Stobak, Trustee
Jennifer White, Trustee
RHS ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Michael Kaufman .......................... Principal
Mrs. Melissa Arendts .............Assistant Principal
Mr. Dan Stevens.....................Assistant Principal
Mrs. Natalie Davis..................Assistant Principal
Mr. Greg Brynaert................ Activities Director
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