RCSD Community Update: 12/16/22

Dear RCSD Community,

We had our first snow event of the season on Monday! As it happens, it was sort of a non-event, but we may well get something more serious in the not-too-distant future. As a reminder, I will send an email and voicemail message at approximately 6:00 a.m. via Blackboard whenever we have a weather delay or closing. I also tweet any changes due to weather - follow me at @EricByrneRCSD - and we also post updates in the pop-up “bubble” on the homepage of the District website. 

Snow/Emergency Days

We have three snow/emergency days built into the 2022-23 school year calendar. They are (in order) 5/30, 5/26, and 4/10. If we do not use those days for weather closings or other emergencies, we will not have school on those days. Delayed openings or early dismissals do not count towards these days. 

Hour of Code Events

The three elementary schools held well-attended Hour of Code events this week and last week. The Hour of Code is a nationwide celebration of the art and (computer) science of coding. Students and their parents enjoyed a variety of fun activities, including writing code to operate Dash & Dot robots and using the text-based computer programming language Python.  For the first time, the Middle School is hosting an Hour of Code event this coming Tuesday (click here to sign up). This is fitting given the high level of interest in coding at RMS which has led to the creation of an after-school club dedicated to Lego robotics. I like to think this is a product of the engineering classes at RMS - look out for an informational video on this program coming shortly!

Security Video

Back at the end of October, we hosted a Parent University on the topic of Safety and Security in our schools. It was very well-attended and well-received, so we thought we’d put together a video for those parents who couldn’t come. It’s a bit longer than some of our other videos, but it has a lot of good information. Watch it by clicking here.

Holiday Concerts

I have had the pleasure of attending a number of holiday concerts this week. I have to say that I have been really impressed by the high quality of the performances! Kudos to the students and to the chorus, band, and orchestra teachers who have been guiding them. There are a number of holiday concerts coming up next week. The refrigerator calendar is here. I hope to see you there!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Eric Byrne, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools