Mustang News
october 16, 2020 edition
Updated COVID Quarantine Process
In collaboration with Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) and observing Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) updated guidelines, Jeffco Public Schools has revised our quarantine process effective immediately. This will continue to ensure a comprehensive health and safety process while also potentially reducing the number of quarantined students and staff. The revisions modify the identification process for middle and high school students and staff enabling a more precise targeted identification process.
School-Based Mental Health Clinician - Remote Learning Support and Suicide Prevention
Kelsey Shelander comes to us from Jefferson Center for Mental Health as the School-Based Clinician at Ralston Valley this school year. Kelsey is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 3+ years of experience in working with teens and adolescents. Jefferson Center partners with schools in the county to provide therapeutic interventions including individual, family and group therapy along with clinical case management for school-based clients. Kelsey is solely located at Ralston Valley to offer these aforementioned direct services as well as offering support to the staff with crisis intervention as needed. If you think your student may benefit from ongoing mental health intervention, diagnosis, and treatment, please reach out to your student’s school counselor! The counselor will be the first point of contact in the process, and once a referral for services has been submitted, Kelsey will follow up with you and/or your student for next steps! Kelsey is excited to be here and grateful for the opportunity to support the students, staff, and families of RV!
Thank you, PTSA!
A HUGE shout-out to our PTSA for providing the RV staff with dinner during our parent/teacher conferences last week! Our PTSA continues to support and provide the staff and students of our school in various ways throughout the school year. Please know that we very much appreciate your support!
Athletics Update
With an early deadline for this week’s newsletter due to the Fall Break, not much is new in the ever-changing world of athletics. Our boys cross country runners will compete Saturday in the STATE championships to close out their season. Good luck, Mustangs! Our varsity football team overcame two quarantined opponents to finally play a Week One contest vs. a game Battle Mountain team. Thanks, Huskies for agreeing to play RV and give both teams a chance to get in some work.
Remember, we are only allowed 300 spectators at the NAAC for our football games this season. The only way to be a part of the 300 is to have a voucher, enabling you to purchase a ticket at the gate. Regardless of age, all spectators must have a voucher to enter. Players, coaches, and spirit squad members are given limited tickets to distribute to their families, but other students need to join the weekly voucher raffle for a chance at being selected to receive the coveted vouchers! This link will get you to next week’s raffle for the Pomona game.
Senior Interviews
Every year our seniors have the opportunity to run through mock interviews with members of the community, the culmination of a unit that focuses on college and job applications, resume building, and interviewing skills. We are in need of more volunteers to help interview over 400 seniors!
Because of the pandemic, we will be conducting interviews virtually. If you are comfortable handling this level of technology, we would love to have you join us/our students via Zoom the week of October 19. Interviewers will be asked to provide a Zoom link for students to join for their scheduled interviews.
We are still looking for volunteers in these categories:
Education
Engineering
Health Sciences
Bio Sciences
Architecture / Environmental Studies
Law
Military
Public Safety
Skilled Trades
Please contact Erica Fulton at efulton@jeffcoschools.us if you are interested, or have any questions.
Mustang Mentor Program (MMP)
Freshmen Students/Parents and Students who are new to RV this year
A reminder that MMP is required of all Freshman students and attendance is taken! We believe that MMP is an essential component of your student's transition into high school. In a school of this size, making relationships and getting involved helps student's overall emotional well-being and improves our sense of community as a school. Please encourage your student to attend the remaining MMP dates, and to PARTICIPATE! MMP is held virtually on select Fridays from 2:00-2:30. Students join their School Orientation Schoology course and participate in a lesson with their teacher, classmates, and mentors. The remaining dates are: Oct. 23, Nov. 13 and Dec. 4.
Hybrid and Remote Learning Attendance
A friendly reminder that class sizes have been set to adhere to safety and social distancing guidelines. Students are not allowed to move from remote learning to in-person learning until the end of first semester. If your student is a Hybrid student, they are expected to attend in-person learning on the assigned days. If your student is sick and unable to attend in-person, please ensure you call the attendance line to excuse their absence. Students are encouraged to still attend remotely, even if at home ill, but a phone call to excuse the student not being present in the classroom is still required for security reasons.
Remote-only Students Lunch Option
Students who are entirely remote learners may pick up a free lunch on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons between 1:45 and 2:15. Students should come to the main front doors of the school where they will be temperature-screened, and then proceed to the cafeteria for a free grab-and-go lunch.
Senior Pictures & Baby Ads
The deadline to submit Senior photos for the yearbook is Friday, October 23, 2020.
Senior Baby Ads - Early Bird Deadline is October 20th, and the final deadline is November 17, 2020.
Click here for more information and to submit senior photos. Contact Erica Fulton, Yearbook sponsor, at efulton@jeffcoschools.us
Counseling Department
Federal Student Aid
In lieu of an in-person Financial Aid Night, our usual presenter from Colorado School of Mines has created an on-line presentation. Please watch it with your students!
NACAC Virtual College Fairs
Don't miss it! More than 600 colleges and universities will be online to talk with high school juniors and seniors on each of these dates this fall: Oct 12, Oct 18, and Nov 8. Sign up now at virtualcollegefairs.org. Also available are NACAC Meet-Ups to find the best college fit for you, paying for college, and more.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) is a nonprofit organization representing nearly 14,000 counseling and admission professionals worldwide since 1937. NACAC and its members are dedicated to ethical and inclusive service to students as they make choices about their higher education future. With promotional support from: Common App.
Senior Seminar
Seniors! Check your Counseling Google Classroom for Session 2 of Senior Seminar. There is information on Financial Aid, Scholarship, Virtual College Visits, and NCAA/NAIA.
Technology resources & Help
Tech Tip for Students - Bookmark Your Zoom Links
Give yourself a faster way to get to Zoom class that works even if you can't login to Schoology or Google Classroom. This super short video will show you how to create a bookmark folder and easily organize all of your Zoom links inside it.
Creating bookmarks for all your classes will give you another way to get to Zoom class if you're not able to login to Schoology or Google Classroom for any reason. Make sure to contact us if you're not able to get logged in to Schoology or Google Classroom if the Status Monitor indicates it's working for most people.
Need Tech Assistance?
Visit our Remote Learning Tech Help Page to view the status of our core tools, access how-to and troubleshooting information, and find out how to get in touch with someone ASAP for tech help.
Please encourage your students to reach out to us for tech help right away so we can get them connected ASAP. It's generally easier to troubleshoot over the phone as opposed to email, so have your child call the school at 303-982-5600 so they can be connected to someone who can assist.
Quick Reference
Administration
Principal - Ms. Buenning, (303) 982-5600
12th Asst Principal - Mr. Litzau, (303) 982-5611
11th Asst Principal - Mr. Ackerman, (303) 982-5595
10th Asst Principal - Mr. Pergola, (303) 982-5604
9th Asst Principal - Ms. Kline, (303) 982-9378
Athletics Director - Mr. Hynes, (303) 982-3563
Counselors
A - Da: Ms. Siegert, (303) 982-5639
Db - Je: Mr. Merkel, (303) 982-5602
Jf - Mi: Ms. Belmear, (303) 982-5680
Mj - Se: Ms. Weber, (303) 982- 5597
Sf - Z: Mr. Giese, (303) 982-8110