February 3, 2023 EDition

Make-A-Wish Week was a HUGE Success!

Thank you Ralston Valley Community for all your Make-A-Wish efforts! We set a record this year by raising $89,402.13, and we are still waiting for restaurant nights and some of our feeder schools to wrap up their fundraising.  Our previous record was $73,000! Thank you for giving hope to Sawyer and kids like her through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This community wide service project is something special and we are so thankful for the empathy, compassion and school spirit shown throughout the week! Enjoy the picture below of Student Government, some of our feeder school representatives, and of course, Sawyer! 

Course Selection for 2023-2024 (cont.)

In preparation for their conversations with counselors on the dates listed below, students and families should consider the following:

Course Selection Presentation dates (during student's English class):

Panorama Education Student Survey 

Jeffco’s Make Your Voice Heard (MYVH) survey is being replaced this year with the Panorama Student survey. This survey will provide national norms around school belonging, school climate, school engagement, teacher-student relationships, rigorous expectations, school safety, and math identity. The Panorama student survey will be administered to all students in grades six through twelve.  

Ralston Valley High School will administer this survey on February 28th in classes. 

Please click on this link to receive further information regarding this survey.

SOPHOMORES - Apply for National Honor Society

Attention Sophomores with a weighted GPA of 3.6 or higher, you are invited to join the Ralston Valley Chapter of the National Honor Society.  You should have received an invitation to apply earlier this week. If you did not receive an invitation to apply, but believe you should have, please speak in person with Mrs. Reid or Mrs. Rosenthal, both located in Science.  All completed applications are due no later than March 10th at 3:10 p.m.  No late or incomplete applications will be considered.  Early submission is encouraged.

JUNIORS- SAT Essay Opt In

Students who wish to take the optional essay for SAT must register in advance.  The essay registration window is  January 17- February 16.  This will be the only opportunity for students who wish to take the optional essay to add it to their April school day test registration.  Interested students should register either through their online College Board account or by calling the College Board at 866-917-9030 option 2.  Click here for more information about the optional essay.

SAVE THE DATE- PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

Spring Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, February 16 from 4:00-7:00 p.m..  As always, teachers will be available in the Main and Small gyms in an open house-style format.  We will ask that conferences are limited to 5 minutes, so feel free to make an appointment for another time if more than 5 minutes is needed. 

Student Parking Passes

If students have not purchased a parking pass, the last opportunity to purchase one will be by February 16 .  Please follow these steps to ensure a parking pass is purchased before they sell out.  Enforcement of parking passes in all on campus student lots has begun, and will continue throughout the school year.


*Students who qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch should visit the finance office before completing any of the above steps. 

*Please contact Jill Kline with any questions.

activities

This Saturday, February 4th, our Ralston Valley winter guard will host the first show of the RMCGA season. Come show your support and watch some of the best groups in the state. Tickets can be purchased here https://rmcga.org/ralston-valley-show/  or on the QR code found around the school. 

PTSA

Senior Yard Signs - It is time to order your Senior Yard Signs to let everyone know that you have a graduating senior this year.  Please use the following link to place your order.  Monies raised from the sale of the senior signs go towards supporting After Prom.  Thank you for your continued support of the Ralston Valley PTSA.  https://rvsenioryardsign.itemorder.com/ 


Membership - The Ralston Valley PTSA invites you to join, if you haven't already done so, by following the link below.  This is an opportunity to support the PTSA in their efforts to support Ralston Valley students and staff.  The monies raised go to support the staff during conferences and teacher appreciation week by providing snacks, lunch, and dinner.  Ralston Valley PTSA also supports a scholarship for senior members of the PTSA.  In order to be eligible for the scholarship the student needs to be a member of the PTSA.


In addition to membership, the PTSA collects money and donations for After Prom if you are so inclined to donate, those can be made through the same link.  Thank you for your consideration.


Ralston Valley PTSA Membership and Donation Link

athletics 

Swim and Dive is one of the host schools of this year's Jeffco League Championships at Meyers Pool.  Finals for Swim and Dive are Saturday at 3:00.  Many of our swimmers and divers qualified for the State Championships next week.  They are looking to improve on their seeding in the season's final meet.  We have a few more swimmers and divers that are using this weekend as one last try at a qualifying mark.  Good Luck!!!  Thank you to all of our parent volunteers that are working hard to make this a great experience for all.  


Hockey came out of last weekend with two huge wins.  They beat #8 Heritage on Friday night and followed it up with a win over #3 Regis on Saturday.  They are holding on to the #2 seed heading into the last couple of weeks of the season.  This weekend, they take on Lewis-Palmer tonight and  #7 Chaparral tomorrow night.  Check out their home games on NSPN.tv


Boys Basketball had a couple of nice wins this last week.  On Saturday they beat Broomfield and followed that up with a win against Columbine on Monday.  The league title is up for grabs over the next two weeks and Ralston Valley is right in the mix.


Girls Basketball beat Columbine on Wednesday night in front of a good crowd at the Mustang Range.  They have another big game on Saturday when they travel to Arvada West in a rematch from a Mustang victory earlier this season.  This is another opportunity for you to see both basketball teams play.  The girls will play at 5:30 p.m. with the boys playing afterward at 7:00 p.m.


Our Cheer program hosted 240 Mini Mustangs last Friday night in front a packed house at the Mustang Range.  This was a great community evening.  Thank you to all those that helped make it happen.  Cheer is coming to the end of their competition season next week when they leave for Florida to compete in the UCA National Championships.  Our Dance team left Wednesday night for Florida to compete in the UDA National Championships.  Good luck to both programs!

National Letter of Intent Signing Day

Congratulations to the 13 Mustang senior athletes who were recognized at the Signing Day ceremony in the auditorium on Wednesday, February 1st.  Good luck in your future endeavors!

Congratulations Mustangs!!!

Jackson Ruff 

Rome City Institute   

Soccer

Austin Metzler     

Drury University  

Swimming

Allie Braney      

Regis University     

XCountry and Track

Gavin Zborowski

College of William and Mary         

Gymnastics 

Rio Ruotsala   


Doane University


Soccer

Jordon McCaslin       

Menlo College            

Golf

Alyssa Gonci        

University of Maryland Baltimore County      

Swimming

Rebecca Bijold        

Cal State - Monterey Bay                             

Water Polo

Chase Cecil         

Keiser University    

Baseball

Brayden Schatz      

South Dakota School of Mines                      

Football

Eli Keith                  

Colorado Mesa University                 

Football

Jason Thome              

Colorado Mesa University                 

Football

Gunner Schoepflin     

Colorado Mesa University                  

Football

Sports Registration is now open for all Spring Sports.  Registration for Boys Swim and Dive is due by 3:00 p.m. on 2/17.  All other Spring sports registrations are due by 3:00 p.m. on 2/24.  Your student will need to have had a physical within the last 365 days to register.  The online registration must be completed prior to your student being allowed to participate in practices and tryouts.  Spring Sports include:

You can access the online registration portal by either going to the Athletics page on the Ralston Valley Homepage or click HERE.

off campus policy

Due to the nature of our campus, we do not allow students to walk off campus during the school day.  


9th-grade students are not allowed off campus at any point during the school day unless they leave with their parent/guardians. 


If your 10th-grade student is driving, they may leave campus with parental permission.  They are expected to follow local and state driving laws.  Please click on this FORM to give your sophomore child the ability to leave campus with your permission.  


Our campus is not closed to our 11th and 12th-grade students and they may leave campus. 

 Schedule for The week of 2/6/23

Monday, Feb. 6th - Silver Day

Tuesday, Feb. 7th- White Day

Wednesday, Feb. 8th - Blue Day

Thursday, Feb. 9th - White Day 

Friday, Feb. 10th - Blue day

Advisement Corner

Ninth Grade Advisement

On February 6th, we will do individual teacher/student check-ins and look back over our executive functioning survey that we completed two weeks ago. Students took a survey that determined their strengths and potential weaknesses around executive functioning. Our goal is for the students to create an inventory for their learning moving forward. 

Counseling Department

Upcoming College Visits

Representatives from the following colleges will be in the RVHS Counseling Office on these dates and times:

Colorado State University, Pueblo - Monday, Feb 13th 11:30 a.m.

Colorado Mesa University - Thursday, Feb 16th 11:30 a.m.

Scholarships for Seniors

For our most up-to-date scholarship list, please visit the Upcoming Private Scholarships page.  Here are four highlighted, local scholarships: 

Rooney Ranch Elementary PTA Scholarship due March 17, 2023

Jeffco PTA Scholarship due March 31, 2023

Celebration of Teaching Scholarship due April 7, 2023

Manning Middle School PTA Scholarship due April 14, 2023

AP Test Fees

Advanced Placement (AP) class test fees for semester-long AP courses taught in the spring are due on February 24th.  The test fee is $96.  After February 24th, a late fee will be applied.

The Princeton Review College Admissions Week

The Princeton Reivew is hosting free webinars next week for 10th and 11th graders on topics including financial aid, writing a college application essay, and finding your dream college.  For more information and to register, click here. 

Women in Law Day @ CU Boulder

The University of Colorado - Boulder Women's Law Caucus invites young women in high school to learn about law school, discover legal career opportunities, and envision themselves pursuing an advanced law degree.  This is a free program that includes a keynote speaker, panel sessions, a mock first-year class, and an opportunity to meet current law students and local attorneys during a networking lunch.

Date: Saturday, February 25th, 2023

Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Place: Wolf Law Building (CU Boulder Campus), 450 Kittredge Loop Drive, Boulder

Register: respond to this survey by February 10th 

Colorado Health Careers Summer Academy

Arapahoe Community College (ACC) and Community College of Denver (CCD) have created a summer learning opportunity for high school students who are interested in a healthcare career.  Students will gain knowledge of different healthcare fields, become self-aware of their aptitudes and interests, and obtain direct experience in the industry through virtual and in-person formats.  Click here for more information and to apply.

Resource: Robbie's Hope

Each month, a group of students from RV's Student Government will be highlighting a resource for students and their caregivers.  This month's theme is technology:

Living in the modern world, teens are susceptible to pressures from the world around them, especially in regard to technology. You don’t have to be a mental health expert to know technology can both help and hinder a teen’s mental health. It’s important to provide guidance to teens on proper technology use. It is equally important that parents and trusted adults model proper use of that same technology. Parents and trusted adults need to be able to have conversations with their teens about the positives and negatives that can come from technology use. Keep in mind, these discussions are a two-way street, not a lecture. The best approach for parents and trusted adults is to approach it from a framework of “let’s learn together.”  Linked below is our technology handbook that was written by teens, giving parents an alternative perspective on the benefits and dangers of technology. Please utilize this resource to approach how to properly use technology. See our website for more information (robbies-hope.com) 

ralston valley happenings

Historical Maps Get New Life in World History Lessons


Students in Ms. Dean's world history classes simulated a lesson in Geopolitics by partitioning an 1884 map of Africa.


 "Chopped" Competition in Culinary Essentials for a Good Cause

 Ms. Kulacz and senior Joe Snyder donned their aprons and fired up the stoves for a cooking throw down fundraiser! Ms. Kulacz, along with sous chef Mr. Cisneros, made potato croquettes with gorgonzala sauce and beet sauce, and Joe created and plated a potato ravioli.  Some of the secret ingredients in the cooking challenge were a pig's foot, pancake mix, and pear baby food, all deliciously incorporated into the dishes. Ms. Avalos, Madame Leslie, and senior Finley Timon served as judges, and over $2,000 was raised to benefit Make-A-Wish.  Bon appetit!

Here is the youtube link .

Tapas Feast in AP Spanish

AP Spanish students participated in a Spanish Tapas immersion lunch where we tried all kinds of tapas and compared the traditions, customs, foods and practices around food culture in Spain and the United States. Everyone enjoyed the incredible food and was able to make interesting and insightful comparisons of the different dishes. 

Administration

Calendar

Important Links

Congratulations to our 13 Student Athletes that signed their National Letter of Intent to continue playing sports in College.  Ralston Valley wished them all the best as the enter his new chapter in their lives.