MAY 5, 2023 EDition

Teacher Appreciation Week is Next Week 

Teachers spend countless hours supporting, nurturing and educating our children.

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8-12.  As a small token of our appreciation, PTSA is partnering with RV to make our teachers feel special.  Please use this link to sign up to help supply breakfast, lunch and gift cards to our amazing RV staff and let them know how thankful we are for the work that they do.  You can drop all donations off at the main office or at the security desk before the designated day.

Meiklejohn Elementary Hosts Senior Breakfast

Meiklejohn Elementary extends their congratulations to the Senior class of 2023, and they invite graduating seniors to a breakfast in their honor, on Tuesday, May 23rd, at 7:30 a.m.  The staff at Meiklejohn looks forward to celebrating their accomplishments!

Senior Chromebook Turn-in 

In order to support seniors in using their Chromebook until all classes have been completed, the following dates, times and locations have been designated for senior technology check-in:

o May 11 - after school - lobby

o May 12 - after school - lobby

o May 15 - from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. - cafeteria

Dress Code 

As the warmer weather approaches, we would like to take this opportunity to remind our community of our school dress code.  Ralston Valley places a tremendous emphasis on academics, and we feel it is critical to keep a learning environment that promotes safety and professionalism.  We feel that dress is a form of self-expression, and know that different environments are appropriate for different types of dress.  Please remind your student to keep their attire professional while at school by following our school dress code.  For specific details or questions, you can visit our school handbook, contact the Dean, or speak to your student's grade-level Administrator.

activities

PTSA - Thank you!

Thank you to our PTSA for developing and organizing our After Prom last weekend!  We appreciate the donations and time that parents volunteered to create a safe environment for our students following the dance.   

National Honor Society Students Volunteer in Their Community

Newly inducted NHS students are already helping our community. Here are some of our students face painting for Sierra Elementary’s Art Night on Thursday, May 4th. 

End of Year Music Concert

A shout out to our orchestra and band students for an amazing performance this past week!  In addition to playing some great pieces of music, Ms. Watts was able to honor the seniors with some inspiring words of gratitude.

Jazz Concert

Our Jazz Band also put on a wonderful end of year performance for their family and friends!  They are an amazing group of students who worked hard to improve throughout the year! 

DECA International Career Development Conference

Shout out to Junior Emma Kuehn, who represented Ralston Valley High School at the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Orlando, Florida, April 22-25. Emma qualified and competed with 10,000 other top Business students from across the country. Congratulations to Emma on a great event and for all your hard work and dedication to DECA and RV business education!

Calling all Seniors!   RVHS PTSA is offering a scholarship opportunity for those seniors who meet the following guidelines:

A total of $3,000 will be awarded to the top applicants.  After reviewing the applications and interviewing selected applicants, the RVHS PTSA will determine the number of scholarships and the amounts to be awarded (for example, two $1,000 awards and two $500 awards OR any other combination for a total of $3,000).  To apply, please go to the RVHS PTSA Website  http://rvptsa.digitalpto.com/.

Applications are due to the front office by Friday, April 21th, 2023.  Interviews for selected finalists will be early May 2023. Announcements will be made by the end of May 2023.  If you have any questions, you may contact Scott Cochran, PTSA President, at rvptsa@gmail.com.  Good luck to all our applicants!

PTSA scholarship application and information page http://rvptsa.digitalpto.com/


Yearbooks - Mustangs, it's time to buy your yearbook if you have not already purchased one.   Yearbooks can be purchased through Infinite Campus, where you pay school fees.  We are quickly running out of copies to sell,  so get yours before it's too late!

athletics 

Good luck to our Track and Field Teams and Boy's Swim and Dive Team this weekend.  All three are hoping to come home with League Championships.  Our track and field teams started the league championships on Wednesday and are currently in first place going into tomorrow's finals out at Jeffco Stadium.  Swim and Dive has prelims tonight at Meyers Pool with finals tomorrow.  With many state qualifiers, all three of these teams are finishing the season strong.


Our tennis team is sending all 11 athletes to State next weekend.  As the regional host school at the APEX Tennis Center, Ralston Valley sent all seven lines to finals.  When all was said and done, five lines finished as Regional Champions and the other two finished as runners-up.  Good luck to them as they compete at City Park next week at the State Championships.


With wins over Arvada West and Lakewood, Ralston Valley is set to enter next week's State Tournament as a top ten seed.  Currently seeded 8th, they are set to host next Tuesday at NAAC.  Time is TBD and will be announced after the brackets have been released this weekend.


GLAX will finish their season tomorrow with an 11:30 game against Columbine at Trailblazer.  This is a team that has shown a lot of growth this season and is hoping to end things on a high note.


BLAX finishes their regular season with back to back games against Jeffo foes.  Tonight they play Columbine, 7:00 @ Trailblazer.  Tomorrow, we will honor our seniors before their 2:30 game against Golden.  All three levels will play here at the school to finish off the regular season.  The team will learn their playoff fate over the weekend.

 

Baseball finished off their Thursday in dramatic fashion when Chase Cecil knocked in Diano Benallo in the bottom of the 7th for the walk off victory over Arvada West.  It was Nate Journey Day at Nate Journey Field.  A great way to honor one of our fallen Mustangs.  

Please Welcome New Head Volleyball Coach, Kayleigh Geissler!!


Kayleigh is very excited to be the next leader of the Ralston Valley High School volleyball program. She has coached within the Ralston Valley program for the last four years and also coaches at Colorado Elite Volleyball Club. Kayleigh brings not only her coaching background, she brings 12 years of her own experience as an athlete. In addition to coaching volleyball, Kayleigh is very passionate about her students and is a 5th-grade teacher at Van Arsdale Elementary. She is looking forward to continuing the winning legacy at Ralston Valley and has big dreams for the future of the program. 

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 5/8/23

Monday, May 8th - Silver Day

Tuesday, May 9th - White Day 

Wednesday, May 10th - Blue Day 

Thursday, May 11th - White Day 

Friday, May 12th - Blue Day

Advisement Corner

Ninth Grade Advisement

Ninth Grade Advisement Attendance

As we look towards the last few weeks of school, we wanted to take a moment to remind you of the attendance requirement for Advisement and share with you some opportunities that students will have to make up absences.  

As communicated previously with students, they cannot miss more than four classes of Advisement to receive a passing grade.  If a student reaches five absences, excused or unexcused, they will automatically fail.  As you may remember, students will receive a pass/fail grade and receive .125 credit for a passing grade.  

To determine your student's current number of absences, please look in Parent Portal or ask your student to connect with their Advisement teacher on Monday, May 1st.  


To support students, we offer make-up sessions for 9th graders who wish to make up missed classes.  These sessions will occur in room L1101 from 3:15 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the following dates: 


Monday, 5/8

Wednesday, 5/10

Students do not need to RSVP and can simply show up to the sessions.  If students have any questions, they can connect with Mr. Ackerman, Assistant Principal, in person or via email (mike.ackerman@jeffco.k12.co.us). 

Thank you for your continued support of Ralston Valley's mission and vision and our desire to support the whole child.  

Counseling Department

Senior Survey - Mandatory for All Seniors

Jeffco requires all seniors to take the "Jeffco Senior Exit Survey" in Naviance.  Part of the survey includes indicating to which college a student's final transcript should be sent.  The survey is on the student's Naviance home page under "Important To-Dos and Tasks".  The completion deadline is Tuesday, May 9.  Instructions are also listed in the Class of 2023 Graduation Checklist.  Seniors should reach out to their counselor if they have any questions.     

Mustang Mentor Program Applications

We are looking for current sophomores and juniors who want to build their leadership skills and support younger students.  Applications are now available for 10th and 11th graders who are interested in being a Mustang Mentor next year.  The deadline to apply is Friday, April 28.  

Outdoor Lab Leader Interest Form

Interested in being an Outdoor Lab Leader next year?  Leaders get free meals and lodging for a week in the mountains while gaining valuble experience teaching and leading 6th graders.  Leaders can earn 0.5 elective credit or 85 hours of community service.  Click here to access the Interest Form and for more information.   

Jeffco Summer School

If your students needs to recover credit for a failed class(es), Jeffco has multiple summer school options.  Click here for more information and links to each program.  If you have questions about your student's credits, please reach out to your student's counselor.

AP Testing

AP Testing is underway and will run through May 12.  All updated information including dates, times, locations and preparation tips are accessible via our website.  Please contact Scott Merkel (AP Test Coordinator) at scott.merkel@jeffco.k12.co.us with any questions or concerns.  

ralston valley happenings

English Students Bring Canterbury Tales to Life

Honors 10 English students wrote and performed their own Canterbury Tale around the school this week.

Story time in French I Classes

French I students are reading aloud a story (in French, of course) to their stuffed animals.

Salsa Competition in Culinary Essentials

Culinary Essentials hosted its Annual Cinco de Mayo Salsa Competition this week. The students created an original "brand", and made a homemade salsa of their choice to go along with their brand. Salsas will be judged on appearance, taste, and creativity. Staff members served as "Special Guests" to come into class and judge the salsas. 

Administration

Calendar

Important Links