RVHS NEWSLETTER - Oct. 4, 2024

OCTOBER 4, 2024 EDition

PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test - Tuesday, October 8th

Students in grades 9-11 will take the required PSAT/NMSQT on Tuesday, October 8th from 8:15 a.m. to approximately 11:00 a.m. for standard time test takers. Buses will run on this day at normal times and lunch will be served. Any students who remain on campus after they have completed testing will be supervised in the gymnasium until dismissal at 3:30 p.m. Seniors will not attend school on this day.

Students will need to arrive with a fully charged, school-issued Chromebook, school ID, and a pencil.

The $14 fee for the test has been placed on 9th-11th grade student accounts and can now be paid online. Please pay by October 4th if you haven't already.

Student IDs and Cafeteria

Due to recent system updates in our cafeteria, all students will now be required to use their student ID to purchase food. This change is intended to speed up service times and ensure students have ample time to eat lunch.

Please note that the barcode in student profiles within Infinite Campus will no longer be accepted after the transition period ends on October 4. We encourage all students to have their student IDs readily available during lunch to help make the process as smooth as possible.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Save the Date - Fall Academic Awards Ceremony

Monday, October 21st we will celebrate the academic achievements of our current sophomores, juniors, and seniors for their work in the 2023-2024 school year. If your student is being recognized, you will receive an email invitation that includes details and a request for an RSVP.

Business Advertising

Advertise your business with us! We have digital and static signage options available within a variety of sponsorship packages on our new video board in the gym. Your business logo will be displayed digitally during our home athletic contests and other events in the gym for the community and guests to see. Please reach out to Mike Ackerman or Tony Pergola for more information.

Parking Information

Any student who wishes to park their vehicle in the RVHS student parking lots must have a parking tag. All school registration requirements must be met before obtaining a parking tag, including any fees and fines paid.

All 11th and 12th graders who have already purchased a parking tag for the main student lot, can pick it up in the Finance Office. Tickets will be issued for those who do not have the appropriate parking tag. If there are no parking spaces available when they arrive, they should park in the overflow lot off of Alkire St. They cannot park illegally.

Sophomores with a parking tag, please be reminded that you cannot park in the senior/junior lot, you must only park in the North Lot off of Alkire St.

All students who park illegally or in the incorrect lot, will be ticketed. Tickets must be paid in a timely manner for them to retain their parking tag.

At this time, we are sold out of parking tags for all student lots. If we are able to offer more tags, we will include that information in a future newsletter.

All concerns regarding parking passes should be addressed with campus supervisors.

Drop Off and Pick Up

It is a great time to remind everyone to be thoughtful of our neighbors and student body during drop off and pick up. We must keep the right of way clear for emergency vehicles and through traffic. With only one road to enter and exit a building this size, with this many people, the roads at the school will always be congested. There are a few things we can do as a Ralston Valley community to help make these busy times of day run as smoothly as possible.

Main Entrance - Dismissal is at 3:30 p.m. and we ask that you do not arrive to pick up your student and park in the loop before 3:00 p.m. Please be sure to pull as far forward as you can in the loop at the front of the school when dropping off or picking up your student. This helps to alleviate backups in the roundabout and get as many cars off of 80th Ave. as quickly as possible. Also, please pick up your student on the outside of the loop, not the inside. We do not want students passing in between cars as this is not safe.

Student Parking Lot - To keep our students safe, please do not park in our student parking lot while you wait to pick up your student(s) after school.

Roundabout - The roundabout is part of the road. Please do not park in the roundabout while waiting for dismissal time. This blocks the flow of eastbound traffic and prevents traffic exiting to the east from leaving campus as well. Please do not stop and pick up your student in the roundabout or on 80th Ave.

Fire Station - As traffic backs up on southbound Alkire, please be sure to leave room for our first responders to exit the firehouse safely and without obstruction. Do not block the exit of their garage.

82nd Ave. - Please pay attention to posted road signs along 82nd Ave. There are multiple speedbumps on 82nd Ave., making it necessary to go the speed limit or slower to ensure safe driving and prevent damage to your vehicle. There are also multiple No Parking signs along 82nd Ave. next to the school's property. Please do not park there to pick up your student. Finally, and most importantly, please do not park across the street and ask for your student to run across 80th Ave. to be picked up. This is highly dangerous!

Thank you for your continued diligence when driving in and around Ralston Valley.

activities

National Recognition for Ralston Valley NHS

Our National Honor Society was recognized by Innerview, a national volunteer tracking organization. Innerview empowers individuals and groups to show the good they do and recognizes their service and commitments to causes they care about. Mustang NHS was highlighted for "Connectedness", great job!

National Honor Society Peer Tutoring

Peer tutoring will run on Wednesdays in the library after school from 3:30 - 4:40 p.m. No appointment is needed, just come as you are! National Honor Society students are excited to work with you! All grades, all classes, and all levels are welcome. Let's learn together!

Jeffco Career Expo

The Jeffco Career Expo is on Wednesday, October 9th at the Gold Crown Field House in Lakewood. Students will leave RVHS at 9:30 a.m. and return by 1:30 p.m. Students who are attending this field trip received an email with information on the morning of Friday, October 4th, and parents will receive information next week.

Ralston Valley PTSA

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year. The Ralston Valley PTSA is looking forward to another great school year supporting the students and staff at Ralston Valley. Please take a moment and register for the PTSA by going to the PTSA website (rvptsa.digitalpto.com) and using the link on the right side. By registering we will be able to contact you to let you know what is happening with the PTSA.

In addition to registering for the PTSA we are looking for volunteers to serve this year and hopefully beyond. We have positions that may be ideal for parents of freshman students as they can serve for the entire time their student is at the school. Please reach out to the PTSA at rvptsa@gmail.com and we can discuss what options we have to go from there.

Our meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at the school. We will do our best to update the website with any changes to either the meeting date, time, and/or location should we need to make changes. By registering we will have your email address and we will contact you through email with the same information should things change. Additionally, if you are on Facebook please head over to our Facebook page Ralston Valley High School PTSA, and give it a follow as updates get posted there as well.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the PTSA at rvptsa@gmail.com

I look forward to seeing and/or meeting you throughout the school year.

Scott Cochran

PTSA President

athletics

Winter sports registration is now underway! If your student would like to participate in basketball (boys & girls), girls swim & dive, wrestling, or ice hockey….please register on the RVHS Athletics Website: https://ralstonvalleyhs.rschoolteams.com/

You will need a valid athletic physical to register. Information, instructions, and blank physical forms are also located on the RVHS Athletics Website.

Deadline to register for Ice Hockey: 3 p.m. on Friday Nov. 8.

Deadline to register for all other winter sports: 3 p.m. on Friday Nov. 11.

Cross Country - Great race for the Mustangs last weekend at the Lightning Invite. Wave Puckett ran her way to a first-place finish while Siena Salinas took eighth. The girls took third overall. Keaton Westley finished in the top ten on the boys side to help power them to a 4th place team finish. Congrats to Lauren Hauptman for winning the JV race.

Volleyball - The league opener this week against Arvada West was rocking. Both schools showed up in force with all the energy that a cross-town rivalry should have. After dropping the first set, the girls settled in and took the next three, coming out on top with the 3-1 victory. All three lower levels won as well. The Mustangs will stay at home for two more this coming week with a Tuesday matchup against Lakewood and then hosting Chatfield on Thursday.

Tennis - The boys qualified for the team state tournament as the #7 seed and played host to Arapahoe in the opening round. They played hard but ultimately lost 4-3. They will look to bounce back while hosting Regionals this coming Wednesday and Thursday at the APEX Tennis Center. Matches start at 8:00 a.m. on both days. With State bids on the line, good luck!!

Flag Football - Last Saturday, the Mustangs took on Legacy for Senior Night. Multiple Seniors had great games and the result...a 50-0 victory over the Lightning. On Wednesday, the Broncos hosted their Jamboree of the Week at Ralston Valley. The teams played under the lights as part fo the first outdoor night games in Ralston Valley history. This weekend, they will play in the Jeffco League Tournament at Trailblazer. Their round one game will be against Arvada West at 12:30p.m. Best of luck!!

Soccer - Soccer took down Lakewood on Wednesday 6-1 to open league play at NAAC. They'll be right back in action on Monday when they host Chatfield at 7:00 p.m. A win there will set up a big league match-up on Thursday when they travel to Valor.

Golf - Congratulations to State-bound Sophomore Noah Ramsey. Noah shot a 77 at Indian Tree to qualify for next week's two day tournament at Common Ground. Best of luck to Noah.

Softball - Come out tomorrow morning and support the team when they host Valor at 10:00 a.m. With just a couple of weeks left in the regular season, every game is a big game.

Football - The Mustangs went to Jeffco stadium last night and took down previously undefeated Chatfield in a great game 15-12. They improved to 5-1 on the season and are 1-0 in league. They have another Thursday night game this coming week against Denver South at NAAC. Hoep to see you all there.

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 parents/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

Monday, Oct 7 - White Day
Tuesday, Oct. 8 - PSAT / NMSQT Test Day - No Seniors Attend
Wednesday, Oct. 9 - Blue Day
Thursday, Oct. 10 - White Day
Friday, Oct. 11 - Blue Day

Counseling Department

RVHS College Night

RVHS College Night will be an informative presentation covering the modern college admissions process, ways to fund a college education, and up-to-the-minute details about changes to the Financial Aid process this year. Parents and students in the Class of 2025 who will apply to college this fall are encouraged to attend. Families with younger students are also welcome.

Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Place: RVHS Library

Colorado Free Application Day$

From Tuesday, October 15 through Thursday, October 17, all 32 public colleges and universities in Colorado and several private institutions will waive their application fees, making it free for Colorado high school students to submit an application. For instructions on how to submit an application for free, click here.

AP Test Fees

AP test fees have been posted to student accounts. The fee this year is $99/test and is set by College Board. Fees are due by Wednesday, October 23, 2024. After the due date, a $25 late fee will be added.

Senior Seminar Session #2 Make Up

Seniors who missed Senior Seminar Session #2 this week will have an opportunity to make it up next week. They will receive an email from their counselor with the date, time, and place that the make-up session will be held.

Upcoming College Visits

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

University of Colorado, Colorado Springs - Monday, Oct. 7 - 9:00 a.m.

Gonzaga University - Wednesday, Oct. 9 - 9:00 a.m.

Baylor University - Wednesday, Oct. 9 - 11:45 a.m.

University of Utah - Wednesday, Oct. 9 - 1:30 p.m.

Red Rocks Community College, Arvada Campus - Friday, Oct. 11 - 11:45 a.m.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott - Friday, Oct. 11 - 1:30 p.m.

University of Wyoming - Tuesday, Oct. 15 - 9:00 a.m.

Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design - Tuesday, Oct. 15 - 11:45 a.m.

Arizona State University, Tempe - Tuesday, Oct. 15 - 1:30 p.m.

University of Oklahoma, Norman - Wednesday, Oct. 16 - 11:45 a.m.

Elon University - Wednesday, Oct. 16 - 1:30 p.m.

Scholarship Opportunities

Click on the links below for more information on the following scholarship opportunities:

MEM Scholarship (for seniors from Colorado & Washington; merit- AND financial need-based)

Boettcher Scholarship (for seniors; merit-based)

Daniels Fund Scholarship (for seniors; financial need-based)

NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing (for females in grades 9-12 interested in computer science)

CU Denver Days

The University of Colorado - Denver is offering two visit days this fall. On each visit day, one student will win a $1,000 tuition award to CU Denver, all students who have not yet applied will have their application fee waived, and everyone gets a free lunch! Click here to register.

Dates: Friday, October 4th & Saturday, October 19th

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Place: CU Denver Student Commons Building (SCB)

Scholarship Webinar

The Boettcher Foundation is hosting a "Everything You Need to Know About Scholarships" webinar. They will go over how students can "ACE" their college and scholarship applications, including tips on how to make their applications stand out. Click here to register - scroll about half-way down the page and click on the date you would like to attend.

Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Time: 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Hazel Health

Mental, social, and emotional wellness of students is a priority that we share with our community and one that we are addressing with layers of support including school counselors, social-emotional learning specialists, school psychologists, social workers along with partnerships with outside agencies like Hazel Health.

This year, we continue our partnership with Hazel Health’s Telehealth services to provide a free telehealth extension of mental and physical health support for Jeffco students enrolled at district-managed schools.

Parents/guardians may access these services on behalf of your student by visiting this webpage and following the instructions under "Steps to Access Care"

Advisement Corner

Advisement

There are no Advisement classes next week, due to the schedule adjustment for PSAT/NMSQT testing. Advisement will resume the week of October 14th.

Please click HERE to access the course syllabus for Advisement which explains the purpose, key components, and the expectations, including grading and attendance.

Reminder - If your student has Advisement on Thursday mornings, it will be from 8:15 to 9:00 a.m. before the start of I.C.E.

ralston valley happenings

Art Students Show Face Painting Talent

National Art Honor Society offered face painting to all at the Lisa Nelson 5K Race ! These talented Mustang artists are making the world even more beautiful.

SSN Halloween Craft Fair

As part of their Business Math unit, Ms. Silburn's Significant Special Needs class is holding a Halloween Craft Sale on October 10th. Students have been working hard on making decorations and pricing them. They have figured out the original costs of each craft, and the profits that they may make on the sale of each. The final activity will require our students to apply money skills by counting money and making change for customer purchases. This is a real-life opportunity for our students to practice math skills.

Art History in Spanish Class

This week, Spanish III students are not only exploring the works of art of famous Hispanic artists such as Pablo Picasso and Frida Kahlo, but they are also creating their own masterpieces to discuss in Spanish!

Administration

Principal - Ms. Buenning, (303) 982-5600
9th Asst Principal - Ms. Young, (303) 982-5713
10th Asst Principal - Ms. Abrams, (303) 982-9463
11th Asst Principal - Mr. Ackerman (303) 982-5595
12th Asst Principal - Mr. Litzau, (303) 982-5611
Athletics Director - Mr. Pergola, (303) 982-5604
Dean - Mr. Duplice, (303) 982-8274

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