RVHS NEWSLETTER - Sept. 20, 2024

September 20, 2024 EDition

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences will be Wednesday, September 25 from 4:00-7:00 p.m. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to meet and check in with your student's teachers. All teachers will be in the main gym and the small gym. Please make every effort to keep your conferences to 5 minutes. If you have topics that you would like to discuss that will need more time, feel free to set a follow-up appointment or phone call.

There will be no tutoring in the library on Wednesday, 9/25, because of Parent Teacher Conferences.

***PTSA will be providing dinner for teachers. Please click here to access the Sign Up Genius if you would like to make a contribution. ***

Thank you in advance.

Lifetouch: Retake Picture Day (9/30/2024)

Lifetouch will be in the main lobby taking retake pictures of students during both lunches on Friday, September 30.

New students or students who were absent on the original picture day(s) at the beginning of the school year should also plan on getting their picture taken at this time.

Click here for more information.

Additional Academic Support & Tutorial Class

Earlier this month, courses titled 'Tutorial' were added to student schedules. Students and families will notice that a section of Tutorial for each of their teachers was added to the I.C.E. section of their schedule.

Beginning Tuesday, September 10, students earning a D or an F in a course at the time that teachers submit grades are required to attend I.C.E. for additional academic support. The Tutorial class is a placeholder course and is used to track attendance for those students who are required to attend I.C.E.

The expectations of I.C.E are:

Attendance in I.C.E. will be mandatory for ALL students with a D or F in any of their classes.
Parents will receive a phone call notifying them that their student’s attendance is required in I.C.E. during the segmented portion dedicated to the class in which they have a D or an F.
Students earning an A, B, or C are still encouraged to attend I.C.E. for additional support; however, the segmented portion of I.C.E. will be dedicated to improving the learning of students who are currently earning a D or an F.

The schedule for I.C.E. can be found by clicking here.

Attention Bus Rider Families: Ralston Valley is now using Stopfinder to share transportation schedules!

What is Stopfinder?

Stopfinder is the all-in-one parent app that allows Jeffco Public Schools to share your student’s transportation schedule, announcements and more with designated parents and guardians. Stopfinder works with Jeffco’s transportation software to provide the most accurate schedule information quickly.

With the Stopfinder app, you can view your student’s schedule from your mobile device, share student schedules with caregivers and family members and view announcements and notifications in the Stopfinder Message Center.

Stopfinder is secure and only for registered users. Designated contacts of bus rider families will receive an invitation providing access to log in to the Stopfinder app.

Bus rider families will receive an email invitation with more information on how to install the app. You can reach the North Transportation hub at 303-982-1998.

Panorama SEL Student Survey

RVHS will be giving students the Panorama Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Student Survey. This is replacing the Universal Screener that has been in use for the past couple of years. The survey will be administered in the fall and winter. If you would like to learn more about the survey or opt your student out of taking it, please click here for more information.

Jefferson Center for Mental Health Resource

Jefferson Center and Jeffco Public Schools have partnered for over 25 years to provide support to children and families in the district. The school-based therapist program is an innovative collaboration, with the primary goal of increasing access to mental health services for students and their families.

Mary Kristin (MK) McKenney, LCSW, is the School-Based therapist at your child’s school. MK works in partnership with the Ralston Valley staff to support the mental health needs of students. Students may work with her in therapy for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression, anger, behavior issues at school or home, trauma, grief/loss, or issues adjusting to a big change. MK may also teach lessons to students on topics including how their brain works, stopping and thinking, emotional regulation, and effective communication.

When clinicians teach lessons, we collect the minimum necessary data per Medicaid requirements (names, birthdates, and gender) of students in the classes. This is to check for Medicaid coverage and receive reimbursement where available.

Jefferson Center is so excited about continuing our presence in the Ralston Valley community! We have heard and witnessed MK’s dedication to giving families and students all of the resources they need to succeed in school, and in life, and we feel lucky to be a part of that vision. Ralston Valley works with you to support your student’s needs and mental health. If you are interested in meeting with our JCMH therapist, please contact your student’s counselor.

Student Insights Tool Available

Student Insights is a resourceful tool for K-12 families and students in grades 6-12 to view current and historical assessment data and plans that are applicable to your student.

2023-24 CMAS student score reports are now available electronically in Student Insights. Our school will also be sharing paper reports with families on August 21st at Back to School Night and September 25th at Parent Teacher Conferences. If you would like your paper reports sooner, please request this with Stacy Young, School Assessment Coordinator at stacy.young@jeffco.k12.co.us

Log in to Student Insights here using your Infinite Campus parent portal login credentials to view the following applicable* information:

Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) - 2023-24 results now available!
ACCESS for ELLs results - 2023-24 results now available!
MAP Growth results
READ Plan goals and supports
Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) goals and programming supports
Graduation requirements progress report
High School Transcript Grades

Click here to learn more about Student Insights and here to learn more about our state and district assessments.

*Available data listed above is based on student grade levels and programming

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 the main student lot. Any 11th or 12th graders who did not purchase a parking tag for the main student lot can stop by the Finance Office to see if there are spaces available in the overflow lot off of Alkire St.

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 - In order 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

Lisa Nelson 5k Memorial Run/Walk

To wrap up Homecoming Week 2024, we invite you to participate in the Lisa Nelson 5k on Saturday, September 21st. The Lisa Nelson 5k is a community event where we walk, jog, and run in loving memory of a former Ralston Valley volleyball coach, Lisa Nelson. There will be a pancake breakfast and fun activities after the race and during the awards ceremony. We encourage all members of the community to participate in this fun event and help us celebrate such an amazing woman’s life. Walk-up registration will be accepted!

Registration Forms

Jeffco Career Expo

10th grade students are invited to attend Jeffco's annual Career Expo on Wednesday, October 9th, at the Gold Crown Field House in Lakewood. We will leave Ralston Valley at 9:30 a.m. and return by 1:30 p.m. Bus transportation will be provided and students will need to bring a lunch. Students will have the opportunity to explore different career possibilities and interact with industry professionals. Click here to view the flier.

If your 10th grader would like to attend the Expo, please download and complete all parts of the permission form located here. Students can also pick up a permission form in the Counseling Office.

All permission forms are due by Monday, September 23rd in the Counseling Office or the Main Office.

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 you! All grades, all classes, all levels are welcome. Let's learn together!

Mustang Marching Band

The Mustang Marching Band is putting the finishing touches on their performance, practicing this past week at the YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park. They will perform tomorrow at 3:15 p.m. in the Monarch Marching Festival at Centaurus High School, come out and watch a great show!

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 go from there.

Our meetings are held 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

Thank you to our community for all of the support for Homecoming 2024! Our student athletes felt the love and support all weekend long.

Volleyball - The girls followed up their Homecoming victory over Greeley West with a big road win over a very tough Kent Denver program last night. The Mustangs will have next week off to prepare for the start of league play when they host Arvada West on October 1 at the Mustang Range.

Tennis - The boys beat both Bear Creek and Lakewood last week in league play. With a win next week at Chatfield, they will clinch a 2nd place finish in Jeffco 5A. Good luck this weekend hosting the Ralston Valley Full Send at the APEX Tennis Center.

Flag Football - The Mustangs had a big victory over Lakewood on Saturday for their Homecoming game. The offense put up 62 points while the defense pitched a shutout. League play finishes up tomorrow at Trailblazer with two games. Ralston Valley will take on Chatfield at 12:30 and then Columbine at 2:00. Good luck!!!

Soccer - The boys had a great Homecoming game last Friday at NAAC. They looked sharp in beating the Lambkins from Fort Collins 5-0. Hineline with the hat trick for the Mustangs. They followed that up with a 3-0 victory on the road at Rocky Mountain last night. Junior Ben Brown in goal as the defense puts up their second straight shutout. Shoutout to Freshman Sawyer Lee on his first two goals of his high school career.

Golf - The boys finished up their league play on Tuesday at West Woods. Congratulations on a great league season. They will play again in a week and half when Ralston Valley hosts the 5A Western Regional at Indian Tree. 8:30 is when the shotgun start begins. They'd love to see you there.

Softball - The girls played Valor right down to the wire on the road before falling 7-6 on Tuesday. They have two big games next week, playing at Chatfield on Tuesday and then hosting Fort Collins on Thursday. Senior Mal Chavez is among the state leaders in batting average hitting an astonishing .625 at the midpoint of the season.

Cross Country - Great races on Tuesday for the teams at the Viking Invite. Both teams performed quite well, with Hannah Hubbard winning the open race, Scarlett Lee placing 10th in the open race, Wave Puckett taking 2nd in the varsity race, Eliana DiManna placing 3rd in the varsity race, and girls taking 2nd overall.

Football - A crowd of almost 4,000 strong came out to pack the NAAC last week for Homecoming Football. The home team did not disappoint. Ralston Valley shut out Mullen 29-0 to bring home the victory. The big crowd was the largest in Jeffco this season. The team followed that up with a 39-2 victory yesterday over Thunder Ridge at NAAC. The #6 Mustangs will head to Valor next Friday for a huge battle of top ten teams.

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, Sept. 23 - Blue Day
Tuesday, Sept. 24 - White Day
Wednesday, Sept. 25 - Blue Day
Thursday, Sept. 26 - White Day
Friday, Sept. 27 - Blue Day

Counseling Department

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 Make-Up Session

Seniors who missed their Senior Seminar class this week may attend the make-up session from 8:15 - 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 26. The place is TBD and seniors who need to attend will receive an email from their counselor.

Upcoming College Visits

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

Willamette University - Tuesday, Sept. 24 - 8:15 a.m.

Northern Arizona University - Tuesday, Sept. 24 - 1:30 p.m.

Hamline University - Wednesday, Sept. 25 - 9:00 a.m.

Miami University, Oxford - Wednesday, Sept. 25 - 11:45 a.m.

University of Iowa - Wednesday, Sept. 25 - 1:30 p.m.

University of Washington, Seattle - Thursday, Sept. 26 - 8:15 a.m.

Lincoln Technical Institute, Lincoln (re-scheduled) - Thursday, Sept. 26 - 9:00 a.m.

Colorado Mesa University - Thursday, Sept. 26 - 11:45 a.m.

Grand Canyon University, Traditional Campus - Friday, Sept. 27 - 9:00 a.m.

Valparaiso University - Friday, Sept. 27 - 11:45 a.m.

Louisiana State University - Friday, Sept. 27 - 1:30 p.m.

Davidson College - Monday, Sept. 30 - 9:00 a.m.

Binghamton University - Tuesday, Oct. 1 - 8:15 a.m.

University of California, Irving - Tuesday, Oct. 1 - 9:00 a.m.

University of Idaho - Tuesday, Oct. 1 - 1:30 p.m.

Montana State University - Wednesday, Oct. 2 - 9:00 a.m.

University of Florida - Wednesday, Oct. 2 - 11:45 a.m.

University of Denver - Thursday, Oct. 3 - 11:45 a.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)

"Exploring College Options" Info Program

Admissions representatives from Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Pennsylvania will offer virtual programs to present information about their institutions, discuss the application process, and answer questions on how to put together a strong and reflective application.

Date/Time: Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.

Date/Time: Monday, September 23, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.

Registration: Sunday and Monday

Jeffco Performing Arts College Night

Has your student considered pursing music, theatre, or dance in college? Representatives from the top performing arts programs in Colorado are coming together for an evening to answer your questions and give away some swag!

Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Place: Jeffco Ed Center, 1829 Denver West Dr., Building 27, Golden

Colleges Attending: CU Boulder, UNC, CSU, DU, UCD, MSU

Venture Crew 911 Open House

Venture Crew 911 is an outreach program at St. Anthony Hospital for students ages 14 and older interested in medicine, nursing, EMS, firefighting, sports medicine, and more. Click here for more information.

Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Time: 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Place: St. Anthony Hospital - Conference Rooms A&B, Lakewood

RSVP: OpenHouse@Crew911.net

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 & Time: Thursday, September 26,12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Date & Time: Wednesday, October 9, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

College Fairs of Greater Denver

College Fairs of Greater Denver, Inc. is hosting three upcoming college fairs at local high schools. To register for any of the fairs, click here.

Date/Time & Place: Wednesday, September 25, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Monarch High School, Louisville

Date/Time & Place: Thursday, September 26, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. at Denver South High School, Denver

Date/Time & Place: Saturday, September 28, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at Mountain Vista High School, Highlands Ranch

Denver National College Fair

The National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) is hosting a college fair this fall with over 200 colleges. This is a great way for juniors to start building their college list and for seniors to meet with representatives of colleges to which they may/will be applying. Click here to register.

Date: Sunday, September 29, 2024

Time: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Place: Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street, Denver

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)

Leading Ladies Youth Conference

High school females with aspirations in business, entrepreneurship, or law/government are invited to a day focused on exploring careers in Colorado. There will be individual and panel speakers as well as breakout sessions from successful female leaders as they share lessons and advice they wish they could give their teenage selves.

Date: Saturday, October 5, 2024

Time: 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Place: Daniels College of Business @ University of Denver, 2101 S. University Blvd

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 is no Advisement this week due to Monday being a Blue day. Advisement will resume the week of September 30.

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

Ralston Valley Teachers Engage in Professional Learning

Photography Experiments with Shutter Speed

Ms. Bell's Intermediate Photography students experimented with various fast shutter speeds and used water balloons to capture the images.

Geometry in Construction Has Buildings for Sale

Geometry in Construction classes have been learning about surface area calculation and used it to determine how much paint would be needed to paint last year's projects. After completing their calculations, they received hands-on learning on how to paint. If you are interested in purchasing a dog house, chicken coop, or playhouse, pleas reach out to Mr. Buhl at

Mikkel.Buhl-Madsen@jeffco.k12.co.us

Brain Break for 9th Grade Honors English

Ms. Hoefer's students do a brain break during class, as a method of improving learning and cognitive function and to increase productivity.

Copper to Gold in Chemistry Class

Advanced Placement Chemistry performs an alchemy lab to turn copper pennies silver, and then into gold! The actual reaction is a zinc plating which then turns to a brass alloy when heating.