Dear 8th grade families,

We are thrilled to welcome your children back next week.  Some updated information:

• Bus routes and your child’s team/teachers are visible now in the Parent Portal of PowerSchool

• Download the First View Bus App and watch your child's bus location in real time

• Check out the SPS District Calendar for the 2023.2024 School Year - know when all the vacations and early release days are!

• Digitally sign and submit forms on PowerSchool - especially Acceptable Use Agreement and SPS Technology Device Agreement - BEFORE the school year starts.  

• Sign up for the School Based Health Center using their Digital Registration Form (click here for the Digital Registration Form in Spanish).  The office located in Rippowam operates much like a small doctor’s office does. The medical team works closely with the school nurse and is available during the school day to assist students with sick visits, physicals, immunizations and more.

Outstanding Physicals/Immunizations
If you received a letter or phone call from our school nurse this summer indicating that your child has an outstanding physical assessment and/or immunizations, those must be completed prior to returning to school or your child will be excluded until they are in compliance.  If you have any questions, you can contact our school nurse - Edyta Zalewska - at 203-977-4338 or ezalewska@stamfordct.gov by email.

2023.2024 Daily Schedule
Rippowam is adopting a flexible middle school schedule.  Students will still take 7 periods (5 Core and 2 Encore classes) a day and will participate in advisory twice a week.  Our Core academic classes are  English, Math, Science, Social Studies, 1 semester of Tech Lab and 1 semester of Literacy Lab.  Tech Lab is a STEM focused enrichment class and Literacy Lab is a reading and writing focused enrichment class to better prepare students for high school. Encore classes are art, gym, music, strings, band, chorus, technology, Spanish, math lab, ESL, resource and will run on an A/B day alternating schedule.  Students will be in houses named by colors.  All houses will have a team of Core teachers that are assigned to the house and will be working together to best support the students assigned to them.  Classrooms have been re-arranged by house so students will not travel far in between classes.  We have also eliminated bells and each grade level/house will be determining their daily class schedule which will be communicated to students on the first day of school.  What is in PowerSchool are their classes and teachers, but not their specific daily schedule. 

You can see your child's team at the information bar along the top where you see their name, student ID and other information: