Falcon Families,
Thank you to everyone who has been so welcoming to me as I join the wonderful staff at Ni River. It is evident that Ni River Middle School is a very special place. It was a pleasure to meet many of you at our “Meet the Principal Ice Cream Social”, and I look forward to meeting more families as the year progresses. During lunches I have had the opportunity to talk with students, and I will be popping into all classrooms next week. Students have impressed me with their friendly and inviting demeanor toward me and each other.
School safety is, and will always be, our number one priority. We completed a lock down drill this past Tuesday. Spotsylvania County Police joined our drill. As we unlocked each room they offered pointers to students or staff to improve our safety practice. Students all did a wonderful job during our drill and were silent and respectful of the process.
Please help us enforce our dress code. During announcements on Thursday and Friday, students were reminded to review the dress code and were told that information would be sent home to parents as a reminder to help us with student dress. Our students show a great deal of care in their appearance, and we understand that what they wear can be an important form of expression. Students look wonderful each day even though sometimes what they wear is not appropriate for school, specifically, shirts that do not cover stomachs or show a gap of skin around the waist. Please make sure to check that your child’s dress is school appropriate and ask them to save items that do not meet our dress code requirements for after school and weekends. We would like to minimize conversations we have with students about this topic as it can be uncomfortable and awkward for them.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
It is important that students attend school everyday and on time. We will be working with parents this year to improve student attendance. If your child is sick and will be absent, please email our attendance secretary, Mrs. Greene at nirivermsattendance@spotsylvania.k12.va.us so it will be recorded as an excused absence. You can also call the attendance desk directly at 540-783-6306. Anticipated absences that are five days or less require an email or letter to the principal for excusal. Please note that we will be sending frequent attendance communication home to parents this year. We will be sending monthly notifications to parents of students that are missing ten percent of the year to date with excused and/or unexcused absences. We will be asking those parents to partner with us in improving attendance. Students that have unexcused absences may not be able to participate in special school wide events we are planning this year.
PICTURE DAY
Picture day will be Tuesday September 12th (A Day) and Wednesday September 13th (B Day). To ensure limited time is missed from their core classes, we will be pulling students during their PE classes. Our 7th and 8th graders do not have PE each day, therefore we will have our picture days on both A and B days to accommodate all students. Please make sure students are present and on time on the day they will take their pictures. The picture company Josten offers many benefits for parents, such as being able to choose three different poses, multiple background options, seeing photos prior to paying, and having photos shipped directly to your residence. Pictures payments are online only and can be accessed through https://shop.jostenspix.com/login. Please do not send your student in green. It causes issues with the background. If you have any questions about NRMS picture day, please contact our coordinator Mrs. Jen Priddy- jpriddy@spotsylvania.k12.va.us.
ATHLETIC NEWS
Massaponax High School will host a Track and Field Camp on October 7th and October 8th. The purpose of the camp is to teach the fundamentals of the running events, hurdle events, jumping events, and throwing events. The camp is for students ages 8-14, and they can register via the Spotsylvania County Portal. Please see attachment for flier info.
First NRMS Girls Soccer and Basketball game vs. Thornburg Middle at Thornburg Middle
Wednesday September 6th @3:45pm
New this year for middle school sports, parents have the option to make an account on GoFan and buy tickets online. Patrons will show tickets on their cell phones to enter the games. A small fee of $1.00 will be charged for using the service. Cash will also be accepted at the games. All tickets are $3.00.
We have partnered with My Logo Man to create an online store to purchase apparel for each sports season. A portion of the proceeds will go back into the athletic account to help purchase uniforms, equip., helmets, etc. Right now, you can access the football online store on the NRMS website in the news section. Here is the link:
https://niriverfootball2023.itemorder.com/shop/home/
TESTING INFORMATION
Fall Growth Assessments for Math and Reading took place on Aug. 30 and Aug 31. Students did an excellent job staying focused on the assessments and respectful of their peers and staff during testing time.
For students who were absent on original testing dates, make-up dates are Tuesday, Sept. 5 and Thursday, Sept. 7.
Once the testing window is closed, detailed reports on each student’s performance will be available to teachers and families. The report will show which academic standards were assessed and whether the student answered the test item correctly. Unlike the spring SOL tests, there will not be a pass or fail score on the Growth Assessment. More information will be forthcoming on how families can access these reports through the VA Department of Education’s Parent Portal.
State legislation was passed in the 2021 Virginia General Assembly requiring students in grades 3-8 to take these growth assessments, once in the fall and once in the winter (mid-year). This year, the fall assessments will focus primarily on content from the student’s previous grade level. However, the testing system can adapt with test questions one grade level above or one grade level below the primary content as appropriate for the student. More information on these assessments can be found at www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/student-assessment/parent-caregiver-resources-for-growth-assessments.
If you have any questions, please contact your student’s school testing coordinator:
Kristen Amos
wamos@spotsylvania.k12.va.us
LIBRARY NEWS
The year is off to a great start and the library is in the center of it all! We have had over 1100 checkouts for the month of August! Remember, students can come to the library anytime they can get a Smartpass from their teacher and we want them here!
Our first Scholastic book fair of the year is quickly approaching. The book fair will run from September 11 thru September 22 nd from 7:45AM to 2:15 PM in the library. Students will come down twice with their English classes during this two week period.
To make purchasing at the book fair easier, please go to our book fair website at Ni River Middle Book Fair Website and set up an eWallet for your student. You can set the limit on how much they can spend and family and friends can contribute to your student’s eWallet account. With eWallet, nobody loses any money on the way to or from school, and it cuts down on the exchange of items between staff and students. Thank you for supporting your child’s reading growth and the media center.
Counseling Corner Quote:
"The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice." Brian Herbert
Spotsylvania County Public Schools is thrilled to host our first annual 4E Education Expo on Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 5:30 PM at Massaponax HS. The 4E Education Expo is an opportunity for SCPS middle school students and families to learn more about the amazing academic opportunities available to them within our district. We look forward to showcasing our diverse program offerings available to our secondary students with the goal of furthering our families’ knowledge of the pathways to the post-secondary option of their choosing: enrolling in post-secondary education, enlisting in a branch of the military, gaining meaningful employment or engaging in their community. Educational highlights will include but are not limited to: CTE & SCTC offerings and pathways, the Commonwealth Governor’s School program, the International Baccalaureate program, Advanced Placement coursework, dual enrollment coursework, JROTC options and more! Here is the promotional flyer for this event: 4E Expo
Thank you for your partnership,
Mrs. Ashley Faaborg Ed. S.