* REVIEW YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT OR COLLEGE APP - NOVEMBER 17 * PTSA MEETING – NOVEMBER 18 * ALUMNI VS VARSITY BASKETBALL CHALLENGE * SOPHMORES- PLAN TEST –SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 * OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR * NEW COUNSELORS AT RIO! * NEWS FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE * NEW PROCEDURE FOR LEAVING MESSAGES FOR STAFF * STUDENT GOVERNMENT NEWS * SENIOR NEWSLETTER INFORMATION * THURSDAY STUDY HOURS * TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT DONATION DRIVE * ADOPT-A-CLASSROOM * POINSETTIA PLANTS ON SALE * B&B TEST PREP * CIVITAS SENIOR PROJECT HELP! * ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE PROGRAM * BELGIAN EXCHANGE STUDENT * GRAD NIGHT BOXERS NEEDED
REVIEW YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT OR COLLEGE APP - NOVEMBER 17 Seniors! Do you have questions about your college application or your personal statement? Please come with a COMPLETED application or personal statement. Margie Amott, an independent college admissions advisor, will review your completed application or completed personal statement on Tuesday, November 17 from 6:00pm to 8:30pm in Rio’s library. No appointments are required to attend this event – but you we do have it broken down by the alphabet to minimize the crowd. This is for Rio Americano students only.
Students with last names: A thru L Beginning at 6:00pm Students with last names: M thru Z Beginning at 7:15pm
PTSA MEETING – NOVEMBER 18 All are invited to attend the last PTSA meeting of 2009! Principal Ginter, booster and PTSA representatives will provide updates. Tentatively approved staff requests for PTSA funding will also be presented.
ALUMNI VS VARSITY BASKETBALL CHALLENGE - NOVEMBER 20 This game matches alumni players against the varsity basketball team on Friday, November 20th. Know how to reach a former player? Please have them contact Chris Jones at chris.jones@sanjuan.edu and Larry Straka at mtstraka@aol.com so we can get them info. List of players’ link: Alumni Players. This is a family oriented event and all current and former Rio families are invited. More event info at this link: Alumni Challenge
SOPHMORES - PLAN TEST – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 The PLAN will be administered at Rio this year on Saturday, Dec 5th. The PLAN is an assessment that prepares students for future college entrance exams. The PLAN assesses skills in Math, English, Science and Social Studies, and provides an estimated ACT score so you can see how your student measures up to the colleges of their choice.
Not only does the PLAN help students prepare for the ACT Assessment, but students who participate get a head start on career and educational planning. The program includes academic tests, a survey of interests, and a self-reported needs assessment. It is a helpful experience for ALL students whether or not they have decided to go to college
The PLAN will be given at Rio Americano on December 5, 2009. Arrive at 7:30 A.M.
Sophomores sign up at Finance office Nov. 9th – Dec. 2nd (except Thanksgiving week) Others can sign up Nov. 16 – Dec 2nd. Cost: $15 Make checks payable to Rio Americano Bring water, receipt and a calculator
OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR Students requesting permission to attend a school outside the boundaries of their residence school within the San Juan Unified School District must submit an application for an open enrollment transfer. Applications may be submitted at any school site or the SJUSD office between November 16, 2009 and January 29, 2010. Families can complete the forms at any San Juan District school site and the forms will be forwarded to San Juan Central Enrollment. Families do not need to come to San Juan Central in person to turn in these forms – PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT OPEN ENROLLMENT IS NOT A FIRST COME – FIRST SERVED PROCESS.
NEW COUNSELORS AT RIO! Due to district wide funding Rio Americano has been fortunate this year to be able to reinstate the fourth counseling position as well add a half time counselor. These additional counselors reduce the overall counselor/student ratio from 550:1 to 400:1. The new counselors are Rosalie Circo (full time) and Victoria Allenbaugh (Mondays, Tuesdays). Due to the previous layoffs, the students and families at the end of the alphabet have seen many counselor changes. To offset this and to keep as much continuity as possible, the new alphabetical breakdown for counselors is as follows:
Christine Brownfield A-D
Jill Montbriand E-K
Rosalie Circo L-Q
Heather Jensen R-Z
Victoria Allenbaugh Special Projects
NEWS FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE The second progress report grading period ends Friday, November 20th. Parents will be able to view grades on Zangle on Friday, December 4. Students will be issued a copy of their progress report Friday December 4 in their 4th period class. Please pick up your PIN Number and Password so you can access Zangle’s Parent Portal from the counseling office. For families who have returned the consent, the progress reports will be mailed on December 4.
End of Grading Period Grades Viewable in Zangle On Friday 10/23 Friday 10/30 Friday 11/20 Friday 12/4 Thursday 1/14/10 Friday 1/22/10--mailed
NEW PROCEDURE FOR LEAVING MESSAGES FOR STAFF You must now dial 971-5360 and then enter the 4 digit extension number to leave a voice mail message. You can get the list of phone number extensions on the website under the Resource section – Contact Information of the Rio Website.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT NEWS
This Friday is the blood drive! If your student has signed up they will be giving blood this Friday in the small gym during their time slot. For students under 18, they must have a parent consent form filled out so please check to make sure your student has this.
This week is the last week for Rio's book drive! Books should be taken to fourth period classes and the winning class gets a pizza party. All books go to a newly built library at a low-income school.
Entertainment books are still on sale! $40 each. There is now a gift with purchase! If interested contact Ms. Thomas at chthomas@sanjuan.edu
SENIOR NEWSLETTER INFORMATION Junior and Senior families will find valuable information in our monthly Senior Newsletter put together by VICCI (Volunteers in Career and College Information). Click our link here for important testing dates, scholarship information and other important links to plan your life after graduation!
THURSDAY STUDY HOURS Has your student tried Thursday Study Hours yet? Now that the semester is well underway, encourage your student to get a head start on reading assignments and homework on Thursday afternoons at Thursday Study Hour in Room B-1, 1:45-2:50.
Thursday Study Hour is a supervised study hall available on Thursday afternoons to all Rio students, sponsored by Rio Americano High School and Rio Americano Athletic Boosters. If you have questions contact Vice Principal Richard Judge rjudge@sanjuan.edu .
TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT DONATION DRIVE Rio used its available technology budget to upgrade the internal components of the student computers.
However, the existing old video monitors have a lot of disadvantages, including: Energy inefficient – use more energy and create high electric costs Poor Ergonomics - students use their laps to hold books because of large size Eye strain – the display frequently flickers and is blurry Poor Image – student perception of school having junk equipment
We request your help by having you ask the IT department at your work to donate flat screen displays as they upgrade equipment. Contributions may be tax deductible for federal and state income tax purposes. Tax ID # 94-2825189
TEACHER’S WISH LIST & ADOPT-A-CLASSROOM Teachers’ Wish List and Adopt-A-Classroom is really taking off because of some wonderful Rio parents! These random acts of kindness make everyone feel great! Check out the Teachers’ Wish List at http://www.sanjuan.edu/RioAmericano.cfm?subpage=99080. To Adopt-A-Classroom contact Debra Simons at zsugar1@yahoo.com. Thank you to Jenny Harmon for donating to Mrs. Murray classroom. Thank you to Dawn McDermott for adopting Mr. Sullivan’s classroom. Together, we make it happen!
POINSETTIA PLANTS ON SALE – ORDER BY NOVEMBER 20 Last chance to order your holiday poinsettias. Deadline to order is this Friday, November 20th. Orders will be available for pick up at the school on Friday, December 4th. Proceeds go to Rio PTSA. For more information or to place an order, please see the order form below.
B&B TEST PREP B&B TestPrep is considering a weekend SAT prep class to accommodate those families who have difficulty making it to our regular classes during the week. The dates considered will be either the weekend of January 9 and 10 or January 23 and 24 (not both). We can only run the class if YOU sign up. Please give us an email at bb@bbtestprep.com if you are interested in the weekend program. Thanks everybody and we will see you in the Spring. www.BBTestPrep.com
AMERICAN RIVER PARKWAY CLEANUP When: December 5, 2009 Time: 9 am-12 pm Where: TBA, on the parkway What to bring: Warm clothes and friends to make the experience more fun What you need before going: Every person must fill out a waiver and turn it in to Marissa Ruxin by December 3rd Rsvp: Call, text or e-mail Marissa Ruxin at (916) 203-3529, htols@sbcglobal.net
Have fun cleaning up the parkway, helping better our community and getting community service hours. There will be food! The more people the more fun it will be so come and bring others!
ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE PROGRAM Are you interested in other cultures? Learning another language? Becoming part of a new family in a different country? Then Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) is just the thing. In this opportunity of a lifetime, you will spend a year in another country living with host families and making lifelong friends. The following information provides the background for the program. If you are interested, contact Carl Naake carlnaake@att.net 443-6611or Cori Badgley cbadgley@aklandlaw.com 456-9595.
BELGIAN EXCHANGE STUDENT Are you interested in hosting a Belgian exchange student for 2 weeks in April 2010? This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Belgian Exchange Program and we have another large group of 27 Belgian students coming to the Sacramento area. Rio students will have an opportunity to visit a Belgian host family for 2 weeks in July 2010, if they want to be involved in a mutual exchange. The next meeting will be held at 7:00pm on November 17, 2009 at Nicole Duarte’s home, 661 Vallejo Way, Sacramento 95818. Rio families have participated in this program for the last 30 years and many will be at this meeting to answer your questions. For more information, or if you’re interested but unable to attend the meeting, contact Nicole Duarte at belgianexchange@gmail.com
GRAD NIGHT BOXERS NEEDED In preparation for Rio Americano’s Safe and Sober Grad Night Party 2010, we are in need of boxers to be given away as prizes for the Bingo game. The 2010 Grad Night Committee needs donations of NEW boxers of any size (small and medium are the most popular and can be purchased at multiple locations such as Target for $5.00) and any theme or print (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, plaid, striped etc.) If donating money is easier, we’ll be happy to do the shopping for you! Just put money in an envelope marked “Grad Night Boxer Shorts”. Both the boxers and donations can be dropped off at the Rio Main Office or contact Jana Ott at Jana.Ott@doj.ca.gov. Thank you for your support in making Grad Night 2010 a wildly successful event!
The Rio Newsflash is typically sent via email on Tuesday of every week during the school year. The deadline for submissions is 5:00pm on Mondays. Special editions of the Newsflash are sent periodically when time-sensitive material must be issued. Please send your submissions to Liz Fong at dletc@surewest.net. Thanks!
