The RMS Newsletter

March 2017

Dear RMS Parents/Guardians,

March is coming in like a roaring lion and winter is still upon us. Spring will find us busy.

Our students are preparing for various assessments that will assist with providing the best

placements for next year, spring sports begin March13th, and we will have our annual

school wide Spring Musical March 9th, 10th, and 11th.

This year’s Spring Musical is “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown”. The RMS musical has

been an annual event for several years and is a highlight for our students. As you will

observe, the show is filled with enthusiasm and excitement that exemplifies Middle School

student energy throughout the production.

Many hours of planning and development have gone into this wonderful production. The

cast and support staff have dedicated their time after school and weekends to bring this

entertaining comedy to life. The cast and students have put a lot of time and effort into this

production. I am appreciative of the leadership of the director, David Reif, the producer,

Heather Spindel, the Music Director/Choreographer, Christine Puk, and the countless

behind-the-scene folks who have helped to bring this to fruition. I would be remiss if I

didn’t acknowledge all of the parent volunteers who have helped during practices, built

sets, created costumes, and supplied endless snacks. This truly is a collaboration and

celebration of parents, students and staff. The show will be another blast!

Please find time in your busy schedules to join us at one of the three shows so you can

witness for yourself the hard work that has gone into making this production a memorable

experience for our students. Thank you for your awesome support of our RMS Fine Arts

Program.

Thinking Spring,

Esther M. Purnell

IMPORTANT Future Planner Note:

PSSAs are just around the corner: English/Language Arts assessments for 6th

thru 8th grade will take place in on April 3rd- April 6th . Math assessments for 6th

thru 8th grade will take place on April 25th-27th. The PSSA Science testing for all

8th grade students will take place on May 3rd and 4th . Make-Ups will start on

open dates immediately following each assessment.

It is required that all students take all sections of the PSSAs. Please avoid making

appointments during the school day throughout these testing periods. Students

will be required to make up any missed sections of the PSSA.

No Child Left Behind legislation has placed a greater emphasis on standardized

testing. One result is that PSSA scores will have a direct bearing on some middle

and high school course placements. Please encourage your child to come to

school rested and ready to perform to the best of their ability.

8th Grade Course Selection for Radnor High School:

Mrs. Ottaviano will be asking for all 9th grade Course Request Verification sheets

to be returned to the guidance office no later than March 10th. At that point, a

student may obtain an override/underride form. All course changes must be

made before May, 26th 2017

Opportunity Knocks:

RMS's Integrated Programs

The time has come to start thinking about next year and the

exciting opportunities that await RMS students in our nationally

recognized integrated programs. The options are: Crossroads

(6th), Watershed (7th), Gateways and Soundings (8th). In

April, students will learn about their integrated options for the

following year. The schedule for these presentations will be

posted on the RMS website, and parents will be encouraged to

attend these sessions as well.

In the meantime, we suggest you go to the Integrated

Department website to learn more about what integrated

learning is: RMS Integrated Department From there, you

will also be able to access information on each of the individual

programs.

From the Nurse…

Trivia Question:

Starting in the 2011-2012 school year, every child entering

school (K-12) needs how many doses of Varicella (Chicken Pox)

Vaccine?

Answer: Two doses of Chicken Pox Vaccine (Varicella)

are required for every school aged child K-12 or proof

of the disease date.

• Since new immunizations regulations went into effect last

year, some of you will be receiving letters about vaccine

updates your child may be missing. It is possible that

your child has had the shots but that we have not

received the documentation. Please know that when we

send out letters and make phone calls it is only because

we do not have the required information about your child.

• For questions about Pennsylvania State immunization

mandates please refer to the RTSD website or contact

the nurse’s office at 610.386.6300 (X7107).

Art Department News!!

Radnor School District Art Show

To celebrate Youth Art Month, the Art

Department will host an exhibit of student work

from February 28th to March 23rd in the lobby of

Radnor High School. Featured will be the work

of students in grades K-12.

The reception for artists, families and friends

will be held March 16th, 6:30 – 8:00 pm.

As a family of one of our RMS artists we will

welcome you to attend.

We are proud of the work done by our Radnor

Middle School students and look forward to

seeing you at the reception.

Mr. McLaughlin and Mrs. Barwick-Collins

From The Music

Department…

Band Students Represent RMS in Annual Festivals

Schuylkill Valley Area Band

Nineteen 7th & 8th grade band students will proudly represent RMS in

the 46th annual Schuylkill Valley Area Band Festival hosted this year at

Bala Cynwyd Middle School. Students from seven area middle schools

will combine to form a large concert band of full instrumentation over

three days of rehearsals. An evening concert will be performed on

Friday, March 24, 2017.

The festival provides the opportunity for participating students to learn

and play challenging band repertoire as an extension of their band

programs of their home schools. In addition to playing together with

peers of similar interest and ability, the students also gain the

experience of playing under the batons of each of the participating

school's directors. Radnor Middle School is a founding member of

SVAB.

Radnor Middle School participants are:

8th Grade – Amanda McGrath, flute; Elizabeth Hirschler - bassoon;

Gavin Yuan and Sumi Jung, clarinet; Max Curello, bass clarinet; Brendan

Hung, alto saxophone; Edouard Egger, tenor saxophone; Jackson Reid,

baritone saxophone; Rafael Hollero, trumpet; Carter Young, horn; Tova

Tachau, trombone; Deke Magen, tuba; Alex Paino and Hall Rubenstein,

percussion. 7th Grade – Anna Raffaelli - flute; Audrey Rasmussen -

oboe; Jason Tey, clarinet; Kyle Leighton, trumpet; and Parker Drew,

trombone.

18th Annual PMEA Delco Intermediate Band Fest

Radnor Middle School will be represented by five 6th grade band

students in the 18th Annual Pennsylvania Music Educators Association

(PMEA) District 12 Delco Intermediate Band Fest on Wednesday, March

29, 2017, at Garnet Valley High School. The Band Fest is a one-day

event comprised of over 100 advancing fifth and sixth grade band

students from elementary and middle schools throughout Delaware

County. The participating students join together for a full day of

rehearsal and an evening concert. The guest conductor for the festival

will be Dr. Andrew Yozviak, Director of Bands at West Chester

University.

RMS sixth grade band participants are: Raymond Luan, oboe; Mia Xie,

clarinet; Kwangjun Jung and Hannah Yao, trumpet; and Olive Richter,

horn.

Upcoming Spring Sports

During the spring, Radnor Middle School offers boys’ baseball,

girls’ softball, girls’ and boys' lacrosse, boys' and girls' track, and boys’

tennis (all have separate teams for seventh and eighth grades except

track). In order to tryout/participate in an interscholastic sport, a

student must have a physical form signed and dated by a

doctor. Practices/Tryouts for all sports begin Monday, March 13th, so

please call your doctor early --- TRYOUTS WILL NOT BE

EXTENDED FOR LATE ARRIVALS.

*** If your child played a fall or winter sport at the Middle School,

the physical on file will cover the spring sport as well, but page 6 of the

PIAA form must be completed by the parent. If you indicate an

injury or illness on page 7, a new physical is required. If your child

did not play a fall or winter sport, a physical form (available on the M.S.

website) must be completed and returned to the coach before the first

practice.

If you have any questions about Middle School athletics, email

George Hahn, Athletic Director, at george.hahn@rtsd.org . Directions to

away games, game schedules, and physical forms are available online at

http://www.rtsd.org/domain/339.

Pen Pal & Popcorn Club

Check out the developments at our new school farm in

Uganda. This year's pen pals are helping to change lives by

attacking food scarcity in drought-stricken Uganda. Read all about

it here: www.penpaluganda.blogspot.com

News From the Library

On March 2nd, Radnor Middle School, along

with schools across the country, celebrated Dr. Seuss’s

birthday. As part of the celebration, many classes signed

up to host guest readers from Radnor High School. Other

classes came to the library for read-a-louds by Lt.

Flanagan (Radnor PD), Anny Laepple (Radnor Memorial

Library Director), Andrea Elson (RML Librarian), Mrs.

Purnell, Mrs. Horan, and other RMS teachers. Students

also participated in a Dr. Seuss trivia contest in their

Advisory classes. The Advisory from each grade who had

the most questions correct earned a Seuss related

prize. Read Across Radnor took place at 2pm when

students and staff across the district stopped what they

were doing and read for 10-15 minutes. Happy Birthday

Dr. Seuss!

The annual Reading Olympics competition is Wednesday,

March 29 at Springton Lake Middle School in Media, PA from 6

p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Reading Olympic teams have worked all year

to read forty-five books from the Delaware County Reading

Olympics Book List. Now it is time to show off all they know

about the books! Students are asked to meet in the cafeteria

directly after school. Dinner will be provided and busses will

depart RMS at 4:15 p.m. Parents are invited to the competition,

but are asked to refrain from taking pictures. If you have any

questions, please go

to http://rtsd.libguides.com/c.php?g=187338&p=1237665.

STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS…

On Friday, February 24th, Villanova soccer and lacrosse athletes visited team Amped/8C to share their advice on social media, being proactive, and having a growth mindset in athletics and academics. Students broke out in small groups to discuss goal setting, skill sets, and future plans. Team Amped also hosts Villanova water polo goalie and alum Maddi Moore as a social studies student teacher this year! We have great mentors all around our community and are so grateful for their attention and time with our students.