Friday, March 21, 2025

 

Hello Roth Families and Friends,

Another week, and another Friday. As the days, weeks, and months pass by, I make it a habit to reflect and find opportunities to express my gratitude. Today, I’d like to give props to some of our team members. Some new, and some who have been around. I’ll start with Mrs. Jessica Dolan, our new assistant principal. Mrs. Dolan has quickly found her footing at Roth Junior High. She is already connecting with students, families, and staff. She is calibrating to our expectations, procedures, and priorities. It has been excellent to be back at full leadership capacity. 

I’d like to next thank our entirely new Main Office staff. Mr. Mike Steiner, Secretary to the Principal, has been a student (and staff) favorite at Roth for several years. In his role as Teacher’s Assistant, Mr. Steiner got to know and support many of our students. Their familiar faces frequently pop into the Main Office to let him know how they’re doing. Ms. Allison Michel, our new Attendance Secretary, has been another welcome full-time addition to the Roth team. Ms. Michel is a parent to one of our 7th graders, and her commitment to the building from a parent and staff perspective has been evident since she started subbing in our front office this past fall. Ms. Ashley Perham is our new Main Office Secretary. Ms. Perham has been a very quick study in the processes and systems expected from each building’s front office. You’ll likely hear her welcoming voice on the other end of the phone when you call. Though I started back in July, this has been the first time that our Main Office has been fully staffed all year. And for that, I am grateful. 

The last two team members that I would like to thank and prop up are the wonderful Administrative Assistants to our two assistant principals: Mrs. Michelle Shechter and Mrs. Kandi Steed. Absolute rockstars. In their role, they sometimes experience a revolving door of student traffic. On many occasions, students are in a vulnerable state when they swing by the Assistant Principal’s office. Mrs. Shechter and Mrs. Steed support our students with their charm, compassion, care, and genuine concern. These women are not only fantastic administrative assistants. They are fantastic human beings. So, Roth families and friends, please know that we have a really great team working with (and for) your students. Everything that we do is to lift others up. We may not always experience success, but we continue to rise up to whatever challenges and opportunities daily school life presents. Time for some updates and reminders.

R-H Music Parents Association:

RHMPA would like to share the link to our annual Summer Music Scholarship application (submission deadline: Monday, April 21) for Music students entering Grades 4-12 this coming Fall. These Music & Arts grants will be roughly $100 (potentially more, total TBD), and require proof of students' enrollment in summer lessons or Music & Arts programs before scholarship funds will be sent to parents as reimbursement. Scholarship winners will be announced at our 2025 Election Meeting on April 28th.

• RHMPA NEEDS CANDIDATES for every office on our Board (President, VP, Treasurer, and Secretary) for the next school year. Election Day is Monday, April 28th at our RHMPA meeting. Interested candidates should send notice of candidacy to RHMusicParentsAssoc@gmail.com by Wednesday, April 23rd. We are happy to answer any questions you have about officer roles, etc, in advance. A transition meeting between this year's officers and the next is scheduled for Monday, June 16th. (RHMPA meetings are scheduled 6:30-7:30 p.m.)
• We are looking for prize basket donations from the community for an upcoming benefit concert on May 4th. Please reach out if you have a prize to donate or a business that might like to support.
• For MORE information about the R-H Music Parents Association, check out our RHnet and Facebook pages.

R-H Spotlight Theater Presents: Forget all you know about the traditional story of The Princess and the Pea and be wowed by this fractured fairytale! Rush-Henrietta Spotlight Theatre’s production of “Once Upon a Mattress” takes place March 27-29 at the Senior High School. Our students and the adults who support them have spent three months preparing this show for our community. You won’t want to miss this silly, family friendly presentation! Tickets are $12 and are on sale now by visiting www.rhnet.org/onceuponamattress.

State Testing in April and May: I shared this last week, but it’s worth a steady dose of state test reminders. Our 7th and 8th graders will sit for the English Language Arts State Test on Tuesday, April 8, and Wednesday, April 9; these same students will sit for the Math State Test on Tuesday, May 6, and Wednesday, May 7. Though one month apart, these two exams provide teachers and building leaders with key academic achievement data. Since September, our teachers have been working hard to deliver high quality instruction that gives students the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary to feel confident and competent in any setting. Though testing is just one such setting, the data that results helps us reflect on and modify our instructional practices. 

Eastern Monroe Career Center (EMCC) at Roth Parent Group: Another re-share from our Roth Parent Group meeting. A few weeks ago, guest presenter, Andrea Compo, shared a wealth of information that was especially relevant for our current 9th graders. Families who attended in-person or online received a lot of information, so I thought it would be helpful to include a link to EMCC’s website.  I mentioned this at Parent Group: when I taught high school juniors and seniors, I got to see many students shine because Career and Technical Education programs (offered by BOCES partners like EMCC) gave them hands-on and work-based experiences in fields that they enjoyed. Many of these students would go on to explore careers in their preferred fields. Please click here to learn more about what EMCC can offer. Families of our current 9th graders: please be sure to connect with your student’s counselor at the Senior High School next year to get the conversation going. 

Roth JHS Yearbook Reminder: The 2024-2025 Roth JHS Yearbook is still available for purchase. Capture your memories in this year's Roth Jr. High School Yearbook. You can customize your two free pages:

• Add photos from your computer, Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive & more
• Answer fun Memory Questions to help remember the year
• The TWO Custom Pages are FREE and are printed ONLY in your book; Want more pages? Each additional two pages are just $1.98

Click here to purchase and customize your yearbook. Our school passcode is: 101556133544541.

Student Council Merch: This Roth merch sale ends this Friday, March 21. Roth Student Council is hosting an online merchandise sale. T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and sweatpants are available in various R-H colors and themes. Please consider supporting our Student Council, and repping our school colors.

Women’s History Month Essay Contest: Rush-Henrietta students are invited to submit a video essay of no more than one minute long answering the following: “Who is a woman that inspires me and why?” This contest is open to all R-H students. There will be winners in each of these grade bands: elementary (K-3), intermediate (4-6), junior high (7-9), and senior high (10-12). Winners will be invited to a special lunch with the superintendent in April. The deadline to submit your entry is Sunday, March 23. Click here for more information. At the time of this writing, we had seven submissions. Students: get to work!

2025-2026 District Transportation Forms: This is a reminder. Transportation forms for Child Care and Split Custody for next school year are due on April 1. It’s never too early to start planning for next year. Please complete the appropriate form and send it to the Rush-Henrietta Transportation Department.

Click here for previous E-News communications.

Sincerely,