RVA Newsletter

River Valley Academy News

Spring Update Director - Jennifer Thompson

Spring brings warmer weather, the Michigan Merit Exam for juniors, and Graduation!

While the warmer weather is questionable in this last week of March, the Michigan Merit Exam will begin on Thursday, March 27 for juniors and continue after Spring Break, April 16-18. Please make sure your junior has a good night's sleep the night before, a good breakfast and brings healthy snacks for the day! This is the best way to prepare for these important tests.

River Valley Academy Graduation is coming up on May 29 at 7:00 PM. Senior meetings are happening to support students in getting there! 2025 Graduation Course Plans were shared with seniors and their parents. These will be updated weekly. When checked on Fridays, students who did not complete their plan should work over the weekend to make sure they are on track to graduate.

Wishing you and yours a peaceful and enjoyable Spring! Please reach out with any questions you may have or if there is anything you need.

Take care!

On behalf of the RVA Staff,

Jenny Thompson

March 26: Early Release Day. Students dismissed at 12:18 PM
March 27: MME Testing begins for juniors! WorkKeys tests.
March 28: Arbor Circle Group
April 3-13: Spring Break!
April 16: SAT for juniors and PSAT for sophomores. Freshmen and seniors work remotely.
April 17: M-Step Science test
April 18: M-Step Social Studies test; Arbor Circle Group
April 23: Early Release Day. Students dismissed at 12:18 PM
April 25: Arbor Circle Group
May 2: Arbor Circle Group
May 7: Early Release Day! Students dismissed at 12:18 PM
May 16: Arbor Circle Group
May 23-26 Memorial Day Weekend - no school
May 29: River Valley Academy Graduation
May 30: Arbor Circle Group
June 5: Half day
June 6: Half day - Last day of school!

Group on Fridays

Counselors from Arbor Circle will be coming to RVA on Fridays to offer a therapy group. Coping skills, adulting, and other student-initiated topics will be covered. Here is a link to the Arbor Circle website if you would like more information.

Graduation Options in Rockford

River Valley Academy and Rockford Adult Education serve students who have struggled in a traditional setting. These students are often credit deficient.

Students who are motivated have the opportunity to earn a traditional Rockford High School diploma.

RHS Grad Requirements

Here is a look at what the Michigan Merit requirements are:

Students who are elective credit deficient may consider the Michigan Merit Diploma option.

To support students earning a diploma, two diploma tracks will be offered, both including the 19 credits that Rockford requires. RVA will also include a College and Career Ready .5 credit course. This would mean the Michigan Merit Diploma option would require 19.5 credits.

Beginning this year, RVA students have two diploma options!

Early Release Days

March 26
April 23
May 7

Students will eat lunch at school and dismissal will be at 12:18 PM on those days. Please plan ahead for transportation changes.

MME

All juniors are required to take the Michigan Merit Exam. The Michigan Merit Exam is a series of 3 tests. These tests include the WorkKeys tests, the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and the M-Step tests.

The WorkKeys tests will be administered on Thursday, March 27. Juniors will need to be here ON TIME to begin testing right away. The WorkKeys tests are a series of 3 tests: Workplace Documents (reading), Applied Mathemathics, and Graphic Literacy (reading and interpreting charts and graphs). Rockford requires students to pass the WorkKeys tests with a minimum score of 4. This is a diploma competency test. Students who don't score a 4 or above, will need to retake any tests below 4 prior to graduating. All students in all grades will be expected at school on March 27.

The SAT will be given to juniors on Wednesday, April 16, the week we return from Spring Break. Sophomores will take the PSAT on April 16. Freshmen and Seniors should work remotely on April 16.

The M-Step tests, science and social studies, will be given on Thursday, April 17 and Friday, April 18, to juniors. All students, in all grades are expected at school on these days.

RVA Staff

RVA Team - A caring group of educators dedicated to meeting students where they are and helping students grow and succeed!

Phone Caddies

Phone caddies will be used to support productive learning during class time. Students will be assigned a number in the classroom phone caddy, correlating with their assigned seat. As they enter a class, they will place their phone in their assigned pocket. Students will still be able to see their phones and access music with wireless headphones. Students may check their phones during passing time and lunch.

Daily Schedules

Our school day will begin at 7:45 AM and end at 2:18 PM. Here is a look at the class time schedule:

2024/2025 Daily Schedule

How can I make this year successful?

With Rockford's trimester high school system, students are expected to complete 2.5 credits (5 classes) each trimester, for a total of 7.5 credits each year. Trimester 3 began on March 10, and ends on June 6. While June 6 seems like a long way off, trimesters are about 12 weeks long, so each week, students should be completing about 10% of each class, to finish on time. Completing this work will require students to make progress on assignments and activities in every class, every day!

Setting goals and making action plans is a key part of earning credit and graduating on time. Students will meet with their teachers to set daily goals. This will help students to complete all 5 of their current classes by June 6.

April Menu

Lunch IS FREE this year. Although lunches are free for the 24-25 school year, many services to students and funding, in general, derive from Free and Reduced Lunch applications. Please click on "Apply for Benefits".

How do I know how my student is doing from day to day?

RVA courses are run through either Schoology or Edgenuity. Schoology courses are RPS teacher created and directed. If you want to know how your student is doing in these classes, log in to Schoology. If you need help getting in to Schoology, use this How To Cheat Sheet. Using a parent log in, parents can see messages and course information. However, if you want to see what your student has completed and what grades they have earned so far in classes, the best way to do that is to log in as your student. Students have access to the course gradebook which includes a list of assignments that need to be completed, showing scores earned on work that has been turned in.

Edgenuity courses offer parent updates. If you would like to be signed up to receive these, please complete this form. When the form has been processed, you will receive directions for signing up for the Parent Portal along with an access code. You will receive daily updates. If you want specific information on how your student is doing in Edgenuity, ask your student for their login information. If you log in as the student, you can see a more detailed report.

Good questions to ask your student include:

1. Are you attending all class sessions?

2. Are you completing at least one assignment in each class session?

3. About how far in each course are you?

4. What are you doing well?

5. What can you do better?

Parents and schools are partners in educating students!

Health Room Information

Call the office for all illness related absences. Your student needs to be fever free (without medication) and stomach Illness (vomiting) free 24 hours before returning to school.

If your student is in need of medication during the school day, please refer to the attached link below. Nursing services has all the required documentation. A physician signature and parent signature are required for all distributed medications.

Nursing Services – Rockford Public Schools

How are you doing? People care and want to help!

Hand 2 Hand can help with food and toiletry needs. Website: www.h2hkids.org

RVA has an amazing staff, social worker, and mental health liaison who can listen and connect you to resources!

Ele's Place is a community based organization with the mission to create awareness of and support for grieving children and their families.

Website: www.elesplace.org

Area Resources

North Kent CONNECT: North Kent Connect

Mobile Food Pantries: https://www.feedwm.org/findfood/

Assistance with housing, food, utilities: contact 211 by phone or text (800-877-1107), text your zip code to 898211

Youth in need of shelter: The Bridge 616-451-3001 or 877-275-7792 the bridge - Arbor Circle

Student Absences

Absences MUST be called into the office 616.863.6324.

Please leave a message if you are calling after hours. Whether you are reporting an absence on our voicemail or speaking with Cecily, we need to know the following things:

Student's name
Reason for Absence - if it is an illness we need to know the symptoms of the illness - vomiting, coughing, fever, cold, diarrhea, lice - whatever the reason may be.

Medications Taken at School

All medication, including over the counter medication, must have a signed doctor's note in the office before office staff can give medication to your student.

If your child:

Has an EpiPen we need a FARE - Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan filled out by the doctor.
Has asthma we need an Asthma Action plan filled out by the doctor.
Has seizures we need a seizure care plan filled out by the doctor.

Medical services provided & forms