Winter 2009-10 - Rio Rancho Public Schools

VOLUME 15, NUMBER 2 WINTER 2009-10INSIDE OUR SCHOOLSPAGE 7Spotlight on Staff, Students,and Community• Students in the RRPS Junior ROTC program snared thesweepstakes award and first place honors in Armed Drill, ArmedInspection, Armed Exhibition, and Physical Training at the UNMJROTC competition earlier this fall. JROTC students are a frequentsite at community and school events, presenting the colors,providing traffic control, taking tickets, and assisting with seatingat football games.• RRHS Thespians drama students captured awards in severaldisciplines at the annual San Juan College Musical Theatercompetition in Farmington.• RRPS’s Reading Recovery program was recognized for 10 years ofsuccessful results in helping struggling first grade students learnto read, as part of the national Reading Recovery program’s 25th anniversary celebration• Selby Lucero, formerly Deputy Director of the NM Building Services Division, is RRPS’s newMaintenance Manager• Three Rio Rancho elementary schools — Ernest Stapleton, Rio Rancho Elementary, and VistaGrande — have been recognized by the New Mexico Public Education Department for effectiveprograms serving the linguistic and academic needs of English-language learners.• Rio Rancho High seniors Amber Porter and Hunter Loen have qualified as National Merit Scholarsemi-finalists. Morgan Reed has been named a Commended National Scholar. Leslie Garza,Cayla Price, and Jeffrey Ulibarri have qualified for the National Merit Hispanic Recognition ProgramWe’re Still Growing!17,00016,00015,00014,00013,00012,00011,00010,0009,0008,0007,0006,0005,00040th Day RRPS Student Enrollment10,2192000-0110,5662001-02Save the date!April 30, 201011,1382002-0311,7762003-0412,5422004-0513,6112005-0614,8152006-0715,8052007-0816,1822008-0916,762*2009-10Rio Rancho schools addedabout 500 students this year,bringing the district’senrollment over 16,500students. The district’s annualgrowth rate of about 3.3% hasslowed since the 8.5% rates ofa few years ago, but is slightlyhigher than last year.The Rio Rancho district beganin 1994 with 5,900 students.Since then, the district’senrollment has grown by180%.Education Foundation Funds School ProjectsLots of happy teachers lined up behind Rio Rancho School Board members last fall — thisyear’s recipients of Rancho Education Foundation grants. The Foundation awarded a total of$43,488 this year, including 21 “teacher grants” of up to $1,000 to support small projects,and 8 campus grants of up to $5,000 to fund campus-wide initiatives. The business andcommunity leaders who make up the Foundation raise money, principally through their “Seats& Eats” annual event, to fund projects in schools and classrooms that the district is not able tofund through its operational budgetComplete information about the projects the Foundation funded this year may be found on theFoundation Web site, www.rref.org.School SupplyDonationsSupport StudentsWith the tough economictimes, more families thanever needed help this yearwith providing schoolsupplies for their children— and our communitycame through!At top, Rio Ranchostudent athletes processsome of the suppliesdonated through the NMPublic EducationDepartment and Feed theChildren annual drive forhomeless students.Each year, Intel employees volunteer in schools (Intel makes amatching financial donation for each hour worked) and alsomount a school supply drive. This year, Intel employees donatedsome 5,000 school supply items, of which half went to RioRancho schools. Other school supply donations came from thelocal balloon club, which donates supplies collected fromballoonists at its August rally in Rio Rancho, and through Channel7’s annual school supply drive. Churches and several privateindividuals also made significant donations of school supplies.Thank you to ourbusiness communityfor supportingour schoolsand students!Parents: Can we reach you in anemergency? Rio Rancho Public Schools’emergency phone notification systemprovides a means to contact parentspromptly with basic information andupdates in the event of an emergencysituation at their child’s school, schoolclosures or delayed start times, or urgent,time-sensitive information. In order forthe system to work properly, it is veryimportant that the phone numbers in yourchild’s school record are up-to-date. If theinformation needs to be corrected, contactthe registrar at your child’s school. Ofcourse, as has always been the case, schoolstaff will contact you directly as soon aspossible if your child becomes ill or isinjured at school.If you do not have children in school andreceive a call, please call 896-0667 ext. 180and leave your name and phone number sowe may correct our records.