Letter to Families & Staff; 03-24-2023

Letter to Families & Staff; 03-24-2023

RCS Communications

March 24, 2023

If you have any questions, please contact your student's building. This newsletter includes: 

New Information =

  • *Updated* Early Dismissal for Staff Development Day on Wednesday, March 29
  • Albany City School District Autism Spectrum Fair 
  • Upcoming Important Dates
  • Resources - “Who to Contact and When” Guide

Reminders =

  • RCS Class of 2023 Graduation Information
  • Upcoming Music In Our Schools Month Performances
  • Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Registration & Screening Dates
  • RCS Celebrations & Stories
  • Direct Links

New Information

*Updated* Early Dismissal for Staff Development Day on Wednesday, March 29: 

  • Elementary Schools:  Buses depart at 12:30 p.m. Please note the following for this date:
    • PM Pre-K students will not be coming to school this day, and AM Pre-K students will be dismissed with all other students.
    • Students will eat lunch prior to dismissal. 
    • Parent pick-up will begin at 12:20 p.m., and students who take the bus will be dismissed following parent pick-up.
    • *Please note* The afterschool childcare program at AWB will be held. The afterschool childcare program at PBC will be closed. Additionally, PBC SACP will be closed in the morning and afternoon on 3/31 and 4/3.
    • Parents/guardians should be prepared for their students to be home 3 hours earlier.
  • Middle and High Schools: Students will dismiss at 11:07 a.m., and will eat lunch prior to dismissal. There will be no PM CTE on this day. All student-athletes are expected to leave campus and return for their later scheduled events, they cannot remain at school. 

Albany City School District Autism Spectrum Fair: The Albany City School District is offering an Autism Spectrum Fair on Tuesday, April 4, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. The event is free for all Capital Region children and their families. It will have sensory stations for kids, agencies with information, and more. Click here for more information. 

Upcoming Important Dates (Click here to access the RCS calendar): 

This/Next Week:

  • Tuesday, March 28: AWB Math & Literacy Night, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday, March 29: Staff Development Day (Early Dismissal PK-12, see above)
  • Wednesday, March 29: Board of Education Workshop @ HS, 6:00 p.m.
  • Thursday, March 30: 6th-12th Grade Choral MIOSM Concert, HS @ 7:00 p.m.

Later in the Month:

Resources - “Who to Contact and When” Guide: We have created a “Who to Contact and When” Guide for RCS families and community members, located on page two of our RCS Wall Calendar and on our website. This document was created to help ensure that questions and concerns from our community are addressed in the most efficient and effective manner possible. It outlines who you should contact first for information in a particular area, as well as the next step if your concern is not addressed. Staff contact information can be found on the second page.

Reminders

RCS Class of 2023 Graduation Information: Last week, we released information regarding the Class of 2023 Graduation on Friday, June 23, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. Click here for more information! Stay tuned for updates and be sure to visit our Class of 2023 Webpage for more info! 

Upcoming Music In Our Schools Month Performances: As part of Music in Our Schools Month, the RCS Music Department will be hosting some performances to recognize our talented students and staff and all their hard work. The month of March is Music In Our Schools Month and is used to celebrate and bring awareness to the educational importance of music programs for our youth. Some of the dates of the performances have changed from our printed District wall calendar due to the GCMEA All-County Festival changing their dates. The performances will go as follows:

  • Thursday, March 16: 6th-12th Grade Band MIOSM Concert, HS @ 7:00 p.m. This event has passed.
  • Thursday, March 23: AWB and PBC 5th Grade Band and Chorus MIOSM Concert, HS @ 7:00 p.m. This event has passed.
  • Thursday, March 30:  6th-12th Grade Choral MIOSM Concert, HS @ 7:00 p.m.

Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Registration & Screening Dates: Please spread the word to families and friends to register for pre-k or kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year today! 

  • Pre-Kindergarten: We are excited to announce that we are planning for four in-district, full-day pre-kindergarten classrooms for the 2023-2024 school year. Our partnerships with recently released grant funding will make this significant improvement possible. This change will replace our current program, which includes four half-day classes. The deadline for open pre-kindergarten registration is Friday, April 21. For more information about the pre-k program, how to register, and screening dates, please click here. 
  • Kindergarten: There is no deadline for enrolling in kindergarten, but we encourage families to enroll their students by Friday, April 21, in order to participate in the kindergarten screening days. For more information on how to register for kindergarten and screening dates, please click here.

RCS Celebrations & Stories: There is a lot of exciting and interesting stuff happening at RCS! Check out what has been going on around the district here. 

Direct Links:

If you have any questions about anything covered in the letter, please reach out to your student’s building for clarification. Thank you.