Two Little Words...

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As we enter the beginning of the traditional American holiday season, many people lose sight of the many individuals in our country that do not celebrate our traditional holidays. Along with this, and maybe more concerning, is that many people lose sight of the meaning behind our traditional holidays. There are many negative connotations that are connected with Thanksgiving due to the manner in which early settlers imposed their way of life and ideals on Native Americans; but, what can not be debated is the meaning of the word Thanksgiving. It's one of few words that when broken down into simpler terms completely makes sense. "Thanks" and "Giving". In our society today, our youth are increasingly losing sight of these words. Beyond just our youth, many adults have also become entitled and feel empowered to be disrespectful and selfish. The concept of working hard to earn a living, or to say "thank you" when someone does something nice for you is diminished significantly over time. Think about it, how often do you see a random stranger doing something nice for someone in need just because? It may happen more at this time of year, but it should happen year round. Our country, and way of life, developed out of people from many cultures helping each other and giving of their own so that the society can thrive. Suddenly, we are thrust into a society where helping others is not mainstream and people from other cultures are considered outsiders. We have evolved into a society of entitlement where it is rare to hear the words, "thank you." Thinking of a recent heart warming story, one of our new (and younger) custodians was struggling to figure out why the principal would say "thank you" every day as she was leaving work. The young gentleman said, "I'm doing my job, you don't have to thank me," and was puzzled by the consistent kind gesture. The point is, sometimes the simple and kind gesture of saying "thank you" can let someone else know you appreciate the work they are doing. Saying "thank you" can be both a compliment and an action of giving, as the words make people feel good about what they are doing. In the end, we all need to work at "giving" more than receiving, and saying "thank you" more often. That being said, I would like to thank our entire school community for what they do for our youth each and every day. I hope that those of you that are celebrating Thanksgiving, have a wonderful holiday. Thank you... two little words that can mean more than you possibly know.

RFA Open Mic Night 

On Tuesday, November 20, the RFA junior class will be holding the annual Open Mic Night at the RFA auditorium. This annual fundraiser has become a November tradition at RFA and an evening to enjoy some of our best talent throughout the school. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the fee for entrance is $8.00 or $7.00 with a canned good donation. Start the holiday season right with some enjoyment at the Open Mic Night!!

RFA Class Holiday Window Competition

In conjunction with our local JCP, who is a tremendous supporter of our local education, families, and students; each of the individual RFA cohorts has decorated a holiday window display at the local JCP as a fundraising event. The window paintings will be on display throughout the holiday season and you can vote for your favorite window in the store. The winning class will receive a $200 donation from JCP. Thank you to JCP for sponsoring such a fun event which brings the school and community together during the holiday season.  Students from each class volunteered their time and creative ability to design the best windows for Rome, so make sure to get out and vote for your favorite!


Concert Season

The winter concert season is upon us! Over the next 3 weeks, you can catch a wonderful musical performance by one of our musical groups on almost any given day. With each school having at least one performance and the secondary schools having multiple performances, it truly is a great 3 week stretch of enjoying some music. For a complete list of our concert schedule, please visit our WEBSITE. 




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