It Takes A Village...

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 We all know the old phrase, "it takes a village to raise a child." One can reflect on the phrase and find a few different ways to interpret its meaning, however, it cannot be argued that when groups of people work together to help their children grow, success is more likely. To me, I view this phrase as referencing that there is someone within every community that a child can connect with to help them feel a part of their school and/or community. It may not be their classroom teacher or their principal. It may be a bus driver, a coach, a teaching assistant, secretary, custodian, food service worker, music teacher, art teacher, computer specialist, monitor, etc. The list can go on and on. Why mention this? Well, currently, one of the largest and most important educational research projects in our nation's history is occurring with some of the leading educational experts researching what education needs to be by the year 2025. Education 2025 is producing information that many of us probably know, but don't realize the urgency of which we need to execute it. The types of instruction and learning that children need in our current classrooms is not what many of us educators has been trained to do, it's actually more in alignment with the way that art teachers and technology teachers have developed their instructional skills and strategies over the years. Or the way in which custodians, secretaries, security officers/SRO's build relationships with kids and engage them in conversations. Historically, schools are designed to ensure that kids gain basic cognitive skills during their time in school. However, Education 2025 is learning that for our children to be successful past their school years, future success is dependent upon a combination of basic cognitive skills, self-leadership, and interpersonal skills. In order for schools to accomplish this, the need for the village to come together and work with our kids is more prevalent now than ever. With so much being asked of public education to help children learn life skills and support social-emotional well-being, in coordination with the general curricular needs, our teachers need the support of everyone to help kids grow in every aspect that is necessary for their future success. There is no doubt that teachers are superheroes and every time something new comes along that is asked of them, they rise to the occasion. However, there is a breaking point where people can't handle everything, all of the time. That's where the village comes in. More than ever, it's important to recognize that every adult in a school setting, including our parents, needs to be a partner with the growth process of our kids. No individual group can do it alone, but together, the village can raise very successful children.

Kidney Awareness Walk

On Saturday, March 19, Rome Free Academy will be hosting the first-ever Sin Bin Kidneys - Raising Awareness for Kidney Disease walk. Proceeds will benefit the Nephrotic Syndrome Foundation. For more information, including registration information, please visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/romecsdny/photos/a.112334217153539/516754760044814/.

Kindergarten Registration

Kindergarten registration for the 2022-2023 school year will occur during the week of March 7 - March 11, at each individual elementary school. More information on the registration process and documents required for registration can be found at https://www.romecsd.org/news_page/r_c_s_d_2022-23_kindergarten_registration. 

SELSI Survey - Round 2

We are currently conducting our second round of the Social-Emotional Learning Skills Inventory survey for our students PreK-12. The goal is to learn more about adult perceptions as they relate to a student's resiliency and ensure that we as adults are not missing cues from students that are in need of social/emotional support. In the end, we as a community will be better equipped to support our students as we will have a better understanding of their needs. Parents are encouraged to take the survey as well to provide input on their own perceptions/beliefs of their students. To complete the second round of the survey, please use this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HC6H6GV. You will need your student's ID number to participate which can be found in your parent portal account. The survey will be available until March 15.

Referendum Meeting

On Wednesday, March 9, there will be an informational Zoom meeting to provide the community with more information regarding the March 22 referendum vote. To join the meeting, please use the following Zoom link: https://moric-org.zoom.us/j/94172138723. During the meeting, there will not be an opportunity for Q&A, however, a second in-person meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15 to allow for questions and answers. Finally, additional information is available on our website at: https://p12cdn4static.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_695381/File/RCSD%20Capital%20Project%203.4.22.pdf. 

Calendar Update - Reminder

As a reminder, there are three upcoming half days that have been added to the school calendar.  The dates of the upcoming half days will be Friday, March 18, Friday, April 8, and Friday, May 27. Please mark your calendar accordingly and future reminders will be provided. 

Redistricting Information

As you know, the Board continues to discuss various aspects of the redistricting process. On March 24, it is anticipated that the consultants will provide their final report to the Board of Education during their regularly scheduled meeting. To review the most recent information provided, and/or to see the most recent meetings, please visit our website at: https://www.romecsd.org/news_page/rome_redistricting_presentation__materials or visit our youtube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/RomeCitySchoolDistrictNY. 


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