220 West 2nd Street, Ramona, SD 57054 Phone: (605) 482-8244 Fax: (605) 482-8282 “Providing students the opportunities and facilities to become productive citizens and lifelong learners.” ___________________________________________________________________________________ The 2019-2020 school year is off to a successful start here at the Oldham-Ramona School District. The staff and students have settled into the routine of their school day and there continues to be all kinds of activity going on throughout the building. INFINITE CAMPUS MESSENGER: We will again be using Infinite Campus Messenger for weather related announcements. If you find that you have not been notified during an announcement, please contact Kim Hyland at the school to make sure you are added to the list. Community members that are involved with the school district may also be included on the notification list. Infinite Campus Messenger is also used to remind parents of low lunch balances and we have some teachers that use the messenger system to keep parents updated on class related areas such as missing assignments. BE AWARE OF SCHOOL BUS STOPS: With our busses out on the road once again for the school year, I feel it is imperative to remind everyone of the importance of following all laws associated with school busses stopping with their lights on. Our bus drivers have an extremely important task of making sure our students get both to school and back home safely. This job is much easier if everyone is able to follow the law and the bus drivers can worry about the kids and not the vehicles that are around them. 32-32-6. Duty of motorists to slow or stop in obedience to amber or red signal--Exceptions--Violation as misdemeanor. The operator of a motor vehicle on a highway that has less than two lanes of travel in each direction or a private road approaching a school bus that has its amber warning lights flashing shall reduce the speed of the vehicle not to exceed fifteen miles per hour and proceed past the school bus with caution. The operator of a motor vehicle approaching a school bus that has its red signal lights flashing shall make a complete stop. The stopped vehicle shall be at least fifteen feet from the school bus and shall remain stopped until the flashing red signal lights are extinguished. A lane that is designated solely for the purpose of turning is not considered a lane of travel for purposes of this section. The operator of a motor vehicle on a highway providing two or more lanes of travel in each direction does not need to reduce the speed of the vehicle when approaching a school bus that is traveling in the opposite direction if the school bus has its amber warning lights flashing. The operator of a motor vehicle on a highway providing two or more lanes of travel in each direction does not need to stop when approaching a school bus that is traveling in the opposite direction even though the school bus is stopped and has its red signal lights flashing. The operator of a motor vehicle on a highway providing two or more lanes of travel in each direction approaching a school bus that is traveling in the same direction and has its amber warning lights flashing shall reduce the speed of the vehicle not to exceed fifteen miles per hour and proceed past the school bus with caution. The operator of a motor vehicle on a highway providing two or more lanes of travel in each direction shall make a complete stop when approaching a school bus traveling in the same direction if the school bus is stopped and its red signal lights are flashing. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Every Kid, Every Day, Michael Fischer, Superintendent Welcome back to our returning families and a special welcome to those joining us for the first time! We are excited to have students back in the building. With the new year, comes new questions, policies, structural changes, and faces. I encourage everyone to visit the school, attend activities, and contact me if you have any questions. The school’s phone number is (605)482-8244 and my e-mail is [email protected]. If you are planning on visiting your student or volunteering, please check into the office and get a visitors pass from Ms. Hyland. For the safety of our students, staff, and other visitors, we need to know who is in the building. Please check out the topics below as sources for additional information regarding the school and its activities: Campus Portal – This is an important tool for checking your student’s progress, attendance, schedule, and check and or add to their lunch accounts. The link is located in the top left corner of the school’s webpage. If you are experiencing problems, cannot access it, or need to be setup, please contact the school. Infinite Campus also has an app for parents and students on the App Store. R-School – The R-School calendar is linked to the words “ORR RAIDERS ATHLETIC CALENDAR” on the homepage of the school’s website. This calendar is almost entirely for 7-12 athletic events. This will be the most up-to-date athletic calendar. Announcements – Ms. Hyland puts together announcements that cover the days’ activities as well as activities in the future. These announcements show up on the Campus Portal, but can also be e-mailed to you. If you would like to be on the announcements list, please contact Ms. Hyland. Calendars/Handbooks – All of the most current calendars and handbooks are posted on the school’s website. If you have question about something dealing with the calendar or something in one of the handbooks, please contact me. Parents sometimes ask me how they can help their student(s) have a successful school year. The good news is that the tips are simple. The bad news is that for these to be effective, they have to be done consistently, correctly, and sometimes without the appreciation of your student. Take a look at the tips below and consider how implementation of these tips look at your house. In the famous words of Red Green, “Remember I’m pullin’ for ya – we’re all in this together.” 1. Get involved 7. Promote independence and responsibility 2. Communicate with your student and the school 8. Keep your student’s schedule manageable and help 3. Be consistent and have a routine them find a balance between work and play 4. Limit screen time and increase sleep 9. Praise hard work 5. Be your student’s advocate 10. Create a positive learning environment at home 6. Advocate for your student, but don’t make excuses 11. Speak positively to your student about education for them 12. Enjoy the school year with your child The ORR Raider athletic season is in full swing. However, it is not too late to join an athletic team. Athletic activities provide students with many education opportunities and lessons to prepare them to be better students, teammates, and citizens. Reminder – participating in these activities is a privilege. This privilege can be protected by staying eligible and following school and state rules. Parents can help their student-athlete by regularly checking their grades and help hold them accountable. Our teams feed off the positive feedback and the atmosphere that is created at events. We need to keep a positive experience for all and avoid cheering against other teams, individual athletes, officials, and coaches. Sportsmanship does not only apply to those wearing a Raider jersey. Lastly, I would ask that parents keep an eye on your children at games to keep everyone safe. If students do not want to sit with their parents, please sit in the student section and cheer loudly. We wish all Raiders a great season! Go Raiders! Mr. Andrew Johnson Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 *Cross Country *SCHOOL *VB @ Canistota *Varsity VB @ Salem 4:15 pm PICTURE DAY! JH 5:15 pm Tourney at *VB @ Colman- JV 6:15 pm *FB vs. Canistota / Flandreau Egan; JH 5:00 V to follow Freeman @ Rutland 9:00 am pm;JV 6:30 pm; 7:00 pm. V to follow PARENT’S NIGHT for FB, Cheer, XC! 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 *Clever Clovers *School Board *Cross Country *Cross Country @ Friday School / *JH DVC FB 4-H Meeting Meeting 7:00 pm @ Garretson DeSmet 4:00 pm Teacher Work Day Tourney @ 4:00 pm 3:00 pm *FB vs. E/LB @ Estelline 9:00 am *VB vs. E-H @ MP Room Elkton JH 4:30 pm *VB vs. FA/M Hendricks; JH Varsity 7:00 pm @ Marion 4:30 pm; JV 6:00 JV 2:oo pm pm; V to follow V to follow 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 *Cross Country *VB vs. DeSmet Friday School / *VB vs. SC/@ @ Arlington @ Rutland Teacher Work Day @ Rutland 4:00 pm JH 5:00 pm *FB @ Colman-Egan JH 1:00 pm *VB vs. Iroquois JV 6:00 pm JH 4:30 pm JV and V to @ Rutland V to follow follow JV 6:00 pm PARENT’S V to follow NIGHT! 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 *FB @ *VB vs. *Cross Country *VB vs. Arlington *Teacher Work Day *Cross Country Castlewood Flandreau @ Dell Rapids @ Ramona & Friday School @ Castlewood 2:00 pm 9:00 am JH 4:00 pm Indian School JH 5:00 pm *Football vs. A/LP @ Arlington *October Newsletter JV 6:00 pm JV 6:00 pm items due to JH 5:00 pm V to follow V to follow [email protected] Varsity 7:00 pm 29 30 October 1 October 2 October 3 October 4 October 5 Homecoming *OR *Cross Country *DVC Oral Interp *JH VB Week! Coronation @ Colman @ Arlington Tourney @ 1:00 pm * Rutland @ Oldham *VB vs.