Mid-Semester Reports: The midterm narrative reports from core teachers will be reviewed in advisories and hand-carried home on Thursday, March 27. Please be looking for them and bring your copy to your parent conference on April 2.
Parent Conferences and Course Recommendations: Course placement options for next year will be discussed at parent-teacher conferences on April 2. Please return the colored recommendation sheet to your daughter’s advisor by the date indicated on the form. Some course placement decisions will be dependent on year-end grades.
Grade 8 Introduction to the Upper School (7:30 pm, Monday, March 31) Please join Joan Smith, Upper School Head, for an introduction to the Upper School for eighth grade parents and students. I strongly recommend that all eighth graders attend. Mrs. Smith will discuss curriculum and course choice options. At the parent conference on April 2, your daughter’s 8th grade advisor will discuss placement decisions and options for next year, so the timing of this event is very helpful in terms of laying out the possibilities and requirements for Upper School.
From the School Nurse: The Baltimore City Health Department will be conducting vision and hearing screening for all 6th and 8th graders this spring. If you have any questions, please contact Dana Hamilton at x3057.
Spelling Bee: Congratulations to 8th grader Jassmin Young-Harrison, who will represent RPCS at the citywide spelling bee on March 15. Kudos also to sixth grader Ellie Macfarlane, our runner-up.
Faculty Update: Please join me in welcoming Kathleen Sheehan, who has come on board this month to replace Mary Hain as Middle School Physical Education teacher for the rest of this year. Ms. Sheehan received her BS in Health and Physical Education from West Chester University in Pennsylvania and has taught at PE in Pennsylvania and Scotland. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree at Towson University, and we are very fortunate to have her join us.
Save the dates! We are very fortunate that our 7th and 8th grade students have been invited to attend two opera performances this year: Romeo and Juliet and Madame Butterfly. Both performances have strong ties to our curriculum, and a collaborative effort is underway among the English, music, and foreign language departments to prepare the students for this wonderful experience. Attendance is strongly encouraged, and there is no cost. Students will depart from school at about 7:00 pm and should return around 10:30. Further details will be sent home by English teachers Mrs. Chung and Mrs. Krich.
6th Grade Echo Hill trip, April 21-25: The sixth grade will travel to Echo Hill Outdoor Learning Center the week of April 21. Students will be given packing information and health forms to bring home in March. Please note that we are requiring that ALL MEDICINES THAT ARE TO BE TAKEN ON THE TRIP BE TURNED INTO THE NURSE’S OFFICE, APPROPRIATELY LABELLED, ON THURSDAY, APRIL 17. Students may not carry their own medicine.
Looking Ahead: Closing Exercises: As you know, the Middle School Closing Exercises are scheduled for June 6 at 2:00 pm. All students are required to attend. Sixth and seventh graders are to be in full uniform. Eighth graders are to wear white or off-white dresses or skirts and blouses. Most families find that looking for white dresses in early spring works best. Skirts and dresses should be somewhere in length between tea length and mini skirt; in other words, not too short and not too long. Shoes should be dressy and practical, so the girls can walk comfortably across the stage; PLEASE no flip flops! Additional information about obtaining white dresses is available through the Parent Network.