Ruston Junior High School

We had a great first day of Prep Day! If you were unable to stop by today to pick up your schedule, Chromebook, and sign the Chromebook contract, you still have a chance tomorrow from 7am-12pm and 1pm-3pm. Or Monday 5pm-7pm Tuesday 7am-12pm *Parent/guardian and student must be present. We can't wait to see you! https://drive.google.com/file/d/10c_IUkauNoRTcCiGuqxi3Jlk0UBRT6Xc/view?usp=drivesdk

Parents/Guardians, please read the attached document for information concerning Ruston Junior High School's reopening. https://drive.google.com/file/d/10c_IUkauNoRTcCiGuqxi3Jlk0UBRT6Xc/view?usp=sharing

Attached is the 2020-2021 RJHS Dress Code. Mask and backpack information is included in this year's dress code. If you have further questions on whether or not a mask/neck gaiter is acceptable, please post under the RJHS Bearkits Facebook page for Parents and Guardians under this thread and RJHS admin will make the determination on the thread. https://drive.google.com/file/d/14YTYHHqHpztxAmcidOlnD4GeLZ8ORTza/view?usp=sharing

Google Form for those RJHS girls interested in Volleyball https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSduxwL3KVE24WxtdPdIPyHATib6b2pvZb0ZV6lAmVRD7ipjfw/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1

Just a reminder that Thursday, July 23rd is the deadline for ordering school approved RJHS t-shirts, sweatshirts, and dri-fits. These items can be worn during the school week. ****Youth sizes are now available ****** You will be notified by the school when your order is ready. Which we hope will be ready about 3 weeks from July 23rd. https://rjs20.itemorder.com/

There will be a Facebook Live Town Hall Meeting on Monday, July 20, 2020 at 6:30PM. The meeting can be viewed on Facebook Live broadcasted from the Lincoln Parish Facebook page at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/lincolnparishschools/ You can ask questions for the Town Hall Meeting by emailing the following account: communications@lincolnschools.org

Please use the following link to see the most up to date Lincoln Parish Schools Strong Start Plan https://5il.co/ibco

There is still time to come in and sign up for our Summer Reading Program! Children ages birth through grade 2 can earn a prize for every ten books read to them or by them. Children in grades 3-6 can earn a prize for every 500 pages they read. We are getting in new picture books, chapter books, EZ readers, non-fiction books and graphic novels weekly, so please try to get some summer reading in before school starts! After school begins, we have a large selection of the EZ readers and beginning chapter books that are recommended by the IRLA Home updates! We look forward to serving you the rest of the summer and this school year! From your friends at the Lincoln Parish Library.

Summer Reading Program at the Lincoln Parish Library Who: Birth thru high school When: May28-July 28 What: All children in Lincoln Parish are encouraged to participate to keep reading through the summer Online read-a-louds and weekly craft demos are available on the Lincoln Parish Library's Facebook page(under the video tab) To-go crafts are available each week to go with the Fairy Tale theme of the week We can get a bag of books together for you if you call and talk to someone in the Children's or Teen's department and deliver it curbside if you do not wish to come in 251-5531 This week there are two "Science Tellers" videos and a magic show "Tommy Terrific" that will be available all summer to watch

Parents, here are registration links for the 2020-21 school year. 7th Grade: https://forms.gle/xsfsj57KTWovZru68 8th Grade: https://forms.gle/zG6BzDHb72vZrwhn8

Report card distribution will be on Wednesday, May 20 from 9am-1pm in the RJHS car line. We will also give out a summer packet to help students prepare for the upcoming school year. If you do not pickup the report card on Wednesday, it will be mailed to you.

PANDEMIC-EBT AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS RECEIVING FREE OR REDUCED-PRICE SCHOOL MEALS Amid the ongoing public health crisis, Louisiana has been approved for the new Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program. This program will provide extra help buying groceries for the families of the more than 600,000 children who normally receive free and reduced-price meals at school. Eligible families who complete an online application will be issued a P-EBT debit card by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to access benefits. The P-EBT card will function like a standard EBT card, and the same guidelines will apply. Families will receive $285 in total P-EBT benefits per child. Unused benefits will roll over month to month and must be used within 365 days. Use the following link to access the Information and Application: https://5il.co/g6mu

Due to the likelihood of severe weather during the 5-6pm packet distribution today, we are moving that pick up time to Thursday, April 23 (5-6pm). We will continue to distribute packets this morning from 9:30-11am at RJHS. Stay safe!

Parents, our next distribution of ELA, Math, Social Studies and Science assignments will be on Wednesday, April 22 from 9:30-11am and from 5-6pm at the RJHS carline.

To: Parents/Guardians From: Mike Milstead Date: April 10, 2020 Use the following link for the latest update concerning Lincoln Parish Schools. https://5il.co/ez14

The City of Ruston is partnering with Lincoln Parish Schools by inviting students who need access to WiFi to park in our Historic Fire Station, Civic Center, and Sports Complex parking lots to utilize free WiFi. Please see details for each location below. Parking lot of City Hall (signal is strongest on the north side of the building). WiFi name: Public WiFi Parking lot of Historic Fire Station WiFi name: Public WiFi Parking lot Sports Complex “B” Dixie parking lot WiFi name: Ruston Sports Complex Parking lot of Sports Complex “C” Softball/Tennis WiFi name: City of Ruston Wireless WiFi

A conference call was held Sunday afternoon, March 22nd with representatives from the Governor's Office, the Louisiana Department of Education and state superintendents. All facets of the school food service program were discussed. The issue is not whether feeding students is important. We all agree that it is. At the same time, staff and employee safety must also be considered. In one week alone, through the efforts of our dedicated employees and school personnel volunteers, we have served approximately 11,000 meals. On Monday, March 23, 2020, we averaged serving about 4 meals per child which will carry us through the current week. While this program is important, we must consider the safety and well-being of our employees as well, particularly in light of the shortage of adequate protective gear such as gloves, face masks, and thermometers. Accordingly, given the shortage of these supplies and our concern for our employees, our school system will for the time being suspend our food services after serving one more day on Monday, March 23, 2020. Thanks for your understanding.

To: Parents and Community From: Mike Milstead 1. Probably the best/most important thing you can do with your child during these days away from school is to read to and with them daily. 2. Access the resources available on our website, https://www.lincolnschools.org/. Almost daily updates continue. Many lessons, interactive practices, and tests are available. Many are based on information taught in our classrooms. In addition, some teachers continue to reach out using Google Classroom and Facebook Live. 3. If you text LACOVID to 898-211, it will send you a link to connect to up-to-date FAQ with Louisiana 2-1-1. It’s a really good source of current information concerning coronavirus. 4. Beginning Monday, March 23, we will add the Lincoln Parish School Board office at 410 South Farmerville as a site for disbursing school breakfasts and lunches, 9:30-11:00 each day. 5. Continue best practices such as good hygiene, frequent handwashing, social distancing, and remaining at home to the extent possible. 6. We will get through this time together. Our goal is to offer the best possible education to all of our students regardless of the circumstances in which we may find ourselves. Be safe out there.

To: Parents and Community Members From: Mike Milstead 1. I encourage each of you to use our online resources for your children that you can access through the Lincoln Parish School Board website, https://www.lincolnschools.org/. We continue to update these resources. Some of them are our actual providers of curriculum materials. 2. We continue to work on best ways to continue our Dual credit and AP classes. More info soon on that. 3. Meal pickups continue at 8 of our school sites below between 9:30 and 11:00 for breakfast and lunch. All children under the age of 18 qualify. Choudrant High (includes Choudrant Elementary) Cypress Springs (includes RHS) Dubach Glenview (includes RJHS) Hillcrest IA Lewis Ruston Elementary (includes LPECC) Simsboro 4. Our plan remains to resume school on Monday, April 13. 5. Please support our local restaurants during this difficult time. Even if you don’t purchase a meal, try to purchase a gift card and share a meal with someone else. 6. Please continue practices that help protect your family from coronavirus: frequent handwashing, if possible staying away from those who are sick, and cleaning surfaces. We will get through these trying times. Best wishes to each of you.

March 16, 2019 Update 1. LPSB School Food Services continue 9:30-11:00 each regular school day at the following schools through March 27, 2020. Services will resume after spring break on Monday April 6 through Thursday, April 9. No meals provided on Good Friday, April 10. Choudrant High (includes Choudrant Elementary) Cypress Springs (includes RHS) Dubach Glenview (includes RJHS) Hillcrest IA Lewis Ruston Elementary (includes LPECC) Simsboro 2. Children 18 and younger qualify for these meals. 3. All LPSB Schools and school buses are being cleaned and disinfected this first week away from school, March 16-20. 4. Schools are not providing assignments during the time away from school. The Governor’s resolution was not decreed until Friday afternoon March 13 at 1:00. This timing gave virtually no time to prepare materials for student review even if we had planned to. 5. Presently educational links are available on the Lincoln Parish School Board website that could be useful as a tool to help students during this time away from school. More links will be added later. Taking advantage of these websites is encouraged but voluntary. 6. No extra-curricular activities associated with schools are occurring during the time school is not open. This includes all athletic contests and practices. 7. All LPSB Schools are closed including playgrounds and athletic facilities until further notice. 8. Lincoln Parish School Board office lobby and phones lines are open Monday-Friday, 8:00-12:00. To the extent possible, questions and concerns should be handled by phone or email.