Sept. 2 Update

We had a great turnout for Back to School Night; thank you to everyone who was able to come.  We had a great deal of information to share in a short period of time, and I know many of you still have questions about some of the changes we are implementing this year. To help provide you with information and offer you opportunities to share your thoughts, we will be pushing some information to you in print and digital communications and hosting a question and answer session.  

The first information that I want to pass along is a brief overview of what your child should be learning this year related to the Common Core State Standards.  A two page document created by the National PTA that is meant to provide you with an overview of the standards, focus topics for discussion with your child’s teacher, and suggestions for what you can do to help your child learn at is available at https://pta.org/parents/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2910.  To see all of the Common Core Standards for English-Language Arts, visit http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/.  For the Math Standards, visit http://www.corestandards.org/Math/.  You can also keep up to date by following the school on Facebook at facebook.com/raymondschool.  

Additionally, I will be hosting a question and answer session on Monday, September 8th, at 6:00 P.M. in the cafeteria.  At that time, I will be able to share our vision for student learning, answer your questions, and show you a current draft of student report cards for this year.  If you are unable to attend this session, but you would still like to have your questions answered, please feel free to give me a call at the school or send me an email at rjohnson@rkusd.org.  

Below are some important dates for your calendar. 

9/5: Volleyball & Football @ Coarsegold

9/8: Question & Answer Session in the Cafeteria @ 6:00 P.M. 

9/11: RKUESD Board of Trustees Meeting @ 5:00 P.M. in the library

9/12: Volleyball & Football @ Spring Valley

9/17: Constitution Night Presentations @ 6:00 P.M.  

9/19: Volleyball & Football @ Raymond vs. Rivergold

9/26: Volleyball & Football @ Wasuma

RKS Students Compete at Mountain Area Track Meet at YHS

On Friday, May 9, students from Raymond-Knowles competed in the annual Mountain Area Track Meet hosted at Yosemite High School.  As always, our students did a fine job of representing themselves and the school.  Congratulations to the following students for their achievements at the meet:

800 M: Cierra H. 4th, Hailey B. 5th, Isaac T. 4th, Isabella B. 2nd, Joe D. 4th
200 M: Delaeny S. 4th, Teresa D. 6th, Kevin R. 2nd, Kelsie W. 5th, Lauren M. 6th
1500 M: Cierra H. 1st, Emma G. 2nd, Hailey B. 3rd, Kylee M. 4th, Isaac T. 4th, Robert B. 5th
100 M: Delaeny S. 4th, Teresa D. 6th, Jose M. 1st, Kevin R. 3rd
400 M: Catalina R. 6th
4 X 100 M Relay: Teresa D., Delaeny S., Torie A., Cierra H. 2nd, Isaac T., Remi K., Chase C., Jimmy M. 5th, Kevin R., Shane M., Matthew D., Jose M. 4th
Shot: Autumn H. 4th, Remi K. 3rd, Robert B. 4th, Rebecca T. 5th, Alex R. 6th
Discus: Rebecca T. 5th, Matthew D. 4th, Seth U. 5th
Long Jump: Delaeny S. 1st, Teresa D. 3rd, Kevin R. 1st, Jose M. 2nd, D.J. W. 4th

Awards Assemblies Today

We will be having the 3rd quarter awards assemblies this afternoon.  The K-3 assembly will be at 1:30.  The 5-8 assembly will be at 2:00.  All are welcome to come and support the students.  Congratulations to all students receiving awards. 


Students receiving recognition in language arts (left) and  math (right) based on their quarterly assessment:

student	grade	student	grade
bridwell, warren	tk	bridwell, warren	tk
bryson, wyatt	k	dudley, john	k
east, brooklyn	k	east, brooklyn	k
hafkey, eliana	k	hafkey, eliana	k
harris, kierra	k	harris, kierra	k
o'brien, ruby	k	spurrier, hayden	k
steep, kaylee	k	townsend, madeline	k
townsend, madeline	k	barriga, zoe	1
barriga, zoe	1	borquez, ireland	1
borquez, ireland	1	bryson, levi	1
bryson, levi	1	dudley, thomas	1
dudley, thomas	1	flowers, madison	1
flowers, madison	1	kirk, cheyenne	1
roduner, cayden	1	roduner, cayden	1
smith, harper	1	smith, harper	1
terrell, gabriel	1	terrell, gabriel	1
miller, samuel	2	brown, shivam	2
o'brien, bella	2	miller, samuel	2
stevenson, daniel	2	stevenson, daniel	2
dudley, teresa	3	dudley, teresa	3
graham, emma	3	graham, emma	3
hogan, autumn	3	hogan, autumn	3
stevenson, delaeny	3	stevenson, delaeny	3
abrahams, gina	4	abrahams, torie	4
abrahams, torie	4	bradley, kennon	4
bradley, kennon	4	hafkey, erica	4
hafkey, erica	4	mccurry, james	4
townsend, isaac	4	townsend, isaac	4
brewer, salem	5	brewer, salem	5
upton, seth	5	dudley, matthew	5
mccurry, shane	6	murillo, jazmyn	5
murillo, jose	6	upton, seth	5
radder, kevin	6	murillo, jose	6
wasem, dj	6	radder, kevin	6
abrahams, tehya	7	townsend, rebecca	6
dudley, joseph	7	wasem, dj	6
radder, alexzandria	7	abrahams, tehya	7
wasem, kelsie	7	bethel, daisey	7
		dudley, joseph	7
		putman, hailey	7
		radder, alexzandria	7
		bethel, matthew	8
		burgeno, austen	8
		lopez, joseph	8
		richards, vincent	8

Genius Hour

Here at Raymond-Knowles, we are always eager to try a new idea, especially if it might result in increased student engagement and learning.  Our most recent experiment is just getting underway in the 7th and 8th grade classroom.  This idea, found and researched by Mrs. Townsend, is being conducted in various schools throughout the country. 

Genius Hour originates from an idea that is part of Google’s corporate culture.  Google employees are given 20% of their work time to pursue projects and ideas of their own choosing.  This time has resulted in innovations like Gmail and those lovely suggestions that pop up in the search bar once you begin typing. 

Genius Hour is intended to be Google’s 20% time in the classroom.  Students will get to spend about 20% of their work week on learning of their own choosing.  Students must maintain a blog that documents their learning along the way, and they will have to produce a final project that demonstrates their learning.  We are looking forward to seeing what our students learn and do with this time. 

For more information about Genius Hour, ask Mrs. Townsend, Mrs. Stevenson, or, best yet, a 7th or 8th grader. 

LCAP Survey Available

We are looking for feedback from our families about the eight state priorities that we must address in our Local Control and Accountability Plan.  To access the survey, please click on the link below.  The survey is only 15 questions and will help guide our planning and drafting. 

Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-BDRwYT0_T6kKcqtRc6upv7tm8hN0dZIBpv9QGjaLQI/viewform

Board Reports

Over the past couple of months my board reports have changed formats from a written document to more of a presentation with text, pictures, and video.  I hope this does a better job of capturing what is going on in our classrooms.  I will try to post these reports here on the blog so that anyone who so desires may see what's going on. 

March 13th Board Report:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yVufzlYOlQWJR1gI_1N6ek7mB_Pi1s6-MgKZC5Z9f5U/edit?usp=sharing

Raymond-Knowles Performs Well at Mountain Area Track Meet

On Friday, May 3rd, about 40 Raymond-Knowles students attended the Mountain Area Track Meet at Yosemite High School.  It was a pretty hot day, but the students were able to stay hydrated with water from the school and some well-enjoyed Gatorade provided by Mrs. Stevenson.  Results from the meet are displayed below:

3000 M: Shane McCurry, 4th; MaryAnn Dudley, 1st; Vincent Richards, 3rd

4 X 400 M Relay: Gina Abrahams, Torie Abrahams, Hailey Bethel, and Isabella Brown-Maske, 3rd; Nicholas Luna, Shane McCurry, Joseph Dudley, and Hunter Holden, 2nd

800 M: Matthew Dudley, 4th; Malaya Brown-Maske, 3rd

200M: Celeste Tijero-Barriga, 1st; Kelsie Wasem, 2nd

1500 M: Isaac Townsend, 3rd; James McCurry, 6th; Kevin Radder, 1st; MaryAnn Dudley, 5th

100 M: Celeste Tijero-Barriga, 1st; Kelsie Wasem, 5th

400 M: Isabella Brown-Maske, 4th; Matthew Dudley, 5th; Catalina Richards, 4th; Olivia Nicacio, 5th; Nicholas Luna, 4th; Malaya Brown-Maske, 6th; Tyler Holden, 3rd

4 X 100 M: James McCurry, Isaac Townsend, Jeremy Della, Matthew Dudley, 4th; Lauren Moe, Catalina Richards, Celeste Tijero-Barriga, Kelsie Wasem, 4th; Kevin Radder, D.J. Wasem, Seth Upton, Nathan Richards, 4th; Malaya Brown-Maske, MaryAnn Dudley, Chloe Pieper-Wasem, Cibbie Silva, 5th

Shot Put: Isabella Brown-Maske, 2nd; Hailey Bethel, 5th; Torie Abrahams, 6th; Kaylan Dilbeck, 3rd; Alex Radder, 5th; Nickey Luna, 4th

Discus: Nicholas Luna, 6th; Braydon Dilbeck, 1st

Long Jump: Hailey Bethel, 6th; Kelsie Wasem, 6th; D.J. Wasem, 2nd; Kevin Radder, 3rd; Cibbie Silva, 3rd; Tyler Holden, 2nd

Triple Jump: Chase Piercy, 3rd

Congratulations to all of our athletes on a great day.  All of them represented our school well.

Upcoming April Events

We have now begun our fourth and final quarter of the school year.  This time of year tends to be really busy at the school. 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 9th, we will hold our 3rd quarter awards assemblies in the cafeteria.  The K-4 assembly will be at 1:30, and the 5-8 assembly will be at 2:00.  We hope you can join us. 

Also on April 9th, the School Site Council will hold a meeting at 3:00 in the library.  Items on the agenda include creating specific, measurable goals for our safe school plan update and using test data to measure the effectiveness of our current Single Plan for Student Achievement.  Anyone interested in contributing to this discussion is welcome to attend the meeting or to pass your ideas along to a school site council member. 

On April 17th, students may attend an incentive trip to Sierra Lanes in Oakhurst if they have earned enough Bronco Bucks. 

On the 19th, Mr. Goodale’s class will be heading to Mariposa to attend the Civil War Reenactment.  This annual event is a great opportunity for our students to live Civil War Era history. 

School Site Council Meeting 2/26

The Raymond-Knowles School Site Council held their first meeting of the year this Tuesday.  Mrs. Townsend was voted to be chairperson.  Mrs. Tune was elected vice-chairperson, and Mrs. Hutchings was voted Secretary.

The group analyzed the results of the Parent/Guardian surveys that were sent out in January.  The group has decided to focus attention on three specific areas that were identified by the results of the survey: developing critical thinking, developing respect for others, and communicating clear expectations for behavior that are consistently and fairly enforced.

In addition, the group was given a copy of our current Title I Parent Involvement Policy.  This policy will be reviewed and updated at the next meeting.

The next meeting of the school site council is scheduled for March 12th at 3:00 in the library.  If you have any comments or suggestions for either of these plans, please feel free to contact me or any other member of the school site council.  You are also welcome to attend this, or any, school site council meeting.

School Safety Plan Survey Results

Our families did a great job with providing feedback on our Safe School Plan Update Survey.  We received responses from sixty-five of our eighty-five students.  Thanks to all who responded to the survey.  The survey results are below.  I apologize for the strange formatting in section 2 below.  This happened when the information was moved from Microsoft Word to here.  If you have a comment about these results, you can submit a comment below, email me, or give us a call here at the school.

How well does our school:	very well		adequate		needs improvement	needs improvement and should be a high priority
Component 1: People and Programs
Involve parents, students, and staff in making decisions about school policies and programs?	9		14		3	3
Recognize and build on the cultural diversity of our school community?	9		13		6	0
Provide training so that the staff can meet the unique needs of students at our school?	13		5		3	3
Set high standards for academics?	12		13		3	1
Set high standards for behavior?	11		10		4	3
Improve curriculum and teaching practices?	14		10		3	2
Include character-building curriculum?	14		10		3	2
Promote caring, supportive relationships with students?	15		7		2	5
Provide opportunities for students to participate in school and community service?	11		9		7	2
Develop critical thinking?	8		12		8	1
Develop respect for others?	13		10		2	4
Communicate clear expectations for behavior that are consistently and fairly enforced?	10		11		5	3
Communicate procedures to report (anonymously) and deal with threats?	10		11		6	2
Empower students to take responsibility for safety?	9		12		6	1
Train staff and students on bullying prevention and tolerance?	9		9		7	4
Provide training for students and staff on the dangers of drug and alcohol use?	9		10		8	2
Address multiple learning styles?	8		11		9	1
Component 2: Place
Maintain classrooms and grounds as pleasant places to meet and learn?		17		11	1	0
Make sure that the school is an important part of the community?		15		9	5	0
Make the campus safe from criminal activity?		11		12	4	2
Limit places for loitering?		13		13	1	2
Monitor/supervise all areas?		11		11	6	1
Provide a pleasant eating area and healthy food?		14		11	2	2
Maintain clean and safe restrooms?		14		8	5	2
Provide adequate lighting in all areas?		15		10	3	1
Maintain a variety of sports facilities and equipment?		12		12	4	1
Provide a well-stocked library?		10		9	7	3
Deal with vandalism before students return to school?		16		11	1	1
Inventory, identify, and store valuable property?		13		14	2	0
Involve students and the community in campus beautification projects?		11		10	8	0