Opening Letter

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Hello Parent(s), Guardians and Students of Ross Beatty Junior/Senior High School,

What a fantastic break it has been. I was able to see and visit with many of you over the summer and now we are just waiting for the heat to end. My kids, who were so eager for summer to start, are now just as eager for school to start (or maybe that’s just me after two months of “I’m bored,” and “there’s nothing to do,”). The teachers are gearing up by spending four days doing professional development from August 19th to August 22nd, and some have already been in to start preparing their rooms.

I am pleased to report that at this time there has been only two personnel changes. Ms. Jennifer VanderLaan has left us for a position out of state, and we are interviewing for her replacement the week of August 4th. Ms. VanderLaan is an excellent science teacher and I have no doubt she will do a tremendous job for whichever students are lucky enough to have her in their classroom. We appreciate the time and energy she put into Cassopolis public schools and wish her the best of luck.

We also lost our band director, Mrs. Hiscott. Mrs. Hiscott is an excellent band director who was seeking a position that allowed her to focus her energies on just band. We wish her the best of luck! She has been replaced by Ms. Elisabeth Goodearl. Ms. Goodearl has been hard at work all summer getting band camp in place, meeting with the boosters, and even helping prepare for the Lakeland Conference Fine Arts Festival. We are very excited to have her here!

Hopefully that will be the only personnel changes, but there are a few other items of interest:

• On Tuesday, August 19th, at 7:00 PM in the High School Auditorium, the Principal from Evart High School will be here to present information on how the NEW DISCIPLINE PROCEDURE will work. It is called the Responsible Thinking Process and should both increase achievement for all students while reducing the amount of time students spend out of the classroom. The greatest single change is that it will end the practice of In-School Restriction (ISR) all together! Students will have to negotiate their way back into classrooms if they get sent out, and Parents/Guardians will have to attend meetings (in person or on the phone) to negotiate the students back into the building if they get suspended out of school. This is an excellent chance to ask questions about this process from a man who has implemented in his own district. The change is great, and I strongly encourage everyone to attend! Refreshments will be served. For more in-depth information before the meeting, go to http://www.responsiblethinking.com/ .
  
• Ms. Jennifer Angus, our counselor, will be available for scheduling changes starting on August 25th, at 8:00 AM. Please call and schedule an appointment for faster service with Mrs. Beebe, at 445-0533 starting August 12th.
  
• On Tuesday, August 25th at 6:00 in the HS auditorium we will have Parent Orientation. At this time we will discuss the student handbook, the new discipline procedure (Responsibility Thinking Process), and answer questions. Mr. Francisco, Ms. Angus, and I would love to see you there! Refreshments will be served.
  
• Open House will be September 2nd, 6:00-7:30 PM. You will be able to get a copy of your schedule and locker information at that time.
  
• The first day for students is Wednesday, September 3rd at 7:35 AM.
  
• The 2007-2008 Ranger Roll-Out fair will be on August 28th, starting at 4:00 PM and running until 6:30 PM. It will be right before the first home football game. We will have games, prizes, hot dogs, veggie trays, chips and drinks, and it’s all FREE! This is a district wide activity.
  
• The blog for the school will start up again, and will be updated weekly once the students come back. It has a great deal of information about school goings-on, calendars, and explanations for decisions being made. The information is for everybody, and has a place to post comments or concerns. The address is rbjshs.blogspot.com.
  
• Our lockers were designed and built long before anyone had the great idea of putting wheels on them, so wheeled backpacks do not fit and jam the lockers. For this reason, we can no longer allow students to put wheeled backpacks in their lockers, and since all backpacks must be stored in lockers for safety reasons, wheeled backpacks or oversized duffels should not be brought on campus as book-bags.
  
• A change is coming for graduating seniors that starts with this year’s Juniors. The change is this: Starting with the class of 2010, we will no longer have a Valedictorian or Salutatorian. This change is part of the trimester system the school adopted two years ago, and has been in the handbook ever since. However, I have heard that some people were unaware of this change and I wanted to mention it somewhere else. We will instead use Summa Cum Laude (4.0-3.9), Magna Cum Laude (3.7-3.899) and Cum Laude (3.5-3.699). In addition, our top ten seniors will be chosen with the following formula: 50% GPA, 35% ACT score, and 15% class choice. This would mean that choosing a challenging class is more likely to rank a student in the top ten than achieving a 4.0 by taking several non-academic classes. Again, this does not affect this year’s seniors, but will go into affect with this year’s Juniors, the class of 2010.
  

Well, that’s all for now. I am very excited about this school year and am looking forward to the opportunity to meet with each and every one of you. Feel free to call me at the school, 445-0541, directly on my cell phone, 506-3235 or just stop by for a visit.

Anthony Habra, Principal Ross Beatty Junior/Senior High School
All students will demonstrate the academic, technological and cultural competencies necessary to compete in a global society.