April 28, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians:

It is hard to believe, but we are now into our sixth week of online learning. I want to once again express my sincere thanks and appreciation to our teachers for continuing to plan and implement online learning lessons and assignments. We remain committed to providing an exceptional academic experience for all of our students through the end of the school year on June 4.

Thank you to our students for your resiliency, quality engagement, and hard work and to our parents/guardians for your support, flexibility, and assistance during this time. It has been vital to the progress we continue to make.

As a reminder, you can visit the district COVID-19 webpage for updates, including the latest communications, information, and resources for parents/guardians.

Here are today’s updates:

Online Learning

• For grades K-5, assignments will continue to be posted to each teacher’s Google Classroom. This is noted on the Goldwood Primary School and Kensington Intermediate School websites.
• For grades 6-12, each teacher’s assignments will continue to appear in the location where they normally post. A master list of these locations can be found on the Rocky River Middle School and Rocky River High School websites.
• Please make sure students are checking each teacher’s locations daily for assignments.
• If you have questions regarding assignments, please reach out to your child’s teacher.

Lunches for the Week of May 4-8

• The Nutrition Services team will offer boxed lunches for students in grades K-12 next week (May 4-8). If you are interested in ordering lunches for your child(ren), please fill out this form. The form will need to be filled out more than once if you are requesting lunches for more than one child.
• All orders must be submitted by 6:00pm on Sunday, May 3.
• Drive through pick-up will be on Monday, May 4, between 11:30am-12:30pm at Rocky River Middle School.
• As a reminder, parents/guardians may fill out an application for free or reduced lunch (RRHS/RRMS) and free milk (GPS/KIS) at any time. For immediate processing, please use the secure lunchapp.com web site. Applications will be processed during the extended school closure and the benefits will carry through the end of the year. These benefits will also cover meals we are serving during the extended school closure. If you have any questions about this, please email Nutrition Services Supervisor Tina Wasserbauer ([email protected]).

Update on Rocky River Education Foundation Gala

• RREF Gala chairs Sarah Russell and Greg Robinson have shared the following update on this year’s event.
  • The RREF Gala has been rescheduled for Saturday, August 29th at Westwood Country Club with an identical format to what we had hoped to hold on Saturday, March 28th. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in the coming months. Should the situation prohibit us from executing the gala safely as scheduled on Saturday, August 29th, we will move the event online.We will make that decision by August 1st and will communicate details of any changes only if necessary. We will send a separate communication via Givesmart to those that purchased tickets online, and we are hoping that you can communicate to your own table guests. Thank you again for your support.

RRHS Seniors Receive Award at Ohio History Day State Contest

• Congratulations to RRHS seniors Grace Suhadolnik and Laura Kressler who received the National History Day Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board History Day Award (Senior Division) at the state contest.
• Grace and Laura created a website entry on the Live Aid Concert using this year’s theme of "Barrier Breaker" and did extensive research at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the archives.
• The Ohio History Day state meet took place virtually on Saturday, April 25, and the awards were announced on Monday, April 27.

2020 Census

• 67.6% of Rocky River households have taken part in the 2020 Census. That is above the 57.7% response rate in Ohio, but we still need everyone's help.
• An accurate count brings more federal funds to our city for schools, health care, road construction, and more.
• The Census is Important, Safe, and Easy and you can complete it online, by phone, or by mail. Visit 2020Census.gov to complete the census online.
• For those wishing to complete the questionnaire by phone, please call 844-330-2020. Phone lines are open every day from 7:00 a.m. until 2:00 a.m.

FAQ’s

• Please click here to visit our FAQ website. If you have a question regarding the extended school closure and COVID-19, please click here to submit it. Listed below are recent questions we have received.

Is the virtual commencement the only event planned for graduating seniors?
On June 5, 2020, the Rocky River Police Department will lead a senior parade beginning at 7:00 p.m. in order to allow all parents who are working to attend. The parade route will be published in the near future. Virtual commencement will be streamed on the district and RRHS website at 5:00 p.m. and will be archived on the website. More details regarding the senior parade and virtual commencement will be released in the future.

The following in-person events will only take place if the current restrictions regarding large group gatherings and social distancing are removed by Governor DeWine’s office and the Ohio Department of Health.

• Senior Prom: July 24, 2020 - 7:00 p.m. - location TBD
• Senior Picnic: July 25, 2020 - 11:00 a.m. - RRHS Stadium
• Commencement: July 26, 2020 - 7:00 p.m. - RRHS Stadium

Are recordings of Zoom available for students who have trouble getting into a session?
Please email your teacher if you are having difficulty accessing their zoom meeting or if you need information shared in a zoom meeting you missed.

Thank you for your continued support of the Rocky River City School District.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael G. Shoaf
Superintendent