Weeks of February 15 - February 26

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A Message from the Principal

February 19, 2021

Dear Families,

Happy Friday to you!

This past Tuesday we hosted our first RMS Families of Color evening event. We had over 45 students, families, and RMS staff in attendance – all very interested in sharing experiences and building community. Our hosts, JaLynn Montes, Associate Principal at Redmond Middle School and Sergio BarreraBatista, Family Engagement Specialist for the Redmond Community, spoke in both English and Spanish throughout the evening. All the information presented in the Teams meeting was shared in both English and Spanish. Those in attendance were asked if they could design a perfect school, what it be? Several families shared that a perfect school would have a diverse staff that had people who looked like their student. Others shared that their perfect school would have lots of electives, including world languages taught at an earlier age. We are excited to continue these discussions! The RMS Families of Color will meet the third Tuesday of each month and our school community will receive an email with a Teams meeting link and a phone call reminder prior to each meeting. Thanks to JaLynn, Sergio, and the members of the RMS Equity Team for making this event happen.

As always, it is a great day to be part of the sleuth!

Be well,

Dana Greenberg, Principal

Redmond Middle School

The Tiles in the Tree Rings of Redmond Middle School

Our journey through the Rings of RMS continues…

1914 The First World War Begins (the tile is an iron cross commemorating the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria).

According to his obituary in the New York Times dated June 29, 1914, the Archduke and his wife were shot at close range while traveling to visit victims of an earlier assassination attempt (that occurred outside of a Girls’ High School). He had been warned that his visit was a dangerous undertaking as there had been unrest between Bosnia and Serbia. Why was this assassination called “the shot that was heard around the world?” Check out this website to learn the answer! Thanks to the New York Times and PBS.

Remember, students designed these tiles. If anyone in our Redmond community knows the artist of a specific tile, please let us know so we can credit them in a future issue of The Gram.

The tree ring contains tiles from 1901-2000. We will continue to post tiles and explore the historic events associated with each tile. When you are able to visit RMS, we encourage you to look down and find your favorite tile profiled in the Grizzly Gram!

Last Chance to Submit Photos for Yearbook!

This is your last chance to submit photos for the school Yearbook! If you would like to submit photos, it must be done through a student’s LWSD email account. You may submit photos in the following categories:

Student Portrait (if you missed picture day): Our Yearbook editors have prepared a step-by-step video guide for how to take the best profile picture from home. Please view the video here! Additional do's and dont's of at home photography can be found here. When you've take a photo that you're happy with and which meets the guidelines, please submit it using a student LWSD account to this Form.
Academic or Candid At-Home Photos may be submitted to this Form. We would love to include a variety of images showcasing our Grizzlies!
8th Grader Baby Photos may be submitted on the general student photo Form. Just be sure to select “8th Grade Baby Photos” from the options.

Photo submissions will be accepted through Friday, February 26th!

Thank you for supporting Yearbook!

Attention all 8th grade ELA students

All 8th Grade ELA students in Ms. Fairfield, Mr. Neet and Ms. Read’s ELA classes need to pick up their Of Mice and Men books next week (unless other arrangements have been communicated to teacher). A student or parent should pick up the book at the gym foyer doors during the following times:

Tuesday, February 23: 2-6 pm

Wednesday, February 24: 12-6 pm

Thursday, February 25: 2-6 pm

Gym doors will be closed; knock for assistance. Have student’s last name, teacher and period ready. Thank you!

Remembering a Redmond Colleague

Ira Jensen, long-time social studies teacher at Redmond "Junior" High, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, Feb. 5th. Ira was a three sport athlete and graduate of Lake Washington High School and began his teaching career at the old Redmond School at the bottom of Education Hill before moving to Redmond Junior High in the early 1960's. He retired around 1998. Mr. Jensen was very active coaching many sports at RJH, especially baseball. He was also very helpful to his fellow teachers each year. To quote one colleague of Ira's, "he was a fun, smart man who easily connected with all kinds of kids. He will be missed."

District Announcements

Lake Washington School District is currently developing an online school that will open in the fall of 2021. This new learning environment will provide students with a rich learning experience to support their growth and success. The online option is separate from the remote learning our students are currently experiencing and our return-to-school efforts and plans.

This online school will initially target incoming 9th grade students for the 2021-22 school year, with expanded grade options to be added over time. While there are many details to determine, we believe providing an online school will meet the needs of many of our students and families.

Information about the new online school will be presented during a Teams Live event on March 11 from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. During this session, families of incoming 9th grade students will learn about the mission, vision, structure and overall plans for the new online school. Interested families should plan to watch the information session with prospective students and talk about the online option as a family, deciding together if online learning is a good fit for their student.

Any family interested in attending the online session is asked to complete a quick Microsoft Form to share their name and submit questions before the Live Event. An FAQ gathered from the survey and during the Live Event will be shared later.

Submit Questions for March 11 Information Session

Families can attend the Teams Live event March 11 from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. or watch a recording of the information session by clicking on the link below:

March 11 Online School Information Session