Thursday, November 20, 2008

The cans for the Can Drive have been counted and the homeroom winner is the Library with 272 cans. That homeroom, along with Mr. Maitland's (183) and Ms. Noble's (139) will get a celebratory breakfast party. JROTC, though not considered a homeroom class, collected a whopping 375 cans. However, STASS collected more than the top three homerooms and JROTC combined with 1,010 cans. So far the total cans collected is 1,979. The number of cans will be updated throughout the day until we have reached RFA's grand total.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

RFA's talented art club, Galleries, is asking students school-wide to submit their artwork, poems, and short stories to be published in a paperback book at the end of the year with yearbooks. Works can be submitted in room 1626 in the art wing.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Got a voice? Want to use it? Join this year's Speech and Debate Competition. RFA will be holding auditions for students to voice the opinions and facts of a controversial subject of their choice. If two students choose one topic, with opposing views, they will be offered a chance to engage in an all-out debate. All others will have a chance to share their voice with the school and community. Participants will be judged on such aspects as over all appearance, eloquence and cohesiveness, how well they support their topic, and confidence. Applications will be handed out during lunch periods and can be handed in to Mr. Lacey in room 2242. No dates have been set for auditions or competition yet. For more information about the Speech & Debate and/or the competition, come by a meeting held every Tuesday, after school in Mr. Lacey's room.

Monday, November 17, 2008

The beginning of Session 3 of the Academic Accountability Program will take place after school today, Monday, November 17. To sign up, come by the library today, tomorrow, or Wednesday for Open Enrollment. Students will get an Academic Contract and a schedule of the two tutor days in the library and the one Study Skills session in room 2212. Also, there are very few students who are candidates for probation. So be sure to see Mrs. Henry in the library tonight. And please know, the Academic Accountability Program works if you do.

November Senior Parking

Senior Parking privileges for the month of November include Sara Beale, Lyndsey Brognano, Christina Coriale, Phillip Cox, Stephanie Di Paolo, Sarah Eggan, Kelsey Evans, Samantha Gleba, Robert Kohlbrenner, Dana Labouef, Kristin Metzger, Derek Puma, Aaron Rasbach, Justin Torres, Trisha Vanderjagt, and Arianna White.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Though we've had an attendance policy all year long, we now have a new, modified one. Students should already know that lack of attendance in classes can result in the loss of credit. If a student misses too many classes he or she will be denied credit entirely for that class. Depending on which class it is, that person will have to retake it in the summer.

Each day, attendance is recorded as always, generally at the beginning of class. This year, Attendance will be closely monitoring each student's absences. If there seems to be a pattern of missing students, they will organize a meeting with teachers, guidance counselors, assistant principals, and/or send a letter home to parents. This development is known as the Individual Attendance Plan.

If a student is absent, he or she will need to bring in a parent-signed excuse explaining why he or she was not there, within three school days of said absence.

Science Lab policies will be applied as usual. Students have 15 school days to complete assigned labs after being informed of possible incompletion. After that, they could be dropped from the class entirely.

As for student parking, there is a stricter policy. This year, parking stickers are a new color: blue. Security will be writing tickets for those without valid parking stickers. If you do not have and wish to receive a parking sticker, paperwork is available in the Main Office. Driver ID and a parent signature are required. Failure to register will result in taken student parking privileges.

Also, students can only park in the student parking lot down the hill during school hours, not the upper lot. Those lots are specifically reserved for staff, faculty, and visitors. After school, however, students are more than welcome to park on the upper lots for such things as after school activities and sports.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Attention all boys indoor track athletes! The first practice will be today, Wednesday, November 12, from 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Please pick up a Parent Consent form from the Boys P.E. Office. Athletes with any questions should please see Coach Mays.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Any student interested in taking the A.S.V.A.B., or Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, should see Mr. Davis in the Guidance Office. The test is Tuesday, November 18, in the morning. It is free for all Rome Free Academy students grades 10 to 12.

The A.S.V.A.B. is an aptitude test for those who are seriously considering joining the military. It may also be taken through a recruiter, and may retaken again for a higher score. However, high school sophomores cannot use the scores for enlistment eligibility.

The test itself consists of topics such as General Science, Arithmetic Reasoning, Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, Mathematics Knowledge, Electronics Information, Auto and Shop Information, and Mechanical Comprehension. It takes approximately three hours to complete and scores are returned to the students within two weeks. The scores show what type of career field each student would be most comfortable with, in military or civilian life.

An A.S.V.A.B. study guide can be found (in PDF format) at http://www.studyguidezone.com/asvabtest.htm.