Dear Rainier Families,

Thank you to the parents, students and faculty for a very successful Spring Fiesta. The weather was perfect for this wonderful community building event. 

Casual Dress

This week is casual dress for all our students as a reward for their hard work during Expeditions. Students turned in over 600 content assessments and over 300 projects during this time. We want to continue this effort throughout the school year and continue to offer incentives to motivate our students.

Just a reminder of the dress code for casual dress week...   

• Girls have options of pants, shorts or skirts and boys can wear pants or shorts
• Skirts and shorts need to be no shorter than students' fingertips when their arms are at their sides.
• No leggings can be worn as pants
• Any symbols or items related to Sharks, Niners, Raiders, and Cowboys ARE NOT ALLOWED!
• No RED or BLUE or shades of red or blue (including maroon and teal) on all clothing, accessories, school supplies, and backpacks (anything visible)
• Students' accessories cannot signify gang affiliation or other distractions from learning

Attendance issues

As you know all students must be at school and in class by 9am. We are collecting names of students who are habitually tardy, calling parents and setting up a 7am wake up call to remind students to get to school on time. Students are encouraged to come to school early for PLT to meet with teachers.

Bully Documentary

This Friday afternoon we will be showing the documentary, Bully in hopes of raising the consciousness of our students to understand the impact of bullying. The stories highlighted in the film will empower students to stand up and help themselves and peers to maintain a safe and positive school environment at Rainier. Community time teachers will implement pre and post screening activities for students to reflect on our school culture, the impact of bullying, and brainstorm ways to instill a safe and supportive school environment. For further resources please see www.thebullyproject.com website.

Parent Engagement Night

This past week, we held a very successful Parents Engagement Night where teachers, parents and students sat together to explain the PLP tool and review progress. Some resources to review with your student are as follows:

Essential Websites: 

• Overall: http://app.mysummitps.org. This will give you access to your student's PLP tool. It is the primary resource for student updates. This will show your student's performance on playlists and projects. All school projects and playlists are directly linked from this website.
• Projects: https://app.showevidence.com/auth/login. Projects are submitted and graded through this website. You will almost never need to access this website directly because all projects are linked directly through the PLP.
• Playlists: https://app.activateinstruction.org/explore. All content needed to complete projects and assessments are organized into playlists on this website. You will almost never need to access this website directly because all playlists are linked directly through the PLP.
• Work Prioritizer: Check here to get a prioritized list of work your student needs to complete.
• 10th grade: http://Tinyurl.com/10PLTPriorities
• 9th grade: http://Tinyurl.com/rainier9work

Questions to ask your student: 

• When studying a playlist, ask to see their notes to understand what progress they've made
• Project due soon? Ask them how they're doing towards completing that project
• Project overdue? Ask them when and how they plan on finishing it

Traffic Safety

Just a quick reminder to our Rainier families of the school's traffic procedures to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, families and community. Since Marten Ave. is heavily impacted with traffic before and after school, we encourage parents to drop off and pick up along the curb using the white loading zones. Do not double, triple park or drop off in the middle of the street expecting your child to cross in oncoming traffic. The best time to drop off is between 8-8:30 am and pick up after 4:15pm. Our number one concern is the safety of our students. Please take an extra moment to drive slowly and use caution. With your help, we can make this a smooth and safe process. 

New Staff Member

Welcome to Ms. Morgan Derby, who joins us as our 10th grade English teacher. She has a dual B.A. in English and International Studies and anticipates receiving her Master of Education in May. She comes with experience teaching at a public charter school, similar to Summit in its philosophy and core values. Welcome Ms. Derby!

Enjoy the beautiful spring weather. 

Lesley Martin, Interim Principal

Dena Zingales, Principal Resident

Summit Public Schools: Rainier

AP Testing

11th grade families: AP testing is around the corner. Tests have been ordered but many students have not turned in their fees. Please check with your 11th grader. Checks are payable to Summit San Jose.
Each test is $89. If your son or daughter is on free and reduced lunch, the exam is $5. 

Multiple Choice Portion of EAP - April 11

Students will complete the EAP allowing them reprieve from remedial college classes provided they pass. Tests will be administered during student's PLT class.

10th Grade - Life Science STAR test - April 15

The Life Science portion for the STAR test will be Tuesday, April 15 for 10th graders. Ms. Pennings is preparing the students and providing study tips on Thursday and Monday. The test will take place during the first two periods with a modified class schedule following. Please ensure students are well rested, on-time, and have had a nutritious breakfast.  

Smarter Balanced Field Testing