May 22, 2020

Dear Parents and Students of the Class of 2020,

This letter will cover a few key items leading up to and including Graduation on June 6th, 2020.  My greatest hope is that these events will be memorable and will provide the best acknowledgement of your accomplishments including earning a diploma from Rogue River Junior Senior High School.  As is necessary, we need to follow guidance from the Oregon Department of Education and the governor’s executive orders.  

We are asking that all Graduates attend all three School Sponsored Events if possible.  We have sent out several communications and surveys for graduates to help us plan for these events.  Thank you for completing these!  Please call or email me with questions or concerns...and know that it is an honor to be the principal of such a great learning community.  

Event #1: Cap and Trade

On May 29th, 2020 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm we will hold “Cap and Trade”.  This event is open to students and families and will include picking up caps and gowns, completing the checkout process, returning Chromebooks and other school items, paying fines and having professional photos of students in their cap and gown.  It is designed for students to drive into the RRJSHS parking lot and walk through a variety of stations to complete the process while maintaining social distancing and limiting our gathering to less than 25 (since Families will need to remain in vehicles).  If there is a rush of vehicles, we will have a “Waiting Area” for vehicles until it is safe for the next graduate to get out and complete the Cap and Trade Process.  There will be many staff members on site either working the stations or in vehicles to cheer on our almost-Graduates.  In addition, there will be goodie bags and other treats for our seniors.  We are willing to allow family to attend, but ask them to stay in their vehicle in order to maintain social distancing.  

Below are the anticipated stations for “Cap and Trade”:

Table 1:  Check Out Forms handed out

Table 2:  Chromebooks and Supplies Turned In

Table 3:  Student Fines and Refunds...if any (Fines will be mailed on 05/26)

Table 4:  Locker Contents Returned/ Sign Transcript Release

Table 5:  Sign the Class Banner/ T-Shirt Template

Table 6:  Caps and Gowns distributed

Table 7:  Photos taken in Cap and Gown

Table 8: Sharon Cort’s Amazing Goodie Bags distributed

This is a “Drop-In” event, so arrive when you can...but please make it happen in the 4pm to 6pm window as we have a professional photographer on site for the limited hours we have planned.

***If you already have a Cap and Gown please bring it to this event for the photo station (#7)

Event #2: Graduation Practice

On June 5th, 2020 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am will be Graduation Practice at RRJSHS.  We will need to maintain social distancing, so we are asking all students to arrive in a vehicle.  If this is not a possibility for you or your student for this event we should be able to allow you/ your student to join without a vehicle.  We need to make sure we do not have more than 25 students/ staff out of their vehicles at one time.  

This will allow us to make sure we are more than ready for the ceremony on the 6th and well help us with finalizing the order in which students will cross the stage for graduation.

Event #3:  Graduation

On June 6th, 2020 at 10:00 am we will begin our Graduation Ceremony.  We anticipate this event will last between 90 and 120 minutes, a little longer than a normal graduation.  It will start at the Rogue River Center (Ray’s) and then proceed as a Parade Procession through town and to RRJSHS where the formal ceremony will take place.  This will be a “Drive In” Graduation where students and families will be in vehicles in order to follow social distancing guidelines.  Graduates will have the opportunity to exit their vehicle, proceed to the stage and receive their diploma along with acknowledgement of their accomplishments, scholarships and future plans.  This event will be “Live Streamed” so that everyone has the opportunity to have a perfect view of the event regardless of their location on campus, or for extended family anywhere.  It will also be recorded for future viewing if necessary.  

We ask all graduates to meet on the northwest edge of the parking area (closer to South Valley Academy) to respect the customers of Ray’s and the Post Office.  Please arrive no later than 9:15 am!  It is very important that we are all in place and ready, as staging for a parade does take time.  

As this will be a socially distanced Graduation, we will need to limit parking at the school.  

Each graduate will have 2 vehicles that we will be able to fit inside the school parking area (inside the gate).  One vehicle is designed for “Graduates and Family”, the other is a “Guest of Honor” vehicle.  The “Graduates and Family” vehicle will be placed as close to the stage as possible, and the “Guest of Honor” vehicle will need to park further from the stage, and may not have the best view of the stage, but with the “live stream” they will still have a great view and be able to attend the event in person.  

We ask that graduates do not share a vehicle for Graduation. We will have vehicles for students to use if they do not have a vehicle for graduation.

Students are also asked to wear semi-formal attire and formal footwear to this event.  If there is an item you would like to wear that does not fall under “formal footwear” please contact the principal for official clearance. 

Students are also asked to clear any items they wish to wear over their robes other than school issued cords with the principal.

Positive and appropriate decoration of Caps is allowed per tradition.  Please use excellent judgement in this as we hope to extend this right to future classes.

You can count on being able to cross the stage and watch your classmates do the same to recieve your diploma and mark the official right of passage that is Graduation.  You have earned this, and we are committed to making it a ceremony worthy of Chieftain Nation, your collective accomplishments, and the closing of this chapter in your amazing lives!

Optional (Event #4):  Baccalaureate will still take place on June 3rd at 6:00 pm.  This will be a “Drive In” Baccalaureate, but there has not been a location selected as of the publishing of this document.  Official Invitations for Baccalaureate, with the location, will be handed out at “Cap and Trade”.

Thank you for staying Chieftain Strong in this restricted time!  We are planning on making these final events worthy of you and your accomplishments...and it has been our honor to be part of your education and passage into adulthood!

Sincerely,

Christopher P. Carmiencke
Principal RRJSHS

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April 10th, 2020

Dear Students and Families,

As you have more than likely heard, it is official that Rogue River Junior Senior High School will not be able to resume school on campus for the remainder of the school year per the orders of the governor and the Oregon Department of Education. There is no doubt that our staff is sad with this prospect and we really miss being on campus and seeing and interacting with students during the school day. We miss you.

That said, we are ready to begin our plan for Distance Learning for All, starting next week, the week of April 13th - April 17th! In case it is not clear, yes, this is school, and yes, it will count as a time to earn credit, and yes, it is required that students engage, take part in the learning opportunities and experiences that we will provide to students at home. Distance Learning for All, as proposed by the Oregon Department of Education is required for all K-12 students enrolled in public school. At RRJSHS, we do not see this as a requirement, we see it as an opportunity. Educating the students of the Rogue River area and those who have transferred into our school district is what we do best and we aim for that to continue. In this letter, it is my hope to show the direction the school is taking and to answer commonly asked questions.

The 3rd Quarter of the 2019-2020 School Year will be as follows:

Students will earn either a Pass (P) or a No Pass (NP) for the quarter.
Students can still earn an Incomplete (I) if they have not completed what they need to bring a NP up to a P by the end of the grading window. 
Only students who had no chance of possibly passing Q3 should earn a NP at the end of the grading window. If there is a “glimmer of a chance” they could have made it to a Pass, they will receive an Incomplete.
Students who earn an Incomplete will have until school is out for the year, June 10th at 3:30 pm to turn in assignments or assessments that will determine if they will earn a P or a NP. 
We will not carry over an “I” grade after June 10th. It needs to be determined that the grade is a P or a NP. 
The Grading Window is from April 8th through April 24th. On April 24th teachers will provide all students a P/ NP/ or I.
P/ NP grades have no impact on a student’s current GPA. It only accounts for credit.

The 4th Quarter (Distance Learning for All quarter):

The Oregon Department of Education has not provided guidance for grading expectations for Quarter 4 at this time. Our current plan is to use the same grading system (P/ NP/ I) for this quarter as we did for Quarter 3. The window to bring up Incomplete grades will be much longer and will more than likely extend into the 2020-2021 school year.

Attendance Expectations:
All students will need to make at least two 2-way communications with any staff member in an instructional week. This will officially begin on the week of April 13th, and will be tracked until the end of the school year. Weeks will count as Wednesday to Wednesday to align with Instructional Delivery.

What counts as a 2-way communication:
A staff member emails a student or class, and a student responds back to the teacher.
A staff member assigns student work and a student submits a completed/ or partially completed artifact (including turning in work at Meal Drop sites or the school).
A staff member is hosting a virtual meeting, and a student joins in and is part of the meeting, even if they do not contribute verbally in the meeting. This includes Google Classroom and Class Dojo (Elementary) interactions.
A student emails or calls a staff member to ask a question and they either talk, or the staff member replies back.

What will happen to a student who is considered absent for a week:
They will be flagged for a secretary/ vice principal/ school counselor to make double efforts to contact the family and let them know they need to be engaging in school. 
After two weeks it will go to the principal level.
If this doesn’t produce results the truancy officer will become involved.

Code of Conduct and Technology Agreements:
Students will still be held to the same code of conduct as they have for the school year. Their interactions on-line need to be appropriate and respectful. If there is a misuse of technology there is the possibility that that privilege will be revoked, depending on the severity of the offense. We have and will continue to use web filtration and web management software to support positive and appropriate use of school technology.

Academic Expectations:
Students will be expected to complete assignments, projects, and assessments as delivered by their teachers in a reasonable timeframe in order to earn credit. We expect academic integrity in the work that students complete as it needs to be their own, and not completed by any other family member, or plagiarized. Work that is submitted that is not completed by the student could jeopardize the ability of that student to earn credit during the “Distance Learning for All” timeframe.

Delivery of Educational Materials (both hard copies and digital distribution):
All digital instructionally delivery will be pushed out between the hours of 10 am and 12 pm on Wednesday of each week to coincide with the bus delivery for those who do not have wireless internet capabilities.

School Goals for the Closure:
Below are the staff goals for the remainder of the school year:
Goal 1: We will connect routinely with all students for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year
Goal 2: All students will make two 2-way communications with at least one staff member each week for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year
Goal 3: All students will have the opportunity to earn credit (High School Credit or Jr. High School Credit) for the 4th quarter of the 2019-2020 school year.

Class of 2020 Specifics:
All Seniors will still need to earn 24 credits to earn an Oregon Diploma. For you/your student, the grade you were earning at the closure of school (March 13) will either be a Pass or Incomplete. All passing grades will count for Semester Credit (.5 credit) and all incomplete grades will not count for Semester Credit. In order to bring up the Incomplete grade (I), your senior will need to complete what was required for all seniors for Quarter 3 up to the point of school closure on March 13th and nothing more.

In addition, all essential skills requirements for Reading, Writing and Mathematics have been waived for the class of 2020. Also, all Career Related Learning requirements have been waived (these were done through a combination of the senior binder/ senior presentation).

To be clear, if a senior earns a Passing Grade for classes they were taking at the time of the school closure, they will not need to complete anything further for those courses for the remainder of the school year and they will earn full Semester Credit for the work they did from February 4th (Start of Quarter 3) to school closure on March 13th.

For those seniors working on Credit Retrieval, they will still need to complete a certain amount in those classes to earn credit. There is some guidance from the state, but we will need to look at all seniors on an individual basis to know what they need to complete. The state has given us a deadline of April 30th to notify all seniors of their status and plan toward graduation. We know we will be able to let all of our seniors know well before then...but I would encourage students who have credits to make up to make it to 24 credits to do so.

Class of 2021 Specifics:

Many students and families have asked about essential skills requirements as the main vehicle for proving Essential Skills (The Smarter Balanced Assessment) will not happen this year. The guidance for the Oregon Department of Education has waived the Essential Skills Requirements and Career Related Learning requirements to earn an Oregon Diploma. This means that students of the class of 2021 will not need to pass an exam or complete any work samples in order to graduate. This also means that the Senior Binder/ Senior Presentation will not be required for graduation, but as there is value in the Senior Binder/ Senior Presentation, there may be a possibility that they will still be part of a senior level course.

Class of 2022 and Beyond Specifics:
It is expected that the Class of 2022 and beyond will resume the Essential Skills and Career Related Learning requirements necessary to earn an Oregon Diploma. There may be changes made to the requirements as will be determined by The Oregon Department of Education. We will provide you with the guidance as soon as it is made available.

Graduation:
In the coming weeks there will be discussions about how we will host Graduation for the Class of 2020 and how we can acknowledge their unprecedented accomplishments. We will include the voice of students in these discussions so that we can create a Graduation experience that is worthy of these remarkable individuals.

We look forward to the official start to “Distance Learning for All” next week! Thank you for your continued support of your student’s education, and of RRJSHS. We love Chieftain Nation!

Sincerely,

Christopher P. Carmiencke
Principal
Rogue River Jr. Sr. High School
541 582-3297

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March 13th, 2020

Dear Students and Families,

As per the order of Governor Kate Brown, All Schools in the State of Oregon will be closed to students starting Monday March 16th, 2020 through March 31st, 2020.  The current plan for all Oregon schools is that we will resume on April 1st, 2020.  

In addition to school closures, all Athletic Practices, Competitions, After School Tutoring, Drama Rehearsals and all other clubs will not take place after school today or until school resumes on April 1st.

Thank you for being part of Chieftain Nation and know that we are going to do everything we can to make sure we address concerns and provide you the best and most equitable education we can in the face of the closure of schools.  

If you have any questions please call the office, 541 582-3297.

Christopher P. Carmiencke
Principal
Rogue River Jr. Sr. High School
541 582-3297

Click Here for 2019-20 Sr. High Course Catalog

Click Here for 2019-20 Jr. High Course Catalog

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OUR MISSION 

The mission of Rogue River High School is to provide a safe, positive atmosphere where individuals are inspired, accepted, supported, and challenged in an engaging, creative environment.  Staff and Students will be respected and held accountable for improving our community while being encouraged to take ownership of all educational experiences.