Grand Prize Winner!!!!!

Julia Friedman

Julia Friedman, a rising 5th grader at RTE, recently won the grand prize in the BreyerFest contest sponsored by Young Rider magazine. Julia, an avid equestrian, wrote a persuasive essay on why she would like to attend BreyerFest, the national festival of Breyer model horses. She won the grand prize of four 3-day passes to the festival, which will be held this July at the Kentucky State Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Julia will be taking her sister, Calla, a rising 2nd grader, and her mom, cousin and aunt along on the trip.

4th Grade Students Win Honorable Mention in DuPont Challenge!

Students in 4th grade participated in the national DuPont Challenge Elementary Division Science Writing Challenge.  Mrs. Ray, 4th grade teacher, and Mrs. Symonds, media specialist, collaborated to pair research skills with science and writing standards.  Out of many entries, three student teams from RTE won Honorable Mention for their entries titled: The Sky Launchers, Starites, and Mars Stars.   Each team has been awarded a Dupont Challenge Plaque and the school will receive science standards based books.  Mrs. Ray and Mrs. Symonds are very excited to have Honorable Mention winners in our inaugural entries in this nationally renowned contest!

Music Creation Station

Did you know there is a new music creation station outside on the playground?

Round Top has been synergizing on this project all year! Ms. Silva received a PTO grant this past fall to fund the project. 5th grade students from Ms. Hunter, Ms. Lee, and Ms. Neal's homerooms worked in small groups during music with Ms. Symonds to research ideas, materials, and costs, and used a three-dimensional design program to draft their music creation station proposal. Each homeroom selected the groups with the best projects and Ms. Lee worked with those students to apply their math skills and finalize their dimensions and costs. Michael Doucette, a Blythewood High School senior working towards becoming an Eagle Scout agreed to construct the project. The selected groups met with Michael and presented their proposals to him. He used their ideas to come up with the final design and to construct the music station. Students had a chance to try out the station. The station will be open for music creation on the playground next school year!

Summer challenge from Ms. Tucker

In your child’s report card jacket you should find a small white card with the words: because I said I would.  This card is from a social movement and nonprofit organization dedicated to the betterment of humanity through promises made and kept.  I spoke to the students from WING TV several times during our final week of school to challenge them to be thinking of a promise (goal) to make and keep.  I shared the goal didn’t have to be about school, it could be whatever they chose.  They would write it on the card and no one may ever know if they kept their promise, but they will.  I tied this challenge to our LIFESKILL of Integrity – to act according to a sense of what’s right & wrong; and at RTE we often add: what we do when no one is looking.

I hope you will encourage your child to accept this summer challenge.  Perhaps you would like to join him/her in making a promise of your own.  School begins on August 19, and I have told the students IF they want to share their promise we will provide a forum to do that, but that isn’t the important part.  The important part is understanding the power of what we say and do as individuals.  Our words & actions matter, every day.

May you find much JOY in the 75 days of summer as your child continues to rapidly grow & mature into a unique individual.  Don’t blink!

Yearbooks Have Been Delivered!

All students who pre-ordered online, or purchased a yearbook this week, received their yearbook today in time for our Annual Yearbook Signing Party. We hope your family will enjoy the memories it provides for years to come!