May 2, 2017

Dear Rosemount High School Community Members,

May is perhaps the busiest month of the school year. It is the last full month of spring trimester. It is an important time for students to give their best effort in their classes, even as they begin to think forward to summer. The spring is also a time full of important events and ceremonies. Finally, May is the month our Advanced Placement Students take their end of course exams. Our best wishes go out to all of our students as they work their way through the month of May!

Many of our students in grades 10–12 are enrolled in Advanced Placement courses. These courses are designed to prepare students for the College Board's end of the course Advanced Placement Examinations. Many colleges and universities around the country will grant students college credit for passing scores earned on these exams. Exams will start on Monday, May 1 and continuing through Friday, May 12. To see the calendar of Advanced Placement testing subject dates, go to our Upcoming Events Page at http://www.district196.org/rhs/calendar/events.cfm. Parents of students who will be taking these exams can assist them by knowing the exam dates, reminding them to prepare and review the materials from the year, making sure they get a good sleep the night before the test and assuring that they eat a healthy breakfast the morning of the test. The faculty and staff wish these students all the best on their exams!

Don't forget from my April letter that spring is also state testing season for our students at RHS. Students in grade 10 will be taking the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments in Reading and Science. The MCA Reading Test is already complete. However, MCA Science testing is scheduled for May 8–12. Students in grade 11 will be taking the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment in Mathematics. Some students already completed the Math Test in April. The remainder of the junior students will be testing May 1–5. All of these tests are meant to measure student progress on the Minnesota Academic Standards which are required learning targets for all of Minnesota Public Schools. In addition, these assessments are an opportunity for our students to demonstrate that they have met the benchmarks required by the state for graduation. At Rosemount High School we have aligned our required courses to these standards. By taking the courses required for graduation, students are preparing for these assessments.
– For more details regarding the MCA assessments visit http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/JustParent/TestReq/index.html.
– For more details regarding the Minnesota Academic Standards visit http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/EdExc/StanCurri/K 12AcademicStandards/index.htm

While May requires a lot of hard work from our students, it is also a time of celebration. For the fourth straight year we will be honoring our military–bound seniors at an end of the year recognition ceremony. This year, that ceremony will take place in our Student Center, at 3:00 p.m., on Thursday, May 18. Family members, government officials, faculty/staff, students and any interested members of the public are welcome to attend and join us in honoring these seniors. We celebrate local scholarships awarded by area schools, business and supporters of Rosemount High School that are earned by our graduating seniors, with a Scholarship Tea ceremony on Friday, May 19, at 9:00 a.m. in our Student Center. On Monday, May 22, we will welcome our New National Honor Society Members at a ceremony at 6:00 p.m., in our Performing Arts Center (PAC). On Tuesday, May 23, our first time Academic Letter winners will be honored at a ceremony in our PAC, at 6:45 p.m. Repeat letter winners will receive their letters in their first hour classes the week of the 22nd. Our final assembly of the year will take place on Wednesday, May 24, at 8:52 a.m., in our Gymnasium. At this All School Awards Ceremony we recognize the many academic accomplishments of our students throughout the year, with an emphasis on our seniors. While this is a student assembly, some adults do attend every year. As a reminder, there is no school on Monday, May 29, as the faculty, staff, students and community celebrate Memorial Day.

On the Thursday, May 11th, from 8:30am – 10:15am, we will present a dramatic Car Crash Simulation in our north parking lot to our junior and senior students involving our local emergency management team. The freshman and sophomore students will be involved in an anti–drinking/driving program in our gymnasium. We run these programs every two years so that all of our students will see each of these programs once during their four year high school career. We stage these events for maximum impact, the week leading up to prom.

The Rosemount High School Prom takes place on Saturday, May 13. Grand March will take place at Rosemount High School, in the Gym. There are two Grand March sessions. The first is at 3:00, students may line up at 2:30. The second begins at 4:15, students may line up at 3:45. Last check in for Grand March is 4:40 p.m. Students will register for their Grand March shift when they purchase their Prom ticket. The dance will be at Muse Event Center (107 3rd Avenue N., Minneapolis, MN 55401). It starts at 7:30 and ends at 11:30 p.m. All details regarding Prom can be found at the Rosemount High School Prom Web Site http://www.district196.org/rhs/prom/index.cfm , including an information packet with grand march details, details about the dance and venue, parking and student expectations. Tickets are $55 per person or $110 per couple and will be on sale May 1 – 5 during all lunch shifts. Cash or checks are accepted, checks should be made out to RHS. If your son(s)/daughter(s) are attending this event, please mention to them that Rosemount High School students have a long tradition of conducting themselves in a safe and first class manner at this event. We should all share the expectation of our students to honor and continue this tradition.

Looking ahead to June, Rosemount High School is preparing to graduate our 100th class! Graduation will take place in Irish Stadium on Saturday, June 3, at 7 p.m., with unlimited seating. If weather forces us indoors, graduation will be in the RHS gym. Students will be issued 4 tickets at graduation rehearsal, at 9:15 a.m., on Friday, June 2. Three of these tickets will be for seating in the gym and one of the tickets will be for a simulcast in the Performing Arts Center in the event the ceremony is indoors. In the event of an indoor ceremony we will also be hosting a simulcast with no tickets needed in our school lecture rooms. The last day of school for our seniors is Friday, June 2 at the conclusion of rehearsal, approximately 11 a.m. Hot lunch is available and supervised study hall for the afternoon will be provided for seniors who do not have transportation home at the conclusion of rehearsal. For more details, see our graduation web site at: http://www.district196.org/rhs/seniors/senior_information.pdf

The last day of school for students in grades 9–11 will be Thursday, June 8. Final exams for periods 2, 4, 5 and 6 will be on Wednesday, June 7 and on Thursday, June 8 for periods 1,3, 5 and 7.

There is still approximately half of the spring trimester remaining. With this in mind, let's all work together to keep our students focused on their studies as we move through the last full month of the school year. The final days of this school year will be here very quickly. All of our spring activities are in full swing during the month of May. I look forward to seeing you at the many athletic and fine arts events. Let's help our students make the most of these final weeks, as well as enjoy all of the activities and celebrations during the month of May.

Go Irish!

John Wollersheim
Principal