July 2018 Dear Parents and Students: I hope you are enjoying your summer break. Rockhurst High School is fortunate to include you in our community of lived Catholic faith in the tradition of the Society of Jesus. It is an honor for me to serve such a loyal and faith-filled community as your principal. I offer a special welcome to our incoming freshmen and transfer students. I know I speak on behalf of our entire community when I say to all of you, Welcome to the Rock Class of 2022 and transfer students! As we look forward to the 2018-2019 academic year, I hope that each of you knows how important it is that you participate fully in the life that is Rockhurst. Being involved in school life is an essential part of a Jesuit education and your formation here at The Rock. I encourage all students to tryout for athletics, join clubs, sing in the choir, play an instrument, participate in activities, and consider traveling on our immersion service trips. I pray that you will have strong formation experiences on your retreats and service experiences this year. Much good awaits us as we begin the 2018-2019 academic year. Remember... St. Ignatius challenges all of us to find God in all things. As we begin a new academic school year, I ask each of you to set the expectation to be your best academically, spiritually, and socially. At Rockhurst, we believe that all we do, classroom work, co-curricular activities, prayer, Mass, talking with friends, time with family, etc. is undertaken for the greater glory of God, or as we say around campus, AMDG. We believe that we are called to see God actively working in our lives in everything we do. AMDG is the heart of what we do here. May we recall that this coming year will be filled with opportunities to serve God s kingdom and His church here in Greater Kansas City and beyond. Included in this letter is information outlining details for the 2018-2019 academic year. I ask each of you to take time to read through the materials so that all are prepared for our first days of school in August. SUMMER NOTES New Learning Management System By now all of you should have received an email from Mr. Kevin Campbell concerning our transition to a new school learning management system. If you have not received this email please check your spam folder. The email from Mr. Campbell has your access information to our new system. If you have concerns or questions please contact Mr. Campbell at kcampbell@rockhursths.edu. Medical Records Management I am happy to inform you that Rockhurst is using an online management tool for our student medical forms. We partnered with Magnus Heath to manage this process. Again, please refer to the email you received from Mr. Kevin Campbell regarding uploading of materials to Magnus Health. We ask that families have all online forms
completed by Wednesday, Aug. 1 Summer Office Hours During the summer, office hours for school are as follows: Monday-Thursday from 9AM-3PM and Friday 9AM-2PM. Please keep in mind that the entire building will be closed for maintenance from July 21 st to July 29 th. All offices will be closed during this maintenance week. Summer Reading Program A reminder to all students that summer reading is a requirement that is to be completed before classes commence. The assignments are also available on the Rockhurst website on the Academics/Summer Reading List. CALENDAR NOTES Class Orientation Days School will commence with the Principal s Convocations. During these orientation days, upperclassmen school ID photos will be taken and lockers will be assigned if students request a locker. Students must use approved locks for all academic, gym, and athletic lockers, these may be purchased in the Rock Shop. Parents of all students are reminded to send TWO checks with their sons on orientation days if they want to purchase (1) Rock Shop items and (2) Lifetouch photos. The hair and dress codes are in effect commencing immediately upon the return to school. Upperclassmen Convocations Upon arrival at school for the convocations, students are to report to the Rose at the following times: Class of 2019 August 14 th 8:00 a.m. Class of 2020 August 14 th 10:30 a.m. Class of 2021 August 14 th 1:00 p.m. Freshman Mass, Convocation and Orientation Freshmen and their parents are invited to the Class of 2022 Mass of welcome and conversation with the administration on TUESDAY, August 14, 2018 at 6:00 p.m, in the Rose Theater. As the following day is a Holy Day of Obligation, this will be a vigil Mass for the Solemnity of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. Light refreshments will be served afterwards in the Barry Commons. Orientation for the Class of 2022 is set for Wednesday, August 15 th from 8:00 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Please review the Assistant Principal for Student Life, Freshman Parent and Orientation letter detailing the day. Transfer Student Orientation Transfer students will receive an email from the Admissions Office concerning the time and place for your orientation session schedule. Incoming Freshmen and All Transfer Students Immunization Records : It is required by the State of Missouri that we have on file a copy of your son s Immunization history by Wednesday, August 1. Please refer to the letter outlining our online medical information provided by Magnus Health. ipad Registration : Rockhurst will host required ipad Registration and Information Night for all members of the Class of 2022 and transfer students. Each incoming freshman/transfer student is expected to
attend one of the following scheduled sessions with at least one parent or guardian. Sessions are offered on: August, 7, 9, and 13 from 4:00-5:30 p.m and 6:00-7:30 p.m. Each family must attend one of the six sessions. Register now with SignUpGenius. During the session, students will be given access to Rockhurst accounts, download required apps, learn how to download textbooks, and learn expectations for ipad usage. Furthermore, parents will have a chance to learn about parenting with required school technology. Student/Parent Homework: Prior to the ipad Registration meeting the following must be done: ipad must be purchased and brought to the meeting. ipad must be set up with an Apple ID. Parents and students should be sure to read the Acceptable Use Policy in the Parent/Student Handbook. ImPACT Concussion Baseline Testing In 2013 Rockhurst High School began testing all students to establish a baseline for brain function. In the event of a concussion, this information can be sent to your physician. Rockhurst tests all students, as head injuries can and do occur beyond the athletic program. All incoming freshmen, transfer students, and juniors will be tested during the 2018-2019 school year. Fall athletes will be tested as part of the fall athletic programs. Freshman students who are not fall athletes will take the required ImPACT concussion test during Freshman Orientation day. Senior Pictures All seniors must be photographed in their tuxedo at the Cilento Photography studio (6801 W. 135th Street, Suite A-49, Overland Park, KS 66223) by October 15, 2018 for inclusion in the 2018-2019 yearbook. If students are photographed before September 1, the sitting fee will be waived; after September 1, a sitting fee of $25 will be assessed. Families will have the option of ordering senior portrait packages from Cilento, but these are entirely optional. Packets outlining the available portrait packages were mailed to senior families at the start of summer. Families are encouraged to call Cilento as soon as possible to set up appointments: (913) 284-7164, or request an appointment online at www.cilentophotography.com. College Planning Workshop Seniors: Sunday, August 26 th at 1:00 p.m., the College Counseling staff will hold one of the most important meetings of the year for Seniors and their parents. This MANDATORY meeting gives families a road map for the college application process and the many challenges ahead. All seniors and their parents are strongly encouraged to attend. More information will be forthcoming from the College Counseling office. College Visits As competition for college admission becomes more intense, it is in the best interest of our students to be away from the classroom as little as possible. We also believe that visiting a college campus is a very important and valuable experience when trying to choose between several options. Rockhurst recognizes that choosing a college is an important family decision for our senior students. Visiting a college is one of the best ways to determine if it will meet a student s needs and expectations. It is imperative that students miss as little class time as possible due to college visits -- only juniors and seniors are permitted excused college visits. Please review the policies regarding college visits in the handbook. 2018-2019 Vacations Regular school attendance is expected of all students. Students are not permitted to take additional vacations outside of those scheduled by Rockhurst. Additionally, students are not allowed to extend a vacation. Below
are the major break times for the school. Please plan your vacations accordingly. All student attendance issues are handled by the Dean of Students. The complete 2018-2019 RHS School Calendar is now available online. KEY CALENDAR DATES: School Year 2018-2019 July 30, 2018 August 6, 2018 August 7 and 8, 2018 August 9, 10 and 13, 2018 August 14, 2018 August 15, 2018 August 16, 2018 October 19-22, 2018 October 29, 2018 November 21-23 2018 December 17-19, 2018 December 20, 2018 - January 4, 2019 January 7, 2019 February 25, 2019 March 18 22, 2019 April 19-22, 2019 May 13-15, 2019 May 19, 2019 May 20-22, 2019 May 23, 2019 All School Offices Reopen Fall Sports Begin NEW Faculty Inservice ALL Faculty Inservice SR / JR / SO Convocation Freshman Orientation / Convocation First Day of Classes - HALF Day / First Semester Begins Fall Break Winter Sports Begin Thanksgiving Break First Semester Final Exams Christmas Break Classes Resume / Second Semester Begins Spring Sports Begin Spring Break Easter Break Second Semester Senior Final Exams Graduation Second Semester Underclassmen Final Exams Summer Break Begins Important Change in School Policy: Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, all visitors to Rockhurst will be required to request entrance at the State Line Road doors with an intercom/buzzer system. I know this is a significant change to our way of proceeding in the past. I appreciate your patience and support as we implement this change. After 8:00 a.m.
(9:00 a.m. on Late Start days) all doors to the school will be locked and all visitors must enter through the State Line Doors. Building Security / Entrance Procedures All building entrances will be secured during school hours on days when students are present (late starts and early dismissals will be taken into account). All visitors will check into the building at the main State Line Road entrance. All visitors will register at the Greeting Desk located at the front entrance. All visitors will indicate their intended destination and/or person(s) to be visited. All visitors will be escorted to their destination, or the person to be visited will meet the visitor at the Greeting/Registration Desk at the main entrance. All visitors and volunteers (auction, etc.), will be identified with a Visitor s Identification name tag which will be worn while in the building and surrendered when exiting the building. All visitors must sign the register at the Greeting Desk and surrender the Visitor Identification name tag when exiting the building. Visitor Logs will be maintained for reference and review as the school deems necessary. The Greeting Desk will be open from the end of morning homeroom period until dismissal each day that students are present. The State Line entrance to the building will close at 4:00 p.m. ATHLETIC NOTES Fall Sports season begins on Monday, August 6th. Please check the athletic website (www.gohawklets.com) for specifics on each of the sports. The week preceding, July 28-August 5th is dead week, meaning no contact between coaches and student-athletes and no use of Rockhurst facilities. All student-athletes must have a valid physical dated February 2018 or later and a MSHSAA clearance form to begin practices. The health information should be entered and uploaded to your Magnus Health account. TECHNOLOGY NOTES Returning Student ipads All students must have an ipad registered with RHS with all the necessary textbooks loaded or accessed from the device. Freshman and transfer students and parents are asked to see above outlining the procedure for registering ipads. Returning students do not need to re-register their ipads. If returning students buy a new ipad over the summer, they must see the Tech Desk to register it during Convocation Days. Mr. Jones, the Educational Technologist, will provide all students and parents with the procedures for obtaining books and other course material. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact him at the Tech Desk at bjones@rockhursths.edu. Students who do not have ipads or do not have them registered by the opening of school on Thursday, August 16 th will be considered unprepared for class. TECH Fee Please recall that the tech fee covers the cost of the books and applications that RHS is able to provide electronically. Please check the RHS website for textbook information.
CLASS SCHEDULE NOTES Incoming Freshmen/Transfer Students Academic Class Schedules for incoming freshman and transfer students only, will be mailed (USPS) in mid-july. Login credentials for our new learning management system have already been emailed to freshmen and transfer students. Please pay particular attention to the instructions given by Mr. Wickenhauser and Mrs. Fessler concerning accessing our open grade book. Returning Students Watch for a notification in mid-july from the Office of Academic Affairs regarding i nformation for accessing your Academic Class Schedules for the 2018-2019 school year. Please note, you should have received new login credentials from the IT office earlier this summer. Miscellaneous NOTES Work Grant Hours Please note that Mrs. Tara Hall, Assistant Director of Admission, is the coordinator of work grant. She can be reached at thall@rockhursths.edu or 816-363-2036 ext. 557. Carpool Information Any student wishing to receive information on our carpool program should email Mrs. Tara Hall in the Admission & Financial Aid office at thall@rockhursths.edu. Though planning for the 2018-2019 school year is well underway, I wish you all well for the remainder of the summer. I pray that this time of vacation is one of renewal for your family. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us here at school We are all looking forward to your return in August. We have much to look forward to as we look to the new school year. Let us all take time during these days of summer to pause and reflect on all that God has given to us through our association with Rockhurst High School. To our incoming freshmen and transfer students and their families, welcome to our community. To all of us who are waiting in anticipation of our new academic year may these words of Pope Francis give us great hope in the future... You must remember that God is not afraid of new things. May the God of new things continue to inspire us and bring us ever closer to Him as we prepare to begin our new academic year. AMDG!!!! God s Blessings Always, Mr. Gregory Harkness, 81 Principal