Rockmart Middle School -

📢 Georgia Milestones Testing Information 📢 Polk School District students in grades 3-8, along with those enrolled in certain high school courses, will participate in Georgia Milestones testing. 📝 Grades 3-8: EOG tests in ELA & Math 🧪 Grades 5 & 8: EOG test in Science 🌍 Grade 8: EOG test in Social Studies 🏫 Middle & High School: EOC tests for designated courses Stay informed! An informational presentation and online practice tests are available to help students prepare. Please use the QR Codes on the flyer to access the presentation and the online tests. 📢 Información sobre las Pruebas Georgia Milestones 📢 Los estudiantes del Distrito Escolar de Polk en los grados 3-8, junto con aquellos inscritos en ciertos cursos de nivel secundario, participarán en las pruebas Georgia Milestones. 📝 Grados 3-8: Pruebas EOG en Artes del Lenguaje en Inglés y Matemáticas 🧪 Grados 5 y 8: Prueba EOG en Ciencias 🌍 Grado 8: Prueba EOG en Estudios Sociales 🏫 Escuela Media y Secundaria: Pruebas EOC para cursos designados ¡Manténgase informado! Están disponibles una presentación informativa y pruebas de práctica en línea para ayudar a los estudiantes a prepararse. Por favor, utilice los códigos QR en el folleto para acceder a la presentación y a las pruebas en línea.

📢 Polk School District Proposed Bond Referendum – Early Voting Starts Today! 🗳️ Polk School District is committed to ensuring that our students and teachers have the resources and facilities they need to succeed. As part of that commitment, a bond referendum has been proposed to address critical facility projects across the district. Early voting begins today, and the special election will take place on March 18th. Our goal is to provide accurate, transparent information so that voters can make an informed decision. We encourage our community to review official resources and ask questions. For a full understanding of the proposed bond referendum, we are providing the following materials: 📄 FAQ Sheet – Answers to common questions 📢 Press Release – Overview of the bond referendum 📌 Informational Flyer – Key details at a glance We urge all eligible voters to take the time to learn the facts, ask questions, and participate in this important decision for our schools and community. Your voice matters! 📅 Early Voting: Now through March 14th 🗳 Special Election: Tuesday, March 18th For more information, visit our website: 🌐 https://www.polk.k12.ga.us/page/taxdigest Have questions? 📩 Email us at questions@polk.k12.ga.us Thank you for staying informed and engaged! We are #PSDProud 💛🖤❤️ #YourVoteMatters #InvestingInOurFuture

📚 Free Online Tutoring for Students! 📚 Polk School District is excited to share that Varsity Tutors, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Education, is offering free online tutoring sessions to help students prepare for the upcoming Georgia Milestones or receive additional academic support. 🔹 Get ready for Georgia Milestones testing 🔹 Strengthen skills in challenging subjects 🔹 Access free, high-quality tutoring 💡 Upcoming Sessions: 📝 Habits of Successful Test Takers – Register Here https://info.varsitytutors.com/habits-of-successful-test-takers 📖 Efficient, Effective Reading Strategies – Register Here https://info.varsitytutors.com/efficient-effective-reading-strategies 📌 Additional Resources: 📖 GA Milestones Parent Resources: https://lor2.gadoe.org/gadoe/file/65da261d-7393-457b-bd7e-b7721b2f15cf/1/GM_Parent_Resources.pdf 📝 GA Milestones Test Practice & Online Guides: Click Here https://wbte.drcedirect.com/GA/portals/ga Take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to support student success! 🎯 #PSDProud #MilestonesReady #StudentSuccess

📢 Polk School District will Resume Classes on Tuesday, February 4th 📢 Polk School District will resume classes as scheduled on Tuesday, February 4th. All schools and campus locations have been thoroughly sanitized to ensure a clean and safe learning environment for our students and staff. This brief pause has allowed time for students and employees to recover and return, and we appreciate everyone’s cooperation in prioritizing health and wellness. A huge THANK YOU to our phenomenal custodial team for their tireless efforts in preparing our facilities for students to return. Their dedication and hard work help keep our schools safe and ready for learning every day! 🏫 Please see the attached document for wellness guidance to help keep our schools healthy. We look forward to welcoming everyone back tomorrow! ❤️🖤💛

📢 Important Announcement: School Closure for Deep Cleaning & Illness Prevention Due to the widespread impact of flu and norovirus across our schools resulting in excessive student and staff absences, Polk School District will be closing all schools and facilities and transitioning to a Learn-From-Home day on Friday, January 31, 2025, to allow for deep cleaning of our buildings and additional recovery time for those affected. We currently have 761 students and 63 school-level staff members with illnesses reported which amounts to 10% or more of our student population at each school and a shortage of necessary staff to operate effectively. This decision is not made lightly and as always we will continue to prioritize the health and safety of our students, staff, and community. Extra-curricular activities and after-school events will not be affected. All of our facilities will undergo a comprehensive deep cleaning to help reduce the spread of illness and ensure a sanitized environment for everyone upon reopening. We encourage families to take necessary precautions, including: ✅ Monitoring for symptoms of illness ✅ Practicing good hand hygiene ✅ Keeping sick students at home until they are symptom/fever-free We appreciate your understanding and partnership as we work to maintain a healthy learning environment.

🌨❄️ WEATHER UPDATE 🌨❄️ Polk School District will open with a delayed start on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. The additional time will ensure our buses and facilities are fully operational and warm. This means all bus routes, school openings, and start times will be shifted forward two hours from the regularly scheduled times. For example, a 7:00 AM bus pickup will now be a 9:00 AM pickup, etc. There will be no change in dismissal procedures. We encourage all students to dress warmly for tomorrow's frigid temperatures. Wear layers, hats, gloves, and scarves. Additionally, we urge all of our bus riders to utilize our Here Comes the Bus app to minimize time outside waiting for the bus to arrive. We appreciate your continued understanding and partnership as we take these precautions to ensure the safety of our students and staff during these extreme winter conditions.

🌨❄️ WEATHER UPDATE 🌨❄️ Due to the State of Emergency now in effect and the uncertainty surrounding the possibility for winter weather conditions to develop during the school day, Polk School District will be closed Tuesday, January 21, 2025, as part of our commitment to ensuring the safety of our students and staff. We appreciate your understanding and partnership. Stay safe and warm.

🛎🌨❄️IMPORTANT - WINTER WEATHER SCHOOL CLOSURE❄️🌨🛎 Based on conversations with state and local emergency management agencies regarding the incoming winter storm, all Polk School District campuses will transition to a Learn-from-Home day for Friday, January 10, 2025. Please refer to communication channels from your student’s respective school/teacher for guidance and expectations regarding assignments. All extracurricular activities/sporting events for Friday and Saturday are cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date. We apologize for any inconvenience, but will always make decisions in the best interest of our students and staff, keeping safety our first priority. Thank you for your continued support. Stay safe and warm!

🌨❄️ WEATHER UPDATE 🌨❄️ As part of our commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and staff, we are continually monitoring updates from state and local emergency management agencies on the forecasted winter weather that has the potential to affect our area in the coming days. In an effort to help you best plan and prepare, we will provide an update regarding any potential delays or cancellations after 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 8th. We appreciate your understanding and continued partnership. PLEASE NOTE: Our THRIVE in 2025 event originally planned for this Saturday has been rescheduled for January 25, 2025, at Polk County College and Career Academy-Cedartown High School campus from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

RESCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 25TH! 🎉📆SAVE THE DATE!📆🎉 We have been planning something EXTRA special to WELCOME our students back in 2025!!! DO NOT MISS out on our THRIVE IN 2025 back-to-school event on Saturday, January 25th! FREE haircuts, FREE school supplies, games, and prizes for the whole family! Everyone is welcome! Come stock up on supplies for the rest of the school year for FREE! 📗✂️🖍📓✏️ #PSDProud #psdtheplacetobe #FamilyEngagement

🚍Join Our Team at Polk School District!🚍 The Polk School District Transportation Department is on the lookout for skilled and dedicated Bus Drivers to join our team! You can view the detailed job description and APPLY today using the link below OR scan the attached QR Code! https://www.applitrack.com/polkk12/onlineapp/default.aspx?Category=Transportation&internal=internal&fbclid=IwY2xjawHFRP9leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHaoBkuJ8ltqMoOKRPC5OpMC3qW6mbrO-lFngormjoAE-9jW-7r-HcJQXBA_aem_vLc1nxpoIETSs3WlwekYVA You can also call our Transportation Department at 770-684-8308!

🥳🥳Congratulations to Mrs. Lisa Johnson and the Rockmart Middle School Beta Club!🥳🥳 Under Mrs. Johnson's guidance, RMS Beta Club has been recognized as a National Beta School of Distinction and a National Beta School of Merit! Only 87 out of 8500 schools across the country have received this recognition! Mrs. Johnson is also one of only 257 out of 20,000 sponsors nationwide who are recognized as a National Beta Educator of Excellence! We are #PSDProud! 💛🖤❤️

🛎⛈IMPORTANT - WEATHER UPDATE🛎⛈ Based on conversations with state and local emergency management agencies regarding the incoming inclement weather from Hurricane Helene, Thursday, September 26 and Friday, September 27 will be Learn-from-Home days for all Polk School District campuses. Please refer to communication channels from your student’s respective school/teacher for guidance and expectations regarding assignments. A decision related to extracurricular activities/sporting events for Friday and Saturday will be announced at a later time. We apologize for the inconvenience, but will always make decisions in the best interest of our students and staff, keeping safety our first priority. Thank you for your continued support and stay safe.

⛈WEATHER UPDATE⛈ As part of our commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and staff, we are continually monitoring updates from state and local emergency management agencies on the anticipated effects to our area from Tropical Storm Helene. The latest briefing indicates that school district operations could be impacted for Thursday and/or Friday. In an effort to help you best plan and prepare, we will provide an update regarding any potential delays or cancellations after 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 25. We appreciate your understanding and continued partnership.

SAFETY UPDATE: Polk School District families, As your Superintendent, but most importantly as a parent, I understand the uneasiness and uncertainty you may be experiencing regarding your child’s safety while at school. Last week’s horrific event proved that we can never put too much emphasis on protecting our most valuable assets–our children. As such, we have many security measures in place to protect our students and staff on a daily basis. Some of these safeguards which have been in place for three years or more include Centegix alert badges for all employees, multiple metal detectors at all schools/district facilities, access controls on all external doors, KIST (Keep It Safe to Teach) locks installed on classroom doors and throughout the building, mental health therapists, and a fully staffed Police Department that includes an officer at every school in our district, including two at each of our high schools, one of which is a K-9 officer. This list, however, is not exhaustive of all of our safety efforts because we do not want to compromise our security measures by sharing them publicly with those that could potentially use the information to do harm. We hope you can appreciate this added layer of protection. As a district, we firmly believe that school safety is a shared responsibility. We ask that you take the time to have a conversation with your student(s) about the importance of their actions, especially when it comes to potential threats. We ask that all stakeholders that see something, say something by reporting alarming information to school authorities or through our anonymous tip line. In addition, we ask that you stress the consequences for students that make threats, whether spoken or written, in person or online. Any such act directed towards our students, staff, or schools, upon investigation, will result in the appropriate charges by our law enforcement officers. Please discuss the seriousness of such behavior with your child. Lastly, we ask for your continued partnership in helping us maintain a secure environment by adhering to our district policies and procedures. While they are not always convenient, they are all in place to protect those in our care. It takes all of us to ensure our schools are a place where staff can teach and students can learn because they feel safe and secure. Respectfully, Dr. Katherine M. Thomas, Superintendent

🚨IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT🚨

YOU CAN NOW PAY ONLINE! We are excited partner with School Window to provide an online payment option for our families and community this year! Scan the QR code or follow the link below to visit our online store! ❤️🖤💛 #whateverittakes #makeithappen #PSDProud #psdtheplacetobe https://polkcountyga.schoolwindow.com/estore.html

Please see the attached Right to Know Notification for the 2024-2024 school year. Check out our Family Engagement page for more resources! https://www.polk.k12.ga.us/page/family-engagement

🔔🔔REMINDER🔔🔔 FALL SPORTS ARE HERE!!! Please remember our Event Security Procedures are enforced at ALL events (athletic, extracurricular, etc.) that take place at a Polk School District campus location. We appreciate your continued partnership in providing a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, schools, and community.

COMPLETE YOUR ANNUAL REGISTRATION FORMS ONLINE! Polk School District has made it quicker and easier for families to complete required yearly forms by moving them online. Annual Registration is your opportunity to complete necessary back-to-school forms such as parent/guardian contact information, parent consent information and other district and state required forms. **Please note: Registration forms must be completed each year for all students K-12** Enrollment Instructions (English Version) https://5il.co/2tlpt Enrollment Instructions (Spanish Version) https://5il.co/2tlpu