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Good afternoon, Pirate families,

This is Dr. Woods-Weeks calling with the weekly update. As a reminder, Monday, January15, 2024 is the MLK holiday, no school for students. And Tuesday, January 16th is an Optional Teacher Workday, no school for students as well. We will begin the second semester on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.

Reports cards will be distributed on January 23, 2024.

On behalf of the Riverside PTA, Congratulations to Mr. Matthew Smith you on being selected as the winner of a Riverside Pirate Hero Award! This award recognizes a Riverside teacher, coach, or other staff member who has gone beyond to support our community. 

Hats off to Ms. Reeves, administrators, teachers, parents, and students for your diligence during EOC testing. You all have worked extremely hard to help our scholars achieve academic excellence. We accomplished our 95% participation goal. Kudos to everyone!

Congratulations RHS Swim team as the Women’s team beat both East Chapel Hill and Hillside. The Men’s team beat Hillside but lost to East Chapel Hill.
A special Congratulations to Vivian Brennan who finished 1st place in the Conference. She will represent Riverside on February 2nd at the 4 A Regional Championship.

Congratulations to wrestler Daniel Dickerson who picked up his 100th win this past week. He also finished in 1st place at this weekend's Silver Fox Wrestling Tournament. Richard Campbell also picked up a huge win and placed 1st in his respective weight class at the same tournament.  The Wrestling team is set to travel to Northern Durham for their Final Meet of the regular season on January 18, 2024.

Athletics
The Men's Basketball Team defeated Hillside last week 71 to 50. Riverside will be back in action January 17, 2024. JV boys will play at 5:00 pm; Varsity Girls at 6:30 pm; and Varsity boys at 8:00 pm.

The Softball team will have an interest meeting January 17, 2024, in the front lobby at the start of both lunches. 

Ticket To Play dates for Spring Sports are as follows Jan 22nd, 23rd, 29th, and 30th during both lunches, location, the PLTW hallway.  All students interested in trying out for spring sports must have completed Athletic Registration and a Ticket To Play to try out.

Tickets can be purchased by card or online at TICKETS.  All DPS athletic events observe a "Clear Bag Only" policy in conjunction with no Re-Entry.  For more information about winter sports please visit https://riversideathleticzone.com/

College Advising
UPCOMING EVENTS:
College Visits: *These opportunities are open to Juniors and Seniors only. Students are responsible for getting any information or materials that you may have missed during the trip. You must complete the interest form to be considered for the trip. but completing this form does not guarantee a spot on the trip*
Criteria:
•    Have applied or plan to apply to the school
•    Must have at least a 2.5 GPA (weighted)
•    No write ups/referrals for the semester
Tuesday, January 23rd: College Visit to UNC - Greensboro (8:30 AM-3:00 PM)
•    If you want to visit UNC-Greensboro, complete the interest form here. You must meet the minimum criteria to be considered. Please submit the interest form by Monday, January 15th. Submitting the form does not guarantee a spot on the trip*

Thursday, February 1: College Visit to NC Central (10:00 AM - 2:00 PM)
•    If you want to visit NC Central, complete the interest form here. You must meet the minimum criteria to be considered. Please submit the interest form by Monday, January 15th. Submitting the form does not guarantee a spot on the trip*
Workshops:
Tuesday, January 16th at 3:00-6:00 PM   - Family FAFSA Night at Emily K Center
•    The Emily K Center will be hosting a Family FAFSA night to help students and families complete their FAFSA form. If you are interested in attending this event, please sign up here. Ms. Harris and other college advisors in Durham County will be there to assist!
IMPORTANT:
The 2024-2025 FAFSA application will be doing a "soft launch" and will be available periodically throughout the coming weeks. If you are experiencing technical difficulties, log out and try again later. In the meantime, I encourage students AND parents to create their FSA ID on studentaid.gov.  It takes 3 days to verify your information before you can complete the form. Students must have an SSN to be eligible for federal student aid, however, there may be other opportunities to receive other forms of financial aid from an individual institution. Parents who do not have an SSN can still create an FSA ID.
To ensure that you are prepared to complete the form, have the following materials accessible when applying:
- Laptop
- SSN
- 2022 Tax Information
- Records of child support received (if applicable)
- Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts
- Net worth of investments, businesses, and farm

College Acceptances -1/08/24 (the class of 2024 has currently surpassed more than $5 million in scholarships offered!!)  Super! Keep them coming...

•    Sam Myers - Guilford College ($24,000/yr.)
•    Sam Myers - UNC - Greensboro
•    Sam Myers - Catawba College
•    Sam Myers - Shaw University
•    Sam Myers - William Peace University ($14,000/yr.)
•    Sam Myers - Pfeiffer University ($18,000/yr.)
•    Sam Myers - Wingate University ($28,000)

Yearbook
Yearbook prices will increase to $85 on Jan 26. Be sure to buy your book now at www.jostensyearbooks.com

Did you forget to purchase your senior recognition ad? Relax, the date for ad purchases has been extended through Jan 26. Celebrate your senior and secure you space now. Ads can be purchase at jostensyearbooks.com.

That said, parents please continue to help us enforce the DPS Code of Conduct by ensuring that your student adheres to the policies and procedures set forth. Students show your school pride by wearing our school colors on Friday. I will see each of you at the River Wednesday. Go forth and make it a great evening. Roll Pirates Roll! Thank you