Raven Report May-June 2021

May 25, 2021

Raven Report May-June 2021

Monthly Message from Dennis Honkala, Ravenna School District Superintendent

Thank you for your interest in the Ravenna School District. My email address is listed below. I welcome any comments or questions on the following or any other topics.

In this Raven Report, I will discuss:

  1. Getting Ready for Our Complete Return to the Classroom on August 18, 2021
  2. We Are Proud of Our Students’ Resilience and Accomplishments
  3. Our New, Expanded Summer School
  4. Getting Ready for Complete Return to the Classroom on August 18, 2021

I can say with confidence that we have endured COVID-19 and came out on top! We are 100% ready for every single student, teacher, and staff member to return to in-person learning.

No federal, state and local rulings will prohibit students from returning to learn in person. That is good news. When students learn together, teachers make more of a direct impact. Our students also build stronger bonds of friendship and community.

It is also good news because we are tested and ready. We have already learned, adjusted and adapted to COVID. We will continue the best health and safety practices from the last year. These include the continuation of:

  • Enhanced cleaning in all spaces
  • Sanitation stations will continue
  • Social distancing and spacing

When the 2020-2021 school year began, 65% of students chose in-person learning. That quickly leaped to 75% – another sign of confidence in our advanced cleanliness and other policies.

  1. We Are Proud of Our Students’ Resilience and Accomplishments

The pandemic brought drastic change, but our students showed extraordinary resilience and a great ability to adapt. Their accomplishments were recognized in senior banquets and ceremonies celebrating:

  • Receiving tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships
  • Recognition for academic excellence
  • Honoring student volunteerism
  • Recognizing students’ “What’s Your E?” program – where every graduate prepares for life’s next step: enrollment in college, employment in a career job or enlistment in service to our country.

While we adopted nontraditional ways of learning, the Ravenna School District preserved our ceremonies and traditions. Eighth grade graduation took place, with students excitedly preparing for high school. Likewise, our fourth graders all graduated together and now look forward to starting middle school together.

These moments connect our students to the past – and to each other.

  1. New, Expanded Summer School

To repair pandemic learning loss, the Ravenna School District is expanding our free summer school offering to two 4-week sessions for ALL grade levels. Students may participate in one or both, depending on their need.

RAMP, our elementary summer school, is expanding beyond reading and math to include additional subjects and skill building instruction. Our middle and high school summer school curriculum will also provide additional instruction.

For details and to enroll students, contact your building principal.

Summer Slide: Not attending summer school? You can still prevent summer slide by keeping up on basic math and reading skills, playing problem-solving games, exploring the great outdoors, crafting and other stimulating activities.

Kindergarten Kickoff: Note: At summer’s end, our Kindergarten Kickoff will take place. This friendly orientation helps incoming kindergarten students meet their new classmates and get ready for their Raven adventure to begin. Enroll in kindergarten at this link.

Once again, thank you to all the students, staff and parents who made this year a great success, despite the challenges. Have a great summer – and a spectacular new school year to come.

-Dennis Honkala
Superintendent, Ravenna School District
dennis.honkala@ravennaschools.us

Related Information

Parent Square

Parent Square

Dear Parents & Guardians, We are excited to let you know that this year we’ll be using ParentSquare to communicate with you at the school, and in your classrooms and groups.  ParentSquare provides a simple and safe way for everyone at school to connect. With...