Shine II

Rainshadow Graduates from 2013 at the graduation ceremony

PARENTS NEWSLETTER FOR STUDENTS OF RAINSHADOW FALL 2013

Welcome to the New School Year!

As we approach our 11th school year, there is much to be excited about.
Welcome to another exciting year at Rainshadow Community Charter High School. As many of you may know, Rainshadow had a bit of a scare last year. The future of the school was in question. The scare was a positive for all who were involved in the school, as it caused us to reevaluate what we were doing and what we should be doing better. As we embark on the 2013-2014 school year, the staff, faculty, and administration are excited about the prospect of this being the best year yet. With this in mind, we recognize that our community is nothing without the support of our students and their families. We are in the process of going through the accreditation process this school year. This process legitimizes us as an educational institution. It is not the first time we are going through this process; in fact we have already gone through the process two times. It is a great time to evaluate who we are as a school and what we wish to become. It also is a great time to hear what you, our stakeholders, have to say about what we are doing. The school would like to formally invite each of you to be involved in the process. If you are interested, please take a look at our parents website, located at http:// rainshadowparents.weebly.com There you will find updated information about not only the accreditation process, but all the other exciting things that are going on at Rainshadow and that our parents are involved in.

In This Issue:
Welcome!! Meet Our Teachers! Parent Tips for September! Parents, We Need You!!

Rainshadow Community Charter High School

Creating Empowered Community Members Through Real World Education

1 2 2 3

2013

What does this mean? It means we work hard to expose students to a variety of experiences in the local community. It means that we want our students out learning from the world and feeling empowered to have an active voice in changing the world. It means that we want our students getting their hands dirty and their minds active as they grow as young adults.

Rainshadow staff at a training using clay. Their model for cohesiveness is replicated in their classrooms.

Parent Tips
Success at school starts one month at a time! Check out these tips from the Department of Education for the month of September:
Reach out to your childs teachers.
Attend orientation, but dont stop there! Make a point of introducing yourself and learning about the policies and expectations for the year. Find out how individuals prefer to communicate. Come out to our Back to School Night on 9/10/13 from 6-7 p.m.

You can also like Rainshadow on Facebook to find out real time information about what is happening at the school. Finally, check out our website to see all the exciting things our classes are doing at www.rainshadowcchs.org. Welcome to the Rainshadow legacy! Please feel free to contact the school at any time if you have questions at 775-322-5566.

Meet Our Teachers Kristen Quintana

Welcome back to a new school year! My name is Kristen Quintana and it is my pleasure to be a member of the Social Studies staff at Rainshadow. This will be my third year teaching here, and I am looking forward to seeing familiar faces from years past as well as welcoming new additions to the Rainshadow family. This year I will be teaching ninth grade Geography, tenth grade World History, and two sections of eleventh grade U.S. History. In addition I will be working with Alissa at the end of the day to teach the Leadership/Yearbook class that will be open to students in all grade levels. This year in my classes you can expect the same stability and high expectations

that I have incorporated into my classes in the past two years. You will continue to see sparks, the use of Class Dojo, and the incorporation of reading and writing skills into your Social Studies work. I also plan on introducing some new routines and projects, including but not limited to exit slips, reections, and maybe interactive notebooks. As always there will be lots of projects done both independently and with groups, so be prepared to do both. Yearbook students can expect to work on another video yearbook for the 2013-2014 school year. The goal is to go above and beyond what we completed last year, incorporating more video and video editing techniques. Students in the Leadership/Yearbook class should be prepared to get to know everyone in the class, and potentially work closely with students of all ages and grade levels. Please come with creative ideas for how we can make this school year and yearbook the best one Rainshadow has ever seen! ! Parents, as always, I encourage you to contact me at school with any questions you may have regarding my classes or your students. Feel free to email me at kristen@rainshadowcchs.org or call the school at 775-322-5566.

Get in the groove!

Establish healthy at-home routines for school days, such as consistent waking times and getting-ready patterns. Decide on a regular homework time, and create a comfortable, quiet work space. Set bedtimes that allow elementary-age kids to get 10 to 12 hours of sleep; teens should get 8" to 9" hours.

Time things right

Stay on top of everyone's school, activity, and work schedules with a free online calendar or a smartphone app.

Volunteer!
With help from parents like you, your school can offer many more programs and services for your kids. Join your school's PTA and ask about volunteer opportunities in the school community and your children's classrooms. National PTA's Three for Me campaign encourages parents to pledge to volunteer at least three hours during the school year. Go to three4me.com for more information.

Teachers, continued. Sue Brown

Welcome to a new Rainshadow school year! My name is Sue Brown, and this is my second year teaching all the science classes. I moved here last summer from Grand Rapids, Michigan and have lived in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and Tokyo. Science has always been my passion. Previously, I worked with chemicals, plastics, and medical equipment, then I returned to college to become a certied science teacher. Now at Rainshadow, I really enjoy getting to know each student and being a member of this learning community. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at sue@rainshadowcchs.org.

I am looking forward to fostering a safe, trusting, respectful and academically rigorous classroom this year. I have an open door policy with my students their guardians, and welcome the opportunity to chat with you at anytime. If youd like to set up a time to meet, you may email me at emily@rainshadowcchs.org, or you may call the ofce at 322-5566. As always, I am blessed to be here. I hope to be a positive person for your students while I challenge them this year.

Sam OBrien
I am originally from Mendocino County, California but I have spent the last half of my life living in the Reno/ Tahoe area. I hold a Bachelors of Art in English Literature with a minor in History from the University of Nevada Reno, as well as a Masters of Teaching from Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, NV. I am going on my tenth year at Rainshadow, and I have had a terric time working and mentoring students and teachers alike. I teach social studies, junior level English language arts, a reading intervention class, and a Nevada History Interdisciplinary class. I enjoy the arts, and perform both stand-up and improv comedy locally. I am looking forward to both a productive and exciting new year! If you need to contact me, please feel free to e-mail me at sam@rainshadowcchs.org.

Victoria Velazquez
Welcome to the 2013/2014 school year! I am the school mathematics instructor. I am looking forward to the new year. I have new and creative tools to help our kids reach their mathematics goals. One of the big changes in the state is the roll out of the Core Curriculum Mathematics Standards at the high school level. I am excited to bring in dynamic hands on math education. It is my belief that if students can connect mathematic concepts with real world usefulness they will remember it and be able to implement them when needed in and out of school. For those whom do not know I am also an artist and have made connections over the summer with art organizations and artists in our community. This year I will be offering eld trips to studios so that students can meet some uniquely creative people who are making a difference in our area. It is also my hope to bring in an afterschool arts workshop. This is in the development phase as I will be gathering resources and supplies to allow the students to expand their arts knowledge and reach out creatively. It is my hope to be able to help our kids not only nd academic success but artistic success. At all times I welcome feedback from parents/ guardians and students. I can be reached via email (Victoria@rainshadowcchs.org) or through the school. I look forward to meeting all the new students and their families as well as welcoming back returning members of our community. I wish everyone a great school year!

Emily Reese
Welcome to another year at Rainshadow from Emily Reese! There is an exciting energy going on here, and as your English teacher I am blessed to be a part of it. There will be familiar and new faces, and Im thrilled to see the impact we can all have on each other in postivitve ways. Since this will be my second year here, I am really looking forward to incorporating some new ideas, increasing academic rigor and nding exciting material to cover to make our learning meaningful. Just like last year, I will seek to truly know the students: their interests, likes, dislikes, styles of learning and how I can help them succeed. This year, I am looking forward to teaching my Freshmen, Sophomores and Seniors. Freshmen will begin to prepare themselves for higher level English skills, Sophomores will learn the art of dabate and critical thinking and Seniors will set the bar higher this year in quality of Senior Projects. Everyone will work hard, but like usual, we will have fun doing it. I am also looking forward to changing my I.D. Class format to two quarters of Social Reconstruction and to two quarters of College and Career Readiness. Both of these classes reect the Rainshadow T.E.R.M.S (Trust, Equality, Respect, Maturity and Success). These classes will help students be outward thinking, both for their future and for the betterment of society.

Parents, We Need You!

The Rainshadow Parent Faculty Organization is recruiting! We are looking to have a group of committed parents willing to help support the school. The next meeting for this group will be at Rainshadow in the performing arts center on Sunday, September 8 at 3 p.m. If interested, please plan on attending! You can also e-mail Toby, the Dean of Academics, a toby@rainshadowcchs.org. That way, you will be getting all the updates of the group via e-mail. Also, This is an accreditation year, and we need your thoughts! Please go to the following website to complete the parent survey: http:// rainshadowaccreditation.weebly.com. You will find the parent survey on this page. Finally, Rainshadow is planning a Back to School Night for you to meet all your son/daughters teachers. The Back to School night will be on Tuesday, September 10 from 6-7 p.m. We are so excited to start off the new year right! Please plan on joining us as you are an integral part of your son/daughters school success!