Amie Santillán- Principal
asantillan@rockfordschools.org
Jessica Yon - Principal Administrative Assistant
jyon@rockfordschools.org
Jenny Bradley - Administrative Assistant
jbradley@rockfordschools.org
Address: 3900 Kroes NE, Rockford, MI 49341
Website: www.rockfordschools.org
Phone: (616) 863-6374
Fax: (616) 866-7132
News from Sra. Santillán
Dear Roguewood Families,
Wow, it’s hard to believe that March is already here and moving full speed ahead! I’m even starting to hear whispers of SPRING, and I can’t wait to see more sunshine.
First, a heartfelt thank you to all of our wonderful families who provided such delicious food during conferences. So many staff members shared how much they appreciated it—it truly made the days extra special!
We are also incredibly grateful for your participation in the SchoolStore fundraiser. Your generosity and support mean the world to us, and we are beyond thankful!
March is Reading Month, and we’ve kicked off our celebrations with Book Brackets and a partnership with Hand2Hand. This year’s theme, “Everyone is a Reader!”, is all about inspiring a love of books in our students.
Mark your calendars—Book Bingo is coming up on Thursday, March 25, from 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, and classrooms are already buzzing with reading fun! Plus, we have a few more surprises in store to keep students excited about books all month long. We encourage you to join in the fun at home too!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend filled with a little more sunshine and warmth!
Amie Santillán
Proud Principal of Roguewood Elementary
Upcoming Events
- Mar. 11 PTO Meeting 7pm
- Mar. 12 Early Release - dismissal at 1:30
- Mar. 14
- Popcorn Day
- School Spirit Day - Twin Day
- Mar. 19 K SI Field Trip
- Mar. 26
- Early Release - dismissal at 1:30
- 2-5 Spring Concert
- Mar. 28 Battle of the Books @ High School
Middle school orientation
Attention 5th grade families of students moving to the Middle School next year
5th to 6th Grade Orientation Link
- March 20th at ERMS and NRMS from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm.
- A parent newsletter was sent to families the last week of February to 5th grade families with the orientation link.
5th Grade School Visits
- The Middle School staff will be visiting each elementary building during the week of March 10th.
- They will explain to the students what to expect in the upcoming school year.
Questions about Middle School please reach out to:
- NRMS: Brenda Gay at bgay@rockfordschools.org or x1503
- ERMS: Kim Kuemin at kkuemin@rockfordschools.org or x1006
25-26 RGW Classroom Environment Form
Occasionally, parents may wish to ask for a specific learning environment for their child, due to unusual circumstances. This Spring, your child’s current teacher will be working with his/her colleagues to select the best placement based on your child’s needs for the 2025-26 school year. Forms are due by April 11, 2025 - LATE REQUESTS WILL NOT CONSIDERED
We only have 2 sections per grade level (Spanish & English), we cannot guarantee specific teachers and students may or may not be with the same peers as this year. THIS IS NOT A TEACHER REQUEST FORM. However, if you feel that your child has specific environment needs or circumstances we should be aware of, please answer the questions below.
25-26 RGW Classroom Environment Form
Thank you
Huge thanks to our PTO and all of our Roguewood families who helped with Conference Meals. On Thursday our teacher's lounge was turned into an Italian Cafe. A group of Dads made personal pizzas outside for staff while a group of mom's were inside making everyone Italian Sodas. The decorations and music brought it all together.
Book Fair
Thank you so much for your support with our Book Fair. It was a great week and the students and staff enjoyed all the wonderful books. Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who helped make it a fabulous week! Mrs. Halliday
Battle of the Books
Fifth graders have been working hard reading their books for the Battle. We will know our team next week. Encourage your fifth grader to complete their work by Monday, March 10th. The Grand Battle for all schools will be Friday, March 28th.
Kids Have Rights Presentation K-4th grade
March 27th and 28th the Children’s Advocacy Center of Kent County will be here at Roguewood talking about the body safety program, Kids Have Rights®, to students in kindergarten through 4th grade. The Kids Have Rights® curriculum incorporates information on:
The body safety “rights” all kids have.
Identification of Safe Adults in a child’s life they can go to if they need help.
Recognition of touches and situations that may be/are unsafe.
Reporting unsafe/potentially unsafe touches and situations to a Safe Adult.
You will be receiving a letter home during that week explaining what each grade level will learning about. It is attached below, along with Frequently Asked Questions.
Kids Have Rights Consent Form - English
Kids Have Rights Consent Form - Spanish
Students of the Month for Integrity
Spanish Speakers of the Month
March character trait: integrity
Definition: The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
Challenge: Make a goal of something you can do better. Is it being honest? Fair? Kind?
How can you do better in one of those areas?
March is Reading Month
March Book Madness
We are so excited for March Book Madness to begin! There are 16 books in our bracket. Books are paired and votes will be made to keep a book in the bracket. Students can vote for a book by bringing in a donated food item from the following list each week. All food donations will be going to HAND2HAND. At the end of March, we will have a grand celebration with the winning book in our bracket. Have fun reading and voting!
Follow along with our Book Bracket.
Week of March 10- Individual Rice Crispy Treats
Week of March 17- Cans of Soup (10-14 ounces)
Week of March 24- Ramen Noodles
MSTEP and NWEA Testing Schedule
April is just around the corner and that means Spring MStep Testing and NWEA testing. Here is the schedule that we will be following. Please reach out to your child's teacher to see when to avoid scheduling appointments if possible.
Enrollment Information
Spanish Immersion Lottery Application
New student lottery applications opened on Tuesday, January 6, 2025 and ends on March 28, 2025 at 4:00 pm. Please submit the lottery application and paperwork to jbradley@rockfordschools.org. The SI Lottery will take place on May 1. Families will be notified within 48 hours of their placement after the lottery.
Developmental Kindergarten/Kindergarten Parent Information Night
Parents of incoming DK or Kindergarten students for the 2025-2026 school year are welcome to attend the parent information night on Tuesday, March 18th from 6:00-7:00pm.
Note, this information night is for parents/guardians only and will serve as an opportunity for parents/guardians to meet the teachers and see the school. This event includes opportunities to learn more about the screening process and our Developmental Kindergarten and Kindergarten programming. Please make other arrangements for your child(ren) for the Parent/Guardian Information Night as there will be an opportunity in August for them to meet their teacher and visit their classroom prior to the first day of school.
Enrollment for the 2025/2026 school year is now OPEN. Children who turn five years old on or before December 1, 2025 are eligible to enroll for the 2025/2026 school year. Please visit rockfordschools.org/enrollment to review the online enrollment process and required documents.
Upcoming Music Programs
All the information for the Music Program can be found below and in the flyer.
Arrival: Please have one family member drop your student off in their designated room: Spanish Immersion - Orchestra Room; Traditional - Choir Room. Make sure a teacher is present before doing so and head to find a seat in the auditorium. Please take all your student’s belongings such as coats, hats, boots, etc. with you. We will not leave anything in the classrooms.
What should my student wear to the program? Please have your student wear their music program best. For example, button-down shirt, sweater, skirt/dress, khakis, black pants, dress shoes. Departure: Plan to have one family member pick your student up from the hallway noted below on the map. Please be sure to notify their classroom teacher so they know your student is being picked up.
A few other things:
- Make sure your child uses the restroom before going to the line-up rooms.
- Cameras are welcome, but food and drink are not allowed in the auditorium.
- Please silence devices for the performance.
- Below is a link to access the Rockford High School Auditorium YouTube channel where our programs will be livestreamed.
❖ https://www.youtube.com/@RHS_AuditoriumPlease
Please call 863-6374 ext. 6212 or email erito@rockfordschools.org with any questions!
Mrs. Erika Rito -
All information can be found below and in the flyer.
Arrival: We will have signs posted at the entrance of NRMS and throughout the halls leading to the lower gymnasium. Please have one family member drop your student off in their assigned area with their classroom teacher along the edges of the gym. Each class’ meeting spot will be labeled with their teacher’s name on a sign! Make sure a teacher is present before leaving them and then head to find a seat in the bleachers. Please take all your student’s belongings such as coats, hats, boots, etc. with you. We will not leave anything in these areas.
What should my student wear to the program? Please have your student wear their music program best. For example, button-down shirt, sweater, skirt/dress, khakis, black pants, dress shoes. Departure: Plan to have one family member pick your student up from the same spot you dropped your student off. Please be sure to notify their classroom teacher so they know your student is being picked up before you leave.
A few other things:
- Make sure your child uses the restroom before going to the class meeting areas.
- Please silence devices for the performance.
Please call 863-6374 ext. 6212 or email erito@rockfordschools.org with any questions!
Mrs. Erika Rito
Family Skate Day
The Roguewood PTO will host a Family Skate Day Fundraiser at Cedar Rock Sportsplex on Saturday, March 22 from 10:00-12:00. The cost is $10, and Cedar Rock will give $2 back for every person who attends. Skate rentals are an additional $5. Families and friends are welcome!
GRASP
GRASP is a correspondence program for students in Kindergarten through 8th grades which helps students maintain reading and math skills while they are on summer break. The fees for the summer of 2025 are $26 for one subject or $48 for both subjects for each student. You can enroll your student for the book version (grades K-8) or the optional online version (grades 4-8) by completing the registration and payment online. Just search for GRASP in the top search bar of the page.
Yearbook Orders Due Apr. 6
This year yearbook ordering is ONLINE only. You may click the photo below and it will take you to the yearbook ordering page. You can search for the school or put in the following Yearbook ID code - 14559825.
SchoolStore
SchoolStore is a fundraising opportunity that Roguewood was presented with for 2025; it is not through the PTO.
How does it work?
The idea of SchoolStore is that by using our school code when shopping online at hundreds of retailers, a percentage of the sale will come back to school for use for non-funded PTO activities, materials, and other school experiences.
Families can choose to participate as much or as little as they want. The first step is signing up at SchoolStore.net using our School ID: 198531. You can send emails to family members and friends so that they can also use our school code for their purchases as well.
Every student can receive a Book Buddy, which is a stuffed animal, for signing up and sending 6 emails. Students can earn additional prizes as they earn points (points are based on purchases, families do not need to participate). This is purely optional.
Once we reach our participation goal (a percentage of students registered) Roguewood will be entered into a weekly drawing to win a Book Vending Machine!
Information packets are available in the office. If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Yon jyon@rockfordschools.org or me at asantillan@rockfordschools.org.
Roguewood PTO
To facilitate relations between educators and parents to accomplish the same goals of expanding the educational, charitable, literary, scientific and familial needs of both educator and parents.
PTO Social Media Policy
At the January 14, 2025 PTO Meeting, the Roguewood PTO Social Media Policy was approved. All members should review the policy posted. Any questions can be sent to the PTO email roguewoodpto@gmail.com. Thank you for your support!
Warm Fuzzies
If you're not familiar with Warm Fuzzies…it's on Tuesdays where we treat the staff throughout the school year with delicious treats! Packaged or homemade treats are welcome. Feel free to partner with another family or do it yourself! See Warm Fuzzies Signup HERE!!
Any questions: RoguewoodPTO@gmail.com
Spanish Immersion (SI) Boosters
What is the Spanish Immersion (SI) Booster Club?
The SI Booster Club is a group of parent volunteers who raise funds to support the RPS K-12 Spanish Immersion program. Staff submit requests and funds are disbursed throughout the year to support the Spanish Immersion program from kindergarten through high school.
What do we fund?
Spanish Immersion K-12 classrooms at Roguewood Elementary School, North Rockford Middle School, Rockford Freshman Center, and Rockford High School.
Rockford SI Boosters Email: rockfordsiboosters@gmail.com
Watch D.o.g.s.
We are excited to announce that the Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads Of Great Students) program is back at Roguewood Elementary! We can’t wait to welcome our awesome Watch D.O.G.S., both new and returning, to join us in making a positive impact on our students.
If you are interested in being a Watch D.O.G., please check out our video, instruction slides, and SignUp Genius to get started. It’s a great opportunity to be involved in our school community!
If you’re new to Roguewood or unfamiliar with the program, you can learn more about Watch D.O.G.S. on their official website. Our Watch D.O.G.S. representative, Miguel Quintanilla, is also happy to answer any questions you may have, so feel free to let us know and we will connect you with him.
We look forward to seeing our amazing Watch D.O.G.S. in action!
Reminders
OFFICE REMINDERS
Absences MUST be called into the office 616.863.6374 or emailed to the front office - jbradley@rockfordschools.org
Please leave a message on our general voicemail box if you are calling after hours. Whether you are reporting an absence on our voicemail or email, the State of Michigan requires us to know the following:
Student's name and teacher
Reason for absence - if it is an illness we need to know the symptoms of the illness - vomiting, coughing, fever, cold, diarrhea, lice - whatever the reason may be
Do You Need to Drop Something Off?
If you have an item that needs to get to a student, simply drop it off on our bookcase in our vestibule and provide the student’s name and classroom on a Post-It note. We will make sure it gets where it needs to go.
NO CELLPHONES OR SMART WATCHES
Students with a cellphone will be asked to turn the phone off and not use them during the school day. Please do not text or call your student on their device during the school day. This creates a distraction to the classroom. We will always help with communication through the office or an email to the teacher if needed.
Students with Apple watches or other wrist devices are asked not use the device to communicate during the school day.
Students who need to contact home because they are ill or wondering about the end of the day pick up should talk to their classroom teacher who will help them navigate next steps of support.
Devices at school are distracting to students during the learning day and we ask that unless your student needs the device to communicate after school that they stay home.
Thank you for your support.
LABEL EVERYTHING
The winter weather is here, and students are dressing in layers, which means our lost and found will be growing. To avoid your student’s clothing from going into the lost and found PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING!!! Label all coats, boots, mittens, hats, etc. Labeling items will ensure they will back it back home!
Seussical
Get your tickets now for Rockford High School's musical, Seussical! March 6, 7, and 8 at 8pm, March 9 at 3pm, March 13, 14,15 at 7pm and March 16 at 3pm. Tickets are $20 and children 12 and under are $12. Purchase tickets HERE.
SAP - School Assistance Program
Access support today!
Say “I have an SAP with Rockford Public Schools” when you call 800.442.0809 and press “1.” Every RPS family member in your household is eligible. The Rockford Education Foundation (REF) has proudly partnered with Rockford Public Schools to provide expert counseling, therapy, and resources through Pine Rest’s School Assistance Program (SAP).
Rockford family night
You're invited to kick off your summer with the West Michigan Whitecaps! A portion of each ticket bought will be donated directly back to the schools. The game is on Tuesday, May 20th at 6:05pm. Gates open at 4:50pm. Tickets cost $18 each or $24 with a hotdog and a soda. Tickets can be purchased at https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Rockfordfamily25
