The first round of TAKS testing begins March 1st. In just 16 school days, students in grades 4, 7, 9, 10, & 11 will take the reading/writing tests. Daily attendance is important for children to be successful in school. Good attendance is also an important aspect of state funding for our school. Please make an effort to have your child at school each and every day. Parents play an important role in their child’s learning. Parents are their children’s first teachers, and the home is the first school. Good study habits are essential to student success. Good study habits are learned, they don’t just happen. When kids come home from school, do they study, do they read a book, or do they sit glued to the television or their cell phone or the Internet? Parent involvement is a key to student success. Do they see us reading? Do we eat together, or does everybody "grab a bite" and dash out the door? Do we talk and listen? Do we help with homework? Are we active in the PTA? Do we make sure we attend all parent-teacher conferences, or do we use work as an excuse to skip out occasionally? With parenthood comes responsibility and accountability. Please do your part to help your child be successful. Your child’s education is important - make the most of it!

Last week, the winter storm that hit early Tuesday morning saw the closing of many area public schools, including Richland Springs School which closed all day Tuesday. As temperatures remained below freezing through Friday, classes started at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This allowed for daylight driving on bus routes, as some area roadways still had frozen precipitation. The safety of our students and staff is paramount.

Boys’ basketball coach Shawn Rogers and the varsity boys’ basketball team are currently tied with Eden for 2

Claudia Morrow, representing Central Texas Telephone, announced the winner of CTC’s essay contest. This year’s winner of a trip to Washington, D.C. is Richland Springs’ junior Wyatt Ramsey. This is the second year in a row that a Richland Springs’ student has won the trip to the nation’s capital. Last year’s winner was Stephen Fowler, who said that the trip to Washington, D.C. was the trip of a lifetime! Ashley Ferguson won third place and $100 in the contest. Our students competed with 14 area schools in the contest. Congrats to Wyatt and Ashley.

The National Honor Society students do a community involvement project each year. This year several NHS students have elected to do a project to help one of their fellow NHS members and her family. The Ed Smith family lost their home and all their belongings in a fire that occurred the morning of February 2

It’s great to see our community supporting students in their efforts to achieve. We have a great community, students, teachers and staff. It takes everyone working together to achieve success.

Community involvement is the key to success

nd place in the district race with an 8-2 district record. The boys dropped into 2nd place in the district race after a thrilling double overtime loss to the Lometa Hornets last Tuesday. Girls’ basketball coach Pam Starr and the Lady Coyotes are 3-8 in district. The varsity teams played a make-up game with Cherokee on Monday, and at Lohn this Tuesday. The Coyotes have an open date this Friday and will not play. The Monday game was the last home varsity basketball game. Seniors playing their last home game were Brooke Bennett, Emily Smith, Stephen Fowler, Brennen McGinty, Stephen Soto-Thornhill, Elbert Thomas, and Bryan Torres. Come out and support our young athletes in UIL competition.nd. The fundraiser is planned for March 5th, and more details will follow. Our community has always supported those in need.