Ravenswood Elementary School
Our History Our Administration Principal's Newsletter Achievements Alumni Contact Us
General Information Returning Student Checklist Parent Handbook Pre-K / Preschool Kindergarten & 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th & 6th Grade 7th & 8th Grade Essentials Classes (Arts & PE) Student Supports School Supply Lists BASA Extracurriculars Ravenswood Sports Ravenswood Spiritwear
Overview for Prospective Families School Tours & Visits Enroll at Ravenswood Pre-K Admissions K-8th Grade Registration Before & After School Care Community & Connections Diverse Learners Extracurriculars
Bilingual Advisory Committee (BAC) Local School Council (LSC) FAME Committee Circle of Help Ways to Help Volunteering TEDxYouth@RavenswoodES
Newsletter Share News Social Media School Tours Calendar Contact Us SIgn up for BASA Donate to FORS School Hours
Ravenswood Elementary School

5th & 6th Grade Overview

Our Ravenswood Junior Middle School (5th & 6th grade) is an exciting new experience in students’ educational journeys. As an RJMS student, there will be many first that will be taking place during the school year. RJMS is the start of preparing students for the academic, social and organizational expectations of high school and marks a shift on what we expect from students in their Ravenswood experience. The teachers and administrators ensure the transition from a self-contained setting to a departmentalized structure will be as smooth as possible.

You’ll find information on all of our 5th & 6th plans below. Please scroll down, or click on a link, to learn more.

 

Our Junior Middle School Teachers

Please feel free to email your student’s teacher directly to discuss any questions or concerns.

 
Featured
Marc Garcia
Marc Garcia

email: [email protected]

Mr. Garcia is a native Chicagoan who was born on the Southeast Side many Halloween nights ago to a Polish mother and a Mexican father. He holds four degrees, A.A.S; A.S; B.S in Ed; M.S in Ed; and has an endorsement in middle school mathematics from the University of Chicago, Sesame Program. His DNA is a part of Ravenswood and he considers himself fortunate to know no other school in Chicago. He feels very lucky to be part of such an outstanding school community and every year has been a new and amazing learning experience.

He started teaching in 2000, and has been at Ravenswood for his entire teaching career.

I’m the winner of many grants including the Oppenheimer, Rochelle Lee, and a $3000 library grant from scholastic books. I am a lifelong brother of Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity Inc, a service and social fraternity dedicated to the cultural,social, and academic advancement of Latinos and all people of color.

Tim Hart
Tim Hart

email: [email protected]

“If you know, teach. If you receive, give. Pass it on.” Mr. Hart shares this quote by the late Maya Angelou over and over in hopes of developing a cycle of students seeing themselves as both learners and teachers, and to develop a community where we all receive and give.

Mr. Hart has been teaching at Ravenswood for over 25 years. After graduating from UIC and working in the business field for three years, he received his Master’s in Teaching and Learning from DePaul University and entered the teaching profession.

He is proud to be a part of the amazing place called Ravenswood School and work alongside other passionate, dedicated educators.

Nicholas Fish
Nicholas Fish

Contact: [email protected]

Mr. Fish is originally from Madison, WI. He graduated from UW-Madison with a Bachelors in History and a Masters in Curriculum & Instruction. Mr. Fish has spent time living and teaching in South Korea for 6 years prior to his arrival in CPS. He began working for CPS/Ravenswood in 2021 and really enjoys being a part of the Ravenswood community. Mr. Fish always strives to create a classroom environment where students can think from multiple perspectives, communicate effectively and respectfully with each other, and have fun while they are learning.

In his free time, Mr. Fish enjoys watching and playing sports, reading, cooking and walking his dog Alfie. You can find Mr. Fish in room 104 at Ravenswood.

Danielle Perez
Danielle Perez

This is Ms.Perez's first year at Ravenswood but she is so excited to meet all of her incoming students. Ms.Perez grew up on the Northside of Chicago. She attended NEIU where she received her Bachelors in Arts, focusing on Middle School Math and Science and then attended Concordia where she received her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. Previously, Ms.Perez taught middle school science in Schiller Park.

During her free time she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, cooking, and traveling whenever she can get a chance.

Danielle Gilman
Danielle Gilman

email: [email protected]

David Zavala
David Zavala

Email: [email protected]

Mr. Zavala started his career at Ravenswood Elementary during the 2021-2022 school year as the middle school resource teacher and continues in his role. He has been working the majority of his teaching career with middle school students with 4 years experience working with high school students at an alternative school in Arizona. Special education is his career passion, where he has been working in this discipline since the beginning of his teaching career. He has spent the last 5 years working in the resource classroom setting, providing one-on-one and small group instruction. Mr. Zavala stated that he is overwhelmed with gratitude and is honored to be working at Ravenswood Elementary and alongside the parent community.

Mr. Zavala is originally from El Paso, TX. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he moved to the Phoenix, AZ metroplex where he eventually earned his master’s degree in Special Education and began his career.

Mr. Zavala has a 10 year old son (canine) named Oreo, a miniature piebald (black & white) dachshund. He loves all baseball (including women’s softball), specifically the Cubs. He’s also a huge fan of college football, with no school that he roots for. Mr. Zavala enjoys taking walks with his son and riding his bike with his son-Oreo as well.

Kim Acosta
Kim Acosta

email: [email protected]

Bio coming soon!

Our Junior Middle School (JMS) Curriculum

RJMS students explore identity through poetry, and share their poems with their classmates and the school

RJMS students explore identity through poetry, and share their poems with their classmates and the school

We explore “short form” writing, and post our comments to a (private) Twitter account!

We explore “short form” writing, and post our comments to a (private) Twitter account!

Apart from Homeroom, students will now be traveling to five different academic classes every day: Essentials, English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Students will have their choice of essentials classes and will be in classes with both 5th and 6th JMS students.

This is a very special time in young adolescent development. Our JMS team is very mindful of this, and have been thoughtfully developing systems and programs to support our students. In addition to our core curriculum, we will focus on increasing academic rigor, fostering independence, building positive healthy relationships with self and others, and highlighting personal responsibility. These key areas are the foundations of interpersonal success.

We also offer a weekly advisory block to give students and teachers a chance to reconnect, check in, express concerns, and problem solve issues that affect the JMS student at any given time.

All of our students are also encouraged to join our JMS Homework Club, which provides before and after school academic support, computer access, and a quiet place to work and learn.

 

5th & 6th Grade Daily Schedule

 
RJMS students participate in a classroom Poetry Slam, complete with beverages, snacks, and a coffee-shop ambiance.

RJMS students participate in a classroom Poetry Slam, complete with beverages, snacks, and a coffee-shop ambiance.

Every day is different, especially for our RJMS students. Students are rotating classrooms and choosing electives for the first time. The typical day for a junior middle school student may go something like this:

  • 8:45am - 9:45am - Essentials Classes. These change every quarter, and our JMS students decide which electives they want to take.

  • 9:45 - 10:45am - Homeroom

  • 10:45 - 11:45am - Social Studies or Science

  • 11:45 - 12:45pm - Science or Social studies

  • 12:45 - 1:00pm - Math or ELA

  • 1:00 - 1:55pm - Lunch & Recess

  • 1:55 - 2:40 - ELA or Math

  • 2:40 - 3:40pm - ELA or Math

Students also have a weekly advisory session that allows them to connect with teachers, check in, express concerns, and problem solve issues.


 

Grading & Homework in Junior Middle School

 

JMS grading is based on a standard scale:

  • 100-90% - A - Exceeding Grade Level Standards

  • 89-80% - B - Above Grade Level Standards

  • 79 - 70% - C - Meeting Grade Level Standards

  • 69 - 60% - D - Below Grade Level Standards

  • 59% or below - F - Well Below Grade Level Standards

We do have homework in JMS! We strongly encourage students to take advantage of our Homework Club. Homework club provides additional instruction and help and a quiet place to work for all of our JMS students. Your teachers will send home more information on how and when to sign up.

 

Our JMS Parent Community

We welcome all parents, guardians and family of 5th and 6th graders to join our classroom community!

Our teachers send out a monthly newsletter. Please send them your email address to get the latest news and updates.

Our RJMS students have a variety of extracurricular activities open to them. Extracurriculars help students develop new skills, and are also a great chance for parents to mingle and connect.

RJMS parents run Facebook pages for both 5th and 6th grades. If you’d like to join the grade’s page, please ask your room parent for the link - or ask a teacher to connect you to your grade’s room parents! Please note that this is a closed Facebook group, so conversations are private, and we will ask you to confirm your student’s name.

We always need help getting organized. Please reach out to your room parents or teachers for ways to help in the classroom. Please note that, per CPS policy, you do need to be a registered volunteer.

Field Trips

We still take field trips in RJMS. As with earlier years, the field trips will align with students’ studies. We’ll take advantage of the many wonderful museums and institutions our city has to offer.

Considering High School in Grades 5 & 6

Though there’s still plenty of time, we do encourage our junior middle school students to begin thinking about high schools in grades 5 & 6.

Our school counselor will talk with each student individually about their ideas and goals. These sessions may include an overview of the student’s grades to this point, a discussion of interests and enthusiasms, and reviews of test scores. We’ll also start to review timelines and details of the GoCPS application process.

 

Supplies, Wish Lists & Donors Choose

Your financial support of our classrooms is very much appreciated!

 

Supply Lists

We’ll update our school supply lists at the end of the school year. For now, please consider supporting us through Donors Choose or by purchasing items on our wish lists!

Wish Lists

We wish our school supplies lasted all year. Since they don’t, we’ve made wish lists of materials that we really need to replace. Our teachers may reach out with supply needs throughout the year. If you can, please support our students with these additional purchases.

Donors Choose

For larger classroom purchases, or for capital supplies like bookcases or seating, we request grants and funding from Donors Choose. Your support of our projects helps our students and may be tax deductible.

Parent Supports

Parenting is never easy. We’re here to help.

Our school counselor provides counseling, free of charge, to all Ravenswood students. Families are encouraged to reach out at any time.

We ask that parents help support their JMS students in the transition to a new structure. Talking through the new process and letting students know how excited their parents and teachers are for them will help students adjust.

If you have any questions or concerns about your student’s schoolwork, classroom behavior, social & emotional skills, or academic performance, please feel free to email your teacher.