Dear Families, Faculty, and Staff,
This was a week filled with music….your ears must have been buzzing! Across all levels, our students came together with the sounds of music. There is no better time of the year, truly impressive! RHS performers had a full house at their Winter Concert on Wednesday evening.
Our students from Family Consumer Science kicked off the Board of Education meeting on Monday night by sharing their RHS experience while also sharing some delicious treats with the BOE and audience members; it pays to come in person! I then had the opportunity to experience the same students in their class at RHS in their class during International Foods Month the following Tuesday morning. The students were amazing! While listening to “Fado” music and warming my heart with a Portuguese traditional soup, “caldo verde”, they showed me how independent and skilled they are in the kitchen.
Next Thursday will be my last update until January 6th.
May you have a peaceful weekend.
Warmly,
Susie
Susie Da Silva Ed.D.
Cold and flu season has arrived in Ridgefield. In addition to COVID-19 we have seen a rise in respiratory illnesses like Influenza and RSV, and other viruses. If your child tests positive for Influenza or RSV please alert your school nurse.
We ask the community to take the following precautions to prevent the spread of these respiratory illnesses:
Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact such as kissing, hugging, and sharing cups or eating utensils with people who are sick.
Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or upper shirtsleeve, not your hands.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick.
Stay home when sick and alert your school nurse.
Consider wearing a close-fitting mask around other people while respiratory symptoms are present.
Stay up to date with your vaccinations such as flu and COVID. Many of the local pharmacies have both flu and COVID vaccines available.
Photo: Barlow Mountain Elementary students and teacher practicing good hygiene during recent health class.
Ridgebury Elementary principal Mary Scalise shared this photo of the faculty and staff RULER charter, which pictures the RES mascot Rex under a tree that identifies how members of the school want to feel while at work. Principal Scalise writes, "The Charter, brought to life by Kerry Williams and Kara Shepard, is designed to build and sustain a positive climate. It represents agreed-upon norms for how all staff members want to feel, as well as what needs to happen or change for those feelings to be consistently present. At RES, we want to feel optimistic, secure, valued, supported and inspired."
Principal Scalise reports that this week's faculty meeting included an interactive RULER activity that went beyond the colors of the mood meter (photo) to help students (and staff) identify their emotions. RULER stands for Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating emotions, and is part of many tools RPS teachers use to help teach students (and themselves) to understand and regulate their social and emotional behavior.
R: Where are you on the Mood Meter?
U: What is causing you to feel this way?
L: What word best describes your feeling?
E: How are you expressing this feeling?
R: How do you want to feel? What strategy will you use to stay or shift?
Teachers enjoyed a seasonal hot chocolate bar and baked treats that hopefully boosted their moods.
Invest in RHS! Ridgefield High School business teacher Jesse Peterkin reports that his business students competed in the FinTron Stock Market Challenge at the University of Bridgeport on December 1. The challenge is an interactive, simulated stock market trading game, occurring in real-time and synched with the actual stock market where students are granted $100,000 in simulated cash to invest in stocks. Hundreds of students competed in the challenge from across the state. Ridgefield had 13 teams with a total of 46 students participating. A team from Ridgefield (photo above) won first place and took home a $4,000 grand prize! The grand prize winners were Caroline DelGuidice, Hudson Podielsky, Jack Johnstone, and Jay Caterina. Podielsky said, “It was such a great learning opportunity for students who want to learn more about the stock market, business, and investing.” To see a video about FinTron including interviews with RHS champions (4-minute mark), click here.
Scotts Ridge Middle School has been putting the ideas from the book Building Thinking Classrooms into practice, say SRMS math teachers Amanda Johnson and Merryl Polak. "There's a lot to it," explains Dr. Polack, "but one of the key components is encouraging group dynamics where students complete work at the vertical whiteboards grappling through problem-solving (large and small)."
Ms. Johnson explains that Building the Thinking Classroom comes from the work of Peter Liljedahl who aims to get students to think more deeply. "Students use vertical non-permanent surfaces to work through low-floor, high-ceiling type problems in randomly-selected groups of three," writes Johnson. The randomness of the grouping is important, according to Liljedahl, because it means that each member enters the lesson knowing they need to contribute. His website elaborates, "the use of frequent and visibly random groupings was shown to break down social barriers within the room, increase knowledge mobility, reduce stress, and increase enthusiasm for mathematics."
ESPN Sports reached out to RHS girls ice hockey goalie Ashley Collins this week to see if they could repost the video of her clutch save. Ashley had just started singing the National Anthem at last Wednesday's Nia Simpson Memorial Game when the mic cut out. Unfazed Ashley continued to sing unplugged, her beautiful voice rising to the Winter Garden Ice Arena rafters. Here is a clip of the video that caught the attention of ESPN and had over 660,000 views on TikTok just an hour after the goalie posted it. Grace under pressure, Ashley!
Ridgefield CT 06877