RK Finn Ryan Road Elementary School

Would you like this newsletter translated? Here are the steps to follow:

• At the top there is a black menu bar and pick the option that says "Translate."
• Select the language you would like the newsletter to be translated into and it will translate on the webpage.

¿Quiere que le traduzcan este boletín? Estos son los pasos a seguir:

• En la parte superior hay una barra de menú negra y elige la opción que dice "Traducir".
• Selecciona el idioma al que quieres que se traduzca el boletín y se traducirá en la página web.

In order to view Smore newsletters in larger font, please click "View in Browser"

RK Finn Ryan Road Elementary School Community,

We are heartbroken by another act of school violence this week in Nashville, TN. We continue to be aware that we have students and members of our community who come with a wide range of knowledge, understanding, and awareness of events taking place in our world. Supporting students and our community in individually and developmentally appropriate ways is a priority.

On Tuesday, March 28th, we were asked to engage in a Stay in Place by our district leadership. During this time, our students and staff were prepared and calm. We were able to return to our daily routine after approximately 15 minutes. There was no incident at RK Finn Ryan Road, but rather an incident regarding a hoax at another school in the district.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to myself, our School Counselor, Ms. Connolly, or any member of our staff, and let us know if there are specific students who are in need of more individualized support. Please also know that we are providing support for students on a classroom level as well.

In gratitude for your partnership,

Mrs. Albano

Last week, Grade 1 baked another delicious dessert to share with the Cot shelter in downtown Northampton. The smells of cupcakes filled the school with sweetness! Thank you students for your thoughtfulness.

On Tuesday, March 21st RK Finn had our first music concert since 2020! We were so excited to see so many members of our school community attend and also noted over 200 views from home on our live stream of the event!

Thank you Mrs. O’Connell for the many months worth of time, support and heart you put into this event. We are grateful for you!

Thank you to Ms. Rocky for helping ensure we can live stream this event (a first for us!) and include our whole community! We are excited about the new possibilities this presents. And to Ms. Minton for sharing our gymnasium space for this event!

Thank you to the RKFRR PTO and Liam Hurley for purchasing the vibrant new sound equipment that will help you hear our students today. Your generosity is truly never ending and makes a difference everyday in enhancing student experience.

Finally, thank you to our students for your hard work and practice to prepare for this music concert. We are exceptionally proud of you today and everyday.

The Harvest of the Month for March is dairy! Last week Bryan Jerksy came in to show students who to make simple butter during lunch. He walked around each table with a few jars that have cream in them. Then students had a chance to shake them, to turn them into butter!

Want to volunteer for Field day June 2, 2023 - please fill out the link below:

https://forms.gle/GrHkWcUencY8wz1N8

The Second Annual Power of Truths conference is being organized in Florence, Massachusetts on April 29-April 30, 2023. The Power of Truths envisions a world where arts and education are powerful tools to create communities where justice and equity are the standard, not outliers. Centered in the practice is the belief that the arts and education can help us create a more just world.

Thanks to generous funding from Senator Jo Comerford’s office we are able to offer free registration for this year’s two-day festival for up to 100 members of the Northampton Public School community. These free registrations are available to all NPS employees (teachers, Educational Support Professionals, administrators, custodial staff, office personnel etc.), all NPS students (most sessions would probably be most engaging for middle and high school students), and all caretakers of NPS students. To register, please go to https://bombyx.live/power-of-truths/ and enter coupon code “NPS” at check out.

Time to do some spring cleaning? Please drop off clothing (in bags) in the bin in our front lobby!

Please help us support a JFK student who is collecting gently used clothing for Project 351!

What is Project 351? Project 351 seeks to develop the next generation of community-first service leaders through customized service learning, hands-on community-building, and values-based leadership training. Annually, Ambassadors from each of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts are selected by hometown educators for their exemplary ethic of service and the values of kindness, compassion, humility, and gratitude.

Project 351 Values include:

• Kindness: The quality of being friendly, generous, considerate, and warm toward all others
• Compassion: The instinct to care deeply about others through greater understanding of their life story and circumstances
• Humility: The characteristic of being modest, especially when using one’s power for the good of the community
• Gratitude: The quality of being thankful; demonstrating appreciation and kindness with joy

We still have a large amount of clothing in our lost and found and are not able to hold onto them indefinitely. As such, we will be bringing out our coat rack full of clothing and will be donating anything not picked up early next week.

Please reach out if you are looking for something specific that is missing and we will be happy to help!

Rowan and Aaliyah helped us make birthday announcements last week and selected the song we played to celebrate!

Starting in April, we will begin administering our Spring 2023 MCAS Testing in Grades 3-5.

The English Language Arts MCAS will take place in April, and the Math MCAS will take place in May. All of the MCAS assessments are online. It is very important that students be present for testing and arrive to school on time. We encourage families to avoid making appointments for students on testing days.

It is important to remember that any test is only one measure of a child’s performance at school. Teacher evaluations through the years, day-to-day work, and other types of performance assessments and projects are additional ways to evaluate learning. However, these tests are important, and we will be doing all we can to prepare our students to take these tests with calm confidence.

Some parents have asked for more information about MCAS tests. Here is a resource link to practice tests that we will be using at school, but you can also take a look at them at home if you wish.

http://mcas.pearsonsupport.com/tutorial/

MCAS Testing 2023 Dates for Ryan Road School

Grade 3:

• ELA: April 6 & April 12
• Math: May 3 & May 11

Grade 4:

• ELA: April 4 & April 11
• Math: May 2 & May 9

Grade 5:

• ELA: April 7 & April 13
• Math: May 4 & May 10
• Science: May 18 & May 19

Stay up to date with all of our school activities on our School Website’s Calendar!

• http://www.northamptonschools.org/rk-finn-ryan-road-calendar/

Upcoming Dates:

• Thursday, March 30th, 6-7 - Game Night @ RKFRR

The NPS district calendar has been updated as of 11/10/22 to accommodate MCAS testing. Click here to read the letter from the School Committee regarding these changes.

YEP Reminders:

• New YEP sessions are now available for registration - Check your student backpacks!
  

YMCA: The YMCA. Hampshire YMCA runs an afterschool program at the school until 6pm. Space is limited. Contact the Hampshire YMCA directly for more information.

Website: https://ryanroadpto.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RKFRRPTO

Meetings (via Zoom - link sent on the day-of-ish) 6:30pm to 7:00pm:

• 4/26
• 5/24
• No June Meeting

As always, we hope that all families and caregivers feel welcome, comfortable, and valued at our school. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. I am happy to meet with any of you or we can talk on the phone anytime.

Karen Albano, Principal

RK Finn Ryan Road Elementary School

Email: kalbano@northampton-k12.us
Website: https://northamptonschools.org/project/rk-finn-ryan-road-school/
Location: 498 Ryan Road, Florence, MA, USA
Phone: 413-587-1550