RPS Update

This past Monday, I presented the Superintendent’s Proposed Budget to the Board of Education; you can find the presentation here. While I had the pleasure of introducing the 2024-25 budget, it is built on the work of our faculty and administrators. We are proud of the budget presented and look forward to answering questions and receiving feedback over the next few weeks. On Saturday, January 27, each of our cost centers will present to the Board of Education during a full-day remote budget meeting. Our teams are excited to share their work! The meeting can be viewed on YouTube by clicking here. Community members may submit questions during the budget meeting by using this form. Jill Browne, our Director of Finance and I will participate in a special budget podcast next week hosted by Dr. Wes DeSantis- it will be shared next week.

On Friday morning, the BOE Curriculum Committee met and provided K-12 updates in mathematics, literacy and VPA, as well as world language and gifted. In addition to catching up on these highlights, visit the RPS curriculum site engagED where you can view all of our curriculum presentations!

Have a great weekend.

Warmly,

Susie

Susie Da Silva, Ed.D

Please check your school's calendar for important dates.

It's budget season. Please read full newsletter to learn more about the Superintendent's Proposed Budget, the Budget Calendar, and more!

Tuesday, January 30

RHS Auditorium

7 PM

Performing groups will be a 5th-Grade Honors Chorus, the Chamber Choirs and 8th Grade Choruses from both middle schools, and the RHS Choirs. It will surely be a great night of choral singing.

The tentative last day of school for students is now Thursday, June 13. Teacher PD day is now Friday, June 14. RHS Graduation (which will not change with weather-related closings) is on Friday, June 14.

Superintendent Dr. Da Silva presented the proposed School Year 2025 Budget at the Board of Education meeting on Monday. The budget features the introduction of a World Language Program at Elementary Schools, a new pre-kindergarten cohort at Veterans Park Elementary, a full-time assistant principal at Barlow Mountain Elementary, and more. The budget and supporting materials can be found by scanning the QR code.

Who compares RPS to the '91 Bulls and why? Watch the video below to find the answer to that question and other staff and student responses to the question, What Makes RPS Special?

Special thanks to Scotland Principal Jill Katkocin (site manager, on air-talent, and camera person), Joy Craig, Tony Marx, Josh Sette, Katelyn Root, Kat Mellen, Matthew Goetz, Katie Blake, and Geena Stillson. Students: Haddiie, Owen, Naomi Vakil, Clementine, Dylan, Harper, and Ava; the RHS Jazz Band directed by George Beratis; MS Select Chorus; the Combined ERMS, SRMS, RHS Chorus under the direction of Lauren Verney-Fink; and archival footage of the great RHS Dance Team. Extras include: Michelle Flynn (appearing two times), Kristen Funk, Elizabeth Crabbe, Tim Salem, Cory Gillette, Dr. Susie Da Silva, Dr. Liz Hannaway, RHS Principal Dr. Jake Greenwood, and many other beloved RPS students and faculty. You are all special!

Anyone else dreaming of summer? RPS has been putting their heads together to design enriching and engaging summer programs for every level. See more of their exciting programs below. Registration to open on February 5 at 12 pm.

Three Options for RHS Summer Bridge

1- Traditional Intensive Courses—3 days of interdisciplinary, project-based experiences.

2- Tune-Up/Boot Camp Courses: A chance for students to tune-up their skills in a particular subject

3- Courses for RHS Credit (10th-12th grade only)

3 day Intensive:9AM-12PM ($250)

Tune Up/Boot Camp: 9AM-12PM ($300)

Course for Credit: 18 days 8:30AM-12PM ($900)

James Cox-Donovan, Alex Irving, Gabriel Uceda-Sosa, and Petru Zubek recently learned that they are candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.

From the government website: "The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields."

We have quite the exceptional story this week on Ridgefield Tiger Talk! Joining us on the show is Michael McNamara the 6-12 Visual Performing Arts Department Chair and Lauren Verney-Fink, the RHS Choral Director. Recently, high school and middle school students from RPS were able to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. We talked to Lauren about this amazing journey, how they prepared, and what’s next for the choir! Also, don’t forget that there is a concert at Ridgefield high school next Tuesday, January 30. Thanks for listening!

Curriculum News—Presentation on Math Placement Process

Math Pathways, Placement Process, and More

District math curriculum leaders along with elementary and middle school math teachers led an informative presentation about Grades 5-8 math placement yesterday, Thursday, January 25. They gave a detailed description of math pathways, the different data sources used for math placement, the waiver procedure, and the audit they conduct for each student to confirm that the student will be in a course that is a good fit. They also answered questions from families to clarify the process and ways to support their young mathematicians. Families can access this and archived presentations on the RPS Curriculum engagED Website. The Google form to submit questions to the math team will be available here through the end of January. Please note the following dates and look at the resources already available on the Parents page of the Curriculum Website.

Elementary Mathematics (recorded)

Skills for Life (recorded)

Mathematics Placement Process (recorded)

Artificial Intelligence - February 29 @ 11:00 am

Science of Reading - March 28 @ 10:00 am

Next Generation Science Standards - April 25 @ 11:00 am

In grades K-8, students complete universal screeners three times a year in reading and mathematics. These diagnostics help teachers support the needs and build upon the strengths of our students. Recently, additional resources for families have been added to the engagED webpage on the RPS Curriculum Site. The engagED page provides important information for families and community members to support learning at home, in school, and beyond. The page includes information about aimsWebPLUS Reading and NWEA Mathematics used in the Elementary grades as well as the iReady Reading and Mathematics diagnostics given in Middle School.

In previous newsletters (RPS Updates 9.15.23 and 1.19.24), you might have read about RPS’ partnership with Dr. Ben Powers from the Southport School/CoLab. So far this year, Dr. Powers has provided professional learning around the Science of Reading to the elementary schools and the K-8 Administration Team. Separately, you might have learned about the initial implementation of the curricular resource Building Vocabulary in fourth and fifth grade to support vocabulary instruction.

Morphology is the study of word knowledge (Greek and Latin roots) and vocabulary development. “The Morphology Project” was inspired by new learning from Dr. Powers and the adoption of Building Vocabulary, the curricular resource at the elementary level. The purpose of the work is to engage an interdisciplinary team of RPS Middle School teachers in morphology professional development to understand how strategic instruction in morphology at the secondary level can unlock vocabulary and help students make meaning when reading for information. The interdisciplinary team includes teachers, specialists, and leaders representing grades 6-8 across the disciplines of Literacy, Mathematics, Science, English Language Arts, Special Education, and Social Studies.

At the end of January, this team will embark on the first major step in the journey by attending a full-day workshop, led by Alan Becker from Teacher Created Materials (TCM) and serve as a think-tank to design ways to integrate morphology instruction using an interdisciplinary approach. While this work is in its beginning stages, Dr. Annie Tucci, 6-12 Humanities supervisor said, “We are anticipating a highly engaging day of learning and synergy!”

Once that first stage is complete, a review team will provide feedback and recommendations for revision. When finalized, middle school team teachers will engage with the materials, resources, and strategies during future professional development sessions for all middle school staff in the summer of 2024.

RPS is excited to be a part of the milestone experience of kindergarten registration with our youngest students and their families. We ask that RPS families alert their neighbors, friends, etc. that kindergarten registration is open. Because of the change in CT's cut off date, prior planning will be particularly important this year so please enroll students ASAP.

The State of Connecticut announced a new cut off date so all children who reach the age of five (5) on or before September 1, 2024 are eligible for enrollment. RPS wants to work with families during this transition year. Please read all of the information here. The following dates might be helpful in preparing for this exciting rite of passage.

Any registration questions may be directed to our District Registrar Brigid Clancy.

bclancy@ridgefieldps.net.

Please check your students' e-Backpack for this important information and other programs across the district. Organizations that meet the RPS policy may submit their request for inclusion to cmelagrano@ridgefieldps.net.

Tickets for the RHS Spring Musical, Little Women, are available here.

Ridgefield Theater Boosters posted a photo on Instagram of students presenting local charity Ann’s Place with a check in honor of long-time RHS director and teacher Joyce Flanagan, who is battling breast cancer.

RHS senior and Theater Booster social media manager Shelby Lewis reports that they raised the donation from concessions and some ticket sales from one of the performances of The Play That Goes Wrong. “It was a ‘play for pink’ show,” Shelby writes, “similar to how many of the sports teams will sponsor one of their games for Ann's Place or another organization.”

Joyce Flanagan is a former RHS choir teacher and director of the RHS theater department for many years before she retired and Sherry Cox came to RHS. When Mrs. Cox had to step back from directing the musical last year, Mrs. Flanagan (called Flan by the students) came out of her retirement to direct the show Into The Woods. After Mrs. Cox announced her retirement at the end of last year, Flan planned to come back to direct the musical but ended up being unable to return due to her breast cancer diagnosis.

The 2024 spring musical, Little Women (opening in March), was chosen by Flan before she knew that she would not be able to direct the show. Because of this and Flan's long and lasting dedication to the RHS visual and performing arts, the senior class and the RHS Theater Boosters Board wanted to dedicate a donation in her honor. Flan chose Ann's Place for the donation because of the work they do for those going through cancer treatment and their families.

“In my four years in the theater program,” writes student Frankie Belden, “we have never done anything like this, and I think it was really meaningful to collect money that not only supports the arts but is also going toward a great cause. Flan is such a wonderful director and person and we miss her a lot, and through this donation, we had something tangible to show that we think of her at every rehearsal and performance. Our program is very grateful for everything she did for us last year and we are confident that she will beat cancer again and continue to be involved with RHS theater in the future.”

Belden continues, “I am also thrilled to have gotten the opportunity to tour Ann's Place, which I had never been inside before. It's so wonderful that we have this incredible resource in our community to help people who are battling cancer. It is a safe space filled with amazing people and events and opportunities, and I know our donation will be put to good use.”

Shelby echoes Frankie’s thoughts about their visit to Ann’s Place. “The experience of visiting the facility and learning about their mission was very meaningful to me personally,” Shelby writes, “since my family has a lot of history with Ann's Place and the work they do is just so great and especially powerful to see first hand knowing that our donation will help them continue this work. It is so wonderful for all of us to know that by participating in the show, something we love doing, we also get the opportunity to help continue the amazing work that Ann's Place does and honor our former director.”

Bravo! Tickets to Little Women are available above.

We can't resist sharing some of the adorable art from this week's Ridgebury Elementary Newsletter

On January 13, the Ridgefield High School Chess club hosted a chess tournament for nearby schools.

The tournament consisted of three rounds, with each school playing each other once in a one hour (max) game. In a chess tournament, the players' opponents are chosen by chair number, which is a way of ranking players, with one being the highest- rated player, and downward. Each player gets their respective chair number.

Leading Ridgefield into battle were Liam Davis (playing first chair), Carson Fincham (second chair), Walter Treat (third chair), and Ava Treat (fourth chair).

The event began at 2:45, with Ridgefield going against Newtown. The first chair, Davis vs. Hammond ended with a win for Ridgefield. The third chair, Treat vs. Albanese, posted another win for Ridgefield, this one dominating from the first moment to the last.

The second round against Danbury provided more difficulty for the players. Ridgefield had no wins, however, players did not view that as a negative thing. “It makes us all better players,” Ava Treat says. “We can see where we made a mistake or blundered, and know not to repeat it. That is definitely one of the aspects of chess that people don’t think about. Every time we lose, we get better going forward."

The third round was Danbury against Newtown, which was an opportunity for Ridgefield to view the games and play each other. It concluded rather quickly, with Danbury again winning all set matches.

Respect and kindness were apparent among the schools throughout the tournament. Not only did the schools all play a joint game together at the conclusion of the event, they all played each other for practice and fun before the tournament began.

For any interested student, the RHS Chess Club meets after school on Wednesdays, welcoming all levels of players.

In the RPS Update's continuing series celebrating PTA Volunteers, we quote from Farmingville PTA President Hilary Saltus, who writes, "I decided to get involved in the elementary PTA because I am a firm believer that a person gets in return what she puts in. I also firmly believe that parents and teachers work together, not separately, to educate our children. I wanted to know their teachers not just as educators, but also as people. Additionally, as a working parent, I wanted my children to see and understand that they were always my priority, which included my being involved at their school as much as was possible for me.

Thank you to Hilary (shown in photo below) and all PTA members for your invaluable support. Please keep an eye out for PTA guidance on the school budget, meetings, and spring happenings.

The RPS PTA Council and Ridgefield Library will co-sponsor a Young Writers' Conference this February with a three-part program designed to inspire creativity for students in grades three to five. More information about the program and registration below and on the Ridgefield Library Website.

Check the RHS Athletic Department Website for game schedules, tickets, and viewing options.

The 2025BB Lions Heart group of 16 RHS junior boys spent all morning this weekend making dog toys for ROAR animal shelter!

The Ridgefield Dance Team took first at Dancin' in the Woods Competition. Congratulations, Tigers!

East Ridge Middle School Chorus Director Kim Russell led the Chamber Singers at this week's Board of Education meeting, once again showcasing the talents of RPS students and teachers!

Last Sunday, Branchville families braved the cold and hit the slopes for a fun day of skiing. Even BES mascot Bob the Beaver and Principal Keith Margolus spread school spirit.

Students and staff at Branchville Elementary wore blue today for their custodian, Mr. Mike. Some like student Sasha Rowe even perfected his signature style. Mike Wlasuk is retiring after more than 30 years in the District. Read more about Mr. Mike in next week's RPS Update.

We would love to hear from you! Families and staff can submit stories, comments, or corrections to RPS Communications. Please follow us on Social Media with links below.