RPS Update

Our schools were closed on Tuesday for Election Day, and while the Ridgefield community voted, RPS faculty and staff engaged in high-quality professional learning. As a learning organization, we take pride in providing opportunities for continued growth and development for our educators. Spending time across the schools on Tuesday and seeing the high levels of engagement, partnership, and collaboration across content areas, teams, and grades, highlights the importance of the investment of both time and financial resources.

On Monday, November 11, schools will be closed in honor of Veterans Day. Our schools are “All In” in recognizing and celebrating all veterans, and most certainly those who live in or have been a part of our community. I ask that we continue to remind our students of the “why” of having the extra day off from school. The sacrifices of the brave men and women serving our country, allowing us to have the daily privileges, should never go unnoticed.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Warmly,

Susie

Susie Da Silva, Ed.D.

This week, RPS and the State of Connecticut celebrated the RPS Teacher of the Year, Lisa Whelan. In the photo, Elementary Director Linda Johnson, Barlow Mountain Principal Becky Laus, and BMES teacher Suzanne Meyer flank Whelan, who has taught at RPS for over 30 years. Do we spy her "signature" Converse sneakers? We love you, Lisa! Congratulations to this kindergarten teacher who starts our youngest students right.

Today across the district, schools welcomed veterans. Students and staff played music, gave speeches, read poems, and remembered those who served in the military. Please listen to the podcast and see the photos below.

Thank you to our veterans!

Ridgefield Tiger Talk

This week we have a very patriotic episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk. Joining us is Tom Grace Assistant Principal at East Ridge Middle School, Michael Settanni Social Studies Teacher and Alison Picarella Health/PE Teacher. We discuss this very meaningful annual event that has been running at East Ridge Middle School for the past 23 years. It has not only become a Ridgefield tradition, but it helps connect us to the veterans in our community. Thanks for listening!

Please check your school calendar for early dismissals and other school events. Don't miss the RHS fall play Peter and the Starcatcher tonight and tomorrow. More info below.

NOTE: BOE meeting is on Tuesday because of the Veterans Day holiday on Monday. The agenda, live and recorded stream, and supporting information can be found on the BOE page.

RPS's partnership with the Ridgefield Historical Society and the Witness Stones Project brings history alive through inquiry for each of our eighth graders. Right now, students are studying the history of slavery through a regional and local lens while practicing the skills of a historian. In past years, students studied the lives of Quash, Lidia, Peter, and Dinah, all formerly enslaved persons in Ridgefield. This year, students are investigating the life of Ann. The third annual Witness Stones Installation Ceremony will be on Wednesday, November 13, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. This event is live-streamed and recorded on the RPS community through the RPS Curriculum YouTube Channel since space is very limited.

LGBTQ+ Youth Group

Thursday, Nov. 14th, 5:30-7pm

(2nd Thursday of the Month)

Register for the LGBTQ+ Youth Group

For additional information about the group email ridgefieldctpride@gmail.com

LGBTQ+ Game Night & Pot Luck

Thursday, November 21

(3rd Thursdays of the month)

RSVP appreciated: email ridgefieldctpride@gmail.com

This is a pot luck event and is a great time.

Connecticut General Statute, July 1, 2024, requires that children who turn five years old on or before September 1 of the school year enroll in kindergarten. According to this statute, a child who is not five years old on or before September 1 of the school year may be admitted:

• Upon written request by the child’s parent or guardian to the school principal, and;

• After the principal and an appropriate certified staff member conduct an assessment of the child to ensure that admitting the child to kindergarten is developmentally appropriate.

The Ridgefield Public Schools has and will continue to support all students according to their academic, emotional, and social needs with the understanding that students are unique regardless of age. Therefore, to request a waiver for admittance early entrance to kindergarten a child’s parent or guardian will need to contact the building principal of the child’s neighborhood school.

While we are offering a waiver process for early admittance for the upcoming school year, it is essential that families understand that this is not a path to retention or an additional year of preschool. All applicable policies remain in effect. The program offered to children who turn five after September 1 is kindergarten, and students are expected to progress through the year and to first grade.

Please help RPS go green by checking your students' e-Backpack weekly for important information. Organizations that meet the RPS policy may submit their request for inclusion to cmelagrano@ridgefieldps.net

Scotts Ridge eighth graders had a blast with their Angle Relay Races—a lesson that reviewed new vocabulary regarding two parallel lines being cut by a transversal. SRMS math teachers Sean Geary and Myra Gercak took their student teams outside for this memorable and engaging lesson on angles.

Antonia Dominguez-Rudolph's sixth-grade East Ridge Spanish class used the LLC MakerSpace to learn about Mexico's Día de los Muertos celebration and paint their own resin skulls.

Scotts Ridge eighth-grade French and Spanish students studied traditions and made and flew kites. Spanish students studied the Giant Kite Festival of Sumpango, Guatemala, which celebrates the Day of the Dead with giant kites to represent the union of the underworld and the land of the living. French students learned about one of the largest Kite Festivals in the world that takes place in Dieppe, France before making their group’s kites. The design, stencil, cut outs, string...etc. were all student created! On November 1, in honor of el Día de los Muertos, they took our kites to the skies! Teacher Kat Mellon writes, "the kids had a great time flying their kites! Unfortunately, the wind was a little strong for the materials we used, but we still had a great time!"

On Wednesday, the elementary Spanish teacher, Jill Quattrocchi, is at Ridgebury Elementary as part of her six-day rotation. From the moment Sra. Quattrocchi walks into each class singing, RES students and teachers pick up on her high energy, singing along, greeting her, and telling her in Spanish how they are feeling and their names.

Students break into pairs to practice greetings and come back onto the carpet to talk to Coqui, the tree frog puppet, about his native Puerto Rico and play a continent-guessing game—in Spanish, of course. They look at the calendar, and practice the days of the week and counting.

Fifth graders discuss Día de Los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead, and the joyful celebration of deceased family members through food, dancing, and festivity. Fourth graders asked her to play the video about the countries where Spanish is spoken—21 countries and over 500 million people.

As she passes from one RES class to the next, Sra. Quattrocchi explains how Spanish at the Elementary level has caught the imagination of RPS educators. Some teachers are inviting classes to speak in Spanish during daily morning meetings. Librarians are ordering books in Spanish. Some students and staff are including Spanish in their announcements. In fact, on the day Sra. Quattrocchi is at Scotland Elementary, the announcements begin with Hola. Fifth graders are practicing a Spanish song they will sing at their concerts and the District-Wide Choral Festival on January 28, 2025.

Sra. Quattrocchi and the World Language team will present at a BOE meeting later this month.

The RHS fall play Peter and the Starcatcher opened last night. Do not miss this amazing show about the origin of Peter Pan, magic, and growing up. Yesterday, the cast performed selections for the RHS faculty, followed by a Q&A session. The students' comedic timing, depth of feeling, and talents were truly remarkable. But what also stood out was the students' reverence for each other and the theater department's community and program. During the post show talk back session, students shared why they loved their experience.

One student said that she had just moved to Connecticut and immediately found friends.

Here are some of the other comments:

This is a place you can be yourself.

I'm learning leadership, management, and organization skills.

We feel welcome and at home.

I'm learning how to keep calm under pressure.

We should be the No Place for Hate ambassadors.

We can be whatever we want to be. We're making art, imagining and then making it real.

We're having the best time of our lives.

We are family. I belong.

RHS senior Lloyd Mills plays the title role, Peter, and was also the set designer. He says he met with show director Jacquie Militano before they started rehearsing. "It was an absolute blast to figure out how to incorporate the differences between the ships." The use of ropes to convey characters moving throughout the ships was particularly inventive and effective. Ms. Militano shared how students and families made the sets and sewed the costumes on consecutive Saturdays, and how theater touches on so many foundational educational areas—math, engineering, art, collaboration, problem-solving, World Language, and community.

The comedy duo of RHS junior Casey Fischer and senior Melody Jones talk about the RPS theater pathways that got them here. "We did Shrek Jr. at middle school together. I played Captain Hook in fifth-grade performance at Branchville," says Casey, who plays Black Stache, in this production.

Junior Abigail Black notes the play's universality. "The show is special. It has appeal for different audiences. Kids will love the humor, and adults will like the nostalgic feeling. It's about growing up and finding importance in it...there is sadness and it's uplifting."

See all the students, staff, and parents involved and the community supporters in the Playbill.

There are three performances left: tonight at 7 p.m. Saturday at 1 pm is a family-friendly, sensory show with modifications for noise and light sensitivities. Saturday at 7 pm. Tickets here.

Ridgebury fifth graders finished up their Tim Burton inspired self-portraits in time for Halloween. The wall text describes how students used pencils and shading techniques to mirror the filmmaker's gothic style.

RHS junior Eve Aronow recently won 1st place in the Hudson Valley Human Rights contest for her original choreography. Please read more about Eve, her choreography, and performance date, in this Hamlet Hub article. Congratulations, Eve!

Photo by Bill Morgan

The hunt for State Championships is on and Winter sports are right around the corner. Don't forget to update those physicals. Please visit the RHS Athletics webpage for game schedules, registration, and more! Read the department's newsletter here.

Last week, the RHS Girls Swim and Dive Team won an FCIAC Championship. They earned 464.5 points besting perennial state-swimming powerhouse Greenwich. This dominant RHS team won ten of the eleven swimming events, including all three relays. They broke the FCIAC 400 freestyle record and gained All-American status. Please read the write-up in the Ruden Report.

We couldn't help but share some of the Halloween images from last week's newsletter (and some new ones that came in after our deadline). See the full Halloween gallery in last week's newsletter.

RHS administrators passed out treats during the Peter and the Starcatcher, including the old favorite Dots. Test your math mind with this challenge from the Dots box. RPS Update thinks there might be more than one right answer. See Tootsie's answer in next week's newsletter or send email for hint.

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.