Red Pride Weekly - Family Edition

I am looking forward to the return of our Gladiators this week, but we will have to wait to see what the weather brings this evening and tomorrow to know exactly when that will be. Whatever day we return, please know that our focus will be on reviewing our routines and expectations so that we can quickly get back to learning.

Important Dates

• Monday, January 6 - Start of the 2nd Semester
• Friday, January 10 - Report Cards Distributed
• Monday, January 20 - No School for Students or Staff
• Friday, January 24 - Class Pictures
• Monday, February 3 - No School for PreK Students
• Monday, February 17 - No School for Students

With the very real prospect of winter weather, I want to provide a number of reminders...

Our division announces school closures and delays. If you have changed phone numbers over the holidays, please be sure to update your information in Infinite Campus so that you get the calls from Dr. Bond. Even with the call, I recommend having an alternative source for school closures... I personally check WHSV or NBC29 just in case the call hasn't come through.

Have a plan in place for early dismissals due to inclement weather. We ask for this information back in August when snow is the last thing on our minds. Please make sure your child and your child's teacher know what the plan will be if school has to close early due to weather. In many cases the plan remains the same, your child will continue to ride the bus or be picked up at car riders, but in some cases the plan changes and we need to be prepared to get your child home safely.

Even with solid plans in place, emergencies happen that require you to change plans. It is essential that you contact the school office as early as possible in the event of a transportation change. While you may also share the information with your child's teacher, they will be busy teaching and preparing for the end of the day so could easily miss this notification before an early dismissal. Contacting the school office allows us to relay the message to the teacher and other adults who need to know AND be able to share details if questions arise.

On Thursday, December 5, 20024, the School Board unanimously voted to approve the Personally-Owned Electronic Device (PED)-Free Education policy. This policy will go into effect at the beginning of the second semester when students return to school following the holiday break on Monday, January 6, 2025. The expectation for students will be that all personally owned electronic devices are “away for the (school) day.” Administrators and teachers will be working with their students to communicate the expectations for them when they return from break. We encourage you to take some time to familiarize yourself with the policy and have a conversation with your student(s).

In general there will not be a change for elementary aged students who have always been expected to keep personal electronic devices stored away during the school day. Our most common responses when a student is using a PED is to direct them to put the device away in their book bag or cubby, or to take the device until a parent can come pick it up.

We do want to draw your attention to the definition of "Personally-owned Electronic Device" included in the policy. While cell phones are the most common device, there are other personally-owned electronic devices that fall under this policy.

“Personally-owned Electronic Device (PED)” means any personal device capable of connecting to a smartphone, the internet, a cellular or Wi-Fi network, or another similar device. Personal electronic communication devices may include but are not limited to, some wearable devices such as smartwatches, personal headphones, earbuds, laptops, tablets, other Bluetooth-enabled devices, and other future personally-owned electronic devices with the abovementioned characteristics.

Thanks for taking time to talk over this policy with your child. If you have questions, please reach out to administration.

It is that time of year again...

We are asking our families to nominate candidates for teacher of the year and for support staff member of the year. Please nominate an RES teacher or staff member that has gone above and beyond for your child or our school and community. You can email your nominations directly to Mr. Matherly, making sure to include the staff member’s name and your reason for nominating. You can also complete the nomination using the Google Form linked here… https://forms.gle/Md7aWqgoQ34mgFf66.

We will be changing our school's master schedule starting in the 2nd semester in order to increase the time available for academic interventions and to provide additional time for English Language Arts and Mathematics instruction. For some grade levels this will result in minor tweaks, while other grade levels will see more significant changes. You child's teacher will provide you with updates especially as it affects the daily lunch and Specials schedule.

You can access our 2nd semester Specials rotation schedules here:

• Grade 5
• Grade 4
• Grade 3
• Grade 2
• Grade 1
• Kindergarten
• PreK & EL

Each morning our Gladiators are asked to live up to our Red Pride Pledge by being safe, respectful, responsible, caring learners. Students who live up to our Riverheads Expectations for Success have a chance to be nominated by their teacher or another staff member for the honor of being a Good News Gladiator. Students who earn this honor are given a shout out over the announcements and are allowed to choose a book from our book vending machine.

Please join me in celebrating these Gladiators for showing their Red Pride!

We have been busy recognizing students all year, so be on the lookout for more Good News Gladiators each week.

Ms. Glenn led our Kindergarten students in another great performance on December 16.

Our 3rd graders worked on non-fiction main idea and supporting details based on a passage about reindeer. They also reviewed their knowledge of polygons with Geometrees.

Mrs. Coleman continues to find fun ways to teach 1st graders the fundamentals of art.

We said goodbye to the 1st semester with a warm winter drink from the Hot Chocolate Express. Mr. Matherly was the conductor as he and his volunteers provided hot chocolate and marshmallows to each classroom.