RPS Update

This week, students Pre-K to Grade 12 showed their appreciation for RPS teachers in the video above. From shapes to science, history to harmony, chemistry to character, our teachers inspire us! Please watch the video.

I wanted to share a letter I sent to teachers and staff on Monday.

This week is all about you—a time filled with sentiments, treats, and celebration in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week. We love that our profession and your dedication to it are recognized in such a special way.

Each day, we witness the incredible impact and influence that you have—not just on student learning, but on the very spirit of this community. My colleagues and I often speak with students and families across all levels, and what consistently stands out is the difference you've made in their lives. And, the most powerful part? The impact described isn’t usually about content or grades—it’s about how you made them feel while they were learning, growing, adapting, and evolving through their educational journey. That kind of impact is profound. No other profession does what you do.

If you read RPS Update (and I hope you do!), you know how much we value and admire your work. But just in case, let me say it clearly: you are an extraordinary group of professionals, and this is a special community. I serve as your Superintendent with deep gratitude and pride—and truly I can’t imagine a better place to be. Enjoy your week—you deserve every moment of appreciation.

Thank you to our parents, PTAs, principals, and students for appreciating our teachers.

Have a great weekend,

Susie

Susie Da Silva, Ed.D

There are a few spots left in the Elementary Summer Bridge program. Register here!

Technology Director Dr. Wes De Santis emailed families this week about a troubling and dangerous TikTok trend that has recently impacted several neighboring school districts. Students are being influenced to insert objects such as paper clips, pushpins, pencil graphite, metallic gum wrappers, aluminum foil, and other conductive items into their Chromebook’s ports (USB, HDMI, etc.) to intentionally cause electrical short circuits. Please talk with your child about the seriousness of this issue and the potential consequences—not just in terms of safety, but also disciplinary action as well as damage responsibility.

Remember to check your school calendar for art shows, concerts, field days, and other end-of-the-year events!

Junior Prom is on May 17, and Senior Prom is on May 30. RHS families with students heading to prom, please make driving arrangements and keep the lines of communication open. Let's keep everyone safe through this season of celebration.

The annual town budget referendum will be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Yanity Gym. The sample ballot will be available on the Town website and in the Town Clerk's Office.

RPS knows that the following six months are some of the busiest times for moving. Please let your building leaders know if you are planning a move that will change your children's school. Ask your neighbors with school-age children if they have registered. We love our RPS Village!

RPS staff spanning Grades K through 12 attended professional learning last Friday at EdAdvance in Litchfield, covering the future of AI in education. Technology Director Dr. Wes Desantis reports that RPS staff attended many different sessions, covering a variety of topics, and have a lot of great information to bring back to the District AI Committee. In attendance: Meghan Doherty, Kimberly Davis, Katelyn Foran, Janine Johnson, Wes DeSantis, Devin Samaha, Kathryn Scheer, Annie Tucci, and Rachael Zumbo-Penney. Kim Moran and Michael Cerniglia, not pictured.

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. Pride in the Park organizers are looking for volunteers. Please look in the e-Backpack or visit their website for more information on LGBTQ+ events and ways to get involved.

RHS awarded 156 Seals of Biliteracy to students taking World Language classes at RHS and six Seals to students who speak or have learned another language at home. Language Chair Allyson Powers writes, "We are extremely proud of all of our students and congratulate them on this impressive recognition!" Please see the full list of students and languages below. Yes, some students earned more than one seal! Congratulations!

Hannah Agwu, Caroline Brennan, Abby Capocci, Sullivan Dunn, Sebastian Huitron, Julia Knispel, Hannah Levine, Morianna Ma, Magnus Manley, Emma McDonough, Nicole Mierzejewski, Michaela McLaughlin, Zoe Muñoz Rojas, Ava Murdock, Vivienne Namiot, Charlotte Overs, Mridhula Praveen, Pranati Sathyagal, Carina Steinmann, William Trotman

Mara Funeri, Brandon Morales, Aleah Petroccio

Owen Andersen, Peter Iwasiutyn, Lily Sidovar, Catherine Thompson, Sophie Zezula

Elif Durmus, Tyler Hilford, James Holloway, Sophia Murray, Isabella Nguyen, Brandon Penn, Dylan Penn, Dean Trevisani, Ian Whitehurst

Sophia Aguilar, Lily Archibald, Grace Ayala Lanzo, Caroline Baker, Alexis Barrett, Jakub Bednar, Alyssa Bello, Carolina Bergagnini, Sebastien Bernard, Alexis Bitner, Arnav Bose, Kathryn Black, Nathaniel Black, Maya Blackman, Dylan Bloch, Mackenzie Block, Connor Brennan, Parker Brooks, Eva Brosnan, Carter Brown, Pearla Brown, Ace Carpenter, William Carter, Mateo Cid, Hayden Cluney, Sophia Corona, Grace Couch, Desmond Couri, Olivia Craig, Luke Dadasovich, Zoe Daigle, Anthony Denier, Daniela DiDona, Noah Dillon, Hayden Drever, Elif Durmus, Murphy Everdell, Natalia Feliciano, Benny Flores, Chloe Frishman, Megan Gallagher, Nicholas Genna, Remington Gill, Haley Gilland, Hannah Gilland, Josue Godoy, Sam Gonzalez, Martin Guijarro, Emma Gythfeldt, Charlotte Hackett, Rose Idone, Andrew Isaac, Peter Iwasiutyn, Matt Jang, Adam Janzon, Theo Janzon, Julia Jolly, Melody Jones, Peter Karloutsos, Riley Keane, Olivia Keating, Phoebe Keidel, Alina Kenny, Anna Kiefaber, Mason Latauska, Gabriela Lauretani, Georgiana Lewis, Makenna Long, Declan Luhman, Dhruv Manglani, Sai Marapareddy, Kiki Marepalli, Ella Margolus, Riley McGerald, Lloyd Mills, Sophia Mongardi, Braelyn Muldoon, Madeline Muncy, Sophia Nardi, Shawn Overlock, Natalie Pambianchi, Akarsh Patel, Andrew Pearl, Mazie Pelusio, Parker Prokopczyk, Gabriela Regalado, Michael Riccio, Niko Rodriguez, Alexandra Rose, Connor Rotolo, Maxim Salamon, Samuel Salmore, Lene Schaeffer, Jack Schoenherr, Kennedy Seidl, Jay Shim, Dakota Smith, Teddy Sproule, Ivy Stein, Charlotte Suozzi, Carson Thomson, Grant Thorburn, Aiden Tio, Anna Touchard, Cate Travaglini, Jake Travaglini, Naomi Vakil, Elizabeth Vanni, Benjamin Voellmicke, Roopshi Vohra, Rutvi Vohra, Kiril Volkov, Finn Ward, Elias Warholak, Isaac Weng, Molly Williams, Grace Winkler, Elias Yurkovsky

Gonzalo Teijeiro Martin- Spanish; Brandon Morales- Spanish; Sebastian Huitron- Spanish; Sneh Dagar- Hindi; Rutvi Vohra- Hindi; Niko Subeliani- Georgian

Magnus Manley and Zoe Desmarais were honored on Sunday as 2025 CIAC Scholar-Athletes of the Year! Two seniors from each CIAC member school are recognized annually for their exemplary academic and athletic contributions, as well as their integrity, self-discipline, and courage. We are so proud to have Magnus and Zoe represent RHS and wish them luck in their next steps! Read more about Zoe and Magnus below.

Zoe Desmarais has brought her athletic and academic talents to RHS. She was the captain of the soccer and basketball teams and led the basketball team to an FCIAC Championship this winter. She captured All-FCIAC three times in soccer and basketball, and was All-State for both soccer and basketball. She was all-New England for soccer. She plans to go to Villanova University for nursing in the Fall.

Magnus Manley has had an exceptional academic and athletic career at RHS. In cross country, he was the FCIAC and Class LL individual champion, and also helped Ridgefield to FCIAC, State Open, and New England championship wins in 2023 and 2024. In track, he was part of a national-winning relay team twice, once in the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) at New Balance Nationals Outdoor 2023 and once in the Distance Medley Relay at New Balance Nationals Indoor 2024. He was also a part of the DMR team that went 9:44.44 at New Balance Nationals Outdoor 2024; the team ran under the previous national record of 9:49 from 2001, but took second in the race. He holds school records in the indoor and outdoor 4x800, indoor and outdoor DMR, and outdoor 3200, and New England records in the indoor 4x800 (7:44) and outdoor DMR. He has personal best times of 4:10 in the 1600 and 8:54 in the 3200. Magnus will bring his exceptional running and academics to Yale University in the Fall.

RPS inventors soared at the CT Invention Convention last weekend. Thank you to parent and student volunteers for all they did to support this celebration of innovation and engineering. Read about the convention here and some of RPS students' successes below!

Evelyn Klimowicz, Scotts Ridge seventh grader participated in the state competition this past weekend. Evelyn's invention is the "BactiShield", which she designed to detect possible infections in a wound. In the case of infection, the BactiShield tells you what type of bacteria is present to make effective treatment decisions and help fight the growing issue of antibiotic resistance. Evelyn was selected as one of two 7th grade State Finalists who will represent CT at the National Invention Convention, in June 2026.

Evelyn also won 3 individual awards: NASA - Rising STAAR Award, UConn School of Nursing - Care Delivery Award, and the Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation Award. Way to go, Evelyn!!! Incredible!

Congratulations to our Ridgebury Elementary state finalists who participated at the CT Invention

Convention 2025 this past Saturday, May 3rd, 2025. The event took place at the University of

Connecticut, where RES was well represented. The students wowed the judges with their

inventions, which received the following recognitions and awards:

• The E-Z Tiez by Aaron Torres received the Yale Club Samuel Morse Award, which exemplifies

the innovative spirit of the Yale graduate who invented the telegraph.

• The DJ Laundry Ball by Daniela Coto-Perez and Joy Huang received an invitation to the U.S.

National Innovator Challenge, an annual competition that promotes youth innovation.

• Seat Belt Fun by Kyleigh and McKenzie Murphy also received an invitation to the U.S. National

Innovator Challenge in addition to the Traveler’s Safe Auto Award.

We applaud these students who worked hard and made all their families and school community

very proud.

William Safianoff, a third grader at Veterans Park Elementary, also participated in the Connecticut Invention Convention. William was picked as an Invention Convention U.S. Nationals Finalist and will be presenting his invention at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan next year!

VPES Grade 4 invention team, Madeleine Elliott and Reese Griffin, also received a US Innovator Challenge Invitation for Therma Skate.

A Mother's Day video from RHS Mandarin Classes! To all the wonderful mothers and beyond, we wish you a heartfelt 母亲节快乐 (mǔ qīn jié kuài lè) Happy Mother’s Day! Thank you for your endless love, patience, and support — you are the guiding light in our lives and the reason we grow stronger every day. We hope you feel cherished and celebrated today and always. Use this link)

Seventh-grade Scotts Ridge students completed an "Interpreting Architecture" unit in art. They researched famous buildings, including key features such as architectural style and design elements. They created a drawing and then designed a three-dimensional building from cardboard and cut paper. Students spent time researching key features of the building, including architectural style and design elements. See their cool drawings and 3D models at the SRMS Art Show and Music Concert; flyer below!

RHS Athletics sent out its newsletter this week. They report that the RHS Track team held Fast Times at Ridgefield High last Saturday, a 15-heat event of the same race, the 3200 meters. Magnus Manley clocked the fastest time of the night for the boys, notching a new RHS school record! Six RHS boys finished with times in the top 20. Freshman Angelina Ruggeri finished fifth on the girls' side, leading the way as five RHS girls finished in the top 20. Full results HERE.

See the RHS Athletics website for more information and schedules. Catch a game while you can!

A little (well, maybe a lot) of rain wasn't going to dampen spirits during the Senior Field Day today. RHS seniors signed t-shirts, competed in heated four-way tugs of war and a pie-eating contest, enjoyed food from the food trucks and cotton candy, and dunked hearty staff volunteers. RHS Principal Dr. Jake Greenwood donned a hockey helmet, jersey, and socks to survive his multiple polar plunge dunkings. Seniors, you make everything fun!

Thank you to our PTAs for all that you did to celebrate teachers this week. The partnership between parents and schools is invaluable. The treats, flowers, notes, food, and thought you put in never go unnoticed. We appreciate you, our students' first teachers.

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.