What's Happening at the Hive

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Hello Florida Ruffin Ridley School Families and Friends,

Happy February! As we begin this short month, I want to share a note of support and care to our school community. During these periods of rapid change, we all may feel a sense of uncertainty and unease. I want to take this moment to reaffirm our schools' commitment to fostering a supportive, inclusive, and vibrant community.

Our Community is dedicated to supporting all children, families and staff by honoring race, religion, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or immigration status. We will continue to uphold our mission to build community, cultivate inclusion, celebrate diversity, and empower all staff, students, and families.

We have recently experiences an increase in student absenteeism. This could be do to a variety of reasons. I want to remind all families of the importance of all students attending school daily! Remember it is important, especially in MIDDLE SCHOOL, for all students to check in with teacher(s) regarding any missed assignment when absent.

Please view the information below, which is the updated District Attendance Policy. Feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions.

In partnership,

Candice Whitmore

What are the expectations surrounding School Attendance?

As a reminder, all students in PSB are expected to attend school every day, arrive on time every day, stay for the full school day, and attend all scheduled classes.

Massachusetts General Laws, along with policies set forth by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE), alo state that:

• All children between the ages of six (6) and sixteen (16) must attend school.
• A student must be at school, at a school-related activity, or receiving academic instruction for at least half (50%) the school day to be counted as present.
• School districts must provide all parents/guardians with instructions for calling a designated phone number at a designated time to inform the school of the absence of a student and the reason for the absence. In addition, parents/guardians must provide the school with a home, work or other emergency telephone number so that they may be contacted during the school day so the school may call and inquire about said absence.

A student's parents and guardians are legally responsible for ensuring that they attend school daily. It is a crime for a responsible parent or guardian not to cause such a student to attend school. The PSB District Attendance Officer reserves the right to file a criminal complaint in court against the responsible parent/guardian in cases of extended absences. These documents may include (but are not limited to) a 51A report for educational neglect or a CRA (Child Requiring Assistance) Application for habitually truant students.

What do I need to do if my student will be absent from school?

When a student is absent from school, parents/guardians are responsible for notifying the school on the day of the absence by calling the school office or absence reporting line.

If your child will arrive at school after the beginning of the school day or is unable to attend school, please call the main office as soon as possible:

• Ruffin Ridley: (617) 879-4410

What are the different type of Absences

PSB and the Brookline School Committee recognizes that students will, at times, have legitimate reasons to be absent. These reasons are referred to as excused absences and include the following:

• Personal illness or injury
• Significant life stressors (e.g., death of a family member)
• Observance of a religious holiday(s)
• Attending a medical appointment that cannot be made outside of school hours
• Participation in a Legal Proceeding (e.g., court summons)
• Suspension
• Attending an educational opportunity that have been pre-approved by the school, or
• Other situations deemed appropriate by the principal or Head of School.

An absence is considered unexcused when a student misses school for reasons that are not accepted by the school, with or without parent/guardian permission. Unexcused absences include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Attending parent/guardian appointments or events
  
• Family travel/vacation that occur while school is in session
  
• Staying home to take care of or visit family members
  
• Missing the school bus or public transportation
  
• Sleeping late
  
• Weather-related absences other than when the district has canceled school
  
• Undocumented illness/injury that exceeds more than three (3) days*

*A note from a licensed medical professional is required if a student is absent more than three (3) consecutive days for an illness/injury. All subsequent absences for illness or injury

will be considered unexcused unless accompanied by documentation from a licensed medical

professional who has assessed the student.

District practice requires that students who will be out of school for more than 20 consecutive school days (or 4 weeks) will be un-enrolled from our records and can only be re-enrolled upon return.

Due to dynamic enrollment patterns, a student whose extended absence triggers being un-enrolled may be assigned to a different elementary school upon their return due to assignment of newly enrolled students. If a student does plan to take an extended absence, their parent/guardian should contact the PSB Office of Registration and Enrollment (enroll@psbma.org) to ensure that the student is still being educated during their time away.

What happens if my student is marked absent?

If a student is marked absent at the start of the school day, their parent/guardian(s) will receive an automated phone call from the school 's attendance line. The student will also be marked absent in their Aspen student records.

Schools will send a second notification to the parent/guardian of a student who has at least five (5) days in which the student has missed two (2) or more periods unexcused in a school year or who has missed five (5) or more school days unexcused in a school year.

If a student miss at least 10% of days enrolled (e.g., 18 days absent when enrolled for 180 school days), they will be marked as chronically absent in the Aspen Student Database, regardless whether the absences were unexcused or excused.

• February 5- Report Card Day!
• Februaty 7th PTO Coffee and Conversations w/Dr. Guillory/ Wear Favorite Sports Team!
• February 8th- FRR STEM Fair
• February 14th: Valentines Day, Akmal Memorial @FRR Playground at 1:40pm
• February 17th-21st- February Vacation Week
• February 28th- Hive Pride Day

With the mornings getting colder each day we are noticing more students arriving to and leaving school by vehicle. A few reminders:

There is NO driving in the front loop between 7:45 - 8:15am and 2:15 - 2:45pm (1:30-1:50pm on Fridays). Please do not move the baracades.

You may either park on Harvard and walk your student to the front door, or have them walk themselves, OR drive up Stedman Street and use the LIVE PARKING ONLY left lane to drop off

The left lane on Stedman Street is for LIVE PARKING ONLY

Please do not exit your vehicle when dropping off or picking up when parked on the left side of Stedman Street

Also when pulling back out into traffic on Stedman please be careful to look for pedestrians and cyclists

Please do not park on the RIGHT side of Stedman Street for arrival and dismissal. We want to be good neighbors and not disturb the flow of traffic in the neighborhood.

If you are dismissing your child(ren) early from school, you must physically be present at the school’s main entrance on Harvard Street and ring the bell prior to your child(ren) being allowed to leave the school. As a reminder, please do not call or text your child(ren) with dismissal plans during the school day as they are not allowed to use their phones during the day here in school.

No Meeting this Month

Next Meeting: March 19, 2025

Statewide assessments help parents, students, educators, and policymakers determine where districts, schools, and students are meeting expectations and where they need additional support. To increase our understanding of school performance, Student Assessment Services develops and administers the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) and, for students with significant learning challenges, the MCAS Alternate Assessment. Please see the schedule below for MCAS Testing at the Ruffin Ridley School!

Grades 3-5th Testing Dates:

ELA: April 1st AND April 3rd (Tues/Thurs)

ELA Make Up: April 9th-18TH

Math: May 7th-8th (Weds/Thurs)

Math Make Up: May 9th-23rd

Science (5th Grade Only)- May 14th-15th(Weds/Thurs)

Science Make Up: May 16th-23rd

Grades 6-8th Testing Dates

ELA: April 7th-8th (Mon/Tues)

ELA Make up : April 9th-18th

Math : May 5th-6th (Mon/Tues)

Math Make Up: May 9th-23rd

Science : May 14th-15th (Weds/Thurs)

Science Make Up: May 16th-23rd

Civics: May 7th-May 8th (Weds/Thurs)

Civics Make up: May 9th-23rd

STEM Fair (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics Fair):

Final office hours: Tuesday, February 4, 8 - 9 PM (Zoom, register here)

STEM Fair: Saturday, February 8, 9 AM - 12 PM, FRR cafeteria. All are welcome to attend!

Schedule:

8:30 AM: Registration and set-up

9 AM – 12 PM: Fair open to the public

9 AM – 11:30 AM: Judging (being judged is optional)

12 - 12:30 PM: Award ceremony

Highlights of the 2025 Fair:

Amazing science and engineering projects

Magnetics demonstration (including a magnetic levitation train)

Brookline High School Robotics Team and their First Lego League robot

8th Grade Bake Sale raising funds for graduation celebration

Thank you so much for your help growing the next generation of scientists, mathematicians and engineers!

Questions? Contact chris.paetsch@gmail.com.

Congratulations to our fabulous singers!

The All-Town Concert this past Thursday was a huge success. I am SO proud of our FRR 6-8th grade chorus!

Not only did our Ruffin Ridley students perform with energy, accuracy, and passion, but they also represented our school beautifully by entering and exiting the stage with poise and being respectful and supportive audience members to the other groups. They were also incredibly welcoming to the Runkle chorus who joined us for one of our pieces.

Special thanks to Tess Scheflan, FRR Para and parent to one of the Runkle chorus members, for taking these incredible photos of the event.

Over the next several weeks in class, we will be celebrating our concert, doing some team-building, and introducing a lot of new music for our Spring performances. Plus, 8th graders will be starting to think about their graduation song! We will be busy!

Please keep Thursday May 29th from 6-7 pm saved on your calendars for our big Spring Concert at FRR!

All the best,
Mrs. Vinci

Special Shout outs to the FRR Mock Trial Team

FRR middle schoolers have been participating in Discovering Justice since 2019! Students on this fall's team consisting of 15 students who participated in two different trials. On Dec. 12th, 15 FRR students attended the Mock Trail at Brookline District Court and did an awesome job! We are excited at for the upcoming Spring Team that starts February 10th!

Discovering Justice’s Mock Trial and Mock Appeal Programs pair middle school students with legal professionals to explore the judicial system, analyze a legal case, and practice the civic skills needed to persuasively argue cases. Through these engaging, supportive weekly sessions, student attorneys develop the confidence and vital civic skills like perspective taking, critical thinking, writing, and civil discourse necessary to become leaders in their communities. This semester-long program culminates with students presenting their case before a real judge and jury of community members for Mock Trial and panel of judges for Mock Appeal.

Email: candice_whitmore@psbma.org
Website: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/ruffinridley
Location: 345 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA, USA
Phone: 617-879-4400
Twitter: @TheHiveInCC