The Farmingville Files

Dear Farmingville Families,

Happy New Year! The office staff, Jackie, and I would like to thank you for your kindness and generosity during the holidays. We truly appreciated your thoughtful gifts and treats, which brought us so much joy.

As we begin this new year, we are revisiting our Responsive Classroom principles with our students. The Responsive Classroom approach is a research-based method that enhances social-emotional learning, builds strong classroom communities, and fosters a positive school culture. It emphasizes the importance of building meaningful relationships, fostering mutual respect, and ensuring that every student feels a sense of belonging.

Aligned with this approach, we use logical consequences to address misbehavior and guide students toward making better choices. Logical consequences are respectful, relevant, and realistic responses to behavior, helping students understand the impact of their actions.

For more details about the Responsive Classroom approach and logical consequences, please take a moment to read our letter here.

As a reminder, we conduct universal screening benchmark assessments three times a year. In January, we examine each student's progress and develop next steps for grade levels, classes, and individual students. These include Aimsweb literacy and math assessments, the NWEA MAP math assessment, and other curriculum-based measures.

Lastly, as we continue to welcome visitors to our school, we appreciate your cooperation in creating a safe, respectful, and productive environment for everyone. To ensure this, we ask that you:

• Please respect the privacy of students, staff, and families by refraining from photographing or recording without prior permission. (Our full Confidentiality Agreement is included in the Visitor Log)
• Interact respectfully with all adults and students, modeling positive behavior.
• Follow the school’s check-in procedures upon arrival and remain in designated areas.
• Avoid interrupting classrooms or activities unless explicitly invited.

Thank you for helping us maintain a welcoming and supportive environment for our school community!

We hope you have a wonderful weekend, and we look forward to continuing to watch your children grow and thrive in 2025!

Warmly,

Nancy & Jackie

Head lice: They’re the words no parent wants to hear. Head lice can be acquired by anyone, but it is most common in kids ages 5-12. According to the CDC every year as many as 6-12 million children are affected by head lice. Our own community has just experienced our first few reported cases. The good news is that head lice are not harmful and can be treated. To detect, treat and prevent head lice, it helps to know more about them.

Below I have included a link to an article titled Head Lice: What Parents Needs to Know. Please take a few minutes to read the article. It provides parents with a good source of information about head lice detection, management, and treatment.

Lice information

The State Board of Education has defined two levels of criteria for an absence to be considered an excused absence.

“Level 1” includes the first nine absences and these days are considered excused absences for any reason that the student’s parent or guardian approves. The parent or guardian must submit either written or oral documentation within ten school days of the student’s return to school.

Excused “Level 2” absences are the days beginning at the tenth absence and meet one or more of the State’s acceptable reasons. For more information regarding the acceptable reasons, please visit the Connecticut State Department of Education Guidelines for Absences.

If your child reaches the thresholds below, you will receive a notification. The notifications will lag the actual absences. For example, your child may reach their 6th absence on a Wednesday and you may not be notified until the following Monday.

Typical attendance notification thresholds.

• At 6 absences a notification is emailed.

• At 9 absences a notification is emailed.

• At 9 absences and 6 unexcused, a notification is emailed.

• At 9 excused absences and 10 unexcused absences, a truancy notification is emailed.

Please find our district Weather Related Process and Expectations here.

We know how fun it is for our students to get together after school and enjoy time together! Due to safety and limited space on the buses, we are asking that students have no more than 2 guest riders with them at a time. Anytime there is a need for more than 2 additional students to ride, families will need to make arrangements for parent pick up that day. Thank you for understanding!

Please fill out the form below a day prior to visiting FES. Thank you!

If you are visiting FES, please help us to expedite the entry process by filling out this form a day prior to a planned visit (teacher meeting, PTA meeting, mystery reader, library or art volunteer, etc.) and your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive. If you have something to drop off for your child during the school day such as a forgotten lunch or instrument, there will be a table outside of the entrance to place the item.

When you arrive to enter the building, we ask that you press the video doorbell button and identify yourself. Once granted access, please do NOT hold the door open for a different guest entering the building. While this may be inconvenient and feel impolite, we are standardizing access to the buildings across the district so that everyone knows what to expect.

For visits to FES during the school day, I recommend that you arrive early as it takes some time to process your visitor badge. For a visit that is not arranged a day ahead of time, calling the main office at 203-894-5570 ahead of your visit is a helpful practice.

• Early Dismissal - Thursday, January 9th
• No School - MLK Jr. Day - Monday, January 20th
• Fourth & Fifth Grade Winter Concert - Thursday, January 23rd @ 5:30 pm
• 2025 -2026 BOE Budget Presentation - Saturday, January 25th (Virtual)
• RPS Choral Festival - Tuesday, January 28th @ 7:00 pm at RHS
• RPS Orchestra Festival - Monday, February 3rd @ 7:00 pm at RHS
• RPS Band Festival - Tuesday, February 4th @ 7:00 pm at RHS
• No School - February Break - Friday, February 14th - Friday, February 21st

We treat smartwatches (e.g. the Apple Watch, the Gizmo Watch, the Android Smart Watch) or other similar devices that provide a student with the ability to text, take photos or make calls in the same way we treat a cell phone and they are subject to the same practice. If a parent makes the decision to permit their child to have a cell phone, smartwatch, or similar device at school the cell phone or smartwatch:

• must be turned off
• must remain in the child’s backpack at all times during the school day
• must remain in the child’s backpack for the duration of the bus ride to and from school

As you might imagine, a cell phone or similar device in any school setting has proven to be a disruption to learning and the social environment. We have also witnessed that Fitbit and other fitness trackers can be a distraction. If these fitness devices cause a distraction, a teacher will ask the student to remove the device, and likely the teacher will contact you about the concern.

E-readers, Nooks, and Kindles are only permitted to support reading in school or on the bus if a teacher determines it is helpful and has told a parent it is allowed.

If any of the above devices mentioned become a repeated concern, parents/guardians will be contacted to retrieve the device which will be held in the main office.

We appreciate your understanding for the safety and focus of our students, therefore, we kindly request that only parents or guardians attend events/volunteer opportunities in the presence of enrolled students within the elementary school building during the school day. For example, an infant or younger child with a parent may attend a PTA meeting that takes place at the school.

A sibling is not permitted to accompany a parent when they are:

• volunteering in a classroom
• attending daytime activities
• attending class parties
• volunteering in the library
• mystery reader
• attending a class performance
• or any other activities within the building when students are present

This practice helps ensure a secure and conducive learning environment for all children. Siblings are welcome to attend evening events unless otherwise specified.

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.