RES Weekly Buzz

Picture day was a big success! Thanks to the organizational skills of the RES and Geskus staff, we moved through each classroom quickly and easily. I can't wait to see all the individual and class photos returned to us!

As you know, RPS had a practice evacuation drill this week. I am happy to say once again that the RES students rocked it! I was impressed by how well every student followed the teachers' directions throughout the drill and was respectful. These drills can sometimes cause stress among our students, and they handle it beautifully. Practicing our safety protocols is of utmost importance to all of us here. Many thanks to the RPD for helping us organize this drill and their continued dedication to keeping our schools safe.

RES had its first Community Meeting today led by some fabulous 5th-grade leaders. They shared information about the recent 4th-grade field trip to Project Adventure, the 3rd-grade trip to CAM Green, and the terrific before and after school activities, RES has to offer. Community Meetings happen once a month when our kindergarten through grade 5 students gather in the gymnasium for a short block of time together. During this time, teachers present with students, student groups show off their wonderful talents and it is a time to just be together. I look forward to seeing what this year's meetings bring.

See you all Monday.

Amy

• October 9th: Walk, Bike & Roll to School Day
• October 14th: No School
• October 15th: No School for Students, All Day Professional Day for Staff

2024-2025 RPS School Calendar

GPD is having a Community Safety Day on September 28, 2024. Luna and Officer Anderson will be there along with Gloucester PD, State Police, Coast Guard and others.

School pictures will be taken on

Retake day-November 8, 2024

Click here to order.

Good afternoon,

In an effort to be more environmentally friendly and to cut down on the paperwork that families need to complete at the beginning of the school year, Rockport Public Schools has revised our school handbooks into one updated online Student and Family District Handbook. This new version is published on our website and allows for easy access to an organized list of procedures, practices, and important information.

Please read and review the handbook using this link: Rockport Public Schools Student and Family District Handbook.

Parents and guardians will need to acknowledge that they have read the handbook through this form: Acknowledgment of Receipt of RPS Student and Family Handbook. This form is also available on the Handbook page of our website. Please complete ONE FORM FOR EACH child you have attending Rockport Schools. For 6th through 12th grade students, you will also be prompted to have your child sign this acknowledgement form.

Thank you!

Amy Waterman, Principal
Rockport Elementary

We are excited to present the RPS Principal-Family Partnership series. All parents, guardians, and families are welcome to join us from 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm in the John Lane Auditorium on the evenings listed below. The informal presentations will support families by bringing in outside resources and professionals to educate us on the most complex and current trends within the dedicated topics. Each date holds a unique theme and is designed to provide families with current information while allowing for open and meaningful dialogue. The experience will foster the importance of the school-family partnership in effectively managing the most complex of issues our kids face. Outside professionals will lead the presentations, but RPS administration and related staff will attend meetings to learn, share, and grow with you. We hope to see you all there!

November 14, 2024 – The Anxious Generation: Social Media Discussion – Bullying, Social Media Use & Current Trends

January 23, 2025– The Road to Commitment or Compromise – Vaping, Drugs & Healthy Decision-Making

March 20, 2025 – Raising and Educating Resilient Children: The Gift of Failure

The Rockport SEPAC is in need of a revitalization and looking for new members. The SEPAC is a self-governing public body which creates its own by-laws and operational procedures. A SEPAC is different from other parent groups in a school district such as a PTO or School Council – a SEPAC does not represent families from one school, but represents all families of children with disabilities from the entire school district. If you are interested in holding a Board position: Chair, Co-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer or a Board Member at Large position, please send me an email. Just want to be included ? Reach out to be a building representative. Contact Ann-Marie Luster, Interim Director of Student Services to sign up or find out more at aluster@rpk12.org.

RES is pleased to offer Run Club and Juggling Club again this year. Please use the appropriate sign up below.

*Reminder-There will be no early bus this year for before school clubs*

24/25 Run Club for grades 1-5: Sign up here

24/25 Juggling Club for grades 2-5: Sign up here

24/25 Fall Run Club/Juggling schedule

Any questions email Ms. Canniff, ecanniff@rpk12.org

RES is pleased to offer a Fall session of before/after school activities. The classes will meet once per week for 6 weeks beginning the week of September 23rd. Before school classes meet from 8-8:40am, After school classes meet from 3-4pm. Students will be brought to the RES lobby at 4pm to meet parents. Students will only be released to parents unless an email or note has been sent to the instructor. Below are the descriptions of each of the activities. Sign up by completing the form below by Friday, September 20th. Please remember to send a note in with your child stating they will be attending an afterschool class. One note with all dates is fine. Please be aware there is no school nurse on duty during before/after school activities.

Enrollment is on a first come, first serve basis. The class size is based on the type of activity. Once your sign up has been confirmed an invoice will be sent for payment. Cash or checks, made payable to RES will be accepted. 1 check made out to RES per family. All payments must be received prior to the start of the class. Any questions email Nikole Gale, ngale@rpk12.org

*Reminder-There will be no early bus this year for before school clubs*

Signup here

Before/After School Schedule

Morning Music Schedule

24/25 Music Department Calendar

Any questions

Orchestra-Mr. Cohen ncohen@rpk12.org

Band- Ms. Weaver dweaver@rpk12.org or Ms. Shaw-Reese kshaw@rpk12.org

Chorus-Ms. Shaw-Reese kshaw@rpk12.org

“Saving Makes Cents” program with the Cape Ann Savings Bank is back! We are pleased to announce that banking will begin again for children in the third through fifth grades on Thursday September 26, 2024. New participants need to complete the attached form and send in with your child on that day or any Thursday after with $5.00 or more to start. A bank representative will be in the main foyer as the children enter the school for the day and will set up accounts as they come in. Parents do not need to accompany children. (Current participants can just bring in their book and bag and continue on).

How does the program work: Each Thursday morning the children will drop their deposits off with me in the foyer. The deposits will be taken to Cape Ann Savings Bank for their transaction. Students are encouraged to, but do not have to participate every week, and there is no minimum amount to be deposited after your account is opened. Bring in your loose or rolled change too! I will return the books to the school the next school day to be sent home with the children.

What does my child get: Each student will receive: their own savings passbook, banking bag, deposit tickets and piggy key chain to start. Cape Ann Savings Bank will match the initial $5.00 deposit.(Any initial deposits over the $5.00 will still receive $5.00 from the bank).The “Saving Makes Cents” program is a non-competitive fun way for children to learn to save.

This program was introduced by Joe Malone, when he was Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is geared toward teaching the students to save and to be proud of their accomplishment. We currently have student bankers in all of the Gloucester Public Elementary Schools as well as the Memorial Elementary School in Manchester and the Rockport Elementary School.

Withdrawals are not allowed at the school. Any withdrawal transactions must take place at Cape Ann Savings Bank.

I look forward to seeing you on Thursday September 26th.

Grace Brennan – CAPE ANN SAVINGS BANK

Member FDIC | Member DIF | Equal Housing Lender

Bank sign up form

Click on pictures for more information.

Please use this link to sign your child up to ride the school bus for school year 2024-2025. Routes will be posted on the website and sent to families this week. There have been some changes made to the routes from last year.

Bus Routes

School Bus Stop Safety

The clinic will follow the weather considerations of Rockport Youth Soccer.

No games = no clinic.

We hope this will not be the case, and can't wait to get started!

Thank you to everyone who has joined as members! We are always welcoming new members via our membership form and looking for new board members as well. Please email ptorockport@gmail.com with any questions.

The Rockport PTO is kicking off its first Fall Fundraiser and we are

asking for your help! Our Vikings Pride Calendar Raffle is brand new, district wide for every

student and we are so excited to introduce it! We want to THANK ALL our sponsors on this

calendar who have donated these prizes to the PTO for our calendar! This would not be possible

without our Rockport Community and any parent donation!

Please help your child sell as many Vikings Calendars between now and October through

family, friends, coworkers, and social media. Our school newsletters will have the calendar

available to scan as well. Each calendar is $20 and can be easily purchased through our venmo!

Please make sure to write “raffle-your name” into the venmo comment. If parents are buying an

entry for someone in their family, please put “raffle-name of person”. Every purchase made,

supports the PTO, and every entry bought, will stay in for multiple chances to win! We will pull

names in the middle of October/beginning of November, to give all students a chance to sell!

Upcoming Events:

• Trunk or Treat-Watch for information
• November 16th-Holiday Fair: Parent volunteers needed, please email ptorockport@gmail.com if you are able to help out.

PTO Membership Form

Please click on the link to review RES Illness and COVID-19 Protocols for this school year.

If your child needs a medication, inhaler, or Epi-Pen in school for the 2024-2025 school year, new forms are required to be filled out. The Medication Administration form, Authorization To Treat form, and Asthma Action Plan form (for inhalers) are all available under the Health Services link on the rpk12.org website.

If your child had their annual physical over the summer, please remember to turn in a copy when the new school year starts.

Please remember that NO PEANUT OR TREE NUT FOODS ARE ALLOWED IN SCHOOL. Because many students have food allergies, please also remind your child that they should NEVER share their meals or snacks with peers.

Make sure your child brings a water bottle to school every day.

The District is in need of Substitute nurses. Apply here

If you have any questions or need any forms sent home in your child's backpack, please call the RES health office at 978-546-1223.

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the U.S. Postal Service has reopened COVIDtests.gov as of today, so that households across the country can order four additional over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for free. These tests are intended for use throughout the 2024 holiday season to detect currently circulating COVID-19 variants. Clear instructions are included on how to verify extended expiration dates.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ROCKPORT FAMILY PORTAL.

Please join us for the 2nd Annual FRA Halloween Party - details in the flyer! Please reach out to get tickets or with questions to RockportFRA@gmail.com. Thank you for your support!

• Any elementary, middle, or high school positions that are open in Rockport Public Schools are posted here.

• Click here or scan our QR code to see all available positions.

Click the links below to access the various resources:

• RES 24/25 Staff
• RPS Community Flyers
• Rockport Public Library-Visit the Rockport Public Library for some great offerings for both children and adults.
• Nurturing Families Class at Pathways-This is a family program and includes child participation in age appropriate groups and a shared family meal. For further information and to register please reach out to Jeannine Helen at jhelen@pw4c.org. or call 978 296-8088.
• Cape Ann Youth Chorus
• Rockport Music- Visit the Rockport Music website for upcoming show information and discounted options for students of RPS.
• K-8 Rockport Youth Basketball
  
• Cape Ann Youth Hockey-Developmental Skating & Hockey Programs
• Cape Ann Museum
• Power of Produce-The Power of Produce! Rockport Farmers Market is very excited to be offering the POP Club (“Power of Produce”) program at the Rockport Farmers Market this year! The POP Club program seeks to empower your children, ages 5-12, to make healthier food choices while supporting local farmers and local food producers. Children will receive 3 POP Dollars at every Saturday market they attend to use to purchase produce from our local vendors, encouraging your children to actively engage with their produce suppliers and to make nutritious choices. Through its innovative approach, the POP Club program inspires families to prioritize fresh, local foods and cultivates a lifelong appreciation for healthy eating habits in children. The Rockport Farmers Market opens this season at Rockport’s Harvey Park on Saturday June 15 and runs every Saturday through October 12 from 9 AM to 1 PM. All children must be accompanied by a parent to sign up and participate in POP Club. You can download the attached signup sheet and bring it to the market or sign up at the market when you arrive. Check out our website for updates and more information: rockportexchange.org.
• Gloucester Youth Football and Cheerleading