Monday, 10/28 - A Day
- 3rd Grade Early Morning Library - 8:00
Tuesday, 10/29 - B Day
- 4th Grade Early Morning Library - 8:00
Wednesday, 10/30 - C Day
- 5th Grade Early Morning Library - 8:00
Thursday, 10/31 - D Day - Halloween 🎃🦇
- 3rd Grade Early Morning Library - 8:00
- Halloween Parade/Sing-Along - 10:15
Friday, 11/1 - E Day
- 4th Grade Early Morning Library - 8:00
This is to inform you that this week we will be conducting an Evacuation drill with obstruction. The purpose of this drill is to ensure the safety and preparedness of our students and staff in case of an emergency. For this drill, we will block a doorway in order to facilitate the practice of using an alternative route to safety. We conduct these drills regularly as part of our commitment to maintaining a safe learning environment.
Please rest assured that this is only a drill and not an actual emergency.
For any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Mr. Scarantino directly.
Thank you for your cooperation.
As a reminder, items in the Lost & Found will be donated at the end of each month. Please have your child check the fence in the courtyard or the interior Lost & Found if they are missing anything.
Please remember to label your child's clothing and belongings so that we can always get them back to them.
*Items will be outside the front entrance at dismissal on Wednesday, 10/30*
Rye Neck teachers all gathered together at the Rye Neck Middle/High School Dining Hall to learn more about Goal #2 and to do some collective professional learning around empathy for others. The session was led by Mr. Wil Siegel, Director of Pupil Personnel Services and his Action Team made up of Rye Neck faculty. For more information about the district's Strategic Plan, I encourage you to visit our webpage: Rye Neck Strategic Plan
Classroom celebrations are determined by the classroom teachers and the PTSA Head Class Parents. One of them will notify you of the times of your child's/children's celebration as they vary across the grades. Fifth grade celebrations for Halloween only include the Head Class Parents.
Families are invited to stand on the opposite side of Carroll Avenue to watch the parades and take photographs.
The sing-alongs will be in the Bellows Blacktop area. Each grade will sing two songs led by Mr. Galgano. There will be chairs assembled in the schoolyard for families to enjoy the performance. We ask that you leave the school grounds immediately after your child performs. If you have multiple children at FEB, you may wait until the last child performs.
Students will be asked to come to school in their Halloween costumes. No students will be allowed to go home to change into their costumes.
We ask you to please read and adhere to the guidelines listed below when deciding on the costume you send your child to school in on Tuesday, October 31.
No costume masks will be allowed to be worn in school. If students bring them in their backpacks for the parade, we will allow them to wear them; however, it should not be a hooded mask that covers the entire head or face. There are also creative face paint options if you’d like your child to have the full look of the costume.
Face painting must be done at home. Please make sure you are purchasing face paint that doesn’t smudge or rub off easily. Dripping blood is not permitted.
Costumes must be safe, fire retardant, not floor-sweeping (to prevent tripping and falling), and not frightening to younger children.
Costumes that would restrict students from moving through the school building safely or distract them while working on academics will not be allowed. These tend to be blow-up/inflatable costumes (such as T-Rex) and others in the link below.
Inflatable Halloween Costume Examples (not allowed)
We encourage costumes that have some educational value–-book characters or historical figures, for example.
No swords, knives, sticks, guns, or weapons of any kind are permitted on school grounds.
We also respect a family’s decision to not participate in the Halloween celebrations due to personal reasons. If you do not wish for your child to participate in the activities and want to bring them to school after they have concluded, here are the times you should drop them off:
3rd grader- 11:00 am
4th grader- 11:30 am
5th grader- 11:45 pm
If they come to school at normal time, we do provide an alternate activity for them to participate in that is not Halloween related.
Please be aware that if the parade is canceled due to inclement weather, classroom celebrations will still take place as scheduled.
This Letter to Families with a permission form will be backpacked home on Friday, October 18. It only needs to be returned if you are NOT having your child participate in the Halloween festivities.
Please note that there is a sign on the visitor sign-in kiosk ➡️
- All visitors entering the building must sign in with ID at the Raptor kiosk at the front entrance. If you have forgotten your ID, you can type your information in. Once you are signed in, please ring the doorbell to gain entry. Your visitor sticker will print inside the building.
- If you are dropping off a student, just ring the doorbell and we will let the student in. No need to sign in.
- If you are only dropping off lunch, homework, etc, just ring the doorbell and we meet you at the door. No need to sign in.
The next early dismissal date for Professional Learning is Wednesday, December 18th. Third graders will be dismissed at 1:30, and fourth and fifth graders will be dismissed at 1:35. All grades will have their regular lunch period.
Please be sure to add these dates to your calendar:
- Wednesday, December 18th
- Wednesday, February 26th
- Wednesday, March 26th
The Rye Neck Safe Routes to School is a community group comprised of parents in the Rye Neck school district, who coordinate with school administrators, PTA representatives, elected officials, municipal employees, police officers, Mamaroneck SRTS, and other community members to improve pedestrian, bicycle, and traffic safety. Initiatives can include coordinating Education programs, advocating for Engineering initiatives by the municipalities, and/or requesting the assistance of local law Enforcement. Please see their new website for more information.
https://www.ryeneck.org/community-partners/safe-routes-to-school
Fifth graders who would like to decorate their friends' lockers for their birthdays can do so, as long as it is planned in advance with the main office. We ask that parents and students read and follow the Locker Decorating procedure and rules.
We understand the need to communicate with your children as they travel to and from school with friends or on their own, but the distraction that personal devices create in classrooms during instruction or throughout the day have increased over the years.
We are not banning students from bringing them to school, but we are not permitting them into classrooms. If your child will be wearing a smartwatch of any kind or carrying a cellphone, we will be requiring them to place them in their lockers.
For fifth graders this year we are also requiring that they have a lock on their locker. This is a new addition to their experience but will also be an important "soft skill" they have in their toolbox for Middle School!
Here is a link to the lock I recommend fifth grade families purchase: Master Lock Black Dial Combination Padlock
Please DO NOT purchase a lock with a key as those will be clipped off if the key is lost and you will have to replace it. A combination lock is recommended. Teachers will make a list of all student combinations for the students in their class.
Third and Fourth grade students DO NOT have to purchase a lock, but if it make a family feel more secure to have one, please let the teacher know you are doing so.
Students will NOT be allowed to keep any personal electronic devices on their person during the school day.
Students are always welcome to call their families throughout the school day as needed from the Main Office.
If you have a change in your child's pickup after 12:00 pm, please call the main office at 914-777-4600 or email the office at febattendance@ryeneck.org. This will ensure that the message is relayed to your child in time for dismissal.
If your child is going to be absent or late for any reason, please email the main office at FEBattendance@ryeneck.org or call 914-777-4600. All absences need to be reported by 9:00 AM.
Please remember to report upcoming absences for holiday travel.
If your child is reported absent by his/her classroom teacher, and you have not called the office, you will be notified at 10:30 AM via the automated system to verify the absence.
In case of severe, contagious disease, pediculosis (head lice), or prolonged illnesses, please notify the school nurse, Samantha Krench, MSN RN. It is our procedure that the nurse notifies parents of children in the class regarding exposure to a contagious disease.
If your child becomes ill in school and needs to be sent home, the nurse will notify you at the emergency phone number provided. For this reason, it is important for the school to have parents’ work numbers/cell numbers, as well as an additional one or two emergency numbers of neighbors or close relatives.
It is important that children arrive at school in time for the opening bell at 8:35 a.m. Arriving late (8:45 a.m.) after morning routines and instruction have started is disconcerting to a child and disruptive to the class. Plan to give your child a smooth beginning to his/her day by scheduling ample time for early morning procedures.
If you need to remove your child from school for any reason during the school day, please email or call the main office first.
With the rise in illnesses during this time of the school year, I felt it important to remind you of the illness guidelines at Bellows.
According to the New York Statewide School Health Services website, parents should follow these guidelines when determining when their children should not be in school:
Persistent fever greater than 100° degrees orally, including a fever that requires administration of medication such as Tylenol or Motrin
Vomiting or diarrhea
Significant cough that makes a child feel uncomfortable or disrupts class
Sore throat that is severe, accompanied by fever or feeling ill
Red, teary, itchy eyes that distract child from learning
Discolored nasal discharge, accompanied by facial pain or headache
Ear pain or drainage from the ear
Headache, especially with fever
Any condition you think may be serious or contagious to others
Children should be fever-free (without the use of fever reducing medicine), symptom-free and feeling well for at least 24 hours before returning to school after illness.
To report an absence related to illness, please email febattendance@ryeneck.org or call the main office at 914-777-4600.The nurse will be briefed on all illness-related absences and parents will be contacted regarding current health guidelines. A doctor’s note will be requested for any student who has been absent for 5 consecutive days, upon return to school.
