RPS Update

Despite the recent fall-like weather, it was another wonderful week of celebrations. The Visual and Performing Arts department has been taking center stage with art shows and spring concerts. There is nothing better than seeing our hallways showcasing RPS artistic talents and hearing the sweet sounds of our student voices.

On that topic, we continue to look for as many opportunities as possible to collect feedback from our students. Our week began by checking in with some of our high school seniors, and listening to their perspectives and reflections as they begin to transition to the next step in their life’s journey. We absolutely love connecting with our students– they are mature, thoughtful, and kind. You should all be so proud!

This week, we honored our 2025-26 Teacher of the Year- Veterans Park Elementary School Psychologist, Jeff Lovelace. Mr. Lovelace is a wonderful colleague and an amazing educator. Ridgefield is fortunate to have him as a member of our school community. Read more about Mr. Lovelace below.

We will have an extended weekend in honor of Memorial Day. We hope the weather is cooperative and that everyone has time to enjoy family and friends! Most importantly, we hope our students will take the time to recognize and remember the importance of the day, and the daily freedoms we are granted as a result of the sacrifice of the brave men and women who have protected our country.

Warmly,

Susie

Susie Da Silva, Ed.D

Jeffrey Lovelace, School Psychologist at Veterans Park Elementary School, is the Ridgefield Public Schools Teacher of the Year. District Leadership announced the news during a packed student concert, which afforded Mr. Lovelace the opportunity he has been waiting for—leading the whole school in a breathing exercise. Students knew what to do and why taking the time to breathe is so important. Breathing is one of many lessons he has taught them.

Mr. Lovelace is recognized as TOY for his work encouraging wellness in the VPES community—students, teachers, staff, and families. His colleagues speculated that the phrase most frequently heard around VPES is, “Have you seen Mr. Lovelace?” which reflects his central role in the life of the school. The VPES Committee writes, “Jeff Lovelace is the Dennis Rodman of teaching—his impact might not always show up on paper, but he's the glue that holds the team together. Jeff is incredibly intelligent, thoughtful, and compassionate. He deeply cares for his students, understanding that building trust is key to helping them grow. He meets them where they are, guiding them through emotional challenges with patience and empathy.”

The committee cited him as a “fierce advocate for students…” They report, “Jeff’s mission is clear: connect with every student and help them thrive. He brings energy into every classroom, even preschool, teaching emotional regulation and social skills in engaging, hands-on ways that students can take with them and practice on their own to prepare them for the challenges life can bring. He also leads small groups and supports students during lunch, helping them navigate peer relationships. His office is a safe, welcoming space, and his influence extends to families through workshops and DBT resources. There’s no doubt—Jeff is simply the best.”

Director of Personnel Karen Dewing, who presented the award to Mr. Lovelace with Superintendent Dr. Da Silva, Assistant Superintendents Dr. Hannaway and Cory Gillette, Finance Director Jill Browne, and VPES Principal Dr. Prendergast all on stage engaging in deep breathing, notes that he is the first School Psychologist recognized as the RPS TOY. Students took part in the surprise celebration, holding up letters to spell LOVELACE. Congratulations to Mr. Lovelace and all our exceptional building TOYs!!!!

Barlow Mountain Elementary—Patricia Cerniglia

Branchville Elementary—Betsy Anderson

Farmingville Elementary—Amanda Cody

Ridgebury Elementary—Karen Van Vliet

Scotland Elementary—Danielle Donovan

Veterans Park Elementary—Jeffrey Lovelace

East Ridge Middle School—Daniela Silvestri

Scotts Ridge Middle School—Christie Judge

Ridgefield High School—Julie Henderson

The BOE Meeting is on Tuesday due to Memorial Day. Remember to check your school calendar for art shows, concerts, field days, and other end-of-the-year events!

Camp Common App offers rising seniors the opportunity to get a head start on their college application process during a free morning workshop. The options are Friday, August 1 OR Thursday, August 7th from 10am - 1pm. Students can register here!

Last Friday, leaders across RPS attended a full-day workshop on innovation and best practices around social-emotional learning (SEL) implementation at the Urban Assembly. This year’s SEL Symposium theme was Skills For The Future: Learning, Leading, Living. In the photo, SRMS Principal Tim Salem, RHS Assistant Principal Jarret Pepe, Farmingville Principal Nancy Caron, Grade 6-12 Humanities Supervisor Dr. Annie Tucci, East Ridge principal Jennifer Phostole, Barlow Mountain principal Becky Laus, and Branchville principal Keith Margolus, flank the keynote speaker, Dr. Timothy Shriver, Chair of CASEL.

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.

The Scotts Ridge Middle School library has always been first in our book, and this week, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) named the SRMS LLC the 2025 National School Library of the Year (NSLY). Sponsored by Follett Content, the NSLY Award annually honors a school library that exemplifies the implementation of AASL's National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries. Scotts Ridge Middle School will receive a crystal obelisk – the symbol of school library excellence – and $10,000 toward its school library.

The team of Librarian Janine Johnson and paraeducator (of the year) Emily Shiller has made the Scotts Ridge LLC a hub of innovation, learning, and inclusion. Their thoughtful implementation of programs like 1 Book 2 Schools, the Morning Show, March Madness, and collaboration with educators across SRMS is a national model. They are enthusiastic readers and thoughtful people, and their curiosity and love for ideas and words run through everything they do. Read more about the award and quotes from their Scotts Ridge colleagues in the AASL announcement.

Ms. Johnson writes, "We're thrilled to be named the National School Library of the Year by the American Association of School Librarians and Follett! We believe school libraries are a sanctuary for reading, discovery, risk-taking, and, most importantly, connection. The 'Fail Forward' culture at Scotts Ridge nurtures creativity and collaborative curiosity, benefiting our students and accelerating learning.”

What will they do with the award money? Trip to Paris for two, including a few paperbacks? No, they are running a poll to see what Scotts Ridge thinks. Maybe more stationary bikes for the LLC...Congratulations!

Congratulations to the 2025 RHS National Merit Finalists, Carter Brown, William Carter, Pranati Sathyagal (missing from the photo), Catherine Thompson, William Trotman, and Elijah Yurkovsky!

The National Latin Exam is administered annually to over 100,000 students in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and more than 20 other countries, reports RHS Latin teacher Dorothea Maxwell. This year, 25 RHS students opted to take the exam in March. From those, Henry Frates earned the rare distinction of a perfect score with the Honor of Most Excellent and a gold medal. Other gold medal, Summa Cum Laude, honorees were Peter Iwasiutyn, Catherine Thompson, Pearce Steele, Will Knispel, Nathan Rios and Carrington Long. Silver medal, Maxima Cum Laude, honorees were Enola McGuirk, Sophie Zezula, Riley Rotunno and Micah Cohen. Ashwika Krishnan earned a Magna Cum Laude award, and Graham Muncy, Jonathan Poulton, and Owen Anderson earned Cum Laude awards.

The National Medusa Mythology Exam was also administered to a few of our students in early April. David Zaslavsky earned the honor of Maxima Cum Laude and Myles Parrish earned a Cum Laude award.

Bravo to the RHS Theater Department for receiving 17 Halo Award Nominations—the high school equivalent of the Tony Award. Both the fall play, Peter and the Starcatcher, and the spring musical, The Wizard of Oz, earned multiple nominations. Congratulations to the actors, stage crew, parents, directors, and all who made these enchanting theatrical experiences possible. Stay tuned to RPS Update for photos from the red carpet at the Halo Awards next week. Break a leg, RHS. We're so proud of you! See the list of nominations on the RHS Theatre website.

On Wednesday, the RHS Geography club won the 32nd annual Geography Challenge at UConn! Eighteen teams from around the state competed in various geography-related activities, including map reading, orienteering, problem-solving, and culminating in a quiz bowl competition. Our second team placed eighth in this statewide competition.

Congratulations to J.W. Mooney, Declan Luhman, Ben Pearl, Andrew Pearl, Will Carter, Kaitan Gupta, Will Knispel, Charlotte Suozzi, Will Trotman, Mr. Nick Fraticelli (Geography Club advisor).

Photo Credit: Jessica Carter

As part of the RHS No Place for Hate initiative through the Anti-Defamation League and through a partnership with the organization KidsKonnectUkraine, sophomores attended the annual Hope in Humanity assembly this week, where they connected with students in Ukraine. Originally, RHS planned to connect with Holocaust survivor Judith Altmann. Ms. Altmann was a longtime friend of Ridgefield High School, as she spoke to generations of Ridgefield students and shared her story of surviving the Holocaust and finding hope and compassion. She passed away last month at the age of 100, and RHS created a tribute to her memory.

Sophomores Mae Carpenter and Lia Munoz Rojas welcomed Ukrainian teens and asked them student-generated questions via an international Zoom. The Ukrainian students spoke about the many hardships they face living in a war zone and the resilience they have had to build to cope with the changes. One student left us with a powerful final thought: "They tried to destroy us, but they only woke us up.”

After engaging live with Ukrainian students, our RHS students watched the tribute to Holocaust survivor Judith Altmann. The tribute compiled interviews with Ms. Altmann throughout the years and segments from RHS staff and students who described how Ms. Altmann’s message impacted them.

East Ridge students in grades 6-8, read storybooks during Read Across America Week. ERMS library and media specialist Devin Samaha reports that videos of students reading a wide variety of stories, including "Boo Who " (above), were shared with the six Elementary schools. Students also incorporated our green screen technology to highlight the drawings while they read the stories. Mr. Samaha writes, "We are hoping that younger students will be encouraged to become lifelong readers when they view older students reading aloud. I like to think it helps (in some small way) to create a community of readers who inspire and give back to one another. A fan favorite of the book selections was The Day the Crayons Quit. It's a great book that is a collection of open letters from crayons who are fed up with the way they are used (and underused)."

Elementary art shows provide the opportunity to celebrate students' creativity, learning, and craftsmanship in the visual arts. Hats off to our student artists and our outstanding elementary art teachers—Alison Anderson, Rachael Penney, Megan Kounnas, Jennifer Zeyer, and substitute Jennifer Simon—for all you do. While each school's art show is a little different, all are beautiful!

RHS's magazine, The Ridgefielder, is hot off the "press" and available—no trees were harmed in its creation. Read thoughtful articles about the RHS Teacher of the Year, a controversy over quotes in the yearbook, and so much more.

Although the current weather conditions don’t feel very spring-like, we welcome back Ridgefield High School’s Director of Athletics Dane Street, to give us the Spring sports update. We discuss how changes in the Athletics Department will affect your wallet (in a good way) and how families can utilize the new SportsYou app to tap into game schedule changes or other information. We also discuss where the spring sports teams are in their season, what teams are going to the finals, a preview of what’s happening this summer, and some updates happening this fall. Thanks for listening to Ridgefield Tiger Talk

See the RHS Athletics website for more information and schedules.

Everyone won in this week's staff vs. student RHS Unified Volleyball match-up.

The sun shone on Tiger Hollow last Saturday for girls and boys RHS lacrosse fans. In the morning, RHS celebrated the GLax seniors (photo above). We are going to miss you! In the afternoon, the Boys' lacrosse team played for a purpose in the KOMD (Kindness Over Muscular Dystrophy) game. KOMD is a local non-profit that seeks to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare disease affecting RPS student Conner Curran (shown with the team in the photo below). Conner is the team's heart, soul, and inspiration—even our Wilton rivals joined the cause, wearing #7 jerseys during warm-ups. The day raised over $3500 for KOMD and exemplified the impact connection and hope can have on individuals and the community.

One look at the photo below (right), and you can see that East Ridge surprised Gondy Somma this week with the news that she is the ERMS Para of the Year! She is now under consideration for the district POY. East Ridge praised Ms. Somma, writing, "She demonstrates what it truly means to put students first, creating an environment where each child feels supported and empowered to succeed. All of this contributes to our goal of making ALL feel like they are valued and that they belong. The ERMS community is fortunate to have such a passionate educator whose positive impact reaches far beyond the classroom." Thank you to Ms. Somma and all the RPS paras recognized for all they do!

The volatile weather this spring cooperated for Junior Prom. The sun and smiles were out for photos, and then the students headed to the prom. To quote Billy Crystal, "You look marvelous!".

Photo Credit: RHS student Malena Patel

East Ridge student Ian Perry and his family, including Branchville third-grader Nora, represented RPS at the No Place for Hate Day at the Hartford Yard Goats. Ian was even in the "high-five" tunnel when the baseball team came out. GOAT!

What are this year's Senior Interns up to? Stay tuned to RPS Update to see our special correspondent's report.

RHS seniors Kiril Volkov, Olivia Barrientos, Rocio Sanz, and Venesa Bajraktari are interning at the Hickories, where they have been spending quality time with animals (especially the adorable sheep), labeling various kinds of plants, planting and transplanting seeds, cleaning, and preparing flowers, fresh produce, and other goods for sale at the Farm Stand. We visited the Farm Stand and observed the contributions of these interns and the high-quality goods they have helped create. It's hard work on the farm but incredibly rewarding. One student, Rocio Sanz, says her experience on the farm has taught her a lot about the animals and how to care for them, which will serve her well as she pursues a veterinary career. If you couldn't tell from their smiling faces, these interns are enthusiastic about their roles on the farm and proud of their contributions.

These past few weeks, Catherine Thompson, Connor Levy, and Jack Giusio have been working closely alongside Attorneys Patrick Walsh and Richard Hastings, who have had RHS interns consistently for the past 20 years. Interns begin each day by reviewing and discussing a mock case, reading through different evidence and witness statements, answering questions about liability and negligence, and determining whether or not to pursue litigation. They have discussed the use of AI in their field and how it has both improved efficiency and posed risks of inaccuracies. The interns are excited to witness the real-life application of all they are learning during an upcoming visit to the Danbury Superior Court.

Senior interns Baila Kessler, Nola Peressutti, Olivia Keating, Sophie Bianco, and Tessa White have been helping out over at the West Lane Inn, turning over rooms, cleaning, learning about the hospitality industry, and enhancing the visitor experience with their lively energy and presence. These girls make chores look fun!

One intern, Nola Peressutti, has taken on a special project for the Inn. Using her creative talents, Nola has compiled some of the notes and kind remarks guests have left into a sentimental scrapbook. These mementos, previously stored in a file, can now be read and cherished more easily, allowing innkeepers Christine Carnicelli and Danielle Petrie to recognize the lasting impact their work has had on the individuals they serve and the Ridgefield community.

RPS Update recently visited Brandon Morales, Hannah Gilland, Martin Guijarro Santos, and Mridhula Praveen at the Ridgefield Historical Society, where they have been working with Betsy Reid to prepare for Memorial Day celebrations and uncovering details about Ridgefield's past. When we arrived, intern Hannah was sorting through the gold stars memorializing the names of Ridgefield residents who have died in combat to be used on the organization's Memorial Day parade float. Mridhula was reviewing and checking the transcriptions of interviews the Historical Society has done with life-long Ridgefield residents about the changes they've witnessed. Interns Brandon and Martin were working on finding the pensions and deceased records of soldiers who fought in the Battle of Ridgefield. This research has been possible with a grant from the National Park Service, given to the Ridgefield Historical Society after the remains of two soldiers were discovered near Main Street last year.

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