Steere Farm Elementary School

October was filled with many highlights! Our curriculum is off and running and students are focused on learning! Teachers are also preparing for parent/teacher conferences on Monday, November 4th from 12:00-3:00 and 4:00-7:00 p.m. Students do not have school on this day. Teachers will have professional development prior to parent/teacher conferences.

On behalf of Steere Farm School, I would like to recognize the unconditional dedication of our PTA members. With the support of SFE families, the PTA covers the costs of buses for field trips, special classroom supplies, assemblies, and more. Our PTA also plans events that create meaningful and special memories for our students. To date, they have sponsored and coordinated the Color Run, Trunk or Treat, busses for field trips, replenished recess equipment and fulfilled special grants written by teachers! They also plan restaurant nights to help raise funds for the school. A special thanks to our PTA officers, Kerrie Czerwein, Shannon Luttge, Jessica Hancock, and Erika Iafrate! The school community looks forward to a continued partnership with our supportive parent group!

November promises to be another month filled with exciting learning opportunities and reasons to be thankful. As always, I encourage you to reach out with any suggestions, questions, or concerns.

Warm Regards,

Mrs. Francis

Please note, there is no school on the following dates:

• Monday, November 4th: Professional Development Day & Parent/Teacher Conferences.

• Tuesday, November 5th: Election Day

• Monday, November 11th: Veterans Day

• November 27th-29th: Thanksgiving Recess

Our first School Improvement Team meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 13th from 3:30-4:30. The SIT meets every other month with a focus on creating, implementing and monitoring a School Improvement Plan (below). Please reach out to Mrs. Francis (francisc@bsd-ri.net) if you are interested in joining our important team!

Retake day is November 15th! New students or students who were absent during the original picture day should have their picture taken. Students who would like a retake must bring their original portrait packet and return it to the photographer.

You can still order on mylifetouch.com. Picture Day ID: EVTVRZSG2

We are accumulating quite the collection of water bottles, sweatshirts, coats and hats! If your child is missing any items please contact Ms. Tiffany and she will do her best to locate it! Our lost and found is located in the cafeteria. We will be donating all unclaimed items at the end of every month.

*Lost & Found items will be left out in the front lobby during parent/teacher conferences. Please take a look!*

Each month SFE recognizes students who have gone above and beyond to show their 3Rs: Respectful, Responsible and Ready to Learn! Students are nominated by their classroom and/or special subject teachers. Congratulations to our October recipients!

This month we will kick off our second year of awarding a Teacher of the Month! Teachers are nominated by students, who were extremely thoughtful about their nominations! We look forward to providing this opportunity for students to celebrate a teacher monthly! Congratulations to Mrs. Richards, our October Teacher of the month!

Students are fully immersed in the Choose Love curriculum! Students continue to participate in a weekly lesson rooted in one of the four Units: Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness and Compassion in Action; all part of the Choose Love Formula. This month students are learning all about gratitude.

A copy of the Choose Love calendar was sent home to all families. It it our hope that this learning and small steps you can take daily is helpful for our SFE families to complete at home.

Grade 2 students are working hard during intervention to improve their math skills! In ELA, students used an online library to research information to add to their descriptive essays. During science, students investigates rocks and learned about the volcanic rocks scoria, tuff, and basalt. And of course, students also love recess - whether indoor or outdoor!

Our third grade writers have finished their personal narrative writing unit, and they have done an incredible job. They’ve worked hard to create personal stories with clear beginnings, middles, and ends, and have practiced adding descriptive details to make their stories come alive. They have also learned the importance of revising and editing to produce a finished product. We are excited to see where their writing journeys take them next!

Grade 4 students are focused on planning, persevering, and problem solving! Students in Mrs. Richards' class recently worked on a challenge to see who could build the longest bridge! Mrs. Barr's classes worked on who could save Fred! Ask your 4th grader how it went! Students will continue to work on using problem solving strategies to tackle Eureka Math word problems!

In class we read the book Frankencrayon. We talked about the different parts of the crayon that stick out. Students then got to make their own Frankencrayon! Students constructed the body by working together and tearing paper and swapping it with their neighbors. Once constructed, students then added details with black paper and oil pastel. This was a fun seasonal group project!

In early October, Burrillville elementary, middle and high school students on our cross country teams came together for one big All Run-Fun Run at Eccleston Field! It was a beautiful day as some of our older students ran alongside our elementary students, and everyone in the crowd was cheering on all our student-athletes!

We have a wonderful Bronco community! Special thanks to all the cross country coaches for organizing this event!

During National Fire Safety Week, the Harrisville Fire Department, including Sparky, visited SFE to talk about fire safety, firefighter responsibilities, and the trucks/equipment firefighters use!

Unity Day was a success! Thank you for your support. Staff and students wore orange to symbolize that we are united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion! Students also attended a special presentation by representatives from the Special Olympics.

Students also participated in a special "Every Step You Take" activity during health class. The activity encouraged students to think about a record one way they could take action to promote unity and prevent bullying.

Thank you to all that supported and donated to our Color Run! It was a success and brought in over $16,000. These funds will help to offset costs for field trips, pay for in-school assemblies, school improvements, and much more. Thank you to our parent volunteers for spending the day helping to make this event both fun and colorful! Special shout out to Mrs. Luttge for all of her planning efforts!!

It had been 4-5 years since Skyscrapers, Inc., the Amateur Astronomical Society of Rhode Island,

had provided a stargazing event for SFE! We got lucky with a beautiful night and the waxing

gibbous Moon and Saturn certainly wowed guests. Many thanks to the Skyscrapers members who supported this successful event and to our PTA for organizing.

October was filled with many spirit days including a district wide Pink Out and Homecoming Week!

The next PTA meeting will be Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 6:30pm in person in the library or via Zoom. We hope to see you there!

Thank you to all the Bronco families and community partners who volunteered for our annual Trunk or Treat event! All the trunks and costumes looked great!

A BIG THANK YOU to all our parent-teacher organizations from SFE, WLC and ATL for collaborating and sponsoring this awesome free event for elementary students and their families!

Save the date! Our next restaurant fundraiser is Friday, December 6th at the Taco Shop from 3:00-8:00!

11/4: No School - Professional Development Day & Parent/Teacher Conferences

11/5: No School - Election Day

11/4-11/8: Scholastic Book Fair!

11/6-11/20: Food Drive!

11/8: Recycling Presentation

11/11: No School - Veterans Day

11/13: School Improvement Team Meeting @ 3:30 p.m.

11/13: PTA Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.

11/15: Picture Retakes

11/22: Bronco Friday!

11/27-11/29: No School - Thanksgiving Recess
11/30: Victorian Holiday - Chorus Performance