Scotty Updates

Scotty Updates has been created to provide families and staff with information regarding upcoming events, happenings, and programs at Scotland Elementary School. Please take time each Monday to review our newsletter.

Dear Scotland families,

We are excited for a festive week! It is hard to believe that Halloween will be here Tuesday! Just a few reminders as we get closer to the day. All students in grades K-5 are invited to wear Halloween costumes to school. If your child would prefer not to wear their costume to school, they are welcome to participate in a Scotty Spirit day instead. We will also celebrate the week with a Scotty Spirit Week! See below for details.

Each teacher will engage students in curriculum throughout the day. Our classroom based parties will take place toward the end of the day, at the teacher's discretion to ensure that students are engaged and learning throughout the day at school. If you are planning to attend your child's Halloween party, and have made arrangements with your child's teacher to do so, please ensure that you have filled out the Scotland visitor form before arriving at the building. This will make the process of entering the building much more efficient. Please also note that siblings are not permitted at events that take place inside of Scotland during school hours. We would like to ask the following to ensure safety of all students and staff:

• If students choose to dress up, please have them come dressed to school in their costume, as there will not be a space for them to change once here.
• Costumes must allow easy bathroom use so students can independently use the restroom.
• To ensure safety, costumes may not include props or masks, and please limit makeup to the eyes only.
• Kindly refrain from sending your child in an inflatable or any other distracting costume.
• Please encourage your child to choose a costume with a non-violent theme. Costumes should be “kindergarten friendly” (not scary or gory). Gentle storybook characters or heroes often lend themselves to fantastic costumes as they encourage reading for pleasure!

Our kindergarten students will parade outside of Scotland in the front parking lot on October 31st, beginning at 2:30pm. Kindergarten families are invited to come watch. We hope to see you then!

Kind regards,

Jill

PICTURE RETAKES:

If your child was absent on Picture Day or you are unhappy with your child's picture, retakes will be taken on November 3rd.

Please reach out to Ryan Meyerhoff (ryanmeyerhoff@gmail.com) if you would like to have your child’s picture retaken. Include your child’s name and homeroom teacher.

• If parents do not notify Ryan, we will not know to call their child for retake.

Be sure to send the original picture package in with your child on 11/3

QUESTIONS??

Parents with questions (such as about order forms; late orders; missing orders & refunds etc.) should contact Coffee Pond:

• By phone: 1-800-632-2323 ext '0'
• By email: Lifeguards@coffeepond.com

Monday, October 30th:

• A Day

Tuesday, October 31st:

• B Day

Wednesday, November 1st

• C Day

Thursday, November 2nd:

• D Day
• Pumpkin Blaze 🎃 5:30-7PM
• Little Doctors' Blood Drive

Friday, November 3rd:

• E Day
• Scotty Spirit Day! Wear your Scotty spirit wear to show your school pride!

********************************************************************************************

Coming Soon:

• Pumpkin Blaze 🎃 5:30-7PM
• Little Doctors' Blood Drive

Regardless if you plan to attend the Gala in person, all are welcome to view and bid on the amazing items and experiences, many of which were donated by generous members of our school community. Please click here to view the online auction and create your account. Items open for bidding on Monday, October 30, and will close on Sunday, November 5, at midnight. For those attending the gala, there will also be a live auction, raffles, and other opportunities to support the Scotland PTA. Good luck!

Joining the PTA helps you stay connected with the school community. You will receive information about family events, before & after school programs, school events, parties and much more! Get to know teachers & staff better with informational sessions throughout the year!

To join, visit our website: www.scotlandpta.org

The new PTA registration form is now live on the website, click here!

Volunteers in the Library Learning Commons:

We are looking for volunteers in the LLC! We would love to have you come in and help out! Please click below on the grade level in which you would like to volunteer. Thank you so much!

-Mrs. Gonillo

• Kindergarten- https://signup.com/go/bFGFTWA

• First Grade- https://signup.com/go/TQhSvTH

• Second Grade - https://signup.com/go/YyufgPj

• Third Grade- https://signup.com/go/RCCPZHB

• Fourth Grade- https://signup.com/go/rCCNxKx

• Fifth Grade- https://signup.com/go/frXROYD

Playdates and Riding the Bus:

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!

Hats & Hoodies:

Over the last several years there was no standard hat/hood procedure in the elementary schools, likely related to Covid, when classroom windows were kept open for air circulation and there was the potential for it to be cold in classrooms.

As we have started the 23-24 school year with a typical school opening, we will return to only permitting hats to be worn outside the school building. Students may choose to wear a hat, but will be reminded to remove it upon entering the school building. Students will be permitted to wear hats for outdoor recess. Teachers have discussed this with students and I will remind our school community during the morning announcements on Tuesday.

On special occasions/spirit days, hats may be permitted and this will be communicated to students and families.

• Each class will have one 45 minute essential per day (Art, Library, Music, or P.E.)
• We will continue to follow the six day A-F day schedule
• Please find the essentials rotation below

We will follow a similar drop off / pick up procedure that we did last year.

Arrival

• Drop off begins at 8:30am. Please do not drop off your child prior to 8:30am as there will be no supervision at this time.
• After 8:45am, you will need to walk your child into school, as they are late. You will need to sign them in with security. Please do not drop your child off without adult supervision.

Dismissal

• Pick up will begin at 3:25pm.
• Each day, please have your child(ren)’s first and last name displayed on your passenger visor, and have it remain visible until your child is in the car. This needs to be bold and large enough to be visible at a distance. This is a very important step to ensure we have your child ready when you arrive.

• For the safety of both students and staff, proceed carefully and slowly through the lot.
• Please have your child exit/enter the vehicle when your gear is in the park position and is one of the cars at the front of the line designated for drop off.
• Students must exit the vehicle on the passenger side (building side) of the vehicle. Multiple children must exit on the passenger side. It is dangerous to exit/enter on the driver's side of the vehicle!

• Students need to have all of their items ready in hand and will then exit the car immediately.
• Parents, please stay in your vehicle at all times so that the process will prevent backups on Barlow Mountain Road.
• If you miss the drop off time (after 8:45 a.m.), please park in the front lot and walk your child across the designated crosswalk to the main entrance of the building. If you arrive after the drop off window and must park in the parking lot, we kindly ask that you use the crosswalk.

• For information on this year's Chromebook distribution and policies click here to watch a short video
• If you have further questions or concerns email: helpdesk@ridgefieldps.net

School lunch will be available from the first day of school. Aramark is the new District-wide food service provider. The school lunch menu is available online on the RPS website; click Departments and click on Food Service. For all students, we have transitioned away from LunchTime software to MySchoolBucks for families to fund student lunches.

MySchoolBucks is available via the PowerSchool Parent Portal, and communication was sent to families in early August regarding adding funds for lunch. Any balances have been rolled over from LunchTime to MySchoolBucks. Additionally, the district sent a communication in early August regarding Reduced Lunch for eligible students.

Snacks for Purchase in the Cafeteria:

Students in grades 2-5 are permitted to purchase snacks during lunch (last 10 minutes). Please be sure you have set up MySchoolBucks if you would like your student to be able to purchase a snack.

• In short, students eligible for reduced lunch will be provided free lunches in grades K-8 for the 2023-24 school year.
• Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the Free School Meals for Children grant, please do not hesitate to contact us or the District Business Office.
• Questions in regard to school MySchoolBucks can be directed to Eric Nickelson, RPS Food Service Director at 203-894-5550 x1127 or enickelson@ridgefieldps.net

Website to set up an account.

MySchoolBucks

Some Support Links for Troubleshooting:

Updating Your Payment Method | MySchoolBucks

Setting up Automatic Payments | MySchoolBucks

Adding a New Student | MySchoolBucks

Setting Up Low Balance Alerts | MySchoolBucks

Reset Your Password Using Your Mobile Phone Number

Reset Your Password Using Your Email Address/Username

We will continue to use School Dismissal Manager this year at Scotland. Please click below for information regarding this system. This system will be available to families in late August. A welcome letter will be emailed to families when the system is available. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us!

Email: jkatkocin@ridgefieldps.net
Website: https://ses.ridgefield.org/
Location: 111 Barlow Mountain Road, Ridgefield, CT, USA
Phone: 203-894-5825
Twitter: @Scotland_Elem