1. Principal's Message
2. VP Two Weeks in Review!
3. Welcome Brian Piechowicz to VP!
4. Curriculum Corner
5. Upcoming Events
6. Important Information

Dear VP families,

We hope this email finds you well. As we enter the second half of October, I I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome Brian Piechowicz as the New Veterans Park Physical Education teacher. He will be joining our VP Community on Monday, October 28th. Please join me in welcoming him. You can read more about Mr. Piechowicz, or Coach P, as he likes to be called below.

Additionally, we have have fun events scheduled in the upcoming weeks. Please see the list below:

Fall Events:

• VP PTA general meeting 7:00 p.m. in the library: Colleen Howarth and Jeff Lovelace will be presenting so we encourage you to attend.
• VP PTA Sponsored Spirit Run: Thank you for your support of the VP Spirit Run on 10/24 (rain date 10/25) during the recess waves.
• Halloween All School Meeting/Class Parties/Prek and K Parade - October 31st we will meet as a school to showcase our costumes throughout the day. Please read below about Halloween costumes for school.

We appreciate your continued support and involvement in our school community. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Kind regards,

Sheri Prendergast, Ed.D.

Thank you to Mrs. Zeyer and Mrs. Anderson for all your hard work last year!

If you'd like to help supervise and cheer on the big day, we would love to have you. There are only a few spots left, so sign up here. For the rain date (October 25th), sign up here. Please email us at vpespta@gmail.com with comments or questions.

The State Board of Education has defined two levels of criteria for an absence to be considered an excused absence.

“Level 1” includes the first nine absences and these days are considered excused absences for any reason that the student’s parent or guardian approves. The parent or guardian must submit either written or oral documentation within ten school days of the student’s return to school.

Excused “Level 2” absences are the days beginning at the tenth absence and meet one or more of the State’s acceptable reasons. For more information regarding the acceptable reasons, please visit the Connecticut State Department of Education Guidelines for Absences.

If your child reaches the thresholds below, you will receive a notification. The notifications will lag the actual absences. For example, your child may reach their 6th absence on a Wednesday and you may not be notified until the following Monday.

Typical attendance notification thresholds.

• At 6 absences a notification is emailed.

• At 9 absences a notification is emailed.

• At 9 absences and 6 unexcused, a notification is emailed.

• At 9 excused absences and 10 unexcused absences, a truancy notification is emailed.

Come join us for the first of our RPS Special Services' Parent Guidance Series: Preparing for and Participating in PPT Meetings on October 22nd at 10:30 am. See this flyer for information on this virtual event, and a link to RSVP. Our goal is to provide parents and caregivers with useful information so they can approach these conversations with confidence. This session is open to any RPS parent or guardian. We'll be recording the presentation component of the event and posting for parents who can't attend, and then opening up to a Q&A session (non-recorded!) after.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zjhwShPh-LvU2FS3RY_iVvRSNnOs2b0dPtGp2bhJ1ZI/edit#heading=h.t407xxhvh3jg

• If you are coming to VP for a meeting or a classroom visit, the staff member organizing the visit/meeting will have you added to our VP Visitor’s Log.

• If you wish to enter the school building for other reasons, you need to complete the Google Form via the VP Visitor Google Form in advance or scan a QR code when you arrive at the building.

• Please be sure to have your driver’s license to be scanned once you are admitted to the building.

• All visitors should enter through the main doors - never enter in from another aspect of the school.

• We will have a table available at the main entrance for you to drop off any items for your child. We will provide post it notes and markers so that you can label the item with your child's name and teacher so that they will receive the item.

• Each K to 5 class will have a 45 minute essential per day (Art, Library, Music, or P.E.)
• Preschool will participate in a modified essential period
• We will continue to follow the six day A-F day schedule
• Please find the essentials rotation below

Students with cell phones at the elementary level are not permitted to use them during the school day. If a parent makes the decision to permit their child to have a cell phone, smartwatch, or similar device at school, it is expected that the cell phone or smartwatch be turned off and in the child’s backpack at all times. This includes the duration of the bus ride.

Please note, we treat smartwatches (e.g. the Apple Watch, the Gizmo Watch, the Android Smart Watch) or other similar devices that provide a student with the ability to text, take photos, or make calls in the same way we treat a cell phone and they are subject to the same practice.

If a staff member sees a student with any of the above mentioned devices, the student will be asked to remove the device and store it in their backpack and their teacher will likely contact you about the concern.

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

School lunch will be available from the first day of school. Aramark is the 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, utilize 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 2024-25 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 Andrea McCurry, RPS Food Service Director at 203-894-5550 x2143 or amccurry@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

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 24-25 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.

RPS distribution flyers for outside groups via a Digital Backpack.

Organizations that meet the RPS policy may submit their request for inclusion in the digital backpack. Please help us in our effort to go green by checking students' Digital Backpacks Organizations that meet the RPS policy may submit their request for inclusion to cmelagrano@ridgefieldps.net. Thank you!

Email: sprendergast@ridgefieldps.net
Website: https://vpes.ridgefield.org/Home
Location: Veterans Park Elementary School
Phone: 203-894-5525
Facebook: facebook.com/TBD