Fall is here and we are settling into a nice routine at Steere Farm! Thank you for all of your support during the first month of school. You are an essential partner in your child's education and we want to keep you informed of all happenings at Steere Farm School. During the month of September, we practiced many safety drills, including a fire evacuation and a lock down drill. Students did a great job showing how responsible they are during these drills!

Our staff also focused on establishing clear routines and expectations with students to set the foundation for a successful year. Teachers have also completed beginning of year assessments to determine each child's strengths and instructional needs. The data will be used to effectively plan instruction to meet the needs of all learners.

Special thanks to all families who joined us for our first Back to School Bath this year. It was a great night! If you haven't done so already, please complete the brief feedback form below. As always, I encourage you to reach out with any suggestions, questions, or concerns.

Warm Regards,

Courtney Francis

Each month SFE will recognize 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. Check out our first Student of the Month recipients for the month of September!

This month we will kick off our third 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. Rodgers who was named our first Teacher of the Month this year!

Please be advised that the Burrillville School Department is requesting that ALL families who have children residing in their homes attending the Burrillville Schools complete the application for free and reduced lunch. Please complete this form, whether or not you believe your child is eligible. This information is important for a number of reasons; specifically, the majority of school education aid received from the state and the federal government will be based on the amount of eligible free and reduced student population.

All information provided on the application is kept confidential. Completion of these applications will ensure that the school department receives all available/entitled state and federal funds.

Whenever possible, please send in a note or email (baillargeont@bsd-ri.net) to notify the office if your child is being dismissed early or if there is a change in your child's dismissal procedure. Thank you!

Students were given their Feinstein Junior Scholar cards last week. Students were also assigned a "Golden Ticket" numbers and teachers were provided with a list of names and numbers. The "ticket" will be kept at school in hopes that we will again be a winner! "Golden Ticket" winners receive a $5,000 grant for the school and a $500 grant for a charity. Tickets are required to be produced upon winning and we have found this to be a great way to guarantee that the ticket is found easily!

If you would like to know you child's ticket number, please call Ms. Tiffany and she would be happy to provide it to you! Special thanks to Mrs. Kennedy for being our Feinstein Coordinator!

As we enter fall and winter, it is important that your child is dressed appropriately for school. Students will be going outside for recess whenever possible! Please ensure your children are dressed for these conditions, and have a sweatshirt or jacket in their backpacks.

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.

During the month of October students will participate in activities to educate all children and raise awareness about bullying. Steere Farm School will participate in Unity Day on October 16th by wearing orange, together against bullying and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. We have a special assembly planned led by representatives from the Special Olympics. Students will also have the opportunity to take a pledge against bullying and will be given a certificate for doing so.

**Parents are encouraged to contact SFE teachers or Mrs. Francis directly with any concerns related to bullying. Your child's safety and well being is a top priority for all SFE staff members. Educating students, parents, and staff members, open communication, and solution-focused intent are key to combating bullying! Please see the link below for more resources.

Check out our online store for Bronco gear!

In March of 2024 the CDC and the RIDOH changed the COVID guidance to align with guidance for other common respiratory viruses such as the flu.

What does this mean for us going forward? Essentially, treat all respiratory illnesses the same way. Stay at home and away from others until, for 24 hours, you are both fever-free without medication and have improving symptoms. The CDC and DOH also recommend that you take additional precautions for the next 5 days, including wearing a mask and keeping your distance from others.

Please note that, effective April 1, 2024, COVID will no longer be treated as a separate category of excused absence. A parent report of COVID will default to an unexcused absence, unless the parent provides medical documentation.

Students are fully immersed in the Choose Love curriculum! Students 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 courage.

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.

In the Multi-age classroom, we have been getting adjusted to the new year! Students have been working in small groups on math, reading and writing tasks. We have been busy writing in our journals, learning how to work independently and creating connections with peers and adults.

Students in Ms. Holly's class learned about cubism and Pablo Picasso. Picasso was a lover of music and made many paintings and collages featuring musical instruments in the style of cubism. Students made their own guitars in the style of Picasso’s cubism using collage material! We are off to a great start of the school year!

Students in Grade 2 are learning how to work cooperatively across all curriculum areas. Mr. LaDuke's students shared their writing to make sure their stories sounded great. Mrs. Hammond's students participated in a shared reading lesson. Ms. Schuyler's students are learning to count money.

In science, third grade has started our Water and Climate unit. We have learned how to use various measuring tools like graduated cylinders, balance scales and beakers, and how to record answers using units like milliliters and grams. Once students were comfortable using the measuring tools, they had to use them to answer the focus question: "How much water can a dry sponge absorb?"

Grade 4 is "shaking it up" in the science lab! As part of their Soil, Rocks and Landforms unit, students recently added water to soil samples to see the effects on the different layers of the Earth!

Students began the year discovering the relationship between the position of the sun in the sky and the length/direction of shadows. We used a sun tracker to plot shadows and recreated the position of the sun using a flashlight as the light source.

The next PTA meeting will be Wednesday, October 9, 2024 at 6:30pm in person in the library or via Zoom. We hope to see you there!

The students are working hard and have raised over $10,000 so far! Thank you to all that have supported so far! We still have a little bit more to go to reach our goal before the big day next Thursday on October 10th!

Stay tuned for details about what to wear and bring for the day as the date approaches. We look forward to celebrating the students' fundraising success!

Get Moving Club started last week and we are always looking for volunteers to help! The kids love this, and we need volunteers to help keep this going through the fall! You can sign up for one or both recess times!

The annual book fair is back and will be held the week of November 4th! We are looking for volunteers to help students with shopping and purchasing items within their budget! Please click the link below to sign up!

Join us for this FREE family event on Friday October 11, 2024 (pending on weather) starting at 7:00 PM. The event usually runs until 8:30PM but you can leave whenever you want. Families can view the stars and moon above with a professional telescope! This is not a drop off event. Don’t forget your chairs and blankets!

10/2: PBIS (Student of the Month Assembly)

10/3: Flu Clinic 4:00-7:00 p.m. @ Burrillville Middle School

10/7: Vision Screening

10/9: Student of the Month Family Ceremony @ 8:25 a.m.

10/9: Fire Safety Assembly

10/9: PTA Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.

10/10: PTA Color Run!

10/11: PTA Star Party (p.m.)

10/14: No School - Columbus Day

10/15: No School - Professional Development Day

10/16: Unity Day! Wear Orange!

10/21-10/25: Homecoming Week!

10/25: Bronco Friday

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

11/5: No School - Election Day