Steere Farm Elementary Update | Smore Newsletters for Education

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From the Desk of Mrs. Francis

The 2023-2024 school year is off to a great start! Thank you to the entire Steere Farm community for making the opening of school successful and enjoyable. Our students came in with a positive attitude, ready to learn! Special shout out to our staff for taking their own time to ensure classrooms and shared spaces were ready for students!

The SFE staff recognizes the importance of cultivating a strong partnership between parents and the school in order to ensure student success. We encourage you to contact us if the need arises and to stay in the know about your student’s studies, activities, and other happenings. Our staff values your active involvement in your child’s education. We are ready for a year full of learning and fun!

We hope to see you at our Open House on Thursday, September 28th from 6:00-8:00 p.m.!

Warm Regards,

Mrs. Francis

Please make sure notes to the office are dated. If you are giving permission for someone to dismiss your child, please include their full name in the note.
Clearly mark water bottles, lunch boxes, coats, etc. with student's name.
District Policy requires all parents and school volunteers to maintain a current BCI check and to RENEW all BCI checks yearly prior to volunteering in classrooms/school or field trip activities. Please visit our PTA table during Open House to complete a form!

SFE School Improvement Team

Last school year, our School Improvement Team worked hard to complete an updated plan for the coming year! We are excited about the important initiatives included in our plan. Our team will meet quarterly this year to implement and monitor our plan. Parents are important stakeholders on our team! Please reach out to Mrs. Francis (francisc@bsd-ri.net) if you are interested in joining!

Homework!

Recent research found that the amount of time students spent in independent reading outside of school was the best predictor of reading achievement. As such, all elementary students are expected to read no less than 20 minutes per night. In addition, students will also be assigned math practice. Other school related projects may also be assigned periodically.

If you have concerns regarding homework, please contact your child’s teacher at school, either by phone or email.

Parent Pick Up Form

Parent pick up form: Please fill out *this form ONLY if your child will be a Parent Pick Up this school year. A separate form must be filled out for each child at Steere Farm. Please note, this form is for students who are not riding the bus or going to BEC.

Once this form is completed, a name plate and barcode will be created for your child that corresponds to our pick up system. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the school. *This form must be updated each year. Thank you so much for your cooperation!

Media Opt Out Form

In our efforts to highlight the activities and accomplishments in the district and throughout the schools, we will be taking videos and pictures to share with local news sources, for use in district and school communications, including social media. If you prefer that your child/ren is not in videos or photographed, please fill out this Media Opt-Out Form by Monday, September 18, 2023. If you are ok with your child/ren being in videos and photographed, you do not need to fill out this form.

Lunch Application

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.

Family Skyward Access

*As a reminder, please provide us with your most current phone numbers, email addresses, and emergency contacts so that we can better serve your family. Updates can be made in Skyward or by emailing Mrs. Baillargeon (baillargeont@bsd-ri.net).

Skyward Family Access is a secure, Internet-based website that will allow you to see certain information about your students. We are very excited about how Family/Student Access will help you stay informed about your student and hope that we can use this tool to create a stronger relationship between parents and our school community.

Accessing Skyward

If you know your Skyward Access login and password, please click here to go directly to the Skyward login page.
If you do not know your Skyward Access login and password or have forgotten your information, please click here.

Thank You, PTA!

The Steere Farm PTA welcomed back the staff and students of SFE by providing funding for new paint for the entrance of the school, mulch, soil and flowers for the flower boxes and around the school sign, air conditioning and snacks in the teachers lounge, updated the bulletin boards in the cafeteria, and brand new folders for all students! A special thanks to Joy Schuyler and Kim Gould for planting the flowers and sprucing up the mulch beds!!

PBIS: Position Behavioral Interventions & Supports

At SFE we are proud to be part of a school-wide PBIS Program. PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) is a system that supports the development of academic, social/emotional, and positive behavioral skills which are crucial to success in school and in life. Students are awarded a "Bronco Buck" during the school day for going above and beyond to demonstrate one of our 3Rs: Respect, Responsibility, Ready to Learn. Many Bronco Bucks have already been given out this school year!

As always, we appreciate your support regarding this important school-wide initiative.

Social Emotional Learning Curriculum: Choose Love Movement

Choose Love for Schools™ is a no cost, next-generation social and emotional learning (SEL) and character education program for Pre-K through 12th grades, designed to teach students, educators and staff how to choose love in any circumstance thereby creating a safer, more connected school culture.

Choose Love For Schools incorporates neuroscience and positive psychology to teach mindfulness, character, and emotional intelligence. These essential life skills and tools make students better learners, more desirable employees and happier, healthier, human beings.

All homerooms at SFE are implementing this important curriculum this school year! More information to come about how to incorporate this learning in your home.

Source: https://chooselovemovement.org/schools/

Eureka Math

Teachers in grades 2-5 continue to fully implement Eureka Math! Eureka Math is a complete curriculum that carefully sequences the mathematical progressions into expertly crafted modules. Eureka Math provides educators with a comprehensive curriculum, in-depth professional development, books, and support materials.

Parents, please note, Eureka provides a series of free Parent Tip Sheets that include suggested strategies and models, key vocabulary, and tips for how you can support learning at home. Be on the look out for the tip sheets at the beginning of each module!

HMH Into Reading

This year, we are excited to expand Into Reading to all grades K-5. HMH Into Reading was built from the ground up using the latest in literacy research to ensure every student learns to read and write with confidence. The text topics help to build student's background knowledge and accelerate their reading growth. We are excited to introduce students to high interest texts that they can relate to!

In addition, our teachers receive high quality professional development from curriculum coaches and our own literacy fellows in order to effectively implement this curriculum. We look forward to celebrating our students' reading growth this year!

GEMS-Net Science

The Guiding Education in Math and Science Network (GEMS-Net) is a partnership among the University of Rhode Island’s School of Education, scientists and engineers, and public school districts. GEMS-Net supports STEM teaching and learning for Kindergarten through Grade 8. Our students love the hands on learning!

Our teachers receive ongoing professional development, curricula recommendations that align with the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards, and leadership development.

Fall Benchmark Assessments

As you may know, students are assessed periodically throughout the year using a variety of assessments. These assessments are designed to assist us in better understanding our students' strengths and making instructional decisions to meet the needs of our students.

Steere Farm teachers will begin fall benchmark assessments at the end of September into the beginning of October. Staff members will then meet to analyze the data and create instructional groupings designed to provide targeted skill instruction to students with similar strengths and needs. Please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

BCI Checks

We will have many opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer at the school. In order to volunteer you must get an updated BCI check completed at the beginning of every school year. Please stop by the PTA table at the open house this week, to fill out BCI paperwork and have it notarized. This is the perfect time to get this checked off your to do list, as the PTA will bring your completed BCI to the police station for processing.

2023 Bronco Read-a-thon!

This year's big fundraiser will be our Read-a-thon which officially kicks off later this month. Similar to last year's Fun Run, we will be using the Get Movin Crew as the platform to collect online donations. Over the course of 3 weeks, students will actively read to compete and compete to raise funds culminating in a school-wide celebration of their efforts. Last year's Fun Run brought in over 19,000 for the school and provided for field trips, assemblies, and school improvement projects! We need your support to make the Read-a-thon a success. The more successful the Read-a-thon is, the less fundraisers needed throughout the year! Information to come home in the next few weeks. Any questions, please feel free to reach out to Shannon Luttge at Steerefarm.pta@gmail.com.

Trunk-or-Treat!

The Steere Farm, Callahan, and AT Levy parent-teacher organizations are providing a FREE trunk or treat event on Saturday, October 14th (Rain date Sunday, October 15th) at Steere Farm Elementary School. Registration will be required for this event, and we will need volunteers, specifically, families to decorate trunks and hand out treats, in addition to a few more volunteers for set up, check-in, etc. More details regarding this event and how to register will be communicated shortly.

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