RPS Update

As many of you know, each of our Board of Education meetings is unique (and I would argue special) in a variety of ways. One way is our “Showcases” at the start of each meeting, allowing us to recognize excellence throughout our District. Often, we use this time to highlight our students or programs. At our Board of Education meeting on February 26, we showcased two CABE awards that the District received- the first was RPS Tiger Talk Podcast, and the second was for our Budget Book, highlighting the transparency of our budget to the public and community. There are many reasons our community is amazing, and it felt good to show off a few more. On that topic, Tiger Talk is off this week, back on next week with a special show highlighting why Ridgefield is a “District of Choice.”

This week, I met with 8th graders at East Ridge and Scotts Ridge Middle Schools to learn more about their experience as students at RPS. As you could expect, our students were incredibly articulate and identified what we do well, and opportunities for growth. This has been one of the best parts of my day. Our students are truly a gift.

Also, we extend our gratitude to our PTAs, faculty, and our curriculum office for partnering with the elementary school musicals. I had the opportunity to watch the schoolwide assembly at Barlow Mountain Elementary- I know they would have made Willy Wonka proud! Let's not forget the opening of “Little Women” this weekend at RHS… way more economical than traveling to New York City; we have the talent right here at home. Purchase your tickets here:

Have a wonderful weekend.

Warmly,

Susie

Susie Da Silva, Ed.D

Photo caption: Dr. Da Silva with Scotts Ridge students.

Please check your school's calendar for important dates.

Little Women

March 7, 8, 15, & 16
7 PM

RHS Auditorium

Tickets here

Full story and more photos below.

NOTE: The Board of Finance Public Hearing on Monday, March 25, is at East Ridge Middle School at 7 pm.

RPS reached out to families this week for input on the Teacher of the Year. IRPS Teacher of the Year Program recognizes and honors teacher excellence. It does not attempt to select the "best" teacher; rather to identify among many outstanding teachers, one teacher to serve as a visible and vocal representative of what is best in the profession. The program celebrates excellence in teaching by recognizing teachers who have inspired a love of learning in their students, demonstrated fervor within their classroom, and who have distinguished themselves in the profession.

Each school will select a School Teacher of the Year to represent the school in the district's Teacher-of-the-Year selection process. Please fill out the form below to submit your nomination!

https://forms.gle/WLwsyHMv2cubL1bk8

Photo Caption: This Year's Teacher of the Year RHS English teacher and dean Andy Maccabe.

In next week's RPS Update, we plan to focus on the amazing array of opportunities afforded to current Grade 8-11 students during Forever Summer Bridge. Please get a head start by reviewing those unique offerings here.

The Ridgefield Public School District has updated their existing COVID protocol to align with the new CDC guidelines. These new guidelines will replace the COVID protocols that have been in place since the beginning of the school year.The new guidelines can be found here

RPS learned this week that East Ridge Counselor Amy Jonsson is the 2024 Connecticut School Counselor Association's School Counseling Internship Supervisor of the Year. Ms. Jonsson's graduate intern this fall nominated her for this citation.

Ms. Jonsson writes, "Working with graduate counseling interns is a real passion of mine. Advising and training new counselors with current professional standards is critical for the development and progress of our profession, and I genuinely enjoy being a part of that. Being an internship supervisor is rewarding for me professionally, and I am grateful for the experience knowing that I am contributing to the growth and development of a future school counselor."

Congratulations!!!

This week, the local news web source The Patch reported that Ridgefield Public Schools ranks in the top ten Most Envied School Districts by Parents in America. The Patch quotes the authors' list, "Ridgefield offers a strong educational program with a focus on both academic and extracurricular excellence. The district's commitment to innovation and community support makes it a top choice for families." Although unaware this national distinction existed, we love the recognition of innovation and appreciate the support of our community as we strive to partner with families for RPS students.

Please check your students' e-Backpack for this important information and other programs across the district. Organizations that meet the RPS policy may submit their request for inclusion to cmelagrano@ridgefieldps.net.

On Tuesday, March 12, Dr. Melanie Pearl and Niro Feliciano will be talking about anxiety---in children and teens, as well as in parents. When helping your child learn to understand and cope with their anxiety, it can be most useful to understand how your temperament and anxiety interact with your child's view of the world. Please register!

On March 28, RPS collaborator Dr. Ben Powers will present on the Science of Reading on the Curriculum RPS Curriculum YouTube channel. Link to login and submit questions here.

The RPS preschool program is an integrated special education preschool that consists of a multidisciplinary team of teachers, related service providers and paraeducators. The enrollment in each integrated classroom consists of a combination of children who require special education and peer models.

RPS's own award-winning podcaster, Dr. Wes DeSantis visited the RHS Media Production Class this week to introduce students to the world of podcasting. They hope to launch an RHS podcast by April, and Dr. DeSantis took the time to meet with some students to listen to what they have created so far. Teacher Katie Blake writes, "We cannot wait to air our first episode and we cannot wait to hear the 100th episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk next week!."

Thank you to RHS English teacher Matthew Goetz for continuing to submit poems from his sophomores, including this sonnet by Lachlan Maloney.

The RHS auditorium is buzzing on Wednesday afternoon. It’s one of the several dress rehearsals for the Spring musical, “Little Women” which opens today with performances on March 9, 15, and 16. Assistant Director Mattie Joyner (RHS 2013) leads actors through a warm-up, while the crew test lights, parents organize boards, and members of the pit orchestra drag drums, tune violins, and re-read the score.

Director Jacqueline Militano takes a minute to reflect on the play. “It’s incredible. I saw this play on Broadway in 2005 and think our production is better.” She cites RHS senior Millie (Max) Altopp, who plays Jo March. “This actor’s performance is incredible. The role is so close to their heart. I’ve never seen this connection with a role before. It’s so beautiful. Mattie and I were literally jumping up and down at the end of the rehearsal yesterday.”

After the warm-up, students braid each other’s hair, apply mustaches, and put the final touches on make-up. Some of the actors have already been to Founders Hall that day. Senior citizens get free tickets, but one Founders member said, “I want to pay so I can support the arts.” This is magic to Ms. Joyner. “In my day, we had lines around the school. An RHS play was a town event. Everyone came.”

This cast and crew, including a record twenty-two RHS seniors, has approached outreach creatively, performing numbers for the Youth Program at the Ridgefield Library and co-hosting a tea at Keeler Tavern last Saturday. The play is appropriate for all audiences. In fact, the director’s five-year-old son has already seen the show three times.

Tickets are available here.

Last Friday, the RHS jazz band performed at the Darien High School Jazz Jamboree along with many of the jazz bands in Fairfield County. In this competition, RHS took home first place earning the Outstanding Ensemble award, and percussionist Kevin DiMiceli earned an Outstanding Soloist award. Congratulations!!!

Scan the QR code below for tickets for the Scotts Ridge Middle School musical

Last week the Farmingville Elementary Student Council sponsored a Ce-Real Drive to benefit the Daily Bread Food Pantry in Danbury. FES families donated hundreds of boxes of breakfast cereal to help local families. Before the FES student council delivered the boxes, they set them up in lines, swirling around the gym. Then, they tipped one box, initiating a thrilling chain reaction, where each box fell like dominoes. Please view the video below. Can you guess what the most popular cereal is?

Last week, Branchville Elementary enjoyed its annual visit from The Prospector Theater, where they presented their program "What Is a Pencil?" Prospects visited with BES second graders and discussed how disabilities make us different in ways that are worth celebrating. We all have a sparkle -- a passion and talent that allows us to contribute meaningfully to our community -- and different is good!

This program is sponsored by the BES PTA DEIB (Diversity Equity Inclusion Belonging) Committee.

RHS Science Olympiad Club Advisor Sarah Bentley reports that the B Division (i.e. Middle School level) Science Olympiad Invitational last Saturday went great. We had 7 teams, 150 people from five different schools competing in STEM-based engineering and testing events. RHS Science Olympiad students made and graded the tests, proctored the labs/tests, and judged the engineering events. Junior club president (Will Carter) and co-engineering captain (Henry Sulivan) 3D-printed medals and trophies for all the events.

All of the coaches from the visiting schools took the time to tell Ms. Bentley personally how appreciative they were of the event and how impressed they were with how knowledgeable, mature, and professional the RHS students were. RPS is the only middle school-level invitational in the state of CT so many of the teams said they would love it if we were to continue hosting the competition every year.

For our Scott's Ridge team: Haresh Karthikeyan and Jaden Sanuntoong got 3rd place (bronze medal) in Anatomy & Physiology.

Last weekend, the RHS boys 4x800 relay team broke New England and Connecticut records to win a New England Championship. Congratulations to Aidan Nelson, Steven Hergenrother, Magnus Manley, and Charles Lovett. Fire!

This weekend a whopping 120 Barlow Mountain students will put on "Willie Wonka Jr." Here are some photos from an all-school preview. Thank you to Barlow Mountain parent-producer Eve Zibel, the BMES PTA , parents, and staff for all your hard work. Expect more photos next week. Go Get 'Em. Bobcats!

RHS juniors recently participated in Counseling Seminars to understand post-secondary high school options. They played the admissions game to gain understanding of the college application process!

Below are some of the photos from a dress rehearsal of the RHS spring musical. DON'T MISS! Tickets available here.

We would love to hear from you! Families and staff can submit stories, comments, or corrections to RPS Communications. Please follow us on Social Media with links below.

The RHS boys 4x800 team of Nelson, Steven Hergenrother, Magnus Manley, and Lovett won New Englands with a meet record of 7:47:62.