The Russell Review

Hello, Russell School Patriots!

Welcome to December! We are only a few weeks away from the December break. These next few weeks are sure to fly by. We will be packing in a number of exciting activities before winter break arrives and spend much time devoted to teaching and learning.

As we head into the December break, it is my greatest wish that each of you will find time to relax and enjoy all that the season has to offer. With that in mind, I wish all our students, staff, and families an enjoyable December.

December 5th

Russell School Winter Concert

(Held At GNG Middle School)

5:30 Kindergarten

6:00 First Grade

6:30 Second Grade

December 18th

Early Dismissal

Students Dismissed 2 Hours Earlier Than Normal

December 20th

Winter Wonderland Day

Cozy Day

Wear Something Cozy To Slip Into Vacation Comfortably

December 21st - January 1st

No School

Winter Break

January 1st

No School

New Years Day

January 2nd

School Resumes

January 6th

Russell School Family Engagement Meeting

4:30 - 6:00

January 15th

Early Dismissal

Students Dismissed 2 Hours Earlier Than Normal

January 20th

No School

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 27th - January 31st

NWEA Math & Reading Testing

February 12th

Early Dismissal

Students Dismissed 2 Hours Earlier Than Normal

February 10th - February 14th

Russell School Kindness Week

February 17th - February 21st

No School

February Vacation

Changes to your child’s afternoon dismissal plan must be communicated to the main office before 12:00 on the day of the change. This communication is essential for us to plan accordingly and get your child where they need to be at the end of each day. Additionally, this communication should be prioritized early in the day as we intend to dismiss buses before parent pick-up this year. Families who do not inform us of changes will likely have to return to pick-up their children from home or daycare.

It is important to note that this communication should be made to the main office and not only to classroom teachers. Our classroom teachers are not constantly or consistently monitoring email while students are in class. You can reach us in the main office at 657-4929 or by email at jfernez@sad15.org.

We are excited to announce an upcoming special event at Russell School called Winter Wonderland Day! On Friday, December 20th we will have a fun-filled day where students will have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of winter-themed activities.

Throughout the months of November and December students have been discussing the themes of thankfulness and gratitude. Students will rotate through different craft stations where they will create special gifts as a token of appreciation for their self-selected loved ones.

During the second half of the day students will spend time rotating through exciting, interactive stations, where they’ll play games and enjoy time with fellow Russell School students. This will allow students to mingle with the greater Russell School community.

As you can imagine, there will be many moving pieces. For this reason, we are looking to have parent volunteers join in the fun to help the day run smoothly. If you are interested, please use the link below to sign-up. Please know that with students rotating through different stations you will likely not be in the same stations as your children. If you would like to contribute to the magic of the day, but won’t have availability to join us in person, there is also an option for you on our sign-up form. Check it out for more information.

Friday, December 20th, is also COZY DAY at Russell School. While we want to have students dress in their comfy and cozy clothes (sweats, pjs, etc.), we highly recommend that they DO NOT wear anything nice. Students will be interacting with a number of different art supplies that day (paint, glue, glitter, Sharpie markers, etc.). We do not want them to ruin their favorite or new clothes while making their thoughtful creations.

Finally, we are happy to share that this day of fun and festivity is being made possible by the generous funds directed to Russell School through the Hannaford Helps Schools program. Every receipt you placed in the tower at Hannaford meant money for our school and helped fund this special day. We are incredibly grateful for the support that is allowing us to bring such a memorable experience to our students this month.

We look forward to celebrating the fun of the winter season with all of our students, and we hope Winter Wonderland Day will allow students to create keepsakes for their families that will remind them of this special time in their educational journey.

The first two meetings of our new Russell School Family Engagement Team were a success. Our next meeting will be held on Monday, January 6th from 4:30 - 6:00 in the Russell School Library. Our 90 minutes will be spent developing action strategies that engage families in their children's learning with the ultimate goal of helping improve our overall student achievement data at Russell.

Please email Mr. Blake at dblake@sad15.org or call the Russell School Office at 657-4929 if you are interested in joining us!

Team Meeting Dates:

January 6th

March 31st

May 12th

Thursday, December 5th

Concert Held At Gray - New Gloucester Middle School

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

5:30 - 6:00 Kindergarten Performance

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

6:00 - 6:30 First Grade Performance

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

6:30 - 7:00 Second Grade Performance

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

We are excited to share that Thursday, December 5th, is our Russell School Winter Concert.

As you prepare for the occasion, here are are some important notes to keep in mind:

• Though attendance at concerts is not mandatory, attendance is highly encouraged. Students have been working hard to prepare for their performance and we want them to see their hard work pay off!
  
  
• Performance times will be staggered. Kindergarten performs at 5:30 pm. Grade 1 performs at 6:00 pm. Grade 2 performs at 6:30 pm.
  
  
• Due to parking and bleacher space limitations, we ask that families attend only the performances that their child(ren) will perform in. We do recognize that some families (with multiple children) will need to attend more than one performance. If children are attending more than one show, we kindly ask that they remain seated with their families for the duration of their siblings performance. We would like to give each group their chance to shine and limit interruptions as much as possible.
  
  
• Please arrive on time for your child's performance and gather outside of the Middle School or in the lobby until the gym has been cleared from the last group. We will begin inviting students to line up about 5 minutes before the performance.
  
  
• The concert will be held at Gray-New Gloucester Middle School. The MS is located at 31 Libby Hill Road in Gray. The MS is just past the High School on the left.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to our music teacher, Mrs. Reeber, at jreeber@sad15.org.

We are pleased to announce that breakfast and lunch will be free to all students for this school year! This only applies if a student takes a "complete meal".

Students who choose to only get milk with their breakfast or lunch will be charged $0.65 for each milk they take.

Lunch menus are published monthly on the MSAD 15 website. In addition, monthly menus will be sent to families through our email service, School Messenger.

Please note that due to staffing shortages, the yogurt meal is temporarily unavailable. We hope to add it back to the menu soon. In the meantime, we will continue to serve the main entree and have a secondary option of sun butter and jelly.

Students who will be purchasing milk only are strongly encouraged to use the My School Bucks program. Information pertaining to the program can be found below.

We are pleased to welcome Billie LaVallee to our health office staff. Billie will be working in our health office regularly and therefore families are welcomed to reach out to her with any questions or concerns related to their children's health. Billie can be reached by email at blavallee@sad15.org or by calling Russell School at 657-4929.

We recognize that some of our students may need to have medications administered at school either for a short period or maybe longer term. Please do not send any medications (including over the counter ones, cough syrup/drops, etc.) with your child to school on the bus or in their backpacks.

Per Board policy, all medications must be given directly to the health office and the appropriate paperwork completed. Students at Russell cannot self carry or administer medications. Please contact Russell School with any questions you may have!

With winter weather arriving in the near future, I want to remind families to have a plan and be ready for one of the several inclement weather plans. Please see below for more information.

Inclement Weather Options Include:

• School Cancellation

• Two-Hour Delay

• Remote Learning Day (when feasible)

Notification:

• Interim Superintendent Turner makes all decisions and determinations about school cancelations, delays and implementation of remote school days

• Interim Superintendent Turner works to get official information to families as soon as possible

• Interim Superintendent Turner communicates about storm days using School Messenger (phone message and text), television news, and the district website

Please be reminded that temperatures in our building are known to fluctuate substantially throughout the day. We highly recommend that students dress in layers now and through the cold months ahead.

Dressing in layers allows students the greatest opportunity to be at the just right temperature of their choosing. Please be sure that each layer is labeled with your child’s name so lost items can be easily returned.

Additionally, please be reminded that as the winter weather arrives we will continue to play outside. Students should bring appropriate outdoor clothing for recess each day. Students who do not have the appropriate gear will be asked to stay on the pavement during recess. We kindly ask that you please plan accordingly.

If the temperature is below 40 degrees it is too cold for shorts, tee shirts, and no coats. We will NOT go outside if the temperature feels like 10 degrees or below. Wind chill plays into this, but fluctuates within minutes, so it is important that students come prepared to be outside. Minimally, this means children should come to school with a jacket, hat, gloves and appropriate footwear.

Students who want to play in the snow and on snow banks (when it arrives) must wear winter jackets, boots, gloves, and snow pants.

If you are in need of winter weather clothing for your child, please reach out to Mr. Blake or Mrs. Wigmore. We do have resources available for those in need to make sure that all students have the proper gear.

Thank you for your help with this to keep our children healthy and warm this winter!

Tis the season for a growing lost and found collection. There are several unclaimed coats, sweatshirts, gloves, and other articles of clothing that do not have names on them.

On December 21st we will be donating any unclaimed items to a local facility. If you would like to stop in and look for specific articles of clothing please contact the main office to make arrangements. Again, we encourage you to write your child’s name somewhere on their clothing so it can be easily identified and returned quickly.

Christmas Assistance, become a sponsor, or donate a gift!

GNG Caring Community provides assistance for families in Gray or New Gloucester that are in need of an extra hand during the holidays. We are accepting submissions for those needing assistance with gifts for Christmas. Please click on the link below and fill out the application. This is for GNG residents only and proof of residency is required. The deadline to submit an application is December 8. This is a firm deadline.

This program run by GNG Caring Community and not MSAD15. If you have any questions, please email gngcaring@gmail.com directly.