1. Principal's Message
2. VP Two Weeks in Review
3. Upcoming Events
4. Important Information

Dear VP families,

As we approach the final stretch of the year, we want to thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community. December is always an exciting month, filled with celebrations, events, and the anticipation of the upcoming holiday break. This week, we had our No Place For Hate assembly led by our Student Council. Be on the lookout for our first activity, our Identity Bag, which will be shared by our Student Council members next week when they visit classes. Also, we’re gearing up for several fun and festive activities next week, including our Spirit Week (12/16-12/20), the upcoming Winter Concert on December 17th at 6:00 p.m., our Movie/Hot Chocolate Day of Finding Nemo on December 19th, and Sing-A-Long on December 20th. Our winter break begins on December 23rd. We encourage families to take this time to relax, recharge, and enjoy the holidays together.

A few reminders:

• Report Cards will be available December 16th. An email reminder will be sent on Monday morning when they are available.
• When you are picking up your child early from school, please remember that in order for the day to count as your child being present, they need to be in attendance until 12:35 p.m., otherwise it will count as a full day absence.
• As the cold weather approaches, please be sure that your child is appropriately dressed to go outside by wearing long pants, jackets, gloves and hats. Students need snow gear and boots to play in the snow. Please note that we do send students outside most days so if your child is not appropriately dressed for the elements, they may need to stay inside.

Thank you for helping make this school year a success so far. We are looking forward to a fun filled last week before winter break. We wish you all a joyful and restful holiday season. Stay tuned for more updates in the new year!

Kind regards,

Sheri Prendergast, Ed.D.

If you have not already, I encourage you to visit the RPS engageED website as it is a helpful resources for families to support learning at home. On the Parent Portal, PDF score reports for Aimsweb and NWEA are available. Please see the attachment below for how to access these reports. Additionally, on the engagED Page there is a loom explaining how to understand the reports.

The portal will re-open for viewing report cards after 10:30 am on Monday, December 16th 2024.

Please remember report cards are not printed and sent home, grades are available electronically on the Parent Portal. Once the portal is opened after 10:30 am on Monday, December 16th the portal offers two ways to view your child's report.

1 -You may open the file located on the left side of the screen labeled, "Report Cards."

2 - You may also access the grades by clicking on the "Standards Grades" tab on the screen when you first log on (this initial view is also the "Grades and Attendance" view). If you choose to access the grades this way, the academic key is not located on this screen. It is only available through the "Report Card" file view.

PLEASE NOTE: The academic key is different for grades kindergarten - 3rd grade and grades 4-5.

Academic Key:

Kindergarten - Grade 3

3 - Meets Grade Level Expectations

2- Progressing To Grade Level Expectations

1 - Needs More Time and Help

Grades 4 and 5

3- Exceeds Grade Level Expectations

2- Meets Grade Level Expectations

1- Needs More Time and Help

Trimester Grades:

To access your child’s grades on the Parent Portal please follow the steps listed below:

Go to the Ridgefield Public Schools website – https://www.ridgefield.org/

Click on the Parents and Students tab

Click on PowerSchool Portal Login to access the Parent Portal and enter your login credentials.

Parent Portal Accounts:

If you have already created a PowerSchool parent account, simply log in with the same username and password that you entered when you set up your account. If your login isn’t working, click on the link “Having trouble signing in?” to request a password/username reminder.

If you do NOT have a parent portal account please do the following:

If you DO have your Access ID Letter: Follow the steps above to get to the portal login screen, then click on the “Create Account” button and follow the directions to establish your account and link to your students.

If you DO NOT have your Access ID letter: please send an email to: psadmin@ridgefieldps.net requesting a parent portal account. Be sure to include your name, student name(s) and preferred email address.

Archived Report Cards (if available on the portal):

Click on ‘Document Archive’ from the navigation panel on the left

Then click on the year you wish to view/print (not available on the mobile app) . You will have the option to view/print the past two year’s report cards.

As a reminder Current year report cards (Trimester 1-Trimester 3) are viewed by clicking on ‘Report Cards’ link.

It is now time to register for Kindergarten! Please see this link for how to register your child!

https://www.ridgefield.org/registration-and-immunizations

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.

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