Branchville Bulletin

Dear Branchville Community,

As the leaves change and the crisp morning air moves in, the excitement builds for the PTA's biggest community event, The Beaver Boogie! Please remember that even if your child is not attending, we ask everyone to go through the registration process, as it helps the PTA and school account for each student.

October brings another popular Branchville tradition, our Halloween celebration. See below for the costume guidelines.

Finally, this month, we also prepare to honor veterans. If you have a family member who is a veteran, consider inviting them to Branchville on November 8th. The deadline for completing the registraion form is October 28th. Also see below for details.

In partnership,

Keith L Margolus

Principal

PS. There is a crucial vote to determine if a new site for educating our Alternative High School and Ridgefield Transition Program will move forward. Our students DESERVE an appropriate and dignified space to learn and grow. PLEASE consider voting on October 9th at 7:30 pm at SRMS.

Welcome to Christine Merrit -- Our New School Nurse!

Christine Merrit is our new school nurse, replacing Astrid King. Ms. Merrit worked at an elementary school in Danbury.

Before working as a school nurse, Ms. Merrit had experience in medical offices caring for children and adults and various other nursing positions, including in a hospital recovery room, intensive care unit, cardiac unit, and rehabilitation unit. Ms. Merrit can be reached at cmerritt@ridgefieldps.net

Welcome to Jennah Boyd -- A New Part-time Speech and Language Pathologist!

Jennah Boyd is a new part-time speech and language pathologist at BES.Ms. Boyd holds a Bachelor of Science in communication sciences and disorders from Springfield College and a Master of Science in speech-language pathology from Regis College. While completing her graduate work, she worked in various schools and clinical settings in Massachusetts and Connecticut, including Berlin, MA, and Bridgeport, CT, and in a few clinical settings. Most recently, she served as a maternity leave substitute in Bethel, Connecticut. She can be reached at jboyd@ridgefieldps.net.

Please listen to the Ridgefield Tiger Talk podcast and Superintendent's Report (approximately 36 min mark) to learn more about this project in advance of the October 9 town vote on the lease.

FOR EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS PTA EVENT CLICK THIS FLYER HERE

Each November, we honor the veterans who have touched our lives with an assembly.

Branchville will hold a Veterans Day ceremony in the cafeteria on November 8th at 9:00 a.m. Students in kindergarten and first grade will sing to our veterans, and students in grades 2-5 will participate in a ceremony that will last approximately one hour.

If you have a family member (or even a family friend) who is a veteran, we would love to meet them!

Veterans will have an opportunity to come to the school, meet other veterans, and take part in our assembly. Before the assembly, veterans can enjoy some refreshments in the library. Space is limited, so we ask that no more than two family members, in addition to the veteran, attend. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate other spectators.

Complete this form by October 28th if your family has a veteran who will attend.

The BES student associated with each veteran will read the information in the form during the assembly. If more than one veteran is attending, please complete this form more than once. If you have questions, please get in touch with veteransday@branchvillepta.org

Check out the new page,engagED on the RPS Curriculum Site pictured and linked below.

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!

If you are looking for a comprehensive description of our school practices and procedures, please review the K-5 Student Handbook.

Visiting BES

If you are visiting BES, one way to expedite the entry process is to fill out this form or use the QR code in advance of your planned visit (teacher meeting, PTA meeting, mystery reader, library or art volunteer, etc.) and your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive. If you have something to drop off for your child during the school day such as a forgotten lunch or instrument, there will be a table outside of the entrance to place the item.

• • When you arrive to enter the building, we ask that you press the video doorbell button and identify yourself. You will then be granted access to the vestibule.

  • Once in the vestibule, please do NOT hold the door open for a different guest entering the building. We cannot open the second set of doors until you are inside the vestibule. While this may be inconvenient and feel impolite, we are standardizing access to the buildings across the district so that everyone knows what to expect.

For visits to BES during the school day, I recommend that you arrive early as it takes some time to process your visitor badge. For a visit that is not arranged a day ahead of time, calling the main office ahead of your visit is a helpful practice.

October

10/11 Ealry Dismissal 11:40 (Professional Development)

10/14 No School - Columbus Day

10/18 Beaver Boogie

10/25 Beaver Boogie (Rain Date)

November

11/1 Beaver Boogie (Rain Date)

11/8 Veterans Day Celebration (for veterans and families of veterans)

For a comprehensive list of upcoming events, please see the calendars below.

RPS Events Calendar

Rotational Calendar

PTA Events Calendar

To withhold directory and media publications (including Instagram) please follow this path when you are logged in to PowerSchool.

• On the left-hand side please click on "Demographic Change."

• A number of tabs will appear. Click on "Directory & Media OptOut.

There you will find the option to withhold directory and media information. It is helpful if you notify us of the change. Please email, administrative assistant, Catherine Basso, at cbasso@ridgefieldps.net

Never hesitate to reach out to us about this publication or any other questions you may have. We are a phone call or an email away.

Keith L Margolus

Principal

kmargolus@ridgefieldps.net

Website: https://bes.ridgefield.org/Home
Location: 40 Florida Road, Ridgefield, CT, USA
Phone: 203.894.5850