Dear Families, Faculty, and Staff:
What a beautiful fall-weather week. If you can believe it, we have begun “budget season” and our school leaders are hard at work planning for next school year. The days seem to be passing so quickly. I know those of us who have seniors are really coming to realize the passage of time. I think I speak for all of us when it seems like just yesterday that we welcomed them into our lives and now, within the next couple of weeks, most will be applying for college. Here is a photo with my senior, Gabby.
You may have heard the term “swatting calls” today while schools across our state were reporting on these types of calls. The intention of swatting is to deceive emergency responders by sending them to an address for which there is no emergency. Further, these types of calls can lead to fear and worry on the part of school personnel and students. I received notification this morning from the State of CT Emergency Service and Public Protection that there may be a rash of these types of calls. While RPS did not receive any swatting calls today, please know that RPD and RPS takes these matters seriously. Together, we ensure that our facilities are as safe as possible. We will be discussing one element of security at the Board of Education meeting on Monday evening.
October 24 is Diwali, the festival of lights, and celebrated as an important festival in India.
On Monday evening, our Board of Education will meet in person for a regular meeting beginning at 7:00 p.m. We will begin the public meeting with an RPS Showcase, followed by an executive session. You can find the agenda here. A reminder that all of our Board of Education meetings are recorded and posted to the District website.
I wish you a wonderful weekend.
Warmly,
Susie
Susie Da Silva, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Halloween is almost upon us and to get ready for this spooky event Ridgefield Tiger Talk has a very special guest. Joining us on this week’s show is First Selectman of Ridgefield, Rudy Marconi! We talk about all of the really cool activities happening this weekend and the weekend of Halloween. Main street will be shut down for trick-or-treating opportunities, there are haunted ghost walks, and much more! Make sure you don’t miss this episode and thanks for listening! Listen to Ridgefield Tiger Talk: Season 3, Episode 2
Who are the busiest RPS students? The answer may be the 18-22-year-olds in the RPS Transition Program. Kate, for example, works at Walgreens and ROAR shelter and volunteers at Rock N’ Rescue (pet rescue), and fosters cats. Dylan is a full-time student with three jobs. He dusts at the Ridgefield Library, cleans and wipes windows at the Boys and Girls Club, and makes pizza boxes on Wednesday at Planet Pizza (his favorite of the three).
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Many Ridgefield residents have learned about the need for meaningful employment for adults with disabilities and the potential contributions of this population from the wonderful Prospector Theater. You might not know that RPS has a program for 18-22-year-olds, which offers a range of pre-employment and vocational support for students. The RPS Transition Coordinator is Jessica DiValentino. “We currently have 17 students in the program—six full-time and 11 part-time. We tailor their support and programs to their needs.” Alex, who currently works at Scotland Elementary in the RISE (Ridgefield Intensive Special Education) classroom and aspires to become an RPS paraeducator, will graduate from the program next month. She already lives in an apartment by herself and has learned important life and job skills in the program. Eugene is trying his hand with a landscaping company. All are learning life skills and behaviors that will be important to be employed and as independent as possible.
To learn more about the contributions of people with disabilities to the U.S, economy and this year’s theme of "Disability: Part of the Equity Equation,” please visit the Library of Congress website.
Sarah Schaefer, who is the founder of Mathodology, and contributing author of think! Mathematics, RPS’s new elementary math curriculum resource, gave lessons in third, fourth, and fifth-grade classrooms in every school this week. Teachers and math specialists were able to tap into Schaefer's experience to gain valuable insight into the resource. Schaefer gave suggestions on how to differentiate for students ready to challenge themselves and those who needed more support. RPS administrators were able to see how different classes responded to the same lessons. Ethan, a student in Michelle Flynn's Veteran Park's third-grade class commented, "I liked the challenge." Elementary Director Linda Johnson writes, “Sarah’s ability to connect to students, teachers, and the material is unparalleled. Having her available to teachers is invaluable as we learn how to take full advantage of this excellent curriculum resource.”
The generation of students in school right now is the first smart device generation. Online school during the pandemic further deepened this group’s connection to devices. This year, RPS is working with Common Sense Media to provide age-appropriate instruction on good Digital Citizenship. Director of Educational Technology, Wes DeSantis, and Technology Teacher Kim Moran discuss the District’s approach in last week’s Tiger Talk Podcast; listen here.
At every grade level, RPS librarians are collaborating with Central Office staff to help students harness life-changing technology and navigate possible pitfalls. This week, Ellen Paradiso, the new Ridgebury librarian, tasked her fifth-grade classes to make Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in recognition of Digital Citizenship Week. The S.T.O.P. P.S.A. Challenge asked students to choose one letter of STOP, which stands for
Step away.
Tell a trusted adult.
Ok sites first.
Pause and think online.
Students considered language appropriate for younger students, wrote scripts, acted out scenarios, and edited their PSAs. Some groups covered each of the STOP instructions. “By practicing and role-playing,” Paradiso explains, “Students learn strategies of what they should do when encountering inappropriate material or cyberbullying. We’ll post videos on a Padlet where younger students can learn from older school role models (‘influencers’) and they'll have the opportunity to "heart" or like their favorite videos, thereby practicing positive ways to interact with content and support each other online.”
Her students collaborate to solve problems, communicate clearly, and have fun in a group lesson that goes beyond Digital Citizenship to meaningful content creation. Read more information about the nonprofit Common Sense Media and their recommendations for families and schools here.
Eighth-graders are digging deep into Ridgefield history as a part of a long-term Witness Stones collaboration with the Ridgefield Historical Society. In particular, students are trying to learn as much as possible about Lidia, an enslaved person, who lived in town in the mid-1700s. This Wednesday, students in Tom Broderick and Keira Kowalczyk Scotts Ridge classes considered two census records from the time period to investigate the demographics of Ridgefield and identify the percentage of black people. They corroborated these primary sources by looking at town maps and a contract signed by David Scott, gifting baby Lidia to his son-in-law. Students considered the contract's language and what it meant that Lidia didn’t have a known birthday. They theorized why someone might gift a baby and considered how enslavers treated black people as property. "Students are trying to wrap their heads around the fact that slavery was in Ridgefield and the dehumanization that took place," said Broderick, who found out about Lidia when working with a Historical Society intern Ruth Mercedes a couple of years ago.
The Witness Stones Installation ceremony led by student representatives will be at the Ridgefield Historical Society on November 15 at 9:30 am. The ceremony will be LIVE streamed (and recorded) on the RPS Curriculum YouTube channel for the community to join in! (Please note that the Historical Society will be closed to the public during the ceremony as space is limited.) To learn more about the Witness Stones project at East Ridge and Scotts Ridge, please watch the Board of Education meeting here.
The RHS Theater Department presents the play "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940" by John Bishop. Described as "an ingeniously and wildly comic romp, which enjoyed a long and critically hailed run, the play is full of delightful slapstick for audiences of all ages." Tickets and more info here.
Satire, senior suggestions, freshman interviews, fall sports coverage, and honest questions about the new morning Flex period are all part of The Ridgefielder. This on-line and print magazine features compelling RHS student voices and photos about subjects important to them. Enjoy the full October Issue of the The Ridgefielder here. For a digital subscription of The Ridgefielder please fill out this form.
Ridgefield CT 06877