RUSSELL SCHOOL FAMILY NEWSLETTER

A long weekend is approaching with no school this Friday, November 10, as Veterans Day is observed!

Thank you to all the parents who attended last Thursday's PSC meeting, it was a great to have you in attendance! We would like to welcome our new members of the PSC Leadership:

Michelle Senn as our SPED‑PAC Representative and Arturo Menas as an additional member of the SSC Representatives. Our next meeting will be held on December 7th at 7PM.

JUST A FEW REMINDERS:

• NO PICK UP AFTER 2:00PM: Early dismissal will not be accommodated during the last block of the day. No student will be dismissed after 2:00pm.

• DISMISSAL TIME IS 3:10PM
• NO OUTSIDE FOOD: The Russell policy states that families are not permitted to send in outside food to be shared with the class. This is due to a number of students having food allergies, sensitivities and dietary restrictions. Parents are welcome to celebrate student birthdays and holidays with non-edible goodies.

Nov 10 -No School - Veterans Day

Nov 16 - School Site Council- 7-8 PM Zoom

Nov 22 - Early Release @ 12:40pm

Nov 23-24 - No School - Thanksgiving

Nov 28 - Retake Picture Day @School Auditorium

In our ongoing efforts to enhance your children’s safety, we have decided to begin using the PikMyKid Dismissal Application. Throughout the country, it has been proven to simplify dismissal, reduce traffic congestion, and most importantly, improve overall safety. The unique features of PikMyKid allow you, as parents, to easily change pick up modes, quickly delegate to an alternate individual for pickup, change to an ‘After School’ program, and even schedule for future pickup mode, pickup individual, and after school programs. This app allows you to be in full control of your child’s dismissal and it gives us, the school, complete information regarding dismissal and the ability to acknowledge every change and to instantly check your child’s dismissal status should you have a question. We are very excited about this addition and know you will be too. Check your emails over the next week for additional information and we will be on our way to a safer, quicker, and more efficient dismissal process. To Learn a little more on your own, please check out the following link that will show you a few of the PikMyKid features.

***Please download the app even if you child is a bus student.

PARENT APP REGISTRATION GUIDE AND RESOURCES

REGISTRACIÓN DE LA APLICACION PARA PADRES Y RECURSOS

Thank you to the parents who volunteered at our Harvest Festival! Congratulations to the winning classrooms in the pumpkin decorating contest:

• Room 212/Ms. Price's Class: Mr. Mittens - Grade 3
• Room 214/Mr. Ballard's Class: Blue Smurf Cat - Grade 5
• Room 215/Ms. Kent's Class: Pikachu Surfer - Grade 1

The winning classes will enjoy a pizza party.

We hope you enjoy the following photos from the event!

Metro Housing is hosting an in person housing clinic for families on Friday November 17th. Topics include, affordable housing application assistance as well as support around housing search, and tenant rights. Registration is required, please see the flyer attached( in both English and Spanish)

Green Space Financial Literacy workshops are held on the 2nd Wednesday and 3rd Tuesdays of every month (with the exception of November and December).

Also, please be advised that due to the nature of the learning, admittance to workshops will only be granted within the first 5 minutes of the start time.

CREDIT:

You are invited to a Zoom Workshop: Demystifying Credit.

When: November 08, 2023 05:00-6:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Some things covered in the workshop:

• Understanding credit score is and how it is calculated
• Learn how to access your credit report
• Learn about (free) tools for managing credit
• Strategies for how to establish (good) or improve credit

BUDGETING:

You are invited to a Zoom Workshop: How Do I Stretch My Pay? Workshop Event

When: November 14, 2023 05:00 -6:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

• How to Develop a Practice Spending Plan
• Strategies for making choices based on priorities
• Learn how to prioritize spending
• Techniques for supporting long term success

Have a wonderful weekend!

Gabriella

Gabriella Cruz

Project Manager

Department of Opportunity Youth| Boston Public Schools

443 Warren Street, Dorchester MA, 02121

gcruz@bostonpublicschools.org | c. 857-544-4686

CODE OF CONDUCT WEBINAR

The Code of Conduct defines the expectations that BPS has for students and emphasizes preventive and positive interventions that include instructive and restorative approaches to behavior.

Every school is expected to use a multi-tiered system of support for student's social, emotional and behavioral needs.

This session will explain these expectations to families, review students rights and provide some examples of multi-tiered support.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2023

6:00PM: 7:30 PM

REGISTER HERE

Hello, we are CitySprouts - we teach science to your child weekly in the school’s outdoor garden. We wanted to tell you a little bit more about what we’ve been up to and what we are looking forward to this school year.

Say hello to our Garden Educators

With the start of the school year, our garden educators are already hard at work teaching in their gardens with students. Fall brings so much joy to exploring the wonders of our outdoor classrooms- students experience a full harvest, planting seeds to grow inside or in a hoop house, observe what's changing with the cooler temperatures, and predict what will happen in the garden during the winter months. CitySprouts garden educators bring dedication, talent, and passion to every school day and would love to share our gardens with you! Stop by and say hi, or contact us if you'd be interested in a tour.

Fall Cider Festivals

To kick off October, CitySprouts staff and young leaders teamed up with our friends at Takeda to press cider at the Cambridge Science Festival! Cider pressing teaches us all how much work it takes to make apple cider and how delicious the fruits of our labor tastes - especially with locally-grown apples. We had so much fun we're bringing the cider press to three CitySprouts schools this fall!

Our newest blog post opens up a window into a day at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School in Cambridge and how second grade students experience the beauty and adventure of outdoor space. “The Magic of a High-Five” chronicles a day with Garden Educator Hazel and a special bee encounter. We encourage you to ask your child what they’ve been learning about the garden - or even what new vegetables they’ve been able to try.

If you would like to sign up to receive upcoming volunteer opportunities to support CitySprouts’ mission, please do so here. For everything else happening at CitySprouts, please check out our blog and follow us on Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn to stay up to date.

In addition to meeting academic requirements, students must meet state laws and BPS requirements for school attendance. Excellent attendance and school success go hand in hand. The more often a student is absent—even if the absence is unavoidable—the harder it is for the student to keep up with the class. Students with good attendance are more likely to show proficiency in MCAS than those with poor attendance. Parents play an essential role in ensuring that their child attends school consistently and on time every day.

In order to excuse your children, BPS requires a note from parents with date, name of the student, reason for absence and parent signature. If the student is out for more than 3 consecutive days, a doctor's note is required. The documents must be provided within seven days of the absence.

First Absence

• Teacher contacts parent via Talking Point: Instruct parents to fill out Google Form or send written note with date, reason, parent 's phone number and signature within 7 days of absence.

Second Absence

• Attendance team will send home letter before third absence

Third Unexcused Absence

• Attendance team will send home letter before fourth absence

• Teacher must refer student to MTSS

• Parent is invited to meeting with the MTSS team

• Attendance team starts Attendance Intervention Plan (AIP)

Fourth Unexcused Absence

• Parent will meet with School Leader

The American Psychological Association study showed that not only does parental involvement lead to improved academic outcomes, but it also has a positive impact on students' social and emotional skills and decreases instances of delinquency.

WE HAVE SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO JOIN US AS A TEAM:

As a school, we are actively trying to increase family engagement in our school. We need your help in building strong partnerships between home and school! We are looking to recruit family members who can help us communicate to other Russell families by being Classroom Family Champion / Ambassadors. The roles and responsibilities of the position will include the following:

• Calling families in your class for zoom meeting and in person meetings
• Reminding families in your class of important dates
• Informing families of upcoming events and programs

*Application Form

We are recruiting family members to join our School Spirit Team. Spirit Team members will help us create and organize different school activities such as October Fest, Field Day and Multicultural Night among others.

*Application Form

We are looking for one of our parent/caregiver to become a Catie's Closet Champion.

Responsibilities include:

• Maintain a clean and organized closet
• Assist in replenishing items and identifying closet needs
• Communicate with Catie’s Closet staff and school personnel
• Perform a mid-year and end-of-school-year assessment

Please contact Ms. Sharon for more information or if you wish to volunteer.

We feature 2 websites this week. If you have any specific questions or need assistance with anything related to these websites or their features, please feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to help.

1. PEBBLE GO

https://react.pebblego.com/modules/

Contains animals and biographies files. In this Animals folder, Capstone has Amphibians, Animal Behavior, Animal Habitats, Birds, Dinosaurs, Fish, Insects and Spiders, Invertebrates, Mammals, Pet and Farm Animals, and Reptiles.

In the biographies file: Capstone presents Actors and Entertainers, Artists and Writers, Astronaults and Pilots, Athletics, Composers and Musicians, Explorers, History Makers, Inventors and Business Leaders, Politicians, Presidents and First ladies, Royalty and Nobility, Scientists and Engineers, Supreme Court Justices.

1. UNITE FOR LITERACY

https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/

1. In the first folder, “Written Language”, one can read the books in English, Spanish, or Ukrainian on different themes.

2. In the second folder “Narration”, one can hear the story in several languages written in English, Spanish, or Ukrainian.

3. The third folder is the Search

4. This fourth folder is for “Categories”

NOTE: Readers have to click to the right of the book on the arrow to turn each page. AND readers have to click on the audio sign to hear the page being read.

Thanks

Van Pervaiz

vpervaiz@bostonpublicschools.org

Boston Partners in Education matches BPS students with experienced mentors to help improve academics and confidence.

Any BPS student in grades 2-12 is eligible to be matched with a mentor through our Independent Learning Support program in any school subject.

Mentors meet with students online, for one hour a week, to help with classwork and homework.

To learn more about the Independent Learning Support program or to sign your student up for the 2022-23 school year, visit: bit.ly/IndependentLearningSupport

Does your child need a FREE tutor?

• Your child is tutored by a BC student
  , Tutoring session is 1 or 1.5 hour session, 1 day per week
• On BC campus or over Zoom
• You pick the day and time!
• Grades 1-12, all subjects
  Priority is given to families who live/work or attend school in Allston Brighton.

Visit the Boston College Neighborhood Center website to fill out an application form today!

www.bc.edu/neighborhood or call 617-552-0445

Need Help with you Homework?

Visit a neighborhood library and get homework help from a Boston teacher!

4:00-6:00 PM. *Except as noted.

FOOD RESOURCES:

INTERNET OPTIONS: