The Reed Times
Reed PTA Newsletter | November/December 2018
Important Dates
Dec 3: Board of Ed Meeting, 7:30pm
Dec 5: PTA Meeting, 9:15am
Dec 7: Reed Movie Night, 6:30pm
- Dec 18: Board of Ed Meeting, 7:30pm
- Dec 11 - 14: Holiday Shoppe
- Dec 21: Elem. & Reed - Early Dismissal
- Dec 24 - Jan 1: Holiday Recess, Schools Closed
Elem. 1:37 p.m. Dismissal
Reed 1:32 p.m. Dismissal
Happy Holiday & Happy New Year!
Principal's Corner
Dear Parents and/or Guardians,
With the cold weather moving in, please remember that our students will generally go outside for recess, given if the temperature is 25 or above (with the wind chill factor) and the surfaces are dry and safe for play. Therefore, it is important that kids come to school with hats, gloves and jackets appropriate for cold weather.
The Reed lost and found is overflowing – mostly lost and very little found! If your child is missing any belongings, remind him or her to check the box in the cafeteria. Or better yet, feel free to stop in and take a look. Items remaining in the Lost and Found will be donated prior to the Winter Break.
The Parent Portal will open on December 7th. An email will be sent once the Portal is open and we strongly encourage you to login to check your child’s first trimester grades. If you have questions or concerns, please contact your child’s teacher(s).
I’d like to extend a special thank you to our PTA for pampering the Reed staff with many treats throughout our recent conference week. Our Teachers work very hard on behalf of our students so it thrills them to know how much they are appreciated by our amazing parent community.
Finally, if you haven’t already done so, please check out the Be Kind Mural that was installed just before Thanksgiving near the entrance to our school. It truly took a village to make this project possible – students, teachers, support staff, paraprofessionals, clerical staff, custodians, security and our PTA Parents! Thank you for leaving a beautiful mark on our School.
- Anne Uberti, Principal
Asst. Principal's Letter
Sexual Harassment in Schools:
Talking to your child about sexual harassment can be difficult as you do not want to share too much, but you want them to know how to get help. This passage below, which is an excerpt from Sexual Harassment in Schools distributed by Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund, explains the difference between flirting and harassing. This may be helpful for parents seeking a sensitive but clarifying way to discuss the topic.
What is the difference between flirting and harassing?
Because sexual harassment may be disguised as sexual flirting, or you are told it is only flirting, it is often difficult to identify and can be confusing. Flirting can make you feel happy, good, flattered, warm, comfortable, attractive, and confident. Harassment can make you feel bad, angry, upset, humiliated, sad, frightened, demeaned, degraded, and shocked. Flirting behaviors can cross the line to the point where they make you feel uncomfortable. At this point, it is important to ask the person to stop.
Many students come upon this topic by accident, or at least not by their choice. Seeing something on the internet, reading something in a book, having an older sibling say something, or seeing something on TV is usually the way students get introduced to something inappropriate. Many do not know how to process what they have seen or heard, but know that it is not something that makes them feel comfortable. What happens next is usually where students get into trouble. The student will repeat what they heard (or saw) to another student, looking to see if that student reacts the way they did showing shock, surprise, or disgust. This validates the first student’s reaction. This will continue until some brave student gets an adult’s help to resolve the situation.
What can you as a parent do? Tell your child that harassment has to be reported to an adult. It is a mean behavior. If he/she or someone he/she knows is being harassed, then he/she needs to speak to you or another trusted adult so it can be addressed and stopped. It can be scary for a child to tell an adult, so be sure to remain calm and communicate that he/she did the right thing by bringing the matter to your attention. If you overreact, your child may not come to you the next time or think the harassment is his/her fault. Harassment is never the fault of the person targeted. You want to send a calm message that you will take it from there and contact the school or authorities. Remember the staff at Reed is here to support students and families when these issues arise: we just need to know.
Jill Beaudry
Assistant Principal
Reed Intermediate School
PTA Presidents' Letter
Dear Families,
Our PTA is so thankful for everyone who pitched in to help with all our past events. We wanted to send out our thanks to all the parents and volunteers who helped and donated items for Veterans Day. Truly one of my favorite days at school and with your help, you made it extra special for those wonderful heroes. Special Thanks to Anna Lawlor for organizing the event! It looked beautiful and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.
I would like to send another Thank You out to Debbie DeBlasi for her not only organizing Color Games, but for continuing to make the effort in the weeks after to make sure all the kindness hearts were up and visible to see. What a wonderful surprise when you saw a heart with your name on it!
I would also like to thank Melissa Massett and Debbie DeBlasi for Teacher Conference Week. I know they made the Teacher’s long week much more manageable. A special Thank You to Laura Brennan and Karen Rozman for organizing the Fall Book Fair. The kids had a blast and picked up many new reads.
Thank you to Erin Siksay ad Olivia Skronkowski for organizing movie night every month! We would also like to thank Laura Tashjian for the countless hours put into all the work that has to be done with organizing the PTA Memberships. One last thank you to Vera Cherepinsky who is working on our Reed Directory which is a long tedious job.
Directory
The directory is almost completed. Be on the look out for it to come home in your child’s backpack!
Be on the look out for some upcoming fun events!
Holiday Shoppe
First we have our 2nd Annual Holiday Shoppe on December 11-14 for the kids to shop for their families during school hours. The kids love this event and it’s so nice to see how much they love all of you during this week. They put a lot of effort into picking just the right gift. (Some slime thingies as well!)
Holiday Movie Night
We will be hosting our Holiday Movie Night where we will be showing Home Alone 2. Look out for some surprising happenings that night!!
PTA Meeting
We would love to hear from you! Our next PTA meeting is December 5th at 9:30am. Hope you can join us.
Parent Forum - Scott Driscoll
**Save The Date*** The Newtown PTA/PTSA’s are pleased to announce our upcoming Parent Forum with Mr. Scott Driscoll of Internet Safety Concepts. The mission of Internet Safety Concepts is to help families learn about being safe while using the Internet and other technology. Please join us on Thursday January 17th from 7:00-8:00pm at NHS Lecture Hall. Dr. Rodrique is working on getting us childcare.
Be Kind Wall
Your kid’s talents and creativity came together on our beautiful PTA sponsored Be Kind Wall. This will be a joy to look at for generations to come. Please check it out next time you visit Reed.
We want to wish you all a Wonderful Holiday and a safe, happy and healthy New Year!!
Kristin Kinsey and Julia Crisci
Reed PTA Co-Presidents
Email Reed PTA: reedptanewtown@gmail.com!
📕Reading Connection📚
Working together for Learning Success. Please click on the following link for the Dec/2018 Edition: here.
Reading Specialist
Counselor's Corner
A message from the School Counselors:
Career development is an essential part of a school counseling program. School counselors play an important role in career development by introducing students to careers and the world of
work, help them understand the connection between school and work, and work with students to identify their interests, abilities, specific career clusters and postsecondary plans. This past
month, counselors spent time in the classroom focusing on career exploration.
Fifth graders were introduced to the eight different learning styles and completed a Multiple
Intelligence Survey. They worked together with classmates to explore careers that would fall
under their top learning style.
Sixth graders took the Career Cluster Interest survey in Naviance. Survey results connected the
student’s current interests with future careers or a cluster of careers. Students were also given
time to explore those careers. We encourage parents to log on to Naviance with your child to
review their results. Below is a link to the student Naviance login site here.
Thanks
Reed School Counselors | 203-270-4884
- Jenny Grustas grustasj@newtown.k12.ct.us
- Amy McGoldrick mcgoldricka@newtown.k12.ct.us
- Jennifer Welton weltonj@newtown.k12.ct.us
Alternative Link for this month's Counselor Newsletter: here.
Wellness World!
Please click on the following link and take a look at our September Issue of Wellness World.
Michelle Y. Failla
Health Educator
🎶Music 🎵
From the Music Department:
The Reed School music department is pleased to announce our Winter Concerts! All concerts will be held in January at Reed Intermediate School:
Winter Concerts Schedule
January 23rd:
5th Grade Band at 6:30pm
6th Grade Band at 8:00pm (Snowdate Jan. 31st)
January 24th: 5th Grade Chorus and Orchestra at 7:00pm (Snowdate Jan. 29th)
January 28th: 6th Grade Chorus and Orchestra at 7:00pm (Snowdate Jan. 30th)
Band and Orchestra Reminders:
- No instrument should be left in school for any reason. There are many after-school and night events. We cannot guarantee the security of the instruments and students need to bring them home to practice.
- Practice!! Please encourage your child to practice at home.
- All Fifth Grade Band Students are asked to keep track of their practice time on a calendar that will be collected at the end of every month.
- Any Sixth Grade Band Students with an “A-” or lower are required to keep track of their practice time on a calendar that will be collected at the end of every month.
Thank you for your support! It is greatly appreciated! Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Phil Beierle - Band Director - Beierlep@newtown.k12.ct.us
Mardi Smith - Orchestra - smithm@newtown.k12.ct.us
Bob Nolte - 6th Grade Band - Nolter@newtown.k12.ct.us
Michelle Tenenbaum - Chorus - tenenbaumm@newtown.k12.ct.us
Concert Choir
Note: The deadline for concert choir has been extended. There are some openings left and you are welcome to submit your permission forms up until December 4, our first rehearsal! Please ask your music teacher for a form today or head right to the bulletin board in the music hallway!
Any questions, please contact Michelle Tenenbaum: tenenbaumm@newtown.k12.ct.us.
Reed Health Office
Another reminder from the Reed Intermediate Health Office. ALL 6TH Grade Students will need a Physical Exam for entrance into 7th Grade!! (Must Include: Tdap and Meningococcal Vaccine, or religious/medical exemption paperwork updated and notarized). No exceptions. Please send all physicals dated after 1/1/2018 into the Reed Health Office for your student. These physicals should be on the State of Connecticut "Health Assessment Record." If you are unable to obtain it from your child's doctor, or the Newtown Public Schools website, we have extra copies here in the Health Office. Please take the time to fill out the parent/guardian section on the first page, and also sign and date it. We would like to have all physical exams in prior to May 1, 2019, to prepare their charts for the Middle School. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Any questions, please feel free to contact us in the Health Office anytime during school hours. We can be reached at 203-270-4883.
Make sure to send in coats, hats and gloves with your student so they can enjoy outdoor recess on the colder days.
Lastly, thank you! We love your students! They are polite, kind, and very good at advocating for their needs in the Health Office. As a reminder, students need to come to us in the Health Office if they are feeling ill during the school day, and we will determine if it is appropriate to send them home. Please don't condone their use of cell phones during the school day to share health issues.
Please contact us with any questions/concerns you may have. Thank you and enjoy your holiday preparations!
Reed Health Office: 203-270-4883
Deirdre Murphy, RN, BSN
Christine Winner, RN, BSN
Join The PTA!
PTA Membership: Become a Member - Join the PTA.
While fundraising covers some of the annual budget, it is your PTA Membership Dues that help fund most of the PTA’s annual budget, which includes the programs & activities mentioned above. We need your support.
The PTA helps make Reed a better school:
- Benefit your child and their school. The number one reason to join PTA is to benefit your child. In doing so, you also help Reed!
- Your voice and opinion matter. It makes a difference when parents speak up. Your voice and ideas can help improve the quality of education for our children.
- Speak Up. PTA can be a way to more effectively suggest change at your child’s school.
- Be Heard. Connect with other parents & make your voice heard
- Support: Joining is a great way to support our school and show that our families are invested.
Even if you are unable to attend PTA meetings or activities, please join to support our school. Joining the PTA doesn’t come with a requirement of attending the PTA meetings, although everyone (even non-members) are welcome! We need your support in order to keep our programs funded and to fulfill our mission. To our members and volunteers, please know that your generous support and enthusiastic participation is greatly appreciated!
- Laura Tashjian
PTA Membership
Thank you to the families who have joined already. Welcome to a new year!
2018‐2019 Reed PTA Executive Board
President: Julia Crisci
President: Kristin Kinsey
Vice President: Caley Gibbons
Treasurer: Melissa Beylouni
Secretary: Sue Shortt
Editor: Shani Mustafa
Editor: Jackie McKendry
Chairs:
Holiday Fair: Kristin Kinsey
Membership: Laura Tashjian
Reed Directory: Vera Cherepinksky
Movie Night: Erin Siksay
Email: reedptanewtown@gmail.com
Website: http://reed.newtown.schooldesk.net/Parents/PTA
Reed Intermediate School Administration
Jill Beaudry, Assistant Principal
Betty McFadden, Admin. Asst
NEWTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2018-2019 SCHOOL CALENDAR
Website: http://newtown.reed.schooldesk.net
Location: 3 Trades Ln, Newtown, Connecticut, USA
Phone: (203) 270-4880
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Reed.Intermediate.School/about/?ref=page_internal
Twitter: @RIS_TWEETS
Email The Editors
Please send submissions for The Reed Times to:
Editor: Jackie McKendry
Email: afshan00@gmail.com
Website: http://reed.newtown.schooldesk.net/Parents/PTA