RPS Update
November 4, 2022
Dear Families, Faculty, and Staff:
Since my last communication, I am pleased to share that our football team won our homecoming game against our friends/rivals from Wilton. I was truly impressed with our students, and Wilton's! Wilton students and Superintendent came out and graciously supported Nia Simpson by wearing green and showing their friendship and kindness while also participating in healthy competition. We had over 2500 people in attendance. Bravo to all! On the topic of football games, I want to take a moment to remind all families (especially parents of middle school students) that we do not have supervision for students being dropped off. Many students are running and playing football with friends on Tiger Hollow 2, which is a great way to spend a Friday night, but all students should be reminded that the expectation for student behavior at our facility does not change in the evenings and/or after-school hours. All young children should be monitored by an adult. The next home games are on November 11 and November 23, Go Tigers!
An exciting end to the week- the RHS Theater Department presents the play “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” by John Bishop this weekend. I had my sneak peek at the dress rehearsal yesterday evening…. did you purchase your tickets? You don’t want to miss it! What a talented group of students, and a pleasure to see the diversity of strengths across our student population. Special recognition to our Director, Sherry Cox.
On Saturday, RHS will host a Robotics competition! We had the pleasure of meeting some of the members of our Robotics team at one of our Board of Education meetings this past month—truly an impressive group of students that share a growth mindset.
Congratulations to Cory Gillette and the summer BRIDGE team for being recognized by CAPSS for innovation in the design of a summer program that is both engaging and extends learning beyond the school year.
This week, various members of the Boards of Education, Finance, and Selectmen joined administration for the start of “school tours.” Members had the opportunity to see highlights of recent budget projects, as well as a look ahead to future projects. We appreciate the partnership and look forward to the remainder of the school visits.
Next week is shortened for students: Schools will be closed Tuesday for Election Day and Friday for Veterans Day. Our faculty will engage in professional learning on Tuesday. For those engaged in the election process, best of luck to you! To our Veterans, we are thankful for you and all of the freedoms we are offered each day due to your strength and courage. Looking forward to the Veterans Day events across our schools next week with many special guests visiting and sharing their experiences with our students.
An abbreviated update will be sent out next Thursday.
Enjoy the weekend and more beautiful weather!
Warmly,
Susie
Susie Da Silva, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Quote of the Week
"...one mother who also moved here a little over a year ago for the schools said to me 'I am honored that my children have the opportunity to attend the Ridgefield Public School District.' I didn’t even know how to respond at first because she said exactly what I have been thinking since August 29th. It IS an honor to be able to live in this wonderful town and to to be able to send my children to your wonderful schools. I am grateful everyday and just wanted to share that because I feel so often we forget to acknowledge the wonderful things. I look forward to seeing both of my children grow within the schools here and sharing more good experiences! Have a wonderful weekend." an email from a parent to the Superintendent of Schools
Don't forget to set your clocks back (if they don't do it themselves) on Sunday. It's a good reminder to check and/or replace the battery on smoke alarms. Stay safe!
Public Invited to a Thought/Exchange with the CT BOE
From the Connecticut State Board of Education:
The Connecticut State Board of Education has embarked on a legislatively required planning process designed to guide policy and practice improvements for the State Board and Department of Education on behalf of all of Connecticut's children over the next five years. A critical part of this effort is gathering feedback from all stakeholders to help inform decision-making around future department and board priorities. This data collection effort is being organized by the RESC Alliance, all key partners in the planning process. The easiest way to participate in and influence this plan is to engage with the ThoughtExchange conversation regarding the priorities for this plan. All educators and Connecticut residents are encouraged to add their voices at https://tejoin.com/scroll/732976567 It can take as little as 5-10 minutes to share your thoughts or to rate the thoughts of others.
Thank you for helping with this important effort.
This Weekend at RHS!
RHS Fall Play: The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940
The RHS fall play, "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940" by John Bishop, opens Friday with Saturday and Sunday performances. 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." Just one weekend! Limited tickets and more info here.
Robotics Competition—SATURDAY! Podcast Here!
This Saturday, November 5 Ridgefield High School is hosting a huge robotics competition! For more information click here. Joining us on this week’s Tiger talk is Physics/Robotics Teacher, Michael Murphy, and two RHS robotics team members Aidan Fremed and Kayleen Smith. They tell us about this year’s game, the hard work that goes into creating a robot for competition, and the amazing event Ridgefield High School is hosting. You should definitely pop in this Saturday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in the RHS gym, but if you can’t, the competition will be broadcast live on YouTube here. Thanks for listening!
A Pathway to Become the Parent You Want to Be: Parenting Workshop
RPS is proud to partner with Project Resilience to sponsor a talk with Dr, Becky Kennedy on Sunday, November 13 at 4 pm at the Ridgefield Playhouse. Named "the millennial parent whisperer" by Time Magazine, Dr. Becky is also the author of the NYT bestseller, Good Inside—A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be. Learn simple strategies for anxiety, tantrums, lying, refusals, sibling rivalry, aggression, perfectionism, and more, suitable for parents with kids of all ages.
Work Wanted
New Teacher Feature: Maddie Holmes, Barlow Mountain
"Everyone Knows My Name"
Maddie Holmes always knew she wanted to be a teacher. “I was the child who always made my brothers and cousins play school,” she laughs. “When I went to college, I had already decided to go into education.”
Holmes attended Syracuse University as an undergraduate and received her master's in education from Fairfield University. She taught in Bridgeport before arriving at Barlow Mountain Elementary this fall. “I’m getting my footing,” she reports. “BMES has been so supportive in helping me become the teacher I want to be. I love how when I walk down the hallway, everyone knows my name and checks in with me. It feels good to be a part of a community! The students seem to be responding well. I’m seeing progress!”
This week, Holmes's fifth-grade students are working on suffixes and multisyllabic words. The lesson would be familiar to anyone who went to school in the last fifty years, except the White Boards make it a lot more fun. Students eagerly participate in identifying vowels, blends, and base words. They circle the suffix; they underline the consonant blends. They discuss sounds and meanings of words like appendix, abstract, and consensus. They talk about exceptions to rules. While familiar, the lesson is a part of the Wilson phonics Fundations program, which Holmes received certification in graduate school. “I took General and Special Education classes at Syracuse.” In graduate school, “I focused on special education. There’s a lot that goes into it and we need more teachers in that field.”
Holmes grew up in Monroe, Connecticut, and moved to Ridgefield when she started in the District. “It’s a good commute. All backroads. I pass three lakes on my way to work. It’s been a nice fall.”
Welcome to Ridgefield, Maddie!
RPS Supports the Logan Project
Merchandise to Help Realize Logan's Dream
For a limited time, The Logan Project is selling merchandise made here in Ridgefield! Logan Hale was an East Ridge seventh-grader, when he passed away in December 2021. The Logan Project honors his legacy by providing gaming kiosks to children undergoing medical treatment as a way to connect with friends and restore a sense of normalcy. The next hospital that will receive gaming stations from The Logan Project is Childrens Medical Hospital in Hartford, where Logan was diagnosed and realized there was a need for the gaming stations. Please find a link to order the merchandise here and stay tuned to RPS Update for more ways to support Logan's dream.
In the Classroom
Biography Day at Ridgebury Includes Everyone
Biography Day at Ridgebury Elementary is an annual tradition when fifth graders dress up as a historical figure and share their research about that person with classmates and staff. This year, two Ridgefield Intensive Special Education students participated in this rite of passage. Zayn Hossain was Dr. Seuss, and Sophia Boddy was Queen Elizabeth II. RES RISE teacher Christina Marren reports that "both students worked very hard and practiced for their presentations. Zayn read off a slide presentation to share the facts with his class. Sophia shared her facts using her AAC device, and her classmates could also read the presentation behind her." An AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) device assists people not able to fully communicate their ideas. Great work, everyone!
Witness Stones: Learning About Quash
A sign in Mike Hougasian’s East Ridge classroom reads “Think Like a Historian”—which sums up the learning going on during eighth-grade social studies during the Witness Stones Program. Students in Mr. Hougasian and Steve Ruland’s ERMS classes are looking at primary documents to learn about Quash, a Ridgefield resident who was enslaved by David Scott and eventually freed after Scott’s death.
Eighth-grader Mae Carpenter (in photo), who moved to Ridgefield from Georgia two years ago, found the Census the most interesting part. “In 1756, 4.1% of the Ridgefield population was Black,” says Mae. “Then it increased to a height in 1780 and then declined from there. This has been very hands-on; I love looking at the numbers.” The census shows that Ridgefield had more enslaved people than Danbury and that Greenwich had no enslaved people.
Students are considering African names (Quash means “boy born on Sunday”); Scott’s petition from jail, where he was put for bigamy when his Irish wife appeared in town to claim his rights; and his divorce records. They are considering the inquiry into Quash’s death from intoxication and exposure when walking home to Blacksmith Drive from a night in town.
“We’ve always looked at the Colonial Period from a variety of perspectives,” says Mr. Ruland. “French, Dutch, Spanish, Native American, but we’ve never looked at America through the perspective of the enslaved. This is a new perspective.” To get a full picture of the dehumanization, economy, paternalization, treatment of the enslaved, and agency and resistance during slavery, students need to make inferences and suppositions and share their resources. Students will write essays to consider how Quash retained his humanity in Ridgefield leading to the Witness Stones Installation ceremony.
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 collaboration with the Ridgefield Historical Society, please watch the Board of Education meeting here.
The HeARTS of RPS
Spotlight on Farmingville Elementary
Fourth-Grade Collages
FES art teacher Rachael Penney reports that third-graders learned about artist Sandra Silberzweig, who has a condition called Synesthesia. She not only can see but taste and hear color. Clockwise from top left: Micky F., Dylan S., Megan G., and Diego B.
Farmingville kindergartens created Scribble Spots. Inspired by the book by Diane Alber, A Little Scribble SPOT: A Story About Colorful Emotions. Clockwise from top: Louisa, Adrian, Hudson.
Beyond the Classroom
State Champion!
RHS junior Steven Hergenrother is the Boys Cross Country State Champion!
The Girls Cross Country Team was the Ruden Report Team of the Week, winning a team pizza party at Colony Grill, courtesy of Fairfield County Bank. Senior Elizabeth Buoncore placed second in the State; Georgia Heller is third. SO Speedy!
Congratulations, RHS Runners!
Event Features Funk and Raises Funds
Michael McNamara , the RPS Grade 6-12 Visual & Performing Arts Department Chair, reports that the East Ridge Jazz Band, Scotts Ridge Jazz Band, and RHS Jazz Band performed at Sugar Hollow Taproom at a family-friendly Funk Raiser event, along with Groove Shack (a funk band made up of some RHS band students), and professional funk band Out of Orbit. "The event was well-attended and a good time was had by all," Mr. Mac writes. "It is the mission of the music department to give students authentic performance experiences within the community, and the students did an amazing job."
This Week In Photos
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