Scotty Updates
A Newsletter from Scotland Elementary School
Welcome Back Edition 2023
Scotty Updates
Scotty Updates has been created to provide families and staff with information regarding upcoming events, happenings, and programs at Scotland Elementary School. Please take time each Monday to review our newsletter.
A Message from Jill & Tim
Dear Scotland Families and Students,
Welcome back to what is sure to be a fantastic year at Scotland! It was wonderful seeing so many of you at Open School on Friday, and we are thrilled to welcome our students back tomorrow. For those of you new to the Scotland community, we are excited to welcome you. For returning students, we are thrilled to see you again. Tim and I are looking forward to collaborate with our staff, students, families, and community to provide our students a successful, challenging, and engaging year.
The Scotland staff is here to help and support you every step of the way. We look forward to working together to provide all students with a safe and engaging school experience. Please see below for important information regarding the reopening of schools.
To ensure the safety of all, if you are scheduled to come into the building for a meeting, classroom event, library helper, or any other visit, you will need to fill out this form before arriving at school. This form is required for any adult entering the building during school hours. Please note that as an added layer of security, you must have an appointment to come into the building. Please remember to bring your ID when arriving at the building.
We can't wait to see you all tomorrow! We are excited for an amazing year!
Kind regards,
Jill & Tim
Important Information Regarding Dismissal for Monday!
There have been some unexpected issues with the School Dismissal Manager (SDM) system and its connection with PowerSchool to populate transportation information. The district's IT department has been working with SDM to resolve this issue. That being said, we want a system in place that accurately tracks and accounts for changes in dismissal. Until otherwise notified, please follow the directions below to indicate that your child will take an alternative other than the transportation identified in PowerSchool. School Dismissal Manager will be up and running by Tuesday, August 29th. See below.
We will assume all students will take their regular bus (as identified in PowerSchool) home on Monday unless you have filled out this form for Monday, August, 28, 2023.
- You will need to submit one form for each child at SES if there is a change in their dismissal plan.
- All responses must be submitted by 12PM tomorrow.
Beginning on Tuesday, we will begin using School Dismissal Manager.
- All parents will receive a message tomorrow morning from SDM.
- For families new to this system, you will be provided login instructions that will prompt you to login and change your password.
- All changes to dismissal on Tuesday and moving forward will need to be entered into School Dismissal Manager by 12PM daily.
Thank you for your patience and understanding of this temporary change in routine while the SDM issues are resolved.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the main office at (203) 894-5825.
Classroom Teachers
2023-2024 School Hours
Events & Happenings
Monday, August 28th - A Day
- First Day of School!!
- Shortened Day (11:40am dismissal) - Kindergarten
Tuesday, August 29th - B Day
- Shortened Day (11:40am dismissal) - Kindergarten
Wednesday, August 30th - C Day
- Shortened Day (11:40am dismissal) - Kindergarten
Thursday, August 31st - D Day
- Shortened Day (11:40am dismissal) - Kindergarten
Friday, September 1st- E Day
- Shortened Day (11:40am dismissal) - Kindergarten
- Scotty Spirit Day! Wear your Scotty spirit wear to show your school pride!
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Coming Soon:
Monday, September 4th:
- Labor Day – No School
Tuesday, September 5th:
- 1st full day of kindergarten
Tuesday, September 12th:
- Picture Day
Thursday, September 14th:
- Early Dismissal
- 11:40am dismissal for students, professional development for staff
- Open House - 5:30pm
Monday, September 25th:
- Yom Kippur - No School
⚽️ 🎼 Essentials 🎨 📚
- Each class will have one 45 minute essential per day (Art, Library, Music, or P.E.)
- We will continue to follow the six day A-F day schedule
- Please find the essentials rotation below
Arrival & Dismissal 🚗
We will follow a similar drop off / pick up procedure that we did last year.
Arrival
- Drop off begins at 8:30am. Please do not drop off your child prior to 8:30am as there will be no supervision at this time.
- After 8:45am, you will need to walk your child into school, as they are late. You will need to sign them in with security. Please do not drop your child off without adult supervision.
Dismissal
- Pick up will begin at 3:25pm.
- Each day, please have your child(ren)’s first and last name displayed on your passenger visor, and have it remain visible until your child is in the car. This needs to be bold and large enough to be visible at a distance. This is a very important step to ensure we have your child ready when you arrive.
- For the safety of both students and staff, proceed carefully and slowly through the lot.
- Please have your child exit/enter the vehicle when your gear is in the park position and is one of the cars at the front of the line designated for drop off.
- Students must exit the vehicle on the passenger side (building side) of the vehicle. Multiple children must exit on the passenger side. It is dangerous to exit/enter on the driver's side of the vehicle!
- Students need to have all of their items ready in hand and will then exit the car immediately.
- Parents, please stay in your vehicle at all times so that the process will prevent backups on Barlow Mountain Road.
- If you miss the drop off time (after 8:45 a.m.), please park in the front lot and walk your child across the designated crosswalk to the main entrance of the building. If you arrive after the drop off window and must park in the parking lot, we kindly ask that you use the crosswalk.
Chromebooks 💻
- For information on this year's Chromebook distribution and policies click here to watch a short video
- If you have further questions or concerns email: helpdesk@ridgefieldps.net
School Lunch 🥪
School lunch will be available from the first day of school. Aramark is the new District-wide food service provider. The school lunch menu is available online on the RPS website; click Departments and click on Food Service. For all students, we have transitioned away from LunchTime software to MySchoolBucks for families to fund student lunches.
MySchoolBucks is available via the PowerSchool Parent Portal, and communication was sent to families in early August regarding adding funds for lunch. Any balances have been rolled over from LunchTime to MySchoolBucks. Additionally, the district sent a communication in early August regarding Reduced Lunch for eligible students.
- In short, students eligible for reduced lunch will be provided free lunches in grades K-8 for the 2023-24 school year.
- Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the Free School Meals for Children grant, please do not hesitate to contact us or the District Business Office.
- Questions in regard to school MySchoolBucks can be directed to Eric Nickelson, RPS Food Service Director at 203-894-5550 x1127 or enickelson@ridgefieldps.net
Website to set up an account.
Some Support Links for Troubleshooting:
Updating Your Payment Method | MySchoolBucks
Setting up Automatic Payments | MySchoolBucks
Adding a New Student | MySchoolBucks
Setting Up Low Balance Alerts | MySchoolBucks
August/September Lunch Menu
School Dismissal Manager
We will continue to use School Dismissal Manager this year at Scotland. Please click below for information regarding this system. This system will be available to families in late August. A welcome letter will be emailed to families when the system is available. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us!
A Note from Our PTA
Join the PTA!
Joining the PTA helps you stay connected with the school community. You will receive information about family events, before & after school programs, school events, parties and much more! Get to know teachers & staff better with informational sessions throughout the year!
To join, visit our website: www.scotlandpta.org
The new PTA registration form is now live on the website, click here!
Contact Us!
Email: jkatkocin@ridgefieldps.net
Website: https://ses.ridgefield.org/
Location: 111 Barlow Mountain Road, Ridgefield, CT, USA
Phone: 203-894-5825
Twitter: @Scotland_Elem