RIDGEFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
PROGRAM NEWSLETTER
Newsletter
Elementary Grades Edition: Learn more about programming in grades 3 - 5
Website: http://www.ridgefieldschools.com/domain/112
Location: 555 Chestnut Street, Ridgefield, NJ
Phone: 201-945-7747
Where We've Been
Over the past three years, we have implemented several new academic programs at this level. In the area of ELA, the teachers in grade three have been trained in Recipe for Reading, and the teachers at all of the grade levels have been trained in the Being a Writer program. Students will encounter these programs fluently throughout their education career in grades K - 5.
Teachers have also been using data to drive their instruction. Through the Study Island and IXL programs, the teachers have been providing students with online programming that aligns to the most recent standards. These programs provides the teacher with "real time" data that he or she can use to drive the instruction within the classroom.
Parents will begin to see that the students are preparing for their entrance into middle school in these grades. Beginning at grade four, two teachers will work together as a teaching team. One teacher will work with the students on ELA and social studies and the other on math and science. This process allows children to begin to become more independent and organized as they prepare for a departmentalized schedule in grade six and beyond.
Business and Finance Focus
New District Wellness Committee
The Ridgefield Public Schools Wellness Committee kicked off their first event on Monday, 1/16/17, with “Healthy Heart: Lunch and Learn.” The event was very successful with over 80 employees attending the workshop at Bergen Boulevard School. Speakers, Dr. Kaner and Dr. Riley, gave staff valuable tips on staying healthy and stress free. During the presentation, they talked about the importance of exercise and eating healthy, as well of the dangers of taking prescription medications and how important preventative care is. It was a great way to introduce our district’s new Wellness Committee.
On February 24th, the committee will be hosting DRop Everything And Move Day. We are excited to get the whole district moving, both staff and students. Details of the event should be released soon. Stay tuned for additional upcoming events!
Where we are now
This year, we are continuing the growth of our elementary programs in the areas of reading and math. The elementary teachers continue to work with Reader's and Writer's Workshop. This year, the classes have received a new program to help them better implement this model of instruction. Students will be working with the Mondo Bookshop program in all three grades. Teachers are receiving ongoing training on best practices for program implementation in order to tailor reading to every student. If you would like more information on the Mondo Bookshop program, please fee free to visit the main page of our district website under Headlines, for a presentation that was made to our Board of Education in January.
We have also implemented the new Envisions 2.0 program in grades 3 - 5. This is the continuation and modernization of the Envisions program that was implemented in the classrooms over the past five years in grades 3 - 5. This program better aligns to the latest standards and engages students in constructing understanding and applying their math skills to problems. By using the program in grades K - 5, students are receiving vertically aligned programming in math throughout their pre-secondary level education. Teachers are also receiving continued professional development in the most effective methods to implement problem solving and use the program at all levels.
Later this year, we will be providing our parents with workshops to better understand our new programming in ELA and math and some methods for supporting instruction at home.
Spotlight on our Special Services: Parent Survey
The New Jersey Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (NJOSEP) has selected Ridgefield to participate in a Parent Survey. Parents only with children receiving special education services will be surveyed. Ridgefield is among one of the districts selected to participate in this federally required parent survey.
The State Performance Plan requires data to be collected to determine the “percent of parents, with a child receiving special education services, who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities”. Consistent with this requirement, NJOSEP collects information on parent involvement each year using a survey mailed to all parents of student with disabilities, ages 3-21, who reside in a selected sample of districts representing the student population of New Jersey. The surveys will be distributed to parents by mail and email in May/June 2017.
More information will be provided as it becomes available to us. We thank you in advance for your participation.
Ridgefield Child Study Team
where we are going: Our Future Graduates
- Maintain the STEM and Humanities Chairperson in their current role. The continuation and expansion of these vital staff members to provide expertise to the teachers in all grade levels from k - 12 will strengthen vertical alignment of the math and ELA programs.
- Provide the funding for curriculum resources to continue to invest and implement in the programs that have begun their implementation over the past two years. Continue to invest in programs such as; Front Row and Aleks to expand the blended learning program into more classrooms. Provide more math classes with the necessary technology to access these programs. Expand the Envisions 2.0 program to the middle school level with a purchase of the current materials for great vertical articulation of the math program.
- Reinstate an English Language Learning (ELL) teacher for optimal programming. Under our current ELL programming, students at the primary level receive initial instruction in a bilingual Kindergarten classroom. This does not provide our wonderfully diverse student population with the opportunity to truly be immersed in school with their English-speaking peers. The reinstatement of one ELL teacher will allow the District to provide students with an intensive ELL program with both pullout and push-in instruction.
- Expand library media, technology, and information literacy by adding specialists. Currently, the Ridgefield School District has no operating library media centers. It has only one Library Media Specialist for all students in Grades K-12 who delivers part of a newly developed information literacy program. Additional staffing is needed to expand the information literacy program and provide students with a more comprehensive experience and the much needed and valuable instruction, giving students the tools to compete in the 21st century.
The elementary grades are important to students as they foster their love of learning and curiosity. These advancements will help us to ensure that our children become life long learners.
Program Highlights: Preparing your Child for the Transition to Middle School
If your child is about to start middle school and you’re a little nervous, you are not alone! Entrance into middle school is one of your child's first steps into adulthood! It’s a time for meeting new challenges and taking on new responsibilities. The changes you’ll find for your child in school, even though it is the same building, are things like carrying books and supplies from classroom to classroom and having a locker for the first time can be eased with your help.
Here are some tips to help with this transition:
- Logistics are the hardest part. Your child's first hurdles are logistical — needing to remember a locker combination, learning the building layout and getting to class on time. Be there to listen and support them as they take on these new challenges.
- Let them handle challenges on their own. Give your children the space to handle challenges on their own. That could mean letting them fiddle with their combination lock without stepping in to help. Or, if they come home with a complaint about an assignment or class, pushing them to problem solve for themselves.
- Don't end your involvement, change it. Parent involvement is still important as children grow older — the form just needs to change. Classroom volunteering is usually not appropriate after middle school, but you can show interest by having dinner with your children, asking about their day and monitoring their phone use and social media presence.
- Monitor progress. Monitor your child's grades and attendance using the Genesis Online Parent Portal. If you see slipping grades or poor attendance, it may be a sign that your child is wasting study time, battling disorganization or struggling in some other way. As a parent, you can push your child to monitor his/her own progress.
- Keep track of friends. Make sure you are aware of your child's friends. If the group of friends changes or your child starts to associate with older teenagers, you will want to ensure that you know these new people in your child's life.
- Some red flags to watch. Red flags that may indicate the transition isn’t going well include your child complaining of headaches, stomach aches, sleeplessness or simply not wanting to go to school.
If you would like some further information on the transition to middle school, please click on the link below.