Rocky's Weekly Roundup!
September 18, 2022
A Message from the Leadership Team
Dear RES Families,
We were thrilled to welcome so many families at our RES Open House! The night was a huge success and we hope that you enjoyed getting an inside look at your child's day-to-day happenings. It is amazing that we can all be in-person again!!
A friendly reminder to always reach out to the RES Administration and your child's classroom teacher with any questions and concerns. Going to the source is always the best way to get the most up-to-date and accurate information.
It was brought to our attention this week that parents are packing food items and drinks in glass containers. Please do not send your child to school with such items. It is not safe to have these items in the classroom and cafeteria, especially if accidentally dropped or broken.
Don't forget the first day of Fall is on Thursday. The cooler mornings are a gentle reminder that Fall is right around the corner.
We hope you had a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Melissa Labrosciano, Principal
Mrs. Kim Roy, Assistant Principal
Grade 4 Student Council - Leadership Opportunity
Recorders for Grade 3 and Grade 4 Students
Please read the information from Miss Baker below, as recorders need to be purchased for your child. Thank you.
RES CHORUS
Please see the information in the letter below and complete the form as noted. A broadcast was sent to parents of Gr. 3 and Gr. 4 students on Thursday morning, September 15.
A Message from Nurse Connolly and Nurse Carley...
News from the Health Office:
Woohoo! Everyone made it through the first full week of school and seems to be adjusting to the new school year. We are already into the second half of September and with that we have had some cooler temperatures and more varied weather. We make every effort at RES to go outside for recess and usually only switch to indoor recess when it is actively raining or the ground is still too saturated from rain. Help your children choose appropriate clothing and footwear for the weather conditions - Fall is a season for dressing in layers!
And a few other thoughts on the benefits of outdoor time:
Autumn is a magical time of year. A time when nature inspires the development of our children. There is so much learning outside in the fall with the leaves changing, and falling. We can relate math, identification, understanding, and sensory benefits to all the changes and the colors outside.
Being in nature allows children endless opportunities for discovery and learning through observation. Children often discover something new, and even amazing while outdoors, observing things they have never realized before such as critters under a log or the signs that Jack Frost has visited on the grass and fallen leaves seen in the morning.
Outdoor time builds physical resilience and gross-motor skills are required to make forts or teepees. Building in nature also requires some teamwork as it can often be done with friends and family. Life long lessons are learned as this hard work requires problem solving and collaboration to sort through the challenges that arise.
There is something special that happens when we spend time in nature breathing the fresh air and grounding into the soil. Nature has a way of healing your anxious selves, while rejuvenating and strengthening our physical and mental health.
Nature has a calming effect on adults and children. Taking a walk outside each day allows us a chance to relax and recover from the noise and rush of the day. While outdoors children have a positive way to get their rambunctious energy out, and really work their bodies. One of my personal favorite benefits of playing outside is the chance to connect with our children, to observe them at play, catch them being good, and smart, and creative, and to take a moment to breathe in all the goodness.
There are so many benefits to being in nature. Take time to play outdoors even as the weather gets cooler and wetter. The cozy indoor time after will feel sweeter as well.
We hope you all enjoyed some great outdoor time together this weekend!
Your Nurses - Mrs. Connolly & Mrs. Carley
Important Dates and Reminders
Monday, September 26th: No School - Rosh Hashanah
Friday, September 30th: Festive Friday - RES Pride, wear your school colors (green / white) or Spirit Wear
Wednesday, October 5th: No School - Yom Kippur
Thursday, October 6th: Redding Board of Education Meeting at JRMS
Thursday October 6th: Picture Day, Grades 1-4
Friday, October 7th: Picture Day, PreSchool and Kindergarten
Monday, October 10th: No School - Columbus Day
Tuesday, October 11th: Professional Development Day
Tuesday, October 25th: Safe School Climate Committee Meeting
Tuesday, October 25th: Joint Board of Education Meeting with Barlow and Easton at Barlow
Bus Transportation Information
If you have any specific questions pertaining to your child's bus stop, please contact First Student directly, 475.470.0373. Unfortunately, we are not able to help you regarding bus information.
Morning Arrival Procedures
Students may be dropped off at school beginning at 7:55 a.m. - 8:05 a.m. There is no adult supervision at school prior to this time, so please be sure to listen for the morning bell before letting students out of your car to enter the school building. In the morning, all students arriving by parent vehicle, in Kindergarten through Grade 4 will be dropped off in the Big Gym parking lot and will enter school through the main entrance. Please see the RES Campus Map to view the drop-off route and location of drop-off. Staff members supervising morning drop-off will monitor students exiting cars. It is important that students are prepared with their backpacks on and all belongings are ready to go so they can exit the car quickly. Students will exit from the passenger side of the vehicle. Family members dropping children off must remain in vehicles during this time.
Afternoon Dismissal Procedures
We will begin dismissing students out to cars around 2:45 p.m. and this process will continue until 3:00 p.m. If students remain in the holding areas at 3:00 p.m., we will bring them down to the main office to be picked up.
Each family will be assigned a student pick up number. This number will be identified on a tag that attaches to the child’s backpack, and a separate tag that hangs from the rearview mirror of the vehicle being used for pick-up. Staff supporting the student pick-up process will help escort children out to cars, matching student pick up numbers on backpacks and vehicles.
For our returning families, please track down your student number tags and car tags you used last year. This includes both the rearview mirror tag and the smaller tags that attach to your child’s backpack. Please keep these car tags, until your last child enters JRMS.
For our new families, we will issue a student number tag & car tag to hang from your rearview mirror. This is needed if you are picking your child up at the end of the school day. There will be a corresponding number on your child’s backpack. New families will receive tags during Welcome Back to School meet and greet. If you are unable to attend the back to school orientation, please call the main office and make arrangements to pick up your car tags.
In the afternoon, all students being picked up by parent vehicle, in Kindergarten through Grade 4 will be picked up in the Big Gym parking lot. Please see the RES Campus Map to view the pick-up route and location.
Families must remain in vehicles throughout our pick-up process. Staff will monitor and assist students into vehicles, as needed.
Peanut and Tree Nut Free Classrooms
Due to the amount of students with life threatening peanut and tree nut allergies all classrooms at RES are designated as peanut and tree nut free areas. We are following the same practices as JRMS. Please do not pack classroom snacks that contain peanuts and/or tree nuts. Your child may still enjoy peanuts and/or tree nuts during his/her lunch period in the cafeteria. We only ask that snacks eaten in the classroom do not contain such products, as the cafeteria has additional procedures and special precautions to follow for children with food allergies. Students are encouraged to engage in safe practices in the cafeteria, which includes refraining from sharing or swapping meals and snacks. If food is being allowed at a classroom celebration, food products must be accompanied by the original packaging so that ingredients can be checked.
COVID-19 Information & Health Reminders
Please remember to keep your child home if they have a temperature above 100.0, any vomiting or diarrhea or if they are simply not feeling well enough to be at school. The symptom profile for covid is widely varied and oftentimes presents as mild cold symptoms, so please be mindful and test your child when they are sick or if they have been exposed to someone with covid.
The district is following the current CDC covid guidelines, which you can review here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/isolation.html.
In summary:
**If positive, isolate at home for 5 days. Return on day 6 if no fever and symptoms are improved. Mask through day 10. (Test day or symptom start day are DAY 0).
**Report positive cases to the school nurse and enter absence into school dismissal manager.
**If exposed, wear a mask, test if symptoms develop. Or test 5 days after last exposure. If negative, continue with mask through day 10. If positive, isolate for 5 days.
We have test kits available at school. Contact Jen Connolly, school nurse, at 203-938-2519 ext. 309 or jconnolly@er9.org to pick up a test kit or have one sent home with your child.
RES Job Opportunities - We Need Your Help!
If you have been thinking of getting back into the working world, but needed something that works around your child(ren)'s schedule, RES has several part-time opportunities. We have several open positions - - lunch and recess monitors.
These positions allow you to have a little bit of flexibility, where you still have time to get your child(ren) on and off the bus each day. Please log on to the ER9.org website; under human resources tab; employment opportunities. THANK YOU!!
Visiting RES Reminders...
At RES we regularly discuss our safety protocols and procedures. The following protocols are implemented for visitors at RES:
In order to enter the vestibule at the main entrance, anyone wishing to do so MUST present a photo identification. Identification will be held up to the outside camera and checked by our office staff before you are allowed to enter the vestibule. This procedure includes dropping off your child, picking up your child, etc. Please do not take offense if you feel the office staff should know you. There will not be an exception made to this rule. Office staff will also be asking visitors the purpose of their visit.
Visitors will be allowed in the building by appointment only. Appointments could range from a specific meeting with a teacher, special education team, and/or administration. Appointments would also include any volunteer opportunities or visits in your child’s classroom. An appointment may also be a call from the nurse to pick up your child. All planned visits and appointments will be arranged for you by an RES staff member.
If you feel you need to enter the building and have not made previous arrangements. You must call RES to make arrangements prior to arriving. For example, access to our lost and found area.
A drop-off table will be placed outside of the vestibule. The table will be clearly marked. Please make sure items are properly labeled before you arrive (child’s name and teacher). You do not need to ring the bell to tell the office an item is being dropped off. The table will be checked twice daily at 10:30 a.m. and at the end of each school day.
Students are expected to be dropped off each morning by 8:05 a.m. If you are arriving at drop off after 8:05 a.m., please drop your child off by parking in the main parking lot, and have your child walk down the walkway to enter through the RES main entrance.
Quote of the Week
“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world.”
– Malala Yousafzai
Kindergarteners Love Eating in the Cafeteria!
Redding Community Opportunities
Contact Us
Mrs. Kim Roy, Assistant Principal
Website: www.reddingelementaryps.org
Location: 33 Lonetown Road, Redding, CT, USA
Phone: (203)938-2519
Additional School Contacts
Office hours for Special Services is 7:30am - 3:00pm during the regular school year.
SPECIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Ms. Jennifer Del Conte, Director, Special Services
Ms. Michelle King, Administrative Assistant to Director of Special Services
mking@er9.org Ext. 313
Mrs. Jennifer Hankla, Supervisor, Special Services
Mrs. Marilyn Caruso, Secretary, Special Services
mcaruso@er9.org Ext. 312
Office hours for the main office is 7:30am - 3:45pm during the normal 10-month / 180 day school year.
SUPPORT STAFF:
Miss Bobbie Granskog, School Secretary
bgranskog@er9.org Ext. 304
Budgets, Payroll, & Information for Rocky's Weekly Roundup!
Mrs. Komal Kulkarni, School Secretary
kkulkarni@er9.org Ext. 302
Registrar & Enrollment
Mrs. Rachel Saluzzi, School Secretary
rsaluzzi@er9.org Ext. 301
Assistant to School Principals
School Dismissal Manager & Subs
OTHER FREQUENTLY CALLED NUMBERS:
Nurse Connolly — Ext. 309
Library— Ext. 343
Kitchen — Ext. 346
You will find a complete list of telephone extensions and email addresses for our staff on our website www.reddingelementaryps.org