Rocky's Weekly Roundup
March 13, 2022
A Message from the Leadership Team...
Dear RES Families,
Can you believe that this weekend marks two years since our school closed down at the start of the pandemic?! We are so proud of our families, students, and staff members for all they have accomplished over the past two years. We are thrilled that each day moving forward is brining us back to our pre-pandemic routines and happenings!
We know that this past Wednesday may have caused challenges for our families especially since our early release was earlier than our typical early release schedule. Thank you all for your flexibility and support to make our day go smoothly! Good news... we won't have to make the day up in June!
Remember to spring ahead this weekend. We are looking forward to some extra daylight and warmer weather on the horizon.
Mrs. Melissa Labrosciano, Principal
Mr. Joe Amodio, Assistant Principal
Parent Teacher Conferences
Class Placements
Summer Academy Update
Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT)
Heart of RES
RES administration and staff want to recognize students and faculty members who go above and beyond to make RES the greatest place in the world! Staff and students are being nominated for doing good deeds, and/or showing kindness to others in a spectacular way. Throughout the month students and staff are being recognized in a special way. Staff and students will receive a special Heart of RES certificate and students will get a special shoutout during our morning announcements!
Important Dates and Reminders
March 14-16: Grade 2 OLSAT
March 18: Early Dismissal 12:50pm; PreSchool at 12:15pm
March 21-22: Grade 3 OLSAT
April 1: Interim Reports sent home with students
April 4-8: RES PTA Scholastic Book Fair
April 5-7: Parent Conferences - Early Dismissal (12:50 p.m. K-4)
April 5: Redding BOE Meeting (7:00 p.m. at JRMS)
April 8: Early Dismissal 12:50pm; PreSchool at 12:15pm
April 11-15: Spring Recess
April 18: Students return to school
TENTATIVE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL - Tuesday, June 21st
MORNING DROP OFF
A reminder that families with multiple children may now choose ONE drop off location in the morning. It is suggested that our youngest continue to be dropped off in the rear parking lot. Older siblings may also be dropped off here and can walk across the building to get to their classrooms. If you arrive to the drop off location and there are no adults present to welcome your children at the curb, or in the parking lot, please park and walk your child to the school's main entrance vestibule.
MORNING BUS CIRCLE ACCESS
Please keep students and staff safe, and drop off LATE students at the big gym parking area, until ALL buses have cleared RES. With winter approaching, it is safe to assume that on a regular school day, buses should have cleared the bus circle by 8:20am - UNLESS we have an exceptionally tough weather situation happening that morning.
CELL PHONES & ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Per our family handbook, laser pointers, electronic devices, and cell phones are also not allowed. With that said, we do understand as parents ourselves that there are times when it is a family's decision to allow their child(ren) to have a cell phone or smartwatch with cell phone capabilities in school. If this is the case, it is expected that the cell phone be turned off and in your child’s backpack at all times, including the duration of the bus ride.
Students are not to be making phone calls or sending text messages during the school day. Students can always come to the main office if a call needs to be made home. Similar to John Read Middle School’s handbook policy, if a cell phone or smartwatch is being used inappropriately or not consistent with our technology use policy, such device will be held in the main office for the remainder of the school day.
The use of a cell phone or other device can be a disruption to your child(ren)’s school day and negatively impact their learning environment. We appreciate your support and partnership regarding this matter.
A Message from our School Nurses...
When to keep your child home:
· Fever greater than 100.0, vomiting, diarrhea. sore throat, significant cough or runny nose. Students need to be fever free without medication and without vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school.
· Contact the nurse if you are in need of a rapid Covid test.
Please continue to report positive COVID-19 results and COVID-19 exposures to the school nurse at jconnolly@er9.org or 203-938-2519 ext 309. Also, please report any flu, strep throat, pink eye or other communicable illnesses to the nurse.
Continue to enter the reason for absence (i.e. sore throat, stomachache, headache, fever) into School Dismissal manager. If your child is taking one of their 2 allotted Mental Health Days, please state this specifically for absence reasons, so we can mark it accordingly in PowerSchool.
Helpful Tips for Parents with Daylight Savings Time Approaching
Sleep! It’s one of the 3 pillars that most impact overall health (nutrition, exercise, and sleep). With Daylight Savings Time quickly approaching I would like to share some important information about the relationship between sleep and psychological function and how our ability to perform and react relates to sleep.
We know that daylight savings time disrupts our circadian clock which tells our body when to go to bed and when to wake. This clock will be off generally for up to about a week around daylight savings times.
About 80 percent of our kids often don’t get enough sleep already due to
lifestyle, caffeine, misinformation about sleep, and electronics.
A generally rule of thumb is at age 10 children should get 10 hours of sleep. Younger children will need a bit more than 10 hours and 9-10 hours is best for teenagers.
Research has shown that even 30 minutes of less than the recommended sleep time is disruptive to overall health and neuro-cognitive functioning (the things needed to be good at school and good at life).
Within the school setting we may notice children who do not get the recommended amount of sleep aren’t learning as well, not paying attention as well, are more active / distracted. Adequate sleep is especially critical for those individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions.
So what can we do?
We can suggest smaller adjustments in a gradual way such as going to bed 15 minutes earlier each night in the days leading up to daylight savings.
Limit light exposure and screen exposure in the late afternoon / evening.
Stick to routines. For example, mealtimes should stay in alignment w the new time.
Keep things as much in alignment with the new time as possible even during the weekends.
The National Sleep Foundation’s website and The American Academy of Pediatrics’ websites are a great resource for more information and tips on how to best support our children’s health in regards to sleep.
https://healthychildren.org/English/Pages/default.aspx
Nurse J. Connolly
Nurse D. Carley
Quote of the Week
-Rosa Parks, female activist
REDDING COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES
Contact Us
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