Scotty Updates
A Newsletter from Scotland Elementary School
Week of October 9, 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
Happy Sunday! I think I hope you are all well, and enjoying the long weekend! We held our Scotty Sprint on Wednesday afternoon, and it was a blast. It was an afternoon filled with school spirit and joy, even in the heat! It was amazing watching our students run together and connect as a community! A huge thank you to our PTA for all of the planning and preparation that ensured the event to run so smoothly! A special thank you to Nicole DeMain for her time planning and organizing, and Mr. Tornatore for being our Master of Ceremonies! A shout out to Robert Salaga and Kate Krsulich, our PTA co-presidents for their ongoing support and planning for all Scotland PTA events!
The elementary School Psychologists would like to offer the community parent workshops for the 2023-2024 school year. We are looking for your feedback to help us reach as many parents/caregivers as possible. Please fill out this survey if you are interested in attending these sessions.
We have so many fun, festive events planned for the coming weeks! This week, we will have our Fall DEI Art Night! Please join us on Thursday evening from 5:30-7pm to participate in this festive art activity. We are looking forward to the evening.
Our Fall Book Fair will take place this week on Wednesday and Thursday. Our students will have the opportunity to shop this week in school, and we invite our families to come and shop with their child(ren) Thursday evening from 5:30-7pm. A huge thank you to Jessica Hinkley for organizing and planning this event, and to all of the parent volunteers for their help in setting it up!
We will be hosting our Scotty Pumpkin Blaze, but not until November 2nd! Stay tuned for more information! Our Scotty Sprint winners will be announced by the end of the week - we have some very eager students awaiting the news. I will announce it this week as soon as we have the results!
Have a great week!
Kind regards,
Jill
Spotlight on Curriculum 🔦
Scotland Fall Book Fair
We will be having our Fall Book Fair Wednesday, October 11th and Thursday, October 12th. The evening of Thursday, Oct 12th is the SES Art Show, Blaze and Family Night at the book fair..
Please see the attached flyer for all the details.
The best way to pay is through e-wallet. You can find the link on our book fair website.
We NEED VOLUNTEERS...During classes, family night and breakdown...please use the sign up link below. Teachers are listed in the sign up if you want to volunteer when your child's class is shopping.
Thank you!
Your Book Fair Committee
Picture Retakes 📸
PICTURE RETAKES:
If your child was absent on Picture Day or you are unhappy with your child's picture, retakes will be taken on November 3rd.
Please reach out to Ryan Meyerhoff (ryanmeyerhoff@gmail.com) if you would like to have your child’s picture retaken. Include your child’s name and homeroom teacher.
- If parents do not notify Ryan, we will not know to call their child for retake.
Be sure to send the original picture package in with your child on 11/3
QUESTIONS??
Parents with questions (such as about order forms; late orders; missing orders & refunds etc.) should contact Coffee Pond:
- By phone: 1-800-632-2323 ext '0'
- By email: Lifeguards@coffeepond.com
Events & Happenings
Monday, October 9th:
- No school - Indigenous People's Day
Tuesday,October 10th:
- E Day
Wednesday, October 11th:
- F Day
Thursday, October 12th:
- A Day
Friday, October 13th:
- B Day
- Scotty Spirit Day! Wear your Scotty spirit wear to show your school pride!
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Coming Soon:
Wednesday, October 11th - Monday, November 27th:
- Fall Enrichment
Thursday, October 12th - 5:30-7PM
- Evening Book Fair
- DEI Art Night
- Pumpkin Blaze 🎃 5:30-7PM
- Little Doctors' Blood Drive
Snaps around Scotland 📸
Scotty Sprint 2023
All District Art Show
🖤❤️ A Message from Our PTA ❤️🖤
The PTA Harvest Gala is November 4, 2023
Friday, October 13, is the deadline for all Scotland Harvest Gala donations. If you have an item or experience you’d like to donate, please contact Harvest Gala Co-Chairs Danielle Maucieri and Erica Shillingford. Big thank you to all the grade-level CVCs for helping spread the word about our grade-level baskets - there is still time to contribute items from our wishlists or by Venmo (@ScotlandPTA - please list “Gala Basket” in the memo). We are thrilled to share that over seventy Scotland parents and guardians have already purchased tickets for the Harvest Gala. Click the invitation to join us and learn more!
After School Fall Enrichment
Lastly, Fall enrichment is open, with classes on Monday and Wednesday ranging from Sports, Magic, STEM Robotics with LEGOs, Scotty Cares Giving Back, Art, and so much more! Visit here to enroll.
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!
Important Information
Volunteering in the Library Learning Commons
Volunteers in the Library Learning Commons:
We are looking for volunteers in the LLC! We would love to have you come in and help out! Please click below on the grade level in which you would like to volunteer. Thank you so much!
-Mrs. Gonillo
- Kindergarten- https://signup.com/go/bFGFTWA
- First Grade- https://signup.com/go/TQhSvTH
- Second Grade - https://signup.com/go/YyufgPj
- Third Grade- https://signup.com/go/RCCPZHB
- Fourth Grade- https://signup.com/go/rCCNxKx
- Fifth Grade- https://signup.com/go/frXROYD
Looking for peer models for social skills groups!
Peer Models:
Our school psychologists are looking for student volunteers to participate in a small social/emotional skill development group where they can act as peer models for similarly aged peers. The groups occur once weekly for approximately thirty minutes. Groups will generally take place during lunch or extension block and are facilitated by a school psychologist. Please click here to read more and sign consent for participation.
Reminders:
Playdates and Riding the Bus:
We know how fun it is for our students to get together after school and enjoy time together! Due to safety and limited space on the buses, we are asking that students have no more than 2 guest riders with them at a time. Anytime there is a need for more than 2 additional students to ride, families will need to make arrangements for parent pick up that day. Thank you for understanding!
Hats & Hoodies:
Over the last several years there was no standard hat/hood procedure in the elementary schools, likely related to Covid, when classroom windows were kept open for air circulation and there was the potential for it to be cold in classrooms.
As we have started the 23-24 school year with a typical school opening, we will return to only permitting hats to be worn outside the school building. Students may choose to wear a hat, but will be reminded to remove it upon entering the school building. Students will be permitted to wear hats for outdoor recess. Teachers have discussed this with students and I will remind our school community during the morning announcements on Tuesday.
On special occasions/spirit days, hats may be permitted and this will be communicated to students and families.
2023-2024 School Hours
⚽️ 🎼 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.
Snacks for Purchase in the Cafeteria:
Students in grades 2-5 are permitted to purchase snacks during lunch (last 10 minutes). Please be sure you have set up MySchoolBucks if you would like your student to be able to purchase a snack.
- 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
October 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!
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