The Reed Times
Reed PTA Newsletter | October 2018
Important Dates
September 19th - No School (Holiday)
September 20th - Middle Gate and Hawley Open House
September 28th - Internet Safety Assembly
October 2: Board of Ed Meeting, 7:30pm
October 3: PTA Meeting, 6:30pm
October 4: Picture Day
- October 5: Delayed Opening, Staff Development
- October 8: Color Wars
- October 12: Color Wars Culmination Night
- October 16: Board of Ed Meeting, 7:30pm
- October 18: Flu Clinic, Staff
- October 19: PTA Movie Night
- October 23-26: Elem. & Reed Conferences - Early Dismissal
Elem. 1:37 p.m. Dismissal
Reed 1:32 p.m. Dismissal
Principal's Corner
Dear Parents and/or Guardians,
Welcome to the new school year at Reed Intermediate School! Our fifth graders have made a very smooth transition into their new learning environments, and sixth graders seem relaxed, happy and confident upon their return. All in all it has been wonderful new beginning.
Thank you to all parents in attendance at our annual Open House. We hope you found the information useful and the time with teachers meaningful. If you have suggestions for improvements, feel free to reach out and let us know. We have been shaping our format for several years based on parent feedback are interested to know what you thought about this years’ experience.
We are looking forward to welcoming Scott Driscoll of Internet Safety Concepts to our school on Friday, September 28th. Mr. Driscoll has presented at Reed for several years in order to begin the process of educating our students about the importance of responsible use of social media. I strongly encourage parents to not only monitor your child’s use of social media but also engage in open dialogue about your child’s online life. Social media is here to stay and we believe that it is imperative that we teach our kids about all the good and bad that can come with it.
Finally, our PTA is a wonderful friend to Reed. Thank you for providing an amazing welcome back luncheon for our teachers in August. Parents, we welcome and encourage your involvement in our school. The PTA is always looking for volunteers who support many of the wonderful events and fundraisers they support. We hope to see many new faces in our school this year!
- Anne Uberti, Principal
Asst. Principal's Report
Digital Devices
The Good, the Bad....The Confusing!
We use digital devices to refer to laptops, phones, readers, and other items students might use in and out of the classroom. Students are allowed to use a variety of digital devices in school with teacher permission. That means, the teacher must give them permission to bring any device into the classroom. The one device students seem to use the most at this age is a cell phone.
The Good:
- Many students start their phone usage at the fifth and sixth grade level.
- It is really important to set the rules BEFORE you give your child the phone. (Ex: When do you allow them to use the phone, what sites can they go on, will their texting be visible to you, etc.)
- We teach proper device etiquette in technology and in the classroom so students will be able to avail themselves of it in and out of the classroom.
The Bad:
- Our students are young and have no fear about using devices. That being said, they sign up for apps without reading all the rules, age restrictions, and other issues.
- Many of the Apps our students sign up to use may have age restrictions, which our students ignore, or worse, lie about their age. This does become a problem later in HS, when they appear to be “21” because they said they were “13” or older in 5th grade.
- Many of the Apps ask if it is okay for others to know your location (where the phone is at that minute). Many young students click “yes” during their initial sign up. This poses a safety risk.
The Confusing:
- Parents text students during the day even though their phone is in their locker. Many students get nervous they will miss something important. TELL your child you will call the school if there is something they MUST know before going home. This will let them relax and focus on their work.
- I-Watches are fun, but if you are texting your child, you are distracting them from learning. Leave the texting for after school or leave the watch at home. We are teaching students what their priorities should be.
- Do not get upset when your child tells you something has happened (such as someone texted them they don’t know, or they sent an embarrassing picture to a group instead of a friend, etc). They are looking to see how you will react. If you say, “No phone for 1 week”, you have just taught them not to report issues to you. You have to talk it out, fix what you can, and calmly talk about how to handle it next time. Remember you are building trust!
We deal with phone issues every day at school. Our purpose is to teach them to make better choices. Repeatedly making bad choices results in consequences, but most of our students learn the first time because kids really do want to do the right thing. We are here to help, so give us a call if you have questions. If I can’t answer, I have a huge staff of knowledgeable people who can. Good luck!
Jill Beaudry
Assistant Principal
Reed Intermediate School
PTA Presidents' Report
Dear Families,
WOW, can you believe that September is flying by already! The PTA would like to welcome our new 5th Grade class to Reed and hope they are getting familiar with the school and making new friends! We also want to welcome back our 6th Grade students and hope they too have a great year ahead.
Current PTA Events: Your PTA is off to a great start! We already had our first successful movie night and the children that attended it really loved it. The MeadowBrook Fall Fundraiser is in the process. Thank you to all who participated towards the fundraiser where 40% of the proceeds will be donated back to PTA. This will enable us to support further PTA initiatives for this upcoming year.
Upcoming PTA News & Events: Your RIS PTA has many exciting events coming in the future.
- Color Games is a week long event that culminates on Friday Oct. 12. We are in the process of selling Spirit Wear T-Shirts for this event. If you are interested, you can still purchase them from this link.
- Picture Day is October 4th so get your smiles ready!
- Movie Night: There will be a second movie night in late October! Hint: One that’ll match the Autumn weather!
- Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Reed during conference week on October 24th - 26th. Be sure to stop by and pick up a new book to read.
- Internet Safety: The students will be hearing a presentation on internet safety in October from expert Scott Driscoll. Please remember to ask your child about it in late October.
- Be Kind Wall: The Reed school will soon have a Be Kind Wall which can be enjoyed for generations to come. This year, every child at Reed will take part in this beautiful artwork.
- Holiday Fair: Later this year, the PTA will be hosting our 2nd Annual Holiday Fair. This event will be held in Mid-December and will give students an opportunity to shop for loved ones for the holiday season. There will be many items to choose from starting at $1 an up!
- School Spirit: Remember to wear your Reed Intermediate School T-shirts that the PTA provided at the start of 5th grade. These are a great way to show your school spirit.
- Staff Appreciation: For all those great cooks and bakers out there, the PTA will be sending out requests for food item donations to honor all of our amazing Teachers and Staff during Conference Week.
- Veterans Day Celebration: The PTA will need your help for food item donations for appreciation of our beloved Veterans in the upcoming Veterans Day Celebration. Be on the lookout for sign up sheets and let’s show them how much we appreciate them!
Please don’t forget to join the Reed Intermediate PTA Facebook page to stay up to date with all that’s happening at Reed by visiting here! Now let’s go have a great year and make some fun memories!!
Kristin Kinsey and Julia Crisci
Reed PTA Co-Presidents
Email Reed PTA: reedptanewtown@gmail.com!
📸Picture Day!📸
Don't forget Thursday, October 4th is Picture Day so get your smiles ready!
🏆Color Games: Blue House vs. Green House!🏆
🏆Color Games!! 🏆
Blue House vs. Green House!
Grand Finale: The Grand Finale is Friday, Oct.12th starting at 6:30 pm.
Winner: The winning House will be announced Monday 10/15
The Color Games is 5 days of events during school to earn points for your House. At the end of each day, we will tally the points and the standings will be announced the following morning. After Friday's grand finale, the final scoring will be done and the winning house will be announced Monday morning.
Color Games Shirts: To get into the spirit and fun of the week, we will be selling Color Game merchandise such as shirts, bandanas, bracelets, glasses and some other fun surprises. Color Games merchandise will be sold the week of the games and the end of the prior week (10/3 - 10/12). Please click the following link for the Color Games Shirts here. We also need a lot of volunteers for this event so be on the look out for more info.
Sign Up: Please sign up for the Color Games Reed PTA Facebook by visiting the page here.
What To Expect: We have some new additions to the games and some favorites will be back!
- Hello Pie Throwing Station!!
- Get Ready for fun, friendship and teamwork!
- Who will get their name on the trophy this year: BLUE HOUSE or GREEN HOUSE?!
📚Book Fair📚
Get ready for the PTA Fall Book Fair!
When: Conference Week: October 24-26th
Students will be shopping during school hours and we will be open during Movie Night drop off! The fair will be full of great titles to keep your kids reading. And it's not too early to shop for the holidays!
What's New:
A New Way To Pay: eWallet eliminates the need to send cash with your kids. Watch for details!
Volunteers Needed!
Please consider signing up for one of the available time slots--the fun includes:
- Manning the Register for check out
- Helping the Students find books
- Helping to keep the Fair neat and organized
- Helping with setup or tear down etc.
If you have never worked a book fair, no worries! There will always be a veteran volunteer available to help.
Sign Up: To sign up, simply click this link: Here.
Library
We're off to a great start in 2018-19!
Your children are getting to know our beautiful Library Media Center (LMC) and many are already checking out books at a furious pace... We are not limiting how many books they can check out this year, and the smiles on their faces seem to indicate that we have a school full of "Reeders!"
Each book is checked out for a period of two cycle weeks, and may be renewed; however, students will not be able to check anything out if they have overdue books on their account... Ask them to share what they’re reading with you, and get ready for some wonderful conversations!
As always, the LMC website here will be our primary source for lessons, assignments and digital resources… and there’s even a section for Parents, so be sure to visit when you have a moment. Also, click here to see the online flyer that I created for Open House this year for basics on the class and my philosophy.
Feel free to contact me at ledinap@newtown.k12.ct.us with any questions - it's going to be a wonderful year!
:) Mrs. Ledina
School Librarian
p.s. We will be starting our first BoxTops for Books challenge program soon… please get your scissors ready, because BoxTops buy Books!!
p.p.s. Would you like to be a part of the LMC team? We are always looking for volunteers… please reach out to Sarah Beier (our fabulous LMC Clerk) at beiers@newtown.k12.ct.us for additional information.
📕Reading Connection📚
Working together for Learning Success. Please click on the following link for the Sept/2018 Edition here.
Reading Specialist
Counselor's Corner
The school counselors have met with all 5th and 6th grade clusters for the first guidance lesson of the year and we discussed the role of a school counselor. Students worked together to answer questions about what school counselors do, where to find us in the building and how we can help.
The link below gives a short description of a school counselor's role in school.
The Power of School Counselors
For more information about the school counselors at Reed, please visit our webpage on the Reed website and click the Departments Tab, and then Guidance or simply go here. We look forward to working with your children this school year!
- Jenny Grustas, Amy McGoldrick and Jen Welton
Wellness World!
Please click on the following link and take a look at our September Issue of Wellness World.
Michelle Y. Failla
Health Educator
🎶Band🎵
Dear Band Parents,
Thank you for your help with the start of the school year to go so smoothly. Many students showed up to school with an instrument ready to go during the first few days of school.
Items Needed:
- At this point all students should have an Instrument in good working order
- Book 1 (red) for 5th grade
- Books 1 and 2 (blue) for 6th grade
- Any extra accessories: such as cleaning swabs, reeds, valve oil etc.
- JC Music (203) 630-0234
- Creative Music (203) 261-7301
- Music and Arts (860) 231-9562
Practice, practice, practice! Please encourage your child to practice at home. Daily focused practice will improve their playing tremendously. Students do not need to spend more than 10-15 minutes. Fifth graders are asked to keep track of their practice time on a calendar that will be collected at the end of every month.
Thank you for your support. It is greatly appreciated! Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Phil Beierle
Bob Nolte
♚Chess Club♛
Sign Up: You can find the permission slips in the main office.
🏈Coach's Corner 🏈
Current Unit: Hello Reed students and families. So far this year, students have participated in Soccer and Ultimate Ball. Ultimate Ball is the same game as Ultimate Frisbee, only it's used with a small soft ball that students catch.
Intramurals: All students are welcome to sign up for Flag Football Intramurals on Mr. Blank website.
Flag Football Intramural Session
When: Tuesdays beginning September 18th - October 30th before school.
Details: Signups are limited to the first 50 students.
Permission Slips: Permission Slips should be returned to Mr. Blank in the P.E. Office and can be found directly on his website here or here.
Please visit us at Aaron Blank and Mrs. Gattey. Also, feel free to email any of us for additional info.
-- Aaron Blank and Beth Gattey
Reed Health Office
Should your child have an injury or accident outside of school requiring a brace, cast, crutches or any accomodations in school, you must have a note from a MD outlining their restrictions and their return date to normal activity. If you were not able to update health information and/or medication permissions in InfoSnap prior to cutoff date, please call us to update our system for the rest of the year.
Hearing and Vision screenings will begin in early October for all fifth grade students. You will be notified only if screening results are outside normal range.
Please contact us with any questions/concerns you may have. Enjoy the fall season.
Reed Health Office: 203-270-4883
Deirdre Murphy, RN
Christine Winner, RN
Join The PTA!
PTA Membership: Become a Member - Join the PTA.
While fundraising covers some of the annual budget, it is your PTA Membership Dues that help fund most of the PTA’s annual budget, which includes the programs & activities mentioned above. We need your support.
The PTA helps make Reed a better school:
- Benefit your child and their school. The number one reason to join PTA is to benefit your child. In doing so, you also help Reed!
- Your voice and opinion matter. It makes a difference when parents speak up. Your voice and ideas can help improve the quality of education for our children.
- Speak Up. PTA can be a way to more effectively suggest change at your child’s school.
- Be Heard. Connect with other parents & make your voice heard
- Support: Joining is a great way to support our school and show that our families are invested.
Even if you are unable to attend PTA meetings or activities, please join to support our school. Joining the PTA doesn’t come with a requirement of attending the PTA meetings, although everyone (even non-members) are welcome! We need your support in order to keep our programs funded and to fulfill our mission. To our members and volunteers, please know that your generous support and enthusiastic participation is greatly appreciated!
- Laura Tashjian
PTA Membership
Thank you to the families who have joined already. Welcome to a new year!
2018‐2019 Reed PTA Executive Board
President: Julia Crisci
President: Kristin Kinsey
Vice President: Caley Gibbons
Treasurer: Melissa Beylouni
Secretary: Sue Shortt
Editor: Shani Mustafa
Editor: Jackie McKendry
Chairs:
Color Games: Deborah DeBlasi
Holiday Fair: Kristin Kinsey
Book Fair: Laura Brennan
Book Fair: Karen Rozman
Membership: Laura Tashjian
Director: Vera Cherepinksky
Movie Night: Erin Siksay
Picture Day: Deborah Deblasi
Email: reedptanewtown@gmail.com
Website: http://reed.newtown.schooldesk.net/Parents/PTA
Reed Intermediate School Administration
Jill Beaudry, Assistant Principal
Betty McFadden, Admin. Asst
NEWTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2018-2019 SCHOOL CALENDAR
Website: http://newtown.reed.schooldesk.net
Location: 3 Trades Ln, Newtown, Connecticut, USA
Phone: (203) 270-4880
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Reed.Intermediate.School/about/?ref=page_internal
Twitter: @RIS_TWEETS
Email The Editors
Please send submissions for The Reed Times to:
Editor: Jackie McKendry
Next Issue: October 26
Deadline: October 19
Email: afshan00@gmail.com
Website: http://reed.newtown.schooldesk.net/Parents/PTA