Our next PTO meeting is on Monday, April 4th and we will have the Director of Administration and Finance for Chariho, Ned Draper, there to review the budget that is set to go to vote on 4/5/22 at the Hopkinton Town Hall from 8 am to 8 pm. Please come listen and ask questions.

Click on the link to view the FY23 Chariho Budget Flyer: https://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=56639637

MARCH 2022

3/25 - Report Cards Distributed

3/25 - BINGO Night (has reached capacity...confirmations were sent home last week)

3/29 - PCR Collection Screening Event

3/31 - Talent Show Permission Slips are due (see information below)

APRIL 2022

4/4 - PTO Meeting (6:30 in the library)

4/5 - PCR Collection Screening Event

4/5 - Chariho Budget Referendum (Voting will be at the 3 Town Halls)

4/6 - RICAS ELA Testing Session 1 > Grade 3

4/7 - RICAS ELA Testing Session 2 > Grade 3

4/12 - PCR Collection Screening Event

4/12 - RICAS ELA Testing Session 1 > Grade 4

4/13 - RICAS ELA Testing Session 2 > Grade 4

4/15 - No School for students and staff

4/18-4/22 - Spring Recess - No School

4/26 - PCR Collection Screening Event

MAY 2022

5/3 - PCR Collection Screening Event

5/3 - RICAS Math Testing Session 1 > Grade 3

5/4 - RICAS Math Testing Session 2 > Grade 3

5/5 - RICAS Math Testing Session 1 > Grade 4

5/6 - RICAS Math Testing Session 2 > Grade 4

5/9 - PTO Meeting (6:30 in the library)

5/9 - SIT meeting (5:00 in the library)

5/10 - PCR Collection Screening Event

5/11 - State PD Day for teachers (DL day for students)

5/17 - PCR Collection Screening Event

5/18 - Early Release Day (PM PreK attends)

5/24 - PCR Collection Screening Event

5/30 - No School for students and staff

JUNE 2022

6/14 - Field Day (rain date of 6/15)

6/21 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL (as of 3/1/22)

As you know, we work very hard to make a child’s experience at school a positive one. Typically, when there is a problem that comes to my level, I am able to resolve the problem, give strategies, and keep issues from happening again. If that doesn’t work, I incorporate other school professionals to help remedy the problem. I am telling you this because I believe in the importance of being transparent. With that said, I want to inform families of my recent concerns as a whole.

Let me state that your children’s safety is (and will always be) my top priority. So, I want to reiterate that your children are safe. My concerns may seem minor but are very important to how the school functions on a day-to-day basis. Although this may not be true for all students, I have noticed a global lack of kindness; and good manners have been inconsistent. We are noticing unkind comments/actions, teasing, disrespect, inappropriate language, insubordination & even some disregard of adults throughout the school. I do address the issues when they are brought to my attention but soon thereafter these problems reappear. As adults we are modeling and reiterating these intrinsic values. Our goal is to reestablish and grow the community feeling at Hope Valley School.

I will be the first to say that the pandemic didn’t help, especially for our youngest learners. The lack of social play, wearing of masks, isolation, etc. certainly added to this dilemma. But we, as a school community, need to instill the importance of showing kindness and practicing good manners at school every single day. As a staff, we met this week to discuss next steps on how to instill kindness and good manners. Our ultimate target is for ALL students to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. Stay tuned for a school-wide initiative focusing on these areas.

In the meantime, I’d appreciate it if families can have a discussion with children over the weekend about spreading kindness and practicing good manners. I want to thank you for your support and cooperation. If you have any questions, please reach out to your classroom teacher or me.

Continuing our Reading Week Celebrations - new hula hoops were purchased from our fabulous PTO and a new book Hula Hoopin' Queen. Thank you PTO!

More than 80 students participated in our February break reading challenge and our showcases look amazing! Each student received a certificate for a BONUS BOOK CHECKOUT at their favorite school library.

Check out the link below to view some incredible reading week pictures. enjoy!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/c1xQzXRKxRgL9iANA

Mrs. Zonfrilli's famous Talent Show is back! A flyer went out this week to all students. You can view it by clicking the link below. The permission slips are due by March 31. If your child has talent and wants to show it off, please have him/her particpate. Any questions, please contact Mrs. Z at deb.zonfrilli@chariho.k12.ri.us.

Flyer: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jL27u5GCxDpMW33YDn18sOD_vTA5JqjuQAfXKe-QZAs/edit?usp=sharing

Good Afternoon,

We wanted to take this opportunity to provide everyone with our Chariho School Budget Updates and District Highlights, click here to review. The All-Day Referendum for the School Budget is being held on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, from 8 am-8 pm.

Thank you for your continued partnership.

Take care,

Gina Picard

Superintendent

For any community member who is interested in being part of the Hope Valley School Improvement Team, please complete the SIT application by March 31 (link is below).

The purpose of the SIT is to provide input and monitor the School Improvement Plan for continuous improvement based on the District Strategic Plan, data, and feedback provided by school and district-based teams. The SIT will provide voice and an avenue for communication from each building to their school community and the larger district community regarding progress toward the schools strategic goals and objectives. The SIT will also be integral to the participatory governance of the school. You can find more information by reading the policy on the Chariho website.

Click on the link to apply >>>> https://forms.gle/xpy6yY19v8av46QMA

https://sites.google.com/charihochargers.org/chs-school-store/home

Families have the opportunity to get your child COVID-19 tested using the antigen (or rapid) test at school if your child develops symptoms. This is NOT part of our weekly PCR testing. Therefore, if a child is already in the weekly PCR testing, you will also need to complete this form for antigen testing. What is great about this option is that we get the results within 15 minutes.

BY COMPLETING THE GOOGLE FORM LINK BELOW, YOU ARE GIVING CONSENT FOR YOUR CHILD TO PARTICIPATE IN ANTIGEN COVID TESTING AT SCHOOL. CLICK ON THE LINK TO ACCESS THE GOOGLE FORM TO OPT-IN TO ANTIGEN TESTING.

https://forms.gle/qGwoXXuFFmPvZytz9

Welcome, Class of 2035!

Kindergarten Registration is NOW OPEN!!! Child must be 5 on or before September 1. You can begin the process by visiting our registration website linked HERE. We have transitioned to electronic registrations. Paper copies are available upon request. If you have any questions please contact Kerri Fisher at Kerri.Fisher@chariho.k12.ri.us or call 401-364-3260.

**For New Chariho Kindergarten Students NOT in a Chariho Preschool program**

For any new student registering for Kindergarten and is NOT in a Chariho PreK program, you will pre-register online HERE. If you have any questions (401-539-2321).

**For students currently enrolled in the Chariho Preschool program**

Specific to Chariho PreK families ONLY, parents will need to log into your Parent PowerSchool at PowerSchool Public Portal and complete the form called Intent to attend Kindergarten in Chariho. For step-by-step directions on how to do this, please see Chariho Preschool Parents.pdf directly below. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact central registration at 401-364-3260 or send an email at Kerri.Fisher@chariho.k12.ri.us. You can also call Donna Sunderland if you need help logging into PowerSchool at 401-539-2321.

The Volunteer Policy states:

The School Committee recognizes that one of the resources of a school is to be found in the people of the community who have interest, time, knowledge, and talents to contribute to school programs. The Committee, therefore, encourages the use of community resources and citizens to assist in improving academic, extracurricular and athletic programs. The Chariho Regional School District screens volunteers to evaluate potential risk of harm to students or staff. Information obtained is not an automatic bar to volunteer work, but is considered in view of all relevant circumstances. All volunteers in the Chariho Regional School District must be at least 18 years of age and must agree to an annual Rhode Island Bureau of Criminal Identification background investigation. Screenings will be conducted at no cost to the volunteer. Also required is a signed Volunteer Protocol form. A list of approved chaperones will be available in each of the District schools and each principal/director shall coordinate the use of school volunteers in his/her building.

Below is the RICAS testing schedule. A letter went home to all grade 3 and 4 students on March 1st. Please have your child attend school on time on the dates that they test. We will start testing promptly at 9:00 am. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated!

Practice Dates for both 3rd and 4th grades

• March 29 (ELA)
• March 30 (Math)

3rd grade

• ELA April 6th and 7th
• Math May 3rd and 4th

4th grade

• ELA April 12th and 13th
• Math May 5th and 6th

Invitations - We can once again hand out invitations to celebrations. As a reminder, if invitations go out they MUST go out to all students in the classroom.

Students Late to School - If you are bringing your child to school late, the expectation is that you come to the front door of the school to sign your child in. For safety reasons, please do not leave your child at the school to walk to the front door by themselves.

Absences - If your child is going to be absent, please call the school office at 401-539-2321. If your child happens to test positive for COVID, PLEASE be sure to email Nurse Tara, Ms. Donna, and Mr. G with that information.

• Nurse Tara: Tara.McAloon@chariho.k12.ri.us
• Ms. Donna: Donna.Sunderland@chariho.k12.ri.us
• Mr. G, Principal: giuseppe.gencarelli@chariho.k12.ri.us

Student Devices - Students in grades 1-4 have devices that MUST go back and forth to and from school everyday. Please ensure your child has his/her charged chromebook on a daily basis.

Snow/DL Day Information - Devices will need to be used if there is a snow day. Please see information regarding DL days for inclement weather days here. The emergency plan used as last resort is linked here as well. In case of a DL day I will be sure to inform parents like I did for the Jan 7th DL day.

Dismissal - Parent pick up for students in K-4 are arriving while prek dismissal is happening. PLEASE be mindful of our pre-school population and do not arrive prior to 3:10. The entire dismissal process for K-4 takes roughly 10-12 min. We have some amazing staff getting our students out quickly and safely.

Peanut & Tree Nut Free School - We continue to be a nut free school which means no peanut butter and no tree nuts including Nutella.

TOYS - Please make sure that your children do not take any toys from home to school. We continue to see an uptick in this and it is causing problems at school.

Identification - PLEASE be sure parents who are picking up children early from school have proper identification with them when they come to the front door. Ms. Donna is not always the one in the office and we must verify who is picking up the children. Thank you for your undivided attention to this request.

Parking at HVES - The parking spots that are numbered in the school lot are for staff ONLY. We are having issues with parents dropping off children in the morning and taking up a staff parking spot which is causing staff members to be late which is becoming problematic. Also, some staff end up getting blocked since we have double parking at the end of the day. If parents need to come to the building, PLEASE either park in front of the school or at Langworthy Field and walk up the stairs to the main front door.

Here are the PTO meeting dates for the rest of the year. All parents are welcome to attend any of the PTO meetings. Hope to see you there!

April 4th at 6:30pm

May 9th at 6:30pm

PTO Members

Co-President: Kristin Clarke > kristinc49@aol.com

Co-President: Leah Sousa > leah.sousa@hotmail.com

Treasurer: Stephanie DaPonte > sdaponte14@gmail.com

Secretary: Chloe Morgan > cmako28@yahoo.com

Communication: Chelsea Vandeveer> chelseabaker101@yahoo.com

School Contact Information

School Principal: Giuseppe Gencarelli – Giuseppe.Gencarelli@chariho.k12.ri.us

School Secretary: Donna Sunderland – Donna.Sunderland@chariho.k12.ri.us

School Webpage: https://hopevalley.chariho.k12.ri.us/

School Contact Info: Phone - 401-539-2321 Fax - 401-633-7099