What's Happening at the Hive
Issue #8: February Edition
The communication below provides important information from the Florida Ruffin Ridley School.
Translations and accessibility options are available at the right side of the page.
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- Vietnamese: Nhấn vào đây để truy cập bản dịch tiếng Việt.
The Buzz
Hello Florida Ruffin Ridley School Families and Friends,
Happy February!
Every year, each public school and school district in Massachusetts receives a report card. Just as your child’s report card shows how they are doing in different subjects, the school’s report card is designed to show families how our school is doing in different areas. A link your school’s report card can be found below:
00460015 - Brookline - Florida Ruffin Ridley School
The report card includes multiple measures of a school’s performance – more than just MCAS scores. It represents a new way of looking at school performance, by providing information on student achievement, teacher qualifications, student learning opportunities, and more.
Report cards are designed to be useful tools for everyone connected to our school. Families can use the information to have meaningful conversations with us about what the school is doing well and where there is room for improvement. Community and education leaders can use the information to better understand how to support students and our school.
You will notice on our report card that we are continuing to make great strides toward academic outcomes for all students. To improve student performance in our school, we will be narrowing down out instructional focus on Mathematics and student engagement. We encourage you to become involved in helping us improve our school. We see parents as critical partners in the success of our students and school, and we are grateful for your continued support.
Finally, because your child attends a school that receives federal Title I funds, you also have the right to request the following information about the qualifications of your child’s classroom teachers:
· Whether your child’s teacher is licensed in the grade levels and subject areas they teach,
· Whether your child’s teacher is teaching under an emergency license or waiver,
· The college degree and major of your child’s teacher, and
· Whether your child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.
If you have questions about our school’s report card, would like to become involved in school improvement activities, or would like to request information about the qualifications of your child’s classroom teacher, please contact candice_whitmore@psbma.org. To see our district’s report card or to search for other schools’ report cards, visit reportcards.doe.mass.edu.
Thanks for all that you do,
Principal Whitmore
Upcoming Events
Friday, Feb.2nd- 6th-8th Report Cards Published, K-5 Progress Reports
Wednesday, Feb.7th- NAEP Testing (4th grade)
Thursday, Feb. 8th - NAEP Testing (8th grade)
Saturday, February 10th- STEM Fair
Friday, February 16th- HIVE PRIDE Day
Feb.19th-23rd- February Vacation (No School)
Safety Drop-off and Pick up Reminders
With the mornings getting colder each day we are noticing more students arriving to and leaving school by vehicle. A few reminders:
There is NO driving in the front loop between 7:45 - 8:15am and 2:15 - 2:45pm (1:30-1:50pm on Fridays). Please do not move the baracades.
You may either park on Harvard and walk your student to the front door, or have them walk themselves, OR drive up Stedman Street and use the LIVE PARKING ONLY left lane to drop off
The left lane on Stedman Street is for LIVE PARKING ONLY
Please do not exit your vehicle when dropping off or picking up when parked on the left side of Stedman Street
Also when pulling back out into traffic on Stedman please be careful to look for pedestrians and cyclists
Please do not park on the RIGHT side of Stedman Street for arrival and dismissal. We want to be good neighbors and not disturb the flow of traffic in the neighborhood.
If you are dismissing your child(ren) early from school, you must physically be present at the school’s main entrance on Harvard Street and ring the bell prior to your child(ren) being allowed to leave the school. As a reminder, please do not call or text your child(ren) with dismissal plans during the school day as they are not allowed to use their phones during the day here in school.
Lunar New Year (2.10.24)
Lunar New Year is a time-honored celebration that signifies the beginning of the Chinese lunar calendar. Multiple cultures within Asia celebrate it, including but not limited to the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures. Embraced by diverse cultures, Lunar New Year is marked by vibrant traditions, symbolizing renewal, familial unity, and the pursuit of good fortune. In 2024, we welcome the Year of the Dragon, a symbol of strength and auspicious beginnings.
FRR- SEPAC Team
Hello, we would like to introduce ourselves as the Sepac (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) Liaisons for FRR for the 2023- 2024 school year. Please feel free to reach out to us if we can support you in any way or assist in navigating the special education process. We can be reached via email: Tamar Davis Galper sunshine444@gmail.com and Melissa Barden: medwyer@hotmail.com. You can also refer to the Sepac website for further information and resources: https://www.brooklinesepac.org/
STEM Fair
Parent volunteers at FRR, including PTO members, are hosting the annual FRR Science / STEM Fair on Saturday, February 10.
The Fair is a voluntary activity for students to complete outside of school as an opportunity to apply their science and engineering knowledge. All grades, pre-K to 8th grade, are welcome to join.
Science / STEM Fair at FRR
- Date: Saturday, February 10, 2024
- Time: 9 AM - 12 PM
- Location: FRR school student cafeteria, first floor (enter through the rear playground doors)
- Register: To register your student(s) to participate, click here.
- Fair website: https://www.sciencefair.ruffinridleypto.org/
The theme of this year's fair is "Improving Our Community," but your student is invited to create a project on any topic that they find interesting!
If you have questions or would like more information, you can email the STEM Fair team at science@ruffinridleypto.org.
LGBTQ+ Task Force and PTO
The LGBTQ+ Task Force and PTOs are hosting a training for parents who have LGBTQ+ Youth in Brookline Schools on February 5th at 7pm. This Zoom event will be led by Emily Lunardi, with additional local resources shared by staff and parents from the Task Force.
Here is the Zoom link:
https://psbma-org.zoom.us/j/99888637185
Meeting ID: 998 8863 7185
MCAS Dates for Spring
Statewide assessments help parents, students, educators, and policymakers determine where districts, schools, and students are meeting expectations and where they need additional support. To increase our understanding of school performance, Student Assessment Services develops and administers the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) and, for students with significant learning challenges, the MCAS Alternate Assessment. Please see the schedule below for MCAS Testing at the Ruffin Ridley School!
ELA Testing :
Grades 3,4,5
March 26th -Session 1
March 27th- Session 2
Make-up date March 28th
Grades 6,7,8
April 2nd- Session 1
April 4th- Session 2
Make-up date: April 5th
Math Testing:
Grades 3,4,5
May 7th- Session 1
May 8th- Session 2
Make-up date: May 9th
Grades 6,7,8
May 14th- Session 1
May 15TH- Session 2
Make-up date May 16th
Science:
FRR- Grades 5 and 8
May 22nd Session 1
May 23rd- Session 2
Make-up date May 24th
Grade 8 Civics Field Test:
June 4th- Session 1
June 5th Session 2
Make-up date June 6th
Student Newspaper
The Biweekly Buzz is Florida Ruffin Ridley’s new newspaper club! It’s an all-inclusive writing experience for all grades. Meetings are held in room 321 on Mondays from 2:35-3:00pm. Editions will be published every other week on Friday. We would love to have more students join us!
Happenings around the HIVE
The Florida Ruffin Ridley School
Email: candice_whitmore@psbma.org
Website: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/ruffinridley
Location: 345 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA, USA
Phone: 617-879-4400
Twitter: @TheHiveInCC