Scotty Updates
A Newsletter from Scotland Elementary School
Week of October 12, 2020
Scotty Updates
The 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. Thank you!
A Message from Mrs. Katkocin
Dear Scotland Families,
I hope this message finds you all well! We had a fantastic week with all of our in-person learners back in the building! Students and staff were thrilled to be back together.
Last week, I enjoyed lunch with virtual learners from each grade level. It was so nice to connect with our virtual students throughout the week. It was truly the highlight of my days! Thank you to all of our virtual learners for lunching with me. ❤️
School Lunches:
Did you know that school lunches are free for all students every day? All in-school students in grades K-8 are able to get one free meal per day while attending school!
- Any additional food or drink beyond the prepared meal will cost extra and be processed to your child’s lunch program account (i.e. extra slice of pizza, cookies, chips, water, etc.).
- All remote learners, including home schooled students may pick up free meals at our remote meal distribution location at East Ridge Middle School on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 3:00-5:00pm.
- Due to food safety reasons each student may pick up 2 meals on Mondays, up to 2 meals on Wednesdays, and up to 3 meals on Fridays.
Beginning on Friday, October 16th, RPS will be sending home bagged lunches with every Scotland student for Saturday and Sunday. These lunches will include one muffin fun lunch and one cereal fun lunch. Again, these lunches are free of charge to all Ridgefield students. Students will receive these lunches in their homerooms at the end of the day before dismissal. They will be in their backpacks upon returning home. Most of the items in the lunches will be shelf-stable food, though a few items may require refrigeration (i.e. milk). Keep an eye out for these lunches beginning Friday!
- If your family would like to opt out of this free service, kindly contact John Morris, Daryl Speirs, and AnnaMarie Williams to let them know. (John.Morris2@compass-usa.com, Daryl.Speirs@compass-usa.com, awilliams@ridgefieldps.net)
Dismissal:
Our dismissal process has been working smoothly, and I am incredible grateful for your patience and flexibility as we navigate the space we have to use. We will continue to work with Ridgefield Police this week to ensure a safe, efficient pickup at Scotland! Just a few dismissal reminders as we head into the week...
- Please be sure to enter dismissal information into School Dismissal Manager. If a family arrives to pick up a student whose name is not entered in SDM, the family will be asked to park, and then sign out their child with our security guard. This is to ensure the safety of each and every student.
- Please have your students name(s) visible in the front windshield on the passenger side of the car. This will allow our staff to call students for dismissal in the most efficient way possible.
- In the pick up line, students MUST enter the car on the passenger side of the car. We cannot have students walking between cars to enter from the driver's side. If your child must enter on the driver's side, please park your car, and one of our staff members will walk your child to you.
- If you need to help your child buckle, or perhaps open a snack for their ride home, kindly park the car in one of the available spots to do so.
If your K-2 child is going to remain a temporary remote learner, please complete this form, and email both your classroom teacher and Mrs. Anderson at canderson@ridgefieldps.net to notify us.
Wishing you all a wonderful week!
Kind regards,
Jill
Snaps around Scotland 📷
5th grade science experiment
Mrs. Ward's 2nd grade class
Socially distant students in the hallway
School Pictures! 📸
QUESTIONS??
Parents w/ 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
RETAKES??
- If your child was absent on Picture Day or you are unhappy with your child's picture, retakes will be taken on October 21st
- Be sure to send the picture package in with your child on 10/21.
- Please email Aida Clarkin at aida0721@yahoo.com to schedule a retake.
REMOTE PICTURES??
- Remote families who took pictures can pick up their school pictures in the bin outside of the school beginning Thursday, 10/8
A Note from Mrs. Martire
If your child is ill or has been exposed to Covid-19 please contact me at 894-5825 extension 6575 or email me at lmartire@ridgefieldps.net.
Attached below is the letter that was sent out from the RPS nurses at the start of the school year for your reference. It includes a link to Addendum 5 ( also attached below: link to CT Guidelines) which was a collaborative effort by the Connecticut State Department of Education and the State Department of Public Health to provide schools districts with guidance and protocols for responding to specific Covid-19 scenarios that may occur with school reopening.
Due to COVID health and safety concerns, any student with any one of the potential COVID symptoms (cough, difficulty breathing, fever or chills, fatigue, muscle or body ache, headache, new loss or taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea) must remain home until the CSDE and CT DPH guidance is met in accordance with Addendum 5.
Addendum 5 has several scenarios based on symptoms and exposure. Becoming familiar with the document will be helpful as I will be referring to this often this year as we continue to experience this global pandemic.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions .
Stay well,
Lisa Martire
Gentle Reminders...
- All students should bring their chromebooks back and forth from school to home daily.
- Literacy kits (black drawstring bag) and math kits (Ziploc bags) should also come back and forth from school to home daily unless otherwise indicated by your child's teacher.
- Please make sure you pack your child a water bottle each day! As a health and safety measure, our water fountains have been disabled.
- Payments for lunch can be paid through the School Online Payment Portal. Please see link below.
Virtual Learning Reminders:
- Students will be visible to the teacher and other participating students (please remind your child to have their camera on throughout the lessons).
- Parents are encouraged to have their students independently participate via a location that is quiet and free of distraction, to the extent possible. Other individuals in the home are not permitted to participate in or be visible on the video conference, or otherwise observe the lesson, other than reasonable adult supervision of the student.
- Parents and students are prohibited from recording video conferencing sessions. The district will not be recording any classes/sessions.
- Depending on each student’s individual circumstance, teachers or service providers may request the facilitation of the supervising adult to assist the student in engaging in the session.
- In addition, if your child needs to leave for a period of time during instruction (i.e. doctor or dentist appointment), please notify the classroom teacher ahead of time, just as you would if they were in the building.
Thank you so much for your partnership in making this experience a success!
School Dismissal Manager
We 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!
Events and Happenings
WEEK AT A GLANCE:
Monday, October 12th:
- No School - Columbus Day
Tuesday, October 13th:
- A day
Wednesday, October 14th:
- B day
Thursday, October 15th:
- C day
Friday, October 16th:
- D day
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 21st:
- Picture Retake Day
If your child missed their school picture day please contact Aida Clarkin with your student’s name and teacher at Aida0721@yahoo.com
Thursday, October 29th:
- Early Dismissal Day: Dismissal will begin at 11:30am
- Students will be involved in "asynchronous" (not live teaching) activities in the afternoon from home
A Note from Our PTA
Congratulations to Mrs. JP's class!
Thank you to the parents in Mrs. JP's class for having the highest percentage of PTA membership! The class has won a pizza lunch with Mrs. Katkocin.
It isn't too late!! We need your support. To join the PTA, visit our website: www.scotlandpta.org and click “Join the PTA!”
Email scotlandelementaryPTA@gmail.com if you have any questions!
Scotland Teacher Appreciation from the PTA ❤️
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