RPS Update
October 6, 2023
Dear Families, Faculty, and Staff,
And just like that, it's October….One of our priorities this school year is to spend more time with the student body to learn more about the experience of RPS through the student lens. A theme that is emerging is the importance of having connections with peers and adults. Relationships matter. As I reflect on my own school experience or that of my children, I can relate. I’m sure you can too.
My colleagues and I spent time visiting our schools and classrooms this week. These visits allow us to see the implementation of our new resources and curriculum by our teachers. Further, we are reminded of the developmental journey of a child beginning with the kindergarten experience. If you have questions about developmental or academic milestones, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or school principal.
We will have another shortened week in recognition of Columbus Day & Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, October 9. Our Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 10, as a reminder, you may watch from home or attend in person.
Enjoy your weekend; it looks like another wet one.
Susie
Susie Da Silva, Ed.D
Instagram: rpssuper
Quote of the Week
“For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Important District News and Reminders
Ridgefield Tiger Talk is back for its fourth season! To start us off we welcome guest Cory Gillette, the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction. We discuss some of this year’s district goals, items that we’ll be studying, updates to Visual & Performing Arts, and much more. Thanks for listening!
Transportation Department News—Bus App Rollout
RPS is excited to introduce a new and innovative solution that should enhance the safety and convenience of your child's school bus transportation experience. As part of an ongoing effort to ensure the well-being of our students, we have implemented a state-of-the-art bus tracking system called "FirstView Bus Tracking," provided by First Student. To get started with FirstView Bus Tracking, please visit the following link: FirstView GPS Bus Tracking. The website provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up your account and start using the platform. We know with any new implementation, there will be some challenges. FirstView Customer Support will be available Monday-Friday from 7:00 a.m. EST to 5:00 p.m. EST
Fifth-Grade Literacy Teams Visit Middle Schools
Elementary Teachers Receive Rock Star Reception and Lessons in Looking Ahead
This week fifth-grade teachers and elementary literacy coaches visited East Ridge and Scotts Ridge Grade 6 classrooms. The essential question, explained Elementary Director Linda Johnson, was “How can we better understand our students’ routines, engagement, and readiness during transition years?”
The sixth graders’ joy at seeing their former teachers was palpable and heart-warming. It was as though rock stars had entered the building with students jumping up and down and respectfully mobbing their former fifth-grade teachers with hugs and high fives.
After the warm welcome, fifth-grade teachers observed lessons and talked to ERMS students about book clubs and vocabulary in their reading they might not be familiar with. At SRMS, teachers caught the end of the short story unit and students were writing about their reading.
“This kind of observation of student routines and behaviors gives insights on how students learn and engage with their peers and teachers, which will help support student readiness during transition years,” explains Grade 6-12 Humanities Supervisor Dr. Annie Tucci. “We appreciate the middle school teachers’ preparation and the elementary teachers making time to see the middle school experience. Forging relationships between teachers at the transition levels (elementary to middle school and middle to high school) is important. It’s not easy to find time in teachers’ schedules for them to visit other buildings, but it makes our students’ transitions much smoother.”
RPS Math Leader Shapes State Equity Policy
In September the Connecticut State Board of Education (SBE) endorsed Equity in Mathematics Education: A Joint Position Statement for Connecticut expressing their support and commitment to equitable mathematics education for all students across Connecticut.
RPS Grade 6-12 Math and Science Supervisor Jeffrey Corbishley was part of the leadership team shaping this guiding document. SBE expressed appreciation to Mr. Corbishley and other Connecticut math leaders for their “partnership in promoting opportunities and growth in mathematics, making higher levels of achievement possible!”
Social and Emotional Learning Spotlight
Walk and Wonder at RHS
A group of ninth graders enjoy a "Walk and Wonder" flex session with Ms. Lori Bran, RHS Counselor, as they start their day with a calm and mindful activity.
Workshop! Staying Sane on the Journey to College
RPS Is Hiring—Van Drivers Needed
RPS has four vans and is looking for drivers to transport students in or out of the District.
Lunch Payment Reminder
RPS switched to My School Bucks (MSB) for lunch payments this year. MSB is a highly-rated lunch software program that many school districts across the country use. Please use the links on the Food Services website to learn how to set up an account and more information.
Families can also pay for lunch with cash or by check made out to Ridgefield School Lunch.
Please Check the eBackpack
Please help us in our effort to go green by checking students' e-Backpacks! Organizations that meet the RPS policy may submit their request for inclusion to cmelagrano@ridgefieldps.net. Thank you!
In the Classroom
Tiger TV Launches—Morning Show and New Partnerships!
Media Production Students Earn Quinnipiac Credit
Anyone paying college tuition knows $175 for a three-credit class is a bargain. That's exactly what 13 RHS and Alternative High School students enrolled in the new Media Productions class have to pay to receive three Quinnipiac credits. This outstanding relationship with Quinnipiac is just one of the many partnerships Media Productions teacher Katie Blake has formed to benefit her students.
Yesterday Ms. Blake attended the teacher session for Fox61 student news at the University of New Haven and heard all about their program, the awards for the 2023-2024 school year, and the processes for submitting. Her completion of this class will allow RHS students to refer to themselves as TigerTV and Fox61 student news reporters. Submissions that students send in could air during the Fox61 newscasts!
Ms. Blake further reports that RHS has partnered with Comcast Channel 23 and its director Jonathan Cappiello to support the learning and experience for students. Mr. Cappiello will attend after-school open studio sessions with Ms. Blake, attend some classes for training, and allow students to use the Channel's studio. An agreement to air RPS student-produced content on Comcast Channel 23 is pending district signature but looks promising.
On campus, Tiger TV held its first open studio after school yesterday to film the senior varsity football players—complete with lighting and a fog machine! And, the first episode of the Morning Show will air on Monday, October 16 during Advisory. Ms. Blake, do you sleep?:)
Lesson On Hispanic Artists Teachers Colors, Shapes, and History
Scotts Ridge sixth graders have only been studying Spanish for six weeks but you would never know it during a recent Gallery Walk. In Spanish, students noted shapes and colors in work by famed Hispanic artists like Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, and Frida Kahlo. Students had collaborated to replicate paintings from these masters in a lesson that combined proficiency, fluency, vocabulary, art appreciation, and celebration during Hispanic Heritage Month.
The HeART of RPS
All RPS Art Show Is a Smash!
The first All RPS Art Show was a great way to celebrate the Visual Arts. Families and staff turned out to tour the beautiful East Ridge gallery and see student progression. Thank you to the RPS art teachers for their amazing curatorial efforts and to families for turning out to see the art.
Please see more photos from the four-night opening below.
Save the Date—FALL PLAY
November 2, 3, & 4 @ 7 pm
The Play That Goes Wrong
RHS Auditorium
Tickets Go On Sale on October 15
New Directions for RHS Theater
The Director of the RHS fall play, Jacquie Militano, put a lot of time into choosing which play they would produce. “I wanted to make people laugh. We all need that right now. I wanted students and families to come to the Thursday show and say to all their friends, ‘You have to see this play.” She chose the popular “The Play That Goes Wrong,” which many have enjoyed on Broadway and in London.
Ms. Militano has taught theater and directed plays in Westchester and New York for decades and worked at ACT this summer but didn’t expect to be able to step right into a role in the district. “It was kind of a kismet. I just started talking to Liz Karlan (RHS Dean) at a kid’s birthday party and she introduced me to Michael McNamara.”
“The timing was incredible," writes VPA Chair Michael McNamara. "Within days of hearing from Jacquie about her interest in becoming involved in our theater program, I learned that our beloved theater director of 29 years was retiring. It was the end of the school year, so we didn’t have a lot of notice to find a replacement. Jacquie struck us immediately with her experience, poise, and positivity. She’s been a joy to work with, as has Jane Tulley who has taken over the curricular theater classes. They have a wonderful dynamic working together. The kids are responding well to both of them and there is a new energy and excitement. I can’t wait to see it!”
English and theater teacher Jane Tulley is the Assistant Director. During Wednesday’s rehearsal, Ms. Tulley led the students through a Zumba warm-up. The kids followed her Bollywood and Latin moves with gusto, reflecting her energy back.
During a five-minute break Ms. Militano and Tulley remark on the strength of the students. “These students (and their families) are so great. They run costumes, and make-up, and are the stage managers.” Senior Ella (Elisabet) Sigurdsson, for example, will do the make-up and is an understudy. Shelby Lewis is the stage manager.
“We were pleasantly surprised with how many students are involved,” says Militano. “I expected twenty total and we have that many ninth graders. And that many seniors.”
Stay tuned to RPS Update for news from rehearsals. Mark your calendars for this play, where “anything that can go wrong, does go wrong.”
Ticket Sales Will Support Choirs at Carnegie Hall!
Submitted by RHS Chorus Teacher, Lauren Verney-Fink
Looking for an enjoyable activity for a winter Sunday? Consider taking a trip into NYC to hear thirty six of our Ridgefield high school and 8th grade choir students sing John Rutter's "Magnificat" on Sunday Jan. 7, 2024 at Carnegie Hall! They will sing alongside 175 other singers and full orchestra under the baton of John Rutter himself! We hope you'll purchase tickets through our Carnegie Ticket Fundraiser. 20% of these group sale tickets will benefit our choir students. The fundraiser closes on Tues. Oct. 17
Student Spotlight—Roma Peressutti
Summer Service Trip Inspires Perspective Change
Ridgefield High School senior Roma Peressutti met five-year-old Barrack on her first day in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya, Africa, and the second-largest slum in the world. “He just came up to me and gave me a big hug,” Roma explains, “And never left my side the rest of my time there. I’d miss him when I left the school for the day.” Roma was in Kenya on the Crossing Thresholds Program, a New Canaan nonprofit, with the mission to provide food and schools for the children of Kibera.
“I think about my experience in Africa every day,” Roma says, “It completely changed my world.” In fact, Roma is babysitting after school to raise the funds to get back to Kenya (and Barrack) for two weeks this January. She says she’s committed to mentoring Barrack and making sure he gets access to what he needs. “The government doesn’t provide food, housing, or education to the people living in Kibera,” Roma explains. She sponsors Barrack and regularly touches base with his single mother over video chat. “I plan for him to stay in school and will pay for him to go to boarding school when he is older.”
Roma will take her commitment to Barrack with her when she starts at the University of California Davis next year, where she will play lacrosse.
Photos from the Week
All RPS Art Show
Zumba Gets RHS Cast Moving
Football Game Honors Logan Hale
On Saturday, the RPS community flocked to Tiger Hollow for the Logan Hale Memorial Football game. Students and families wore Logan Project t-shirts to raise awareness and funds of the charity, which provides gaming consoles to hospitals so kids can stay in touch with friends and family during treatment.
Think Pink for Breast Cancer!
Many RHS athletic teams (like these field hockey players raising funds for Necessities Bags) and clubs are thinking pink in October for Breast Cancer awareness! Thank you to local businesses and organizations for their support.
East Ridge Plants Bulbs
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