Scotty Updates
A Newsletter from Scotland Elementary School
Week of October 16, 2023
Scotty Updates
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.
A Message from Jill & Tim
Dear Scotland families,
Iβm sending you this message as a reminder of our school security process. At this week's PTA meeting, the topic of security was raised and while we discussed our current measures in this small group, it highlighted the opportunity to review and explain the process to the wider SES community.
First, I want to be sure that our families know that the goal of security in school is not to limit parent involvement, but rather to ensure that when we welcome guests in our school we know who is in our school and the purpose of their visit. By knowing this, we can provide our entire school community a sense of security so they may maximize their time and focus on students. We value the involvement of our Scotland families tremendously, and recognize that the time and effort that our parents volunteer contributes to making Scotland the amazing place that it is!
As you know, in Ridgefield, the safety and security of our students and staff has always been our top priority, with a greater emphasis this year with a new security model and the addition of our new School Security Officer, Mr. Marks. School safety and security are a primary concern for both the Ridgefield school district and districts across the nation. Children, administrators, and their families deserve to feel safe inside our educational facilities and on school grounds. A physically safe and secure school environment ensures that our students and staff feel emotionally secure as well. When children feel safe, they are better able to focus on their learning, build positive relationships, and develop their social skills.
This year, as in the past few years, all visitors must have an appointment to enter Ridgefield Public Schools during the school day. Prior to coming to Scotland, all visitors should have signed our 2023-2024 Visitor Form. When visitors come into Scotland, we ask that you kindly remain outside of the main entrance until Mr. Marks brings you into the building. To maintain a safe environment, one person will be permitted to enter the building at a time. Though it may seem impolite, please do not hold the door for others, as this creates a less safe environment.
Once inside the building, you will need to have your driver's license ready. Mr. Marks will verify your appointment and scan your license through our system. You will be presented with a badge, which we ask that you wear throughout your visit, so we can identify you as a visitor during your time at Scotland. This allows our staff to know that you have followed the procedure and checked in through security.
We believe that education is an ongoing journey, and safety plays a pivotal role in ensuring that this journey remains uninterrupted. A continuous learning environment means that students can explore, take risks, and learn without interruption. As such, we ask that you please head directly to the location you have indicated you will be visiting. Stopping in other locations may be disruptive and interrupt the learning process of your child and others.
We appreciate your understanding that for the safety and focus of our students, we kindly request that only parents or guardians attend events/volunteer opportunities within the elementary school building during the school day. This practice helps ensure a secure and conducive learning environment for all students.
We understand that ensuring safety is a dynamic process, and we are committed to collaborating with our Director of Safety and Security, School Security Officer, and School Resource Officer to ensure our methods are in line with best practices and to refine our methods to provide the safest learning environment for our students and staff. Again, we recognize the balance of parental involvement and safety and are working to ensure that these can happen simultaneously. We look forward to your next visit to Scotland, where you can continue to be a fundamental part of your childβs educational experience.
Kind regards,
Jill
Halloween π
It is hard to believe, but Halloween is going to be here soon! We are getting very excited for this festive day. We will celebrate at Scotland on Tuesday, October 31st. All students in grades K-5 are invited to wear Halloween costumes to school. If your child would prefer not to wear their costume to school, they are welcome to participate in a Scotty Spirit day instead.
Each teacher will engage students in curriculum throughout the day. Our classroom based Halloween parties will take place toward the end of the day, at the teacher's discretion to ensure that students are engaged and learning throughout the day at school. We would like to ask the following to ensure safety of all students and staff:
- If students choose to dress up, please have them come dressed to school in their costume, as there will not be a space for them to change once here.
- Costumes must allow easy bathroom use so students can independently use the restroom.
- To ensure safety, costumes may not include props or masks, and please limit makeup to the eyes only.
- Kindly refrain from sending your child in an inflatable or any other distracting costume.
- Please encourage your child to choose a costume with a non-violent theme. Costumes should be βkindergarten friendlyβ (not scary or gory). Gentle storybook characters or heroes often lend themselves to fantastic costumes as they encourage reading for pleasure!
Our kindergarten students will parade outside of Scotland in the front parking lot on October 31st, beginning at 2:30pm. Kindergarten families are invited to come watch. We hope to see you then!
Fall Art Night
Picture Retakes πΈ
PICTURE RETAKES:
If your child was absent on Picture Day or you are unhappy with your child's picture, retakes will be taken on November 3rd.
Please reach out to Ryan Meyerhoff (ryanmeyerhoff@gmail.com) if you would like to have your childβs picture retaken. Include your childβs name and homeroom teacher.
- If parents do not notify Ryan, we will not know to call their child for retake.
Be sure to send the original picture package in with your child on 11/3
QUESTIONS??
Parents with 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
Events & Happenings
Monday, October 16th:
- C Day
Tuesday,October 17th:
- D Day
Wednesday, October 18th:
- E Day
Thursday, October 19th:
- F Day
- Early Dismissal for students: 11:40AM
Friday, October 20th:
- A Day
- Scotty Spirit Day! Wear your Scotty spirit wear to show your school pride!
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Coming Soon:
- Pumpkin Blaze π 5:30-7PM
- Little Doctors' Blood Drive
Snaps around Scotland πΈ
Math Learning at Scotland
π€β€οΈ A Message from Our PTA β€οΈπ€
The PTA Harvest Gala is November 4, 2023
Have you purchased your tickets to the Harvest Gala yet? Join fellow SES parents and guardians, as well as some of our incredible SES staff, for a night celebrating the Scotland community with dinner, drinks, and dancing! We are particularly excited to welcome members of our community to their first-ever Scotland Gala, including Mr. and Mrs. Luchsinger (who we heard will be tearing up the dance floor)!
Donβt wait. Book your sitter and purchase your tickets today! Ticket sales close on October 27. No exceptions.
Join the PTA!
Joining the PTA helps you stay connected with the school community. You will receive information about family events, before & after school programs, school events, parties and much more! Get to know teachers & staff better with informational sessions throughout the year!
To join, visit our website: www.scotlandpta.org
The new PTA registration form is now live on the website, click here!
Important Information
Volunteering in the Library Learning Commons
Volunteers in the Library Learning Commons:
We are looking for volunteers in the LLC! We would love to have you come in and help out! Please click below on the grade level in which you would like to volunteer. Thank you so much!
-Mrs. Gonillo
- Kindergarten- https://signup.com/go/bFGFTWA
- First Grade- https://signup.com/go/TQhSvTH
- Second Grade - https://signup.com/go/YyufgPj
- Third Grade- https://signup.com/go/RCCPZHB
- Fourth Grade- https://signup.com/go/rCCNxKx
- Fifth Grade- https://signup.com/go/frXROYD
Looking for peer models for social skills groups!
Peer Models:
Our school psychologists are looking for student volunteers to participate in a small social/emotional skill development group where they can act as peer models for similarly aged peers. The groups occur once weekly for approximately thirty minutes. Groups will generally take place during lunch or extension block and are facilitated by a school psychologist. Please click here to read more and sign consent for participation.
Reminders:
Playdates and Riding the Bus:
We know how fun it is for our students to get together after school and enjoy time together! Due to safety and limited space on the buses, we are asking that students have no more than 2 guest riders with them at a time. Anytime there is a need for more than 2 additional students to ride, families will need to make arrangements for parent pick up that day. Thank you for understanding!
Hats & Hoodies:
Over the last several years there was no standard hat/hood procedure in the elementary schools, likely related to Covid, when classroom windows were kept open for air circulation and there was the potential for it to be cold in classrooms.
As we have started the 23-24 school year with a typical school opening, we will return to only permitting hats to be worn outside the school building. Students may choose to wear a hat, but will be reminded to remove it upon entering the school building. Students will be permitted to wear hats for outdoor recess. Teachers have discussed this with students and I will remind our school community during the morning announcements on Tuesday.
On special occasions/spirit days, hats may be permitted and this will be communicated to students and families.
2023-2024 School Hours
β½οΈ πΌ Essentials π¨ π
- Each class will have one 45 minute essential per day (Art, Library, Music, or P.E.)
- We will continue to follow the six day A-F day schedule
- Please find the essentials rotation below
Arrival & Dismissal π
We will follow a similar drop off / pick up procedure that we did last year.
Arrival
- Drop off begins at 8:30am. Please do not drop off your child prior to 8:30am as there will be no supervision at this time.
- After 8:45am, you will need to walk your child into school, as they are late. You will need to sign them in with security. Please do not drop your child off without adult supervision.
Dismissal
- Pick up will begin at 3:25pm.
- Each day, please have your child(ren)βs first and last name displayed on your passenger visor, and have it remain visible until your child is in the car. This needs to be bold and large enough to be visible at a distance. This is a very important step to ensure we have your child ready when you arrive.
- For the safety of both students and staff, proceed carefully and slowly through the lot.
- Please have your child exit/enter the vehicle when your gear is in the park position and is one of the cars at the front of the line designated for drop off.
- Students must exit the vehicle on the passenger side (building side) of the vehicle. Multiple children must exit on the passenger side. It is dangerous to exit/enter on the driver's side of the vehicle!
- Students need to have all of their items ready in hand and will then exit the car immediately.
- Parents, please stay in your vehicle at all times so that the process will prevent backups on Barlow Mountain Road.
- If you miss the drop off time (after 8:45 a.m.), please park in the front lot and walk your child across the designated crosswalk to the main entrance of the building. If you arrive after the drop off window and must park in the parking lot, we kindly ask that you use the crosswalk.
Chromebooks π»
- For information on this year's Chromebook distribution and policies click here to watch a short video
- If you have further questions or concerns email: helpdesk@ridgefieldps.net
School Lunch π₯ͺ
School lunch will be available from the first day of school. Aramark is the new District-wide food service provider. The school lunch menu is available online on the RPS website; click Departments and click on Food Service. For all students, we have transitioned away from LunchTime software to MySchoolBucks for families to fund student lunches.
MySchoolBucks is available via the PowerSchool Parent Portal, and communication was sent to families in early August regarding adding funds for lunch. Any balances have been rolled over from LunchTime to MySchoolBucks. Additionally, the district sent a communication in early August regarding Reduced Lunch for eligible students.
Snacks for Purchase in the Cafeteria:
Students in grades 2-5 are permitted to purchase snacks during lunch (last 10 minutes). Please be sure you have set up MySchoolBucks if you would like your student to be able to purchase a snack.
- In short, students eligible for reduced lunch will be provided free lunches in grades K-8 for the 2023-24 school year.
- Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the Free School Meals for Children grant, please do not hesitate to contact us or the District Business Office.
- Questions in regard to school MySchoolBucks can be directed to Eric Nickelson, RPS Food Service Director at 203-894-5550 x1127 or enickelson@ridgefieldps.net
Website to set up an account.
Some Support Links for Troubleshooting:
Updating Your Payment Method | MySchoolBucks
Setting up Automatic Payments | MySchoolBucks
Adding a New Student | MySchoolBucks
Setting Up Low Balance Alerts | MySchoolBucks
October Lunch Menu
School Dismissal Manager
We will 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!
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