Scotty Updates
A Newsletter from Scotland Elementary School
Week of December 11, 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.
Scotland Visitor Form
A Message from Jill & Tim
Dear Scotland Families,
As many of you are aware, the Scotland playground is in need of significant repair. Due to the age of the playground, we are unable to replace parts of the playground as single pieces that fit our existing structure are no longer made. Over the course of this year, Tim and I have been working closely with Dr. Da Silva, Mr. Morits, Parks and Recreation, and Mr. Muller with the Town of Ridgefield to determine the next steps. Our PTA has been partnering with our community to raise money as quickly as possible to replace the entire structure. This week, we learned that there will be some financial support allocated in the town budget for a new accessible playground for Scotland, and together with the money raised by our community, we anticipate that pending the passing of the budget, Scotland will be receiving a new playground in the summer of 2024!
Beginning next weekend, part of the existing playground will be removed. The remaining part of the playground will remain through the spring until summer, when we hope that the entire structure will be replaced. Our PTA has graciously agreed to supplement the remaining structure with some outdoor games with which our students can play for the remainder of this school year.
We are excited about the potential of the replacement of this structure, and are incredibly grateful for the partnership with our PTA and with the Town of Ridgefield in making this a priority in their budgets this coming year!
Kind regards,
Jill
A reminder that the health office will be doing CT State mandated hearing and vision screenings for grades 1, 3, 4, and 5 students over the next several months. If there are any concerns observed during the screenings, parents/guardians will be notified by a referral letter. Please reach out to Mrs. Martire with any questions.
Winter Boutique
This week, our PTA engaged students in the Winter Boutique at Scotland! Students shopped for gifts for family, friends, pets, and themselves! There was hours of time spent shopping and preparing for this day. Our PTA ensured that every student in Scotland was able to shop. A heartfelt thank you to all of our parents who made this experience possible for students. This is a tradition that our students look forward to all year. Thank you for making this happen! Please note than any students who were absent and unable to shop on Friday will have the opportunity to come shop on Monday!
D.A.R.E. Program
This week, our School Resource Officer (SRO), Officer Seibert, began the district’s Drug Awareness Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program. The program is held with each 5th grade class. The D.A.R.E. program will be ten sessions.
The D.A.R.E. program is a school district supported program operated by the Ridgefield Police Department. The program focuses on giving students the tools to say no to drugs and alcohol. The program also focuses on building self-esteem, self-image, respect, responsibility, and consideration of others. The concept of empathy, cooperation, the appropriate treatment of others is a main theme of the D.A.R.E. Officer Seibert will also discuss Internet safety and cyberbullying.
If you have any questions about D.A.R.E. please feel free to contact your child's homeroom teacher.
Events & Happenings:
Monday, December 11th:
- C Day
Tuesday,December 12th:
- D Day
Wednesday, December 13th:
- E Day
Thursday, December 14th:
- F Day
- Winter Concert - 5:30PM
Friday, December 15th:
- A Day
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Coming Soon:
Thursday, December 14th:
- Winter Concert - 5:30PM
Snaps around Scotland 📸
Inclusive Schools Week
Inclusive Schools Week was incredibly impactful - students shared about what inclusion meant to them and engaged in acts of kindness throughout the week ❤️🖤
Assistant Principal Handleman
Assistant Principal Handleman had an incredibly successful day, helping students earn more recess, spending time in classrooms reading, and making sure everything in the building was taken care of ❤️🖤
A Message from Andrée Fitzgerald, RPS Director of Nursing, Health, and Wellness
Free COVID-19 Tests
Beginning November 20, 2023, every U.S. household can again place an order to receive four more free COVID-19 rapid tests delivered to their home by visiting COVIDTests.gov. If you did not order tests this fall, you may place two orders for a total of eight tests.
❤️ A Message from Our PTA 🖤
Yearbook Sales are Open!
To place your order, go to www.coffeepond.com and use our password: scotty1234
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
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
⚽️ 🎼 Essentials 🎨 📚
- 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 🚗
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)’s 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 💻
- 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 🥪
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 x2143 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
December 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