FAMILY FRIDAY FOCUS Nov 6, 2020
RICK MARCOTTE CENTRAL SCHOOL Principal Kathleen Kilbourne
INVITATION TO "ZOOM AROUND THE ROOM" at RMCS for PARENTS
Hello RMCS Families,
After completing our first full two weeks with all students present, we are now preparing to share a "Zoom Around the Room" Mini tour of each grade levels classrooms, since we are unable to host Open House in the traditional way due to COVID guidelines. We recognize the need for parents to have the opportunity to "meet" (or at least see) their child's teacher, and to better understand the flow of a typical school day.
This will be done via zoom, where the teachers and Principal Kilbourne will be panelist, and all audience members will have their microphones muted, with just the chat feature on for questions (directed to the host) at the end of the planned presentation, due to the larger number of anticipated participants.
Please know that these brief 30-minute mini tours, will be followed up with by Parent Conference in the following 2 weeks, to get more detailed information on how your individual child is adjusting to being back at school, both socially and academically. This is meant to be an intentional time that allows for more connection between families and schools. We hope you can join us for these live presentations.
Presentations have been scheduled for:
Mon. Nov 9th
PRE K - 6:00pm
K- 6:30 pm
1- 7:00 pm
2- 7:30 pm
Thurs. Nov 12th
3- 6:00 pm
4- 6:30 pm
5- 7:00pm
AGENDA for "Zoom Around the Room" (30 minutes per grade level)
- Welcome from Principal Kilbourne, hosting
- Self-Introductions of each teacher at that grade level
- Mini tour in each classroom, "Zoom Around the Room"- sneak a peek into your child's classroom environment
- Teachers will share a typical day in the life of a ___ grader: schedule and flow of the day
- Q and A facilitated by Principal Kilbourne, via chat that will be sent to host by parents at the conclusion of the presentation
- The zoom link will be created by Principal Kilbourne and shared with each grade level team to send in their parent newsletters, as this intended audience is parents.
Looking forward to sharing more about our amazing school community with our families!
BOOK FAIR- ALL ON LINE AND DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME
The RMCS book fair from Scholastic is completely online this year. Since the fair is online this year only scholastic has the fair running 14 days for shopping. This year the fair is Nov. 15 to Nov. 28. There is a URL link that will be in this email. All orders will be shipped to the home of the buyer.
DATES OF IMPORTANCE- MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Nov 9th - "Zoom Around the Room"- Mini Tour and Introductions via zoom for Parents/Guardians
PRE K - 6:00 pm
K- 6:30 pm
Gr.1- 7:00 pm
Gr. 2- 7:30 pm
Nov. 12th- "Zoom Around the Room"-Mini Tour and Introductions via zoom for Parents/Guardians
Gr. 3 - 6:00 pm
Gr 4 - 6:30 pm
Gr 5 - 7:00 pm
Nov 23/24 -Parent Conferences (conducted on Zoom or by phone)
Nov 25, 26, 27 Thanksgiving break - NO SCHOOL
TRAVEL IMPACTS AND QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Travel Questions to Answer If you are thinking of traveling:
• Where are you going? Start by looking at Vermont’s Cross-State Travel Map and find your destination. The map is updated every Tuesday, so it will change, but you can start watching to see how the “colors” on the map are trending. o Green means you can go and do not need to quarantine when you return. Green does not mean there’s no risk, so you still need to practice prevention measures. o Red or yellow locations require quarantine for all family members who have traveled when you return to Vermont. Quarantine means staying home and away from other people for 14 days. Vermonters can also choose to quarantine for 7 days and then get tested. You will need to remain in quarantine until you receive a negative test result. (Check the Health Department website in advance for testing availability). o You may also need to check quarantine requirements for your destination since every state’s rules are slightly different.
• How will you quarantine when you return? Plan ahead, making sure you can cancel any appointments, get food for your family and care for children at home.
• Can you be flexible and cancel your trip last-minute in case someone in your family is sick? Consider purchasing refundable tickets and reserve lodging that offers a free cancellation policy.
• Do you live with someone at higher risk or are you visiting someone who is higher risk? If the virus spreads to them, they are at increased risk of severe illness. • Have you gotten your flu shot? Get a flu shot for everyone in your family who is age 6 months and older. It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to be fully protective.
• Have you had “the COVID talk”? Talk to the people you plan to visit and discuss your comfort with COVID-19 prevention steps, like when people will wear masks, how you will stay 6 feet apart, and whether you can keep gatherings small. Prepare for these conversations to potentially be difficult and require negotiation. If people are coming to visit you:
• Look at Vermont’s cross-state travel map to find where your visitors are traveling from. The map is updated every Tuesday, so it will change, but you can start watching to see how the “colors” on the map are trending.
• Tell your visitors about the Vermont requirements for quarantining. They will need to quarantine at the place they are staying for 14 days. Or they can quarantine for 7 days, get a COVID-19 test, and end their quarantine after receiving a negative test result. (Check the Health Department website in advance for testing availability). Visitors can also complete these quarantine options in their home state if they are driving to Vermont in their personal vehicle.
• If you are hosting travelers under quarantine in your home, you do not also need to quarantine. But if you’re sharing space, you should stay at least 6 feet from the people under quarantine. People under quarantine should wear a mask in common spaces. They should eat in separate spaces and use separate bathrooms. Be sure to disinfect commonly touched surfaces, and check yourself for symptoms for 14 days.
• Discuss your expectations for visitors during their stay. Will people wear masks, stay 6-feet apart, keep the gatherings small? • Ask your visitors to get a flu shot two weeks before they arrive.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)...Why it Matters!
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions. Why are we focusing on SEL at Rick Marcotte School? Here’s the research:
· A 2015 Cost Benefit Analysis highlights that for every $1 spent implementing SEL programs, $11 is saved in resources that are not expended managing behavior problems and additional interventions for “at risk” youth. (Belfield et al., 2015)
· A 2017 Meta-Analysis on the follow up effects of SEL showed that 3.5 years after the last intervention, the academic performance of students exposed to SEL programs was an average 13 percentile points higher than their non-SEL peers. At other follow-up periods, conduct problems, emotional distress, and drug use were all significantly lower for students exposed to SEL programs. Development of social and emotional skills and positive attitudes toward self, others, and school was higher after SEL interventions. (Durlac et al., 2017)
· The World Economic Forum in 2016 identified the Top 10 skills required for workers to thrive by 2020 as: Complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgement and decision-making, service orientation, negotiation and cognitive flexibility.
PTO ZOOM LINK Tues. Nov. 10th at 6:30 pm
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES in Nov 2020
No Additional (Friends) Riding Buses At This Time
Thank You Nurse Cannon
Attitude of Gratitude!
Thank You Principal Kilbourne
Health Updates
When your student has an illness symptom:
Yes, even a runny nose or complaints of a sore throat constitute staying home for 24 hours and returning only with symptom improvement or resolution. Please follow the Health Department's fact sheet: Information for Families: Return to School Following Illness* when deciding about whether to keep your student home or send to school.
We continue to connect with families, whose student is home with a reported illness, to help navigate next steps and determine when to return to school safely.
Thank you again, for your patience and follow-through. We know this is not an easy time for families as we continue to ask for your support in striving to keep our community safe.
*Click here for translations.
~ A Note From The Student Support Team~
There are several giving initiatives that the Student Support Team works on each year. Some of these include:
Food drive for the South Burlington Community Food Shelf
The mitten tree (a holiday gift giving program)
Gift cards as needed
School photo gift cards
Winter gear support
As we approach the winter and holiday season, please reach out to one of us if you are in need of additional support. Please be assured, this is confidential.
Kindly,
Kaitllyn Morrissey, Meaghan Rice, Ashley Wilson, Sarah D’Agostino, Michelle Cannon and Carol Blakely.
Emergency Testing Call and Email this past week:
THE COLD WEATHER IS HERE..No Wait...Now it is 60 Degrees!
MUSIC CLASS UPDATES AND RESOURCES
Hi all!
As we are now more settled into our new and old routines at RMCS with everyone back 4-days a week (HOORAY!!), I wanted to share that our RMCS Music website has been updated to give you a better idea of what and how we are learning in music class this year. Click here to check it out!
I've also attached our at-home music learning options for November to this email. Your students can find this interactive PDF resource and much more on their Music SeeSaw and Google Classrooms as well!
I would love to see what our RMCS musicians are exploring on their remote Wednesdays! Feel free to share anything and everything through SeeSaw, Google Classroom, or send an email! With your permission, I will do my best to post all the at-home music making pictures, videos, and links I receive on our RMCS Music website.
I cannot say enough how wonderful it has been to be back with my favorite musicians this fall! Happy November!
Erika Rito
Music Teacher
Rick Marcotte Central School
South Burlington School District
Need Help with Technology? Use this link to access Tech supports!
https://sites.google.com/sbschools.net/sbsdedtechforstudentsfamilies/home
What to do if you need to pick up your child during the school day or change their pick up plans?
Please just call the main office at 652 7200 when you pull up to the curb, and we will walk your student out to you. This is the same procedure if you need to drop off something to your child as well.
Visits to the library at RMCS to begin, in addition to our sign out system already in place
Your student will be visiting the RMCS library to borrow library books. I am excited to have the students choose books in the library and will be following established Vermont Agency of Education guidelines to ensure their safety.
I have purchased bags for students to use during their library visit. This bag will also be used in their backpack to protect their borrowed library books from accidental spills. If you would like to give your student a more durable waterproof bag to use during their library visits, please do so. I will be exploring options and funding for getting more durable waterproof bags for library visits as we move forward.
Classroom library visits are beginning with 1st and 2nd grade classrooms. Next I’ll invite Kindergarten classrooms. Finally, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms will be invited. At this time, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students can order library books by logging in to “Destiny”, the RMCS library online catalog.
We encourage students to be responsible for keeping their books in a safe place at home and for returning them to the library. We always appreciate any parent's help to prompt their child to keep their books safe and clean and to return them to the library. Student check-outs are for two weeks, but they can request to renew their books if they are still reading them at the end of the two weeks.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email me, Colleen Springer, the RMCS Librarian at cspringer@sbschools.net, 652-7218. You can also email or call our staff librarians, Gwen Schuppe, gschuppe@sbschools.net, 652-7290 (7:30am - 11:00am) and Jen McGahey, jmcgahey@sbschools.net, 652-7290 (11:00am - 2:30pm).
Happy Reading,
Colleen Springer
RMCS Librarian
652-7218
FAMILY DIRECTORY SIGN UP...Staying Connected
Do you like having the RMCS family directory to contact parents, play date plans and birthday party invites? Please fill-out the attached google form!
google form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfYQ6gbwrtBj7RZ_GUveDpG99W2Aj7DmgST5PauDxr2Gwfapw/viewform
RMCS SPIRIT WEAR ORDER FORMS
Rick Marcotte Central School
Email: kkilbourne@sbschools.net
Website: sbschools.net
Location: 200 Market Street, South Burlington, VT, USA
Phone: 802 652 7200
Twitter: @rmcschool