Scotty Updates
A Newsletter from Scotland Elementary School
Week of December 4, 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,
I hope you all enjoyed the weekend. This week, December 4th-8th is Inclusive Schools Week! Inclusive Schools Week allows us all to take a moment to applaud the progress we’ve made toward building more inclusive school communities while pledging to continue our work toward becoming a more inclusive society. This week at Scotland, we will be focusing on talking about and using the word inclusion and what that word means to each of us. Inclusion means involving others in a way that is fair and equal. Inclusion in the classroom looks like all children being welcome and feeling welcomed. Together as a school, we are creating a mosaic, which will be displayed when you first enter Scotland. I encourage you to continue these conversations at home and ask your child about the discussions being had within their classrooms.
5 Days of Kindness
As a part of Inclusive Schools Week, each morning, students will be challenged to perform an act of kindness. Ask your child how it went! Encourage them to make these acts of kindness a daily habit!
I have included a list of books, which will be displayed in our library for students and staff to access over the next few weeks. Thank you to Rachel Gorman for creating this initiative and sharing this message district-wide, and for Maureen Wolff-Collin and Dana Harnett for their support in implementing it!!
Wishing you all a wonderful week.
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.
Spotlight on Curriculum 🔦
Events & Happenings:
Monday, December 4th:
- D Day
Tuesday, December 5th:
- E Day
Wednesday, December 6th:
- F Day
Thursday, December 7th:
- A Day
Friday, December 8th:
- B Day
- Winter Boutique
- Please reach out to Jill if your child is in need of a confidential scholarship for this event
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Coming Soon:
Thursday, December 7th:
- Skills for Life Parent Workshop 6-7PM
- Central Office
Friday, December 8th:
- Winter Boutique
- Please reach out to Jill if your child is in need of a confidential scholarship for this event
Thursday, December 14th:
- Winter Concert - 5:30PM
Upcoming Events:
Art Teacher for the Day - Natalie Zuccaro
Snaps around Scotland 📸
2nd graders learning about division
5th graders coding with Dash
A Message from Andrée Fitzgerald, RPS Director of Nursing, Health, and Wellness
Applesauce Recall
Lead Exposure
The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been working with WanaBana US, Schnucks Markets Inc. & Weis Markets to voluntarily recall certain cinnamon applesauce products due to reports of elevated levels of lead found in these products. The link to the FDA information can be found here; the letter from the State of CT Department of Public Health can be found here.
Affected products sold in Dollar Tree, Amazon and other online outlets:
WanaBana brand apple cinnamon fruit purée pouches
Schnuck Market Inc. brand cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches and variety pack
Weis brand cinnamon applesauce pouches
Contact Information:
WanaBana at support@wanabanafruits.com
Schnucks Customer Care team at 314-994-4400 or 1-800-264-4400
Weis Customer Service number at 866-999-9347
What should you do if your child has consumed these products:
Stop using products immediately and discard them.
Contact your child's pediatrician and have your child’s lead level tested.
Symptoms of lead poisoning include:
loss of appetite.
feeling tired or irritable.
poor growth.
nausea and vomiting.
constipation.
stomach pain.
joint pain and muscle weakness.
headaches.
❤️ A Message from Our PTA 🖤
The Winter Boutique is December 8th!
The Winter Boutique is an opportunity for children to holiday shop for their families and friends during the school day. There are items for moms, dads, brothers, sisters and other loved ones.
Boutique Checklist: Please complete both steps
CLICK HERE to print, fill out and return your child's Winter Boutique shopping voucher by December 7th.
CLICK HERE to set up a Boutique Bucks account by December 7th. NO CASH will be accepted the day of the boutique.
Scottys Helping Scottys is always available, if you need any help affording the Winter Boutique, the PTA offers confidential help by emailing Jill Katkocin jkatkocin@ridgefieldps.net.
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