RPS Update
November 18, 2022
Dear Families, Faculty, and Staff,
Brrr.. the weather has certainly changed! You received a reminder of the District's weather procedures earlier this week. Please be sure all of your contact information is accurate and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for announcements.
It was a busy Monday evening at the Board of Education meeting. We had a very full agenda with many useful presentations including special education, mathematics, enrollment, and a class size report. We also announced that the RHS graduation will return home to Tiger Hollow- dreams really do come true!
We will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends next week. Wednesday, November 23 will be a shortened day for students, and the District will be closed through Monday, November 28. We will not be sending a Friday Update next week. May your holiday be filled with health, joy, and surrounded by family and friends.
With gratitude,
Susie
Susie Da Silva, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Quote of the Week
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
—Willie Nelson
RHS Girls Swim Wins State Championship!
Team Breaks 43-Year Run by Perennial Swimming Powerhouses
On Wednesday, the RHS Girls Swim Team continued their undefeated season with the ultimate success—a State Championship. The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) reports that Ridgefield is the first program other than powerhouses Cheshire and Greenwich to win a swimming title in the league's largest division since New Canaan won in 1979. 43 years! Congratulations!!!!! Please read more about all the team and individual success in the "Beyond the Classroom" section below.
Witness Stones: A Collaboration with the Ridgefield Historical Society
History was made in Ridgefield this week. East Ridge and Scotts Ridge eighth graders came together at the Ridgefield Historical Society Scott House to honor the lives of Lidia and Quash, two enslaved Black people who lived in the Scott house in the 1700s. With their teachers, members of the Historical Society, and representatives from the Witness Stones Project, students installed markers (photo below), played music, and shared their essays about Lidia and Quash in a powerful Witness Stones Installation Ceremony that can be viewed here.
RPS commends the four eighth-grade social studies teachers (photo above), Tom Broderick and Keira Kowalczyk at SRMS, and Michael Hougasian and Steven Ruland at ERMS for their leadership, flexibility, and commitment to helping their students put together a puzzle with most of the pieces missing. The records of Black people who lived almost 250 years ago are spotty, and students had to use careful reading of primary documents, inference, and speculation to try to pull some of the pieces of Quash and Lidias’ lives together.
The teachers had the full support of RPS Grade 6-12 Humanities Supervisor Dr. Annie Tucci, whose enthusiasm for the project from its inception was palpable and infectious. Long-term Ridgefield residents and students learned about Quash and Lidia simultaneously as they engaged with a new perspective on old history. Slavery wasn’t just on Southern plantations, but right here on Main Street.
Class of 2023 Graduation Date: Wednesday, June 21!
The Board of Education confirmed that the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2023 will be on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at Ridgefield High School. RHS Principal Dr. Greenwood reported that WestConn is no longer allowing graduations to take place there. Many at the Board of Education meeting expressed excitement at an RHS-based graduation.
Photo above: Class of 2021 graduation at Tiger Hollow.
'Tis the season...Ridgefield weather is predictable in its unpredictability. Please read the RPS Weather Reminder for information about the process, what you can expect, and dismissal times.
Evening Drop-in Tutoring for Middle School
RPS is excited to offer Middle School Virtual Evening Drop-in tutoring again this year! We are able to provide virtual drop-in support for Math, ELA, Science, Social Studies, and General Academics. Tentatively starting the week of December 5, sessions will be available Monday-Thursday with varying times between 6-8 pm. Please be on the lookout after Thanksgiving recess for an email from your school on how your sixth, seventh, or eighth grader can join in!
On today’s podcast Dane Street Athletic Director for Ridgefield High School joins us to give the 2022 Fall Sports Update. We cover the ending seasons for the fall sports, talk about some of the current media endeavors of Tiger TV, and we get a sneak peek of what to expect for the winter sports season. Tiger Talk is off next week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We wish everyone a happy and safe break. Thanks for listening!
Let RPS Know What's Important to You!
Please use the link below to ask RPS administrators the questions about the District that are on your mind. The conversation is in-person and remote, and will be available after the date.
"Ms. Books" Earns Tech Distinction
Veterans Park Elementary librarian Liza Bullard, also known as Ms. Books, earned Tech4Learning's Innovative Educator award. This Tech4Learning program recognizes exceptional educators and the work they do to effectively integrate technology into classrooms. Ms. Bullard exemplifies the integral role school librarians play in the District, going above and beyond to explore robotics, engineering, virtual reality, and other technologies as well as the wonders of books and stories. Follow her on Instagram to see some of the engaging lessons. Congrats, Liza!
The Showahs Sparkle
This week, the Prospector Theater celebrated eight years of competitive and integrated employment of adults with disabilities. RPS Assistant Director of Special Services Anthony Showah reports, "The final part of the evening’s celebrations was the Sparkle Awards, which showcase employees, known as 'Prospects,' who exemplify aspects of the organization’s mission. My wife Melissa and our daughter Brooklyn (RHS 2023) are both Prospects. My wife is the Events Manager, and my daughter, Brooklyn, works on several teams, including concessions, ushering, and the clean team. Our whole family was awarded 'The Val Jensen Visionary Award'. Val is the founder of The Prospector Theater and its mission. This award recognizes those whose work has helped to advance the mission and vision of the Prospector." Sparkle on, Showahs!
Work Wanted
In the Classroom
Elementary Health: Germs, Elbows, and You
“I remember you!” a passing Barlow Mountain Elementary student says to Kristi Montemurro, who is in every BMES classroom this month teaching health. Montemurro (or Ms. M. to the students) is an East Ridge teacher who taught the district’s Elementary program last year and is back in the post this year. As such, she will give at least one lesson in every elementary classroom this year and two lessons in every kindergarten, second, and fifth grade class.
On Wednesday, she teaches Julie Reynolds’s second grade and Valerie Nezvesky’s kindergarten class about germs. “It’s fun,” says Montemurro. “I like getting into all the classes. I used to work in a Pre-K-8 district so I know this age group.” Montemurro certainly seems like she’s making an impact reminding students of ways to reduce the spread of germs. They practice washing their hands, they sing “Achoo” a song about coughing into their elbows, She also discusses sleep with kindergarten students who guess they need between two and twenty hours of sleep a night. Montemurro says they need between ten and twelve hours. The students know about good and bad bacteria. They talk about their favorite healthy foods, getting an hour of exercise a day, brushing their teeth, and the importance of wearing a seatbelt. BMES third graders in Jessica Balog’s class learn about tobacco and its deleterious effect on the brain, heart, and lungs. Fourth graders will also learn about tobacco and peer pressure. All fifth graders learn about HIV/AIDS and blood-borne infections as mandated by the State.
The district started this Elementary Health program as part of a state-wide mandate in 2002. At the time, Barbara Lohse was the East Ridge health teacher. Lohse, described fondly by Montemurro as a “powerhouse” and by many of her former students as an icon, is still with the district, currently teaching health at Ridgefield High School. Kelly Zurzola is the Scotts Ridge Middle School health teacher and Alison Picarella works with Montemurro at East Ridge. “We have a small department,” Montemurro says. “So we can meet as a group and discuss age-appropriate lessons. We talk about what worked and what might be changed. Each class is different, which makes getting out into the elementary schools so enjoyable.”
Montemurro was at Ridgebury Elementary school last month and will be making her way through all the elementary classrooms until June. An avid skier, athlete, and a retired college field hockey player, with a masters in Special Education, Montemurro likes to stay busy. She is a positive role model for health and physical education. Read her letters that explain more about the elementary health program for grades 1, 3, 4 here and grades k, 2, 5 here.
The HeARTS of RPS
Art from Branchville and Veterans Park
First Grade Scarecrows
First-grade students explored line, shape, and printmaking techniques during this unit. They were inspired by Karla Gerard’s vibrant landscapes. Our fabulous artists worked with mixed media art techniques to create a variety of bold patterns on their colorful landscape artwork and adorned their masterpieces with a festive scarecrow as a final embellishment.
Below: Clockwise from top left: Lucy L., Henry L. , Nora P., Luke L.
Second Grade Landscapes Inspired by Wolf Kahn
Wolf Kahn’s colorful landscape artwork inspired this second-grade lesson. Students painted with warm and cool colors for the foreground and background and used oil and chalk pastels as they blended color for the trees in the middle ground. This lesson also explored horizon line and perspective concepts during this unit.
Below: Clockwise from top left: Reese G., Moira C., Nolan O., Charlie R.
Third-Grade Leaf Prints Inspired by Mary Gibbs
Third-grade falling leaf prints were inspired by the autumn season and its vibrant colors. Students explored printmaking techniques, overlapping to design a sense of perspective, negative space and color concepts during the creative process.
Below: Clockwise from top left: Carolina F., Daphne A., Emmy S., Parker L.
Fifth-Grade Van Gogh & Lewis Inspired Chairs
Fifth-grade students created a chair in their own style inspired by artists Vincent VanGogh and Kate Lewis. Observational skills and drawing techniques were explored, while proportion and overlapping helped show a sense of the size and depth of the chair and the room. Students worked with simple lines and shapes to create printed, patterned frames that complemented their colorful arrangement.
Below: Clockwise from top left: Eoin R., Evelyn Y., Mila P., Sabrina R.
Beyond the Classroom
"Spot"-light on Veterans Park: 101 Dalmatians Is a Hit
Photo above: Fifth-grade cast. Photo below: Whole cast
Ridgebury Celebrates Week of Kindness
November 14 is World Kindness Day, and schools across the District celebrated with an outpouring of empathy, service, and kindness! Ridgebury Elementary made the whole week RES Kindness Spirit Week. See their great ideas to encourage students to reach out, give back, and dress up below. Continue to work hard and be kind, RPS!
RHS Debate Grows
The RHS Debate team is growing! Last weekend, the team headed to Greenwich to consider the question: "are open primary elections preferable for American democracy than closed primaries or other alternatives?" Some members even brought their own pocket constitutions that can be used in Connecticut Debate Association (CDA) tournaments.
Debate advisor Adam Horvath reports, "four of our teams were listed in the top ten of their respective divisions (3 in the novice division [out of 43 teams] and 1 in the varsity division [out of 52 teams]) which I was glad to see!" He continues, "We had more students participating in this last tournament than previously, and a few freshman teams tried the tournaments for the first time."
Girls Swim (Continued from Above)
Breaking the 43-year winning streak of swimming juggernauts Cheshire and Greenwich, the Ridgefield High School Girls Swim are State Champions. Captain Caroline Kelly writes, "I give a lot of credit to our coaches Paul [Marchese] and Ronnie [Vaughn] for pushing us this entire season. Our training has not been easy but they never lost faith in us and that is ultimately what allowed us to reach our fullest potential. As a senior, I could not have asked for a better last season and I am so, so proud of this team.
If you click "Final Event Results" you can get specific individual results. (http://content.ciacsports.com/gswim22ll.shtml)
Some standout swims were our freestyle relays. Both relays were state and team records.
200 freestyle relay: Lily Archibald, Bridget Kelly, Madeline Muncy, and Keira Giles
400 freestyle relay: Lily Archibald, Bridget Kelly, Ava Ward, and Keira Giles
The following swimmers were All-State Champions (finished in the top 3 in their event):
Bridget Kelly-
3rd in 200 freestyle 1:51.55
2nd in 500 freestyle 5:03.63
Riley McGerald-
1st in 200IM 2:09.08
1st in 100 breaststroke 1:05.29
Lily Archibald-
2nd in 100 butterfly 54.70 (USA Jr. National qualifying time)
1st in 100 backstroke 57.66
Ava Ward-
3rd in 100 butterfly 58.14"
Steven Hergenrother Does It Again!
For the third week in a row, RHS junior Steven Hergenrother has distinguished himself as a top runner. It never gets old! This time, he clinched second place at the New England Cross Country Championship.
Steven's season highlights:
New England Cross Country Runner-Up
Connecticut Open Cross Country Champion
CIAC Class LL Champion
FCIAC Champion
What will next week bring? Congrats, Steven!
This Month In Photos
Above: Officer Giglio visited Veterans Park to talk about making safe choices and stranger danger with students.
Above: Scotty CARES Club beautifies the grounds at Scotland Elementary.
Above: From kindergarten to fifth grade, Ridgebury Elementary peaces out during Kindness week. The fifth-grade squad twinning.
Above Farmingville shows class...and their true colors.
Above: All circuits are firing at Branchville Elementary. Third graders explored electricity by building circuits.
Above: Barlow Mountain gets healthy with Kristi Montemurro!
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