Rolling Hills Elementary
Weekly Newsletter - June 5, 2020
Hello RHE families!
I hope you had a great week! The closing of schools has been challenging for everyone, as the students and teachers just wanted to be together in school over the last few months. After recently speaking with teachers, they seemed to universally share that this was the hardest week to be away from the children as they weren't able to better support them if they needed it.
In a partnership with families, the teachers and I at RHE teach values of respect, kindness, and patience. Those values have continued with Distance Learning and will continue to be our guiding principles and values.
Although we are apart and nearing the end of the school year, the teachers and I would still like to understand the concerns of the students and sincerely listen to them. Overall, I just wanted to let families know that we are available if you or your children need to talk. The conversations could be uncomfortable, but they could lead to meaningful dialogue to let the children be heard and ask questions.
There is routine evidence that RHE is a loving and caring community. Even with such a strong community like this, we all need to lean on one another during difficult times. So please reach out to me or any of the teachers if you or your child would like to talk. Thank you!
On a different note, I would like to announce the retirement of Mrs. Barbara Bollenbach and Mrs. Diane Ernest. Mrs. Bollenbach has been an Instructional Assistant at RHE for over twenty years. She has worked mainly in fourth and third grades positively impacting many students. Mrs. Ernest has dedicated many years to the students, staff, and families of RHE. Mrs. Ernest has passionately and professionally cared for all of the students and staff of RHE. Please join me in wishing Mrs. Bollenbach and Mrs. Ernest happiness and enjoyment in retirement! Please see below for more information.
Sincerely,
Sam
Mrs. Ernest and Mrs. Bollenbach are Retiring – Let’s Celebrate Their Service to RHE!
We are putting together memory books to honor the retirements of our school nurse Mrs. Dianne Ernest and our instructional assistant Mrs. Barbara Bollenbach to honor their years of service to Rolling Hills and the Council Rock School District community. If your family would like to be a part of these memory books, please use the forms at the following links to share your happy retirement wishes for Mrs. Ernest and Mrs. Bollenbach:
When is the REAL last day of school?
It was announced that the last day of “new” learning for K-11 students will be Tuesday, June 9th. This means that next Tuesday will be the final day that new learning activities will be posted by the teachers. However, the final student day is Tuesday, June 16th.
On June 10th-12th and 15th-16th, the students will be encouraged to submit any distance learning assignments that they have yet to complete. In addition, the teachers may be planning special activities with the children on these final days. The teachers will generally be available to assist children after June 9th, but please know that during this period of time the teachers will be in school on a rotating basis to close out their classrooms.
Lastly, student attendance should still be submitted until the final day of school, June 16th.
Picking-Up Student Items at School
Teachers will pack up students’ personal belongings (including musical instruments) from students’ desks and lockers. The teachers will be coming into the building to gather these items on Wednesday, June 10th and Thursday, June 11th. They will place belongings into a labeled bag and we will have the bags organized in alphabetical order by student last name.
I’m requesting that families follow the schedule below for the pick-up of these items:
- 8:00-900 – Last Names A - B - C
- 9:00-10:00 – Last Names D - E - F
- 10:00-11:00 – Last Names G - H - I
- 12:00-1:00 – Last Names J - K - L
- 1:00-2:00 – Last Names M - N - O - P - Q
- 2:00-3:00 – Last Names R - S
- 3:00-4:00 – Last Names T - Z
To the essential workers that won’t have the ability to get to RHE on June 12th or during their designated time frame, feel free to show up at any time between 8:00am and 4:00pm. Thank YOU for all of your service during these difficult times!
This is new for all of us so there may be questions. Please be sure to read the following items before you come to school on June 12th:
- As you enter the parking lot, please follow the arrows and cones for our normal car rider lane. Loop around the parking lot and into the bus lane.
- On a piece of paper, write down your child(ren)’s first and last names and grade in LARGE print. This will allow us to visibly see everything we need to retrieve the students’ items.
- Please stay in your vehicle. Social distancing guidelines will be practiced during the distribution to families.
- Bags will remain closed and placed in vehicles with minimal (if any) contact, as the staff would like to place the bag(s) in an open trunk.
- Unfortunately, this won’t be a time to socialize with the staff. The staff that will be assisting with the retrieval of student items will be working quickly to keep the flow of traffic moving.
- This will not be a time for dropping off items to the school such as library books, text books, or Chromebooks. These items will be kept by families until school reopens.
The materials that will be returned to your child(ren) will be the belongings in their desk and locker. Items not retrieved on June 12th and items that have no identification will be stored in the school until school reopens.
Families can also request that another family pick up items. Please identify the names of the students on a piece of paper.
Thank you to the RHE community for your level of support with this plan. The staff and I appreciate your flexibility during this challenging time.
Student Chromebooks Over the Summer
RHE Businesses
Hello RHE families! We hope this finds you well and hanging in there during this challenging time. The Home and School Association is appreciative of all that RHE families have done to support us over the years. We know that the current environment has been difficult for all of us, some more than others. Many of our families own local businesses, and we wanted to reach out to see if we could help out in some small way by advertising on our FB page and Newsletter. If you would like us to feature you business, please send a graphic and blurb with the information you would like us to use.
You can send you information to Jen Keaveney ( spozio@comcast.net) or Catherine Griffin ( cathgriffin11@gmail.com)
Be Well!
RHE Home and School
Camp Invention Online Camp
Council Rock is reinventing summer fun with @CampInvention Connect™, an online summer STEM camp program of the National Inventors Hall of Fame®! Inspired by famous inventors, campers will be challenged to work together to create world-changing inventions! Mark your calendars for June 22-26, 2020 and enroll today at invent.org/connect! Use the promocode ELEVATE15 to secure the best price. Email questions to Christine Marsden, cmarsden@crsd.org.
RHE Distance Learning Photos Request
We miss you! We would love to see you in action during distance learning. We are collecting photos of RHE students engaged in academic activities, trying out wellness activities, sporting RHE gear, and spending quality time with families during closure. Your photo(s) may even be featured on our Rolling Hills Elementary School website! Please consider sharing photos to our RHE Distance Learning Google Photo Drive at this link: RHE Distance Learning
RHE Renovation
Counselor's Corner - Dr. Sandberg
Each week, Dr. Sandberg is posting daily activities to help your child’s social and emotional growth. You can find the link on her website, but below is direct access for this upcoming week. Many of the activities can be used as a creative break or even as activities to help when your child says s/he is bored.
Student Wellness - Fridays
In order to help promote student wellness, the district is providing optional activities for all grade levels that can be completed individually or with families on Fridays. The activities address the physical health, mental health, and social connectedness of our students. Please click the following link for this week’s student wellness activities: https://www.smore.com/83gqu.
Additionally, parents/students are still asked to complete the attendance form each day including Fridays. The form can be found here: RHE Form.
Tech Support
Free and Reduced Lunch
To apply for free lunch during the COVID-19 school closure, you may:
- Download the Free and Reduced Lunch Application, fill it out, and email back to Karen Moody kmoody@crsd.org. DO NOT send your application via US mail to the district office as there is no mail being delivered to our buildings during this time.
- Apply online by visiting: https://www.compass.state.pa.us/compass.web/Public/CMPHome (website offers language options other than English)
You will only need to submit one application per household, even if your children attend more than one school in Council Rock School District. Eligibility determination is made using federal income eligibility guidelines and applicants will be informed of a decision within two business days of submission.
Throughout the duration of the COVID-19 school closure, Council Rock School District is offering a “grab and go” food service. If your family qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, you will be given instructions as to how to access these meals when you are notified your child is eligible.
For questions, please email kmoody@crsd.org
Sam Smith - Principal
Email: ssmith@crsd.org
Website: https://www.crsd.org/Domain/1558
Location: 98 Upper Holland Road, Richboro, PA, USA
Phone: 215-944-2000
Twitter: @RollingHillsES