RBS Principals' Corner: October 2019

RBS Principal’s Notes

October 25, 2019

IN THE NEWS:

Report Cards

As an FYI to our new parents and a reminder to our returning parents:

Student report cards are available online only in the PowerSchool Parent Access Portal. To access your child's report card online, log into the PowerSchool Parent Portal and you will see a Report Cards icon in the left hand pane. When you click on this icon your child's report card will appear on the screen. You can scroll to see the entire report card and choose to print it, if you'd like. Anytime you click on the Report Cards icon, the most recent report card will generate. Quarter 1 report cards will be available to view on Friday, November 8^th at 2:30 PM. For quarter 1, report cards are issued in grades 2-4 only. Grade 1 will receive report cards in quarter 2.

Trick-or-Treating in Bedford

Trick-or-Treating in Bedford is on Halloween evening between 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Have fun and stay safe!

Harvest Festival

Our 7^th annual Harvest Festival was a great success! Thank you for participating and supporting our school. It was a fun day for the Riddle Brook School Community! Contest winner information:

Chili Contest Winners:

Best Overall: “Stick ‘Em Up Chili” (Dan Brennan)

Spiciest: “Cha-Cha Chili” (Kim Blaine)

Most Original: “Autumn Venison Chili” (Court Klein)

Most Kid Friendly: “Sweet Harvest Surprise” (Hattie Ferns)

“Stick ‘Em Up Chili” (Dan Brennan)

Calendar Contest Grand Prize ($500) – Robert Robbins (sold by Peyton Tipping)

Harvest Hustle

K-2:

1^stPlace: Aiden Bleakley (Mrs. Dufour)

2^ndPlace: Casey Wydom (Mrs. Dubreuil)

3^rdPlace: Keira Kelly (Mrs. Dubreuil)

3 & 4:

1^stPlace: Rylan Taggart (Mr. Halloran)

2^ndPlace: Skylar Daniel-Drake (Mrs. Dionne)

3^rdPlace: Ben Dubreuil

Pumpkin Decorating Contest

Best Animal - Avery O'Sullivan (Mrs. Bowen)

Best Tye-Dye – Dali Belanger (Mrs. Blaine)

Best Ghost - Jack Vorias (Mrs. Brennan)

Spookiest – Rylee Mehurg (Mrs. Cushman)

Best Flower - Leslie Belanger

Cutest - Avery Campbell (Mrs. Cardin)

Best Unicorn - Abbie Gregory (Mrs. Cardin)

Best Book Character - Hannah & Kaitlyn Laramie (Mrs. Brennan & Mrs. Dubreuil)

Best Movie Character - Amanda Lamon (Woodhead)

Raffle Winners

This week’s Calendar Raffle winners:

Monday, October 21^st – Jessica Lavoie (sold by Ellyet Ouellette) – $50 to Chipotle

Tuesday, October 22^nd – Dylan White (sold by Cole White) – $50 to Target

Wednesday, October 23^rd – Sarah Phillips (sold by Weston Phillips)– $50 to Dunkin’ Donuts

Thursday, October 24^th – Janet Finocchiaro (sold by AJ Finocchiaro) – $50 to Marshall’s

Friday, October 25^th – Joe Viola (Lila Viola) – $50 to Whole Foods

Pats Peak Learn to Ski and Ride Program

Sign-up for this year's Learn to Ski or Ride (LTSR) program at Pats Peak! This is a five-week Learn to Ski or Snowboard series for students in grades 1-8. The program runs Friday, January 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. There are 3:30 and 4:30 lessons available, or if you have an experienced student, they can opt to just do the lift ticket. Rentals are available for an additional cost. You must provide your own transportation, as this is not a school-sponsored activity. An adult must be present during the lessons.

To sign up:www.patspeak.com/LTSR. Select "CLICK HERE TO REGISTER".

3:30 PM lessons:bedford330

4:30 PM lessons:bedford430

To receive the discounted rate, registration must be paid in full by November 15^th. Please contact Kris Balistreri at shepador2005@yahoo.com or Kim Peicker at kpeicker@comcast.net with any questions. Visit the Bedford NH Pats Peak Ski and Ride 2020 Facebook page for more information.

PTG News and Information

ANNUAL PTG GIFT CARD PROGRAM: Ready to get a head start on holiday shopping? For every gift card you buy through PTG’s Gift Card program, a percentage of the purchase price will be donated to our schools! We are featuring many local area merchants, along with your favorite national businesses. Order forms have been sent home with students in grades K-8. For BHS families or anyone needing an order form CLICK HERE . For program information CLICK HERE.

Order due dates offered:

November 6th for Pre-Thanksgiving/Hanukkah Delivery

December 4th for Pre-Christmas Delivery

COMMUNITY FORUM ON THE VAPING EPIDEMIC: Join the PTG, BeBOLD and the School District on Wednesday, November 6th, 7pm at Lurgio's Media Center for a community forum on the vaping epidemic. The evening will consist of presentations from medical professionals, school administrations, and law enforcement followed by a Q&A session designed to educate and inform parents/guardians on the dangers of vaping. CLICK HERE for more details.

BEDFORD PTG SKI, SKATE & MORE SALE:

Save On New And Used Winter Sports Equipment & Apparel! PTG’s annual SKI, SKATE and MORE SALE will take place on Saturday, November 23, 2019 from 9AM - 2PM at Bedford High School. New and used ski equipment, snowboards, winter boots, outerwear and more will be on sale from local area merchants and consignor families. This sale provides a cost-effective opportunity to outfit you and your family for the upcoming winter season!

Sell Your Gear And Clothing: Turn your outgrown or gently used winter gear and apparel into some cash while also supporting Bedford schools. Visit PTG Website for consignment information. You can drop off your pre-tagged items at the BHS Gymnasium on Friday, November 22, between 5PM – 8PM. Please note: If you need to print your tags on site at BHS during equipment drop off there will be a $1.00 charge per tag.

Volunteer: Many volunteers are needed to make this event a success. Click HERE get involved.

CARDIGAN CORNER at SKI, SKATE and MORE SALE! PTG is excited to again offer “Cardigan Corner” at the Ski, Skate and More Sale. For families whose kids have conquered Lurgio’s Mt. Cardigan experience as part of the RAL 8th grade environmental unit of study and have gear to consign, or for those looking for a good deal on quality used items for the upcoming adventure…Cardigan Corner is for you!

BOX TOPS DUE!! I would like to introduce Taryn Lennon as our new shopping coordinator. She will be working with the school primarily on the box top program. Please send in all Box Tops with your student or place in the collection bin in the main office by OCTOBER 30th!! Tired of clipping, check out the new program. The new and improved Box Tops mobile app uses state-of-the-art technology to scan your store receipt, find participating products and instantly add Box Tops to your school's earnings online. Visit www.btfe.com to learn more and start earning for our schools. Please download the app and help our school raise as many dollars as possible but don’t forget to keep clipping in the meantime.

REMINDERS:

BHS Key Club Halloween Movie Night

The BHS Key Club is hosting a family movie night on Wednesday, October 30^th from 6:00-8:30 PM in the BHS Media Center. For more information, please click on THIS FLYER.

Food Drive – October 28 – November 22

The Bedford Community Food Pantry is a valuable resource for those in our community who are facing hunger or food insecurity. The Food Pantry is a 501(c)3 organization that is a well-coordinated effort between 5 area churches, local organizations, including the Bedford Lion's Club and the Boy Scouts, and individuals and families in Bedford.

They are always in need of THESE FOOD ITEMS. At RBS, we would like to make a concerted effort to collect these items for our food drive. If you are able to make a donation, I know the Food Pantry would GREATLY appreciate it!

*Donations of cash are also welcomed in order to purchase food from the NH Food Bank (checks made out to Bedford Community Food Pantry).

On Tuesday, November 26^ththe boxes will be donated as a contribution from the Riddle Brook School community. Therefore, we will need all donations by Friday, November 22^nd. Our Principal’s Advisory Group will be organizing and packing the donations on Monday, November 25^th.

Halloween Parade

Again this year, our Halloween Parade will take place on Halloween day at 1:30 PM. (Morning Kindergarten students who do not go to K+ are welcome to join us!). Given the magnitude of the event, below are some guidelines to follow:

Due to lack of space and time, costumes that slip on right over your child’s clothes are necessary. Try to imagine 120 kids all waiting to use the three stalls in the bathroom...yikes, talk about scary!
No weapons or accessories that need to be carried (swords, guns, witches’ brooms, magic wands)
No make-up, please. We will not have time to apply it at school.
In order to respect the sensitivities of all our K-4 students, please do not send in costumes or masks with blood, guts or gore (masks that “leak” blood). Very scary or gory masks will not be allowed to be worn.
Send your child’s costume to school in a clearly labeled bag. You may also want to label the costume.
If parents would like to see the parade, please arrive at our school yard before 1:30 because we will be closing our parking lot entrance at that time.
Parents can line the parade route on the island, sidewalk, and down near the playground.
In order to avoid chaos in the office, parents wanting to dismiss their children will need to go to the classroom to sign them out AFTER the parade is over.
If your child will be going to parent pick up, please enter through the gym as you normally do.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

October 31 – Happy Halloween!

November 1 – End of Quarter 1

November 8 – Report Cards Released (grades 2-4)

November 11 – Veterans’ Day Observance – NO SCHOOL

November 27-29 – Thanksgiving Break

December 3 – RBS Winter Concert – 6:30 PM RBS Gymnasium (snow date 12/9)

December 6 – Ellis Island (snow date 12/9)

December 22-30 – Happy Hanukkah!

December 23 - January 1 – Holiday Recess

December 25 – Merry Christmas!

RBS Principal’s Notes

October 18, 2019

Please join us tomorrow anytime from 1:00-3:00 PM for our Harvest Festival. It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful fall day!

IN THE NEWS:

Raffle Winners

This week’s (and Friday of last week) Calendar Raffle winners:

Friday, October 11^th – Debbie Ekland (sold by Alexis Sheppard) – $50 to Whole Foods

Monday, October 14^th – Michelle McLaughlin (sold by Aiden Gerety) – $50 to Marshall’s

Tuesday, October 15^th – Christina Garrett (sold by Mason Garrett) – $50 to Dunkin’ Donuts

Wednesday, October 16^th– Betsy & Jim Looney (sold by Carly Ebitson) – $50 to Target

Thursday, October 17^th – Maureen Maisttison (sold by Vivienne Duquette) – $50 to Whole Foods

Friday, October 18^th – Jodie Horton-Piggott (sold by Aurora Piggott) – $50 to Chipotle

Lost and Found

The lost and found bin is overflowing! If your child is missing anything, please check it out the next time you’re in the building. Also, it’s always helpful if you label all of your child’s outerwear. It’s much easier for us to identify and return clothing to the rightful owner when it is turned in.

BHS Key Club Halloween Movie Night

The BHS Key Club is hosting a family movie night on Wednesday, October 30^th from 6:00-8:30 PM in the BHS Media Center. For more information, please click on THIS FLYER.

Safety Educator

Please click HERE to read the October edition of Safety Educator.

REMINDERS:

Blue Ribbon Volunteer Award

Once again, Riddle Brook School has earned the Blue Ribbon Award for excellence in volunteerism. A HUGE “thank you” to all of our volunteers for putting in so many valuable hours of volunteering during the 2018-2019 school year. Thank you especially to last year’s Volunteer Coordinator, Melissa Morales, this year’s Volunteer Coordinator, Emily Tolson and our PTG Liaison, Lauren Martin!

Food Drive – October 28 – November 22

*Donations of cash are also welcomed in order to purchase food from the NH Food Bank (checks made out to Bedford Community Food Pantry).

Halloween Parade

Due to lack of space and time, costumes that slip on right over your child’s clothes are necessary. Try to imagine 120 kids all waiting to use the three stalls in the bathroom...yikes, talk about scary!
No weapons or accessories that need to be carried (swords, guns, witches’ brooms, magic wands)
No make-up, please. We will not have time to apply it at school.
In order to respect the sensitivities of all our K-4 students, please do not send in costumes or masks with blood, guts or gore (masks that “leak” blood). Very scary or gory masks will not be allowed to be worn.
Send your child’s costume to school in a clearly labeled bag. You may also want to label the costume.
If parents would like to see the parade, please arrive at our school yard before 1:30 because we will be closing our parking lot entrance at that time.
Parents can line the parade route on the island, sidewalk, and down near the playground.
In order to avoid chaos in the office, parents wanting to dismiss their children will need to go to the classroom to sign them out AFTER the parade is over.
If your child will be going to parent pick up, please enter through the gym as you normally do.

BSD is Celebrating Red Ribbon Week

October 23^rd to October 31^st is Red Ribbon Week (alcohol, tobacco, and other drug and violence prevention awareness campaign). BeBOLD, with support from our PTG, is leading the charge on community engagement in Bedford. Superintendent Fournier has asked that each school, and all Bedford School District staff members, take part in this important initiative. At RBS, our teachers will lead a discussion with their students at some point during Red Ribbon Week about the importance of making healthy choices in their lives. Staff members will also be encouraged to wear red on Friday, October 25^th. Students are welcome to wear red as well. I would also encourage parents/guardians to have age-appropriate discussions with their children at home as they see fit.

Please click HERE to see a public service announcement from BeBold on Red Ribbon Week. If you are looking for some resources, please click HERE.

Farm to School Day (A note from Food Services)

October is national farm to school month. In order to recognize this event, the Bedford School District Food Service Department is dedicating a special lunch that only features local foods. Please click HERE for more information.