RBS Principal’s Notes
April 17, 2020
In case you didn’t see it, please take a look at THIS VIDEO that the RBS staff put together for our students. We miss them A LOT!
Family Resources:
IN THE NEWS:
Spring Vacation Adjusted
As you heard from Superintendent Fournier, our Spring Vacation has been adjusted. It will now take place on Thursday, April 30th and Friday, May 1st. As a result, we will continue with Remote Learning on Monday, April 27th – Wednesday, April 29th. This moves our last day of school to Tuesday, June 9th.
April 27th - May 1st was formerly Spring Break. Below is NEW.
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Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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April 27th
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April 28th
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April 29th
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April 30th
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May 1st
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SCHOOL
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SCHOOL
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SCHOOL
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NO SCHOOL
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NO SCHOOL
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June 8th - June 12th was formerly the last week of school. Below is NEW.
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June 8th
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June 9th
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June 10th
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June 11th
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June 12th
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SCHOOL
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LAST DAY
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These days are no longer needed.
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Quarter 4 Report Cards
Yesterday, Governor Sununu required schools to continue with Remote Learning for the rest of the school year. He also recommended schools report a Pass/Fail reporting system. Bedford does not use letter grades at the elementary schools, but we will make the adjustments described below.
Please expect your child's fourth-quarter progress to be either "Meeting District Expectations" or "Meeting Some District Expectations.” For those rare instances when students did not participate in remote learning, they may receive “Not Meeting District Expectations.” Since the entire fourth quarter instruction has been under the conditions of Remote Learning, it is more difficult to provide a four-point reporting system as we had in the first three quarters of the year. Your child will also have a comment section from the teacher providing more detail.
Integrated Arts will also provide progress on the report card with "Good" and "Satisfactory". For those rare instances when students did not participate in remote learning, they may receive “Needs Improvement.”
Parents of kindergarten students will receive feedback on their child's progress exclusively in a narrative format.
Our elementary school report card is just one source of information to communicate student progress. As a parent, we continue to welcome your questions during the final two months of the school year regarding your child's performance.
Parent Questionnaires
The results from our weekly questionnaires help teachers to calibrate their lesson planning each week. We greatly appreciate parents/guardians continuing to fill them out for EACH of their children. RBS has the highest percentage of respondents in the district—thank you! As you can see, we are doing very well, and actually improved from the previous week!
Results (numbers are rounded):
Week ending April 10:
RBS: Just Right: 88% Too Little: 4% Too Much: 8%
BSD: Just Right: 80% Too Little: 11% Too Much: 9%
Week ending April 3:
RBS: Just Right: 84% Too Little: 8% Too Much: 9%
BSD: Just Right: 77% Too Little: 13% Too Much: 10%
Bedford Presbyterian Church COVID-19 Resources
George Reese from the Bedford Presbyterian Church and Bedford Food Pantry reached out to RBS offering resources to our community. I wanted to pass them onto parents. They are:
- A dedicated COVID-19 Fund to provide assistance to community programs and individuals
- Helping Hands Outreach Ministry, that can provide necessary urgent home repairs to people that are unable to afford or perform them themselves.
- Bedford Presbyterian Church also houses the Bedford Community Food Pantry, which is open every Saturday from 9am-1pm. (603) 867-1445
Mindfulness
Mindfulness helps you to use your mind’s eye to see colors while breathing.
Close your eyes. Imagine colors while focusing on your breath. Inhale a deep green, and exhale a smoky gray or blue. Try to imagine the colors as swirling and alive with each inhale. If you are calming down from an angry moment, the color red is a great color to exhale, so you can get back in the green zone.
PTG News and Information
PTG SPRING EVENT UPDATES:
PTG has had to cancel or postpone our spring events:
· David Flood: Promoting Diversity and Inclusion through Dignity and Respect has been postponed until the fall.
· District Art Show has been canceled.
· Year End Coffee with Principals has been canceled.
PTG COLOR BLAST FUN RUN has been canceled. We know this is such a fun community event, and we look forward to hosting an amazing Color Blast Fun Run in spring of 2021. So, save your rainbow gear and be prepared to get colorful with us in May 2021!
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
The PTG has several Board and District level positions open for 2020/21. If you are interested or would like more information on any of the roles below please email BedfordNHPTG@gmail.com
PTG Co-President – This is a shared volunteer role responsible for overseeing the functions of the PTG. The Co-Presidents work closely with other PTG board members and district level coordinators to ensure PTG programs, events and fundraisers are carried out. Co-Presidents also host monthly PTG board meetings, assist with creation of PTG budget, and are the PTG point of contact with the Superintendent. No experience needed, training provided.
District Gift Card Coordinator - Work with the Gift Card coordinators at each school, as well as the VP of Fundraising to coordinate and execute the PTG Gift Card fundraising event. Help secure and collect gift cards from local participating businesses. The Gift Card fundraiser runs mid-October until late December.
McKelvie PTG School Co-Liaison - This role is a great way to get to know administration and staff along with being part of the PTG executive board. The liaison is the main point of contact between McKelvie and the PTG and is responsible for supporting PTG/school events. The Liaison also works closely with the Volunteer Coordinator and Hospitality making the ultimate McKelvie Volunteer Team!
REMINDERS:
Google Meet Expectations
As we continue to progress with the newness of remote learning, it is helpful to stay in contact and keep communication open. Google Meet allows educators and students to meet live with a whole-class, in small groups, and in one-to-one meetings. Please find the Google Meet Expectations in the link.
We strive to provide the best possible education and support for our students, while maintaining the privacy within each home. We are respectfully requesting that, if possible, when your child meets in small groups or one-to-one with an educator, that those meetings take place in a public part of your home. We thank you for your consideration as we continue to support students in productive learning environments.
Integrated Arts (Grades 1-4)
Please remember that Integrated Arts classes (art, library, music and physical education) are required classes (and are graded in grades in grades 3 & 4). Students need to be checking in for attendance on their “special days” and participating in the lessons/assignments. If you have any questions, please contact the teacher(s) directly.
Placement
Even though we are working remotely, we are starting to think about placement for 2020/21. Please read THIS LETTER, which outlines the process.
Breakfast and Lunch – April Vacation
BSD will continue to offer breakfast and lunch to students during April Vacation (4/27-5/1). Please continue to fill out the Food Service Meal Order Form (HERE). Deadline for pre-ordering is 2pm the previous day. Please know that pre-ordering is a must in order to ensure you have meals.
Remote Learning Plan
I wanted to follow up on Assistant Superintendent Laliberte’s letter to parents. Understanding that we cannot replicate the same education that would have happened if there had not been a COVID-19 pandemic, we are making an adjustment to our weekly schedule. As a school, we are constantly looking for the best ways to support all students. We believe that utilizing a model that lends itself to greater flexibility will be beneficial for our school community. Starting next week, we will dedicate Wednesday to support the personalization of learning. Please note, this is not a day off for students as they are expected to participate in their learning. Instead of receiving direct whole-class instruction, Wednesday is a day that may include targeted instructional opportunities and/or allow for more student choice and enrichment. We are hopeful that this change to the remote learning schedule will assist in giving students a little less screen time and a little more flexibility in their learning.
The Yearbook Needs Your Photos!
We are adding remote learning pages to the yearbook this year! If you would like to contribute, send a photo of your student(s) to jen.spector@gmail.com. Please include your student's grade and teacher. We are collecting photos of individual students, and also photos of siblings working or playing together! These photos can be creative - they do not have to be of your students working on their Chromebook. Anything fun students have enjoyed while being home over these past few weeks will work. Please send these photos before April 17th. Thank you!!
2020 Riddle Brook Yearbook Update
Online ordering is still available at www.SchoolAnnual.com. Click "Buy Student's Yearbook" in the upper right hand corner and enter Riddle Brook School. Yearbooks are $20.00. Any cash or check orders that were already sent into the school will not be processed due to the current remote learning circumstances. Please order a yearbook online and your cash or check will be returned to you as soon as possible. The deadline for online orders is April 19th.
Yearbook Coordinators Needed
The current yearbook coordinators are looking for their replacements for next year! Please contact Jen Spector if you are interested: jen.spector@gmail.com.
Geskus (Free Gift)
As a means of sharing some happiness during this challenging time, Geskus Studios (district Photographer) is offering a free gift to families. They sent emails out this week to those parents for whom they have contact details. This email provides a complimentary digital download of your child’s fall portrait featured on any of 6 new spring style backgrounds. There is absolutely nothing to purchase and this is entirely free for any family to enjoy.
Families will receive an email with a personalized security code allowing you to download an image. You can share these with a loved one for an Easter or Passover greeting, surprise Mom or Dad with a photo for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, or share a spring-time “hello” on social media.
Thank you to Geskus for this generous offer!
School Access
At this point, the school is closed to all visitors. If you need to get in touch with someone at the school, please call our main line (471-1082) and leave a message. Someone will get back to you in a timely manner.
Playground Access
Given the guidance from the CDC and DHHS about stopping the transmission of the COVID-19 virus, our school playground is CLOSED until further notice.
Destination Imagination Fundraiser
Spring cleaning? Please donate all of your old paired shoes/boots for our annual DI Fundraiser (no cleats or flip flops, please). Please write “Shoe Fundraiser” with a sharpie on the bag or on a tag/piece of paper and tape it to the bag. All clothing can be donated as well—no need to mark. Please do not overfill the bags as the slot cannot take a stuffed bag. BINS are located in all of the schools' parking lots. Please contact our DI Coordinator (Marie Russell) via email if you ever find one that is full. Thank you very much! bedfordrocksdi@gmail.com
UPCOMING EVENTS:
April 30-May 1 – Spring Vacation
May 8 – Placement Information due to Mrs. Reese
May 25 – Memorial Day Observed – No School
June 9 – Last Day of School
