RBS Principal’s Notes
April 24, 2020
Reminder…Remote Learning will take place next week from Monday-Wednesday (please see below for specific information).
We know these are very trying times, and Remote Learning is not easy! If your family is struggling with it above and beyond what is expected (for any reason—personal or academic), please reach out to your child’s teacher(s). We are here to help!
Parent Questionnaire for the week of April 20-24. Please fill out the questionnaire once each week for each of your children. Thank you!
Family Resources:
IN THE NEWS:
Chromebook Updates this Weekend
Over the weekend, the technology department will be pushing out some much needed updates to the district Chromebooks. You will likely not notice any changes or issues. In order for the Chromebook to take advantage of the updates the students may need to login and logout of their Chromebook at some point over the weekend. Thanks for your understanding.
RBS Library Books Return – MAY 5, 2020
We will be collecting RBS library books from families on Tuesday, May 5th. Miss Ferns has outlined the procedure HERE. If your library books are at school please don't worry, we will collect those when we clean out desks and cubbies.
Boxer Proud Initiative
Show your Boxer Pride! Print out and color a Boxer. Then, hang it proudly in your window to show your Boxer Pride. Take a walk around your neighborhood or a drive around town. Count the Boxers that you see. We are all in this together and we are all proud RBS Boxers!
This activity is your child’s art lesson for the week. This is optional for students who have art on Thursday and Friday. Please visit Mrs. Read’s blog for more directions and inspiration!
Google Meet Expectations
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
Please find the Google Meet Expectations in the link.
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 EACH week. Thank you!
Results (numbers are rounded):
Week ending April 17:
RBS: Just Right: 86% Too Little: 4% Too Much: 10%
BSD: Just Right: 78% Too Little: 11% Too Much: 11%
Week ending April 10:
RBS: Just Right: 88% Too Little: 4% Too Much: 8%
BSD: Just Right: 80% Too Little: 11% Too Much: 9%
Mindfulness
Here is another mindfulness exercise: Breathe and Move
Stand quietly. Have your eyes look at one point in the room. Have your ears be listening. Your mouth should be quiet. Keep your whole body calm. As you inhale, lift an arm or leg and wiggle it. Exhale it back to its original position. Quietly pay attention to your breathing. Do this exercise four times.
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:
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.
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.
Art: Mrs. Read (readm@sau25.net)
Library: Miss Ferns (fernsh@sau25.net)
Music: Ms. Pennington (penningtonj@sau25.net)
Physical Education: Mrs. Duhaime (duhaimek@sau25.net)
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 (4/30-5/1). 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.
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
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
Events we are working on:
- Kindergarten and Grade 1 Orientation
- 4th Grade Talent Show
- Kindergarten Recognition
- Grade 4 Clap Out
- Placement (will take place over the summer)
- Collection of Chromebooks and other school materials/Distribution of student materials
