RBS Principal’s Notes
November 13, 2020
Parent Resources
K-8 Hybrid Calendar Daily Health Screening for Students
RBS Hybrid Parent Guide Quarantine Protocols/Flowchart
RBS Remote Parent Guide RBS Welcome & Orientation Video
Bedford Reopening Plan COVID-19 Schools Dashboard
Monthly Friday Schedule
November 20: Group A (A-K)
December 4: Group B (L-Z)
December 11: Group A (A-K)
December 18: Group (L-Z)
PROCEDURE TO REPORT COVID CASES
If you need to report a case of COVID-19 over the weekend or during off hours, please fill out THIS FORM.
IN THE NEWS:
Kindness Day Read Aloud
Friday, November 13th is National Kindness Day. Mrs. Blaine made a Friendship and Kindness Read Aloud Room for teachers to share with the students. Some of us recorded ourselves reading a book about friendship or kindness. I hope that your kids enjoy it!
Raffle Winners
This week’s Calendar Raffle winners:
Monday, November 9 – Samantha Astarita (sold by Lola Astarita) – $50 to Barnes & Noble
Tuesday, November 10 – Stephanie Zimmerman (sold by Gwen Astarita) – $50 to Lowe’s
Wednesday, November 11 – Ryan Earley (sold by Griffin Earley)– $50 to Target
Thursday, November 12 –Peter Sullivan (sold by Colleen Sullivan) – $50 to Bed, Bath & Beyond
Friday, November 13 – Daniel Cohen (sold by William Cohen) – $50 to Amazon
Grand Prize Winner ($500): Kathy Ladd (sold by AJ Troiano)
Toys for Tots at RBS
Ms. Pennington and the RBS Music Department will kick off our annual TOYS FOR TOTS collection starting next week. TOYS FOR TOTS is a well-known charity run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. We will collect toys between the dates of Monday, November 16th and Friday, December 11th. RBS students can deposit new, unwrapped toys in any of our 4 boxes, which are located outside of our music room and in the office hallway. Through our generosity, the holidays will be filled with happiness for children who need our help!
Enrichment Riddle of the Week
Ms. Babine will post a new riddle each Friday (below) and reveal the answer the following Thursday. Families are encouraged to think together and come up with as many creative solutions as possible, and can submit responses through the Google Form link included on my website.
PTG News and Information
GIFT CARD FUNDRAISER: ONE order only this year (order due date is at the end of next week, November 20th). We are featuring many local area merchants, along with your favorite national businesses. Purchasing gift cards through the PTG provides support for the Bedford schools with no additional cost to you!
For Hybrid Student Families: To download an order form and memo with program information, please click HERE.
For Remote Student Families: To download an order form and memo with program information, please click HERE.
For more information about this program on the PTG’s website click HERE.
HAPPY SHOPPING!
HANNAFORD COMMUNITY BAG PROGRAM: During this month, the PTG will receive a $1.00 donation for each purchase of the Community Reusable Bag (cost of bag is $2.50) at the Hannaford store located on KILTON ROAD.
AMAZON SMILE: Did you know that every time you make a purchase on Amazon you can support the PTG? Visit AmazonSmile, and select "Bedford NH PTG" as the organization that you wish to support or simply go to Bedford PTG's unique link HERE. We recommend that you bookmark this unique link as only purchases made at smile.amazon.com are eligible for donations. Now every time you shop at Amazon a percentage of your purchase price is donated to the Bedford PTG!
REMINDERS:
Report Cards
In order to access your child’s report card in PowerSchool, please follow THESE DIRECTIONS.
RBS Clothing
You can order Riddle Brook School clothing and other items online! Please go to www.bedfordwear.com. They have a variety of colors and styles. An order typically takes 7-10 business days to be delivered. 10% of profits come back to the school.
Picture Retake Day (REVISED)
Rather than having to travel to a central site, Geskus Photography has agreed to come to Bedford schools for retakes on Monday, November 23rd, which is an A-K day. However, L-Z and Remote families are welcome to come in for retakes during that time as well. The photographers intend to arrive at approximately 10:00 AM and be here 1.5 hours or so. For planning purposes, it would be helpful to know how many students will be having retakes, so that we can put together a rough schedule. Please fill out THIS FORM if you would like your child to have a retake. You will need to fill it out for each of your children who will be having a retake.
The form will be closed at 3PM on Friday November 20th.
Please see THIS FLYER for ordering information.
Pictures will be taken inside in rooms 216/218.
We will maintain our distancing and mask protocols.
The photographer will fill out our HEALTH SCREENING FORM prior to being allowed in our building.
Travel Reminder
As you begin to plan for Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season, please keep in mind the NH DHHS Travel Guidance, which the Bedford School District is following:
If a staff member or student travels outside of New England, do they need to self-quarantine for 14 days upon their return to New Hampshire? Yes. The general recommendation from the NH DHHS General and Employee Travel Guidance is that those who have traveled outside of New England need to self-quarantine and self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days upon their return to New Hampshire. Exceptions to this recommendation can be made for “essential employees” or for staff who have to conduct “essential travel” as outlined in the public health guidance linked above, and the Universal Guidelines. Schools/districts should develop policies to address situations in which students may need to travel for child custody and/or education related purposes (e.g., visiting colleges). You can find a link to this document HERE (pg. 6).
Also, students cannot test out of quarantine with a negative COVID-19 test. They must complete the entire 14 days. Please take a look at our Quarantining Protocol/Flowchart for more information.
In order to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff, it is essential that we adhere to the policies and procedures outlined in our Hybrid plan.
Contact Tracing through NH DHHS
It has been our experience lately that NH DHHS is very delayed in contacting families with contact tracing information, and as a result, it’s possible that students come to school without knowing they have been in close contact with a COVID positive person (and should be quarantining). Please know that if your child has been contact traced as a result of contact within school, you will be called by the school (most likely, Michele Ouellette, our nurse) rather than wait for DHHS. However, if the contact happens outside of school, we will not know about it. My ask is that if your child tests positive, you contact the parents/guardians of any child who has been contact traced as a result of outside of school activities, so that the child can quarantine and/or get tested in a timely fashion. Hopefully, things will slow down soon at DHHS. Thank you!
Food Drive – October 19 – November 20
This year more than ever, 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, but any nonperishable food items are welcomed. 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! We will donate the food items just in time for Thanksgiving.
*Monetary donations are also welcomed in order to purchase food from the NH Food Bank (checks made out to Bedford Community Food Pantry).
UPCOMING EVENTS:
November 25-27 – Thanksgiving Break
December 10-18 – Happy Hanukkah!
December 14-18 – Ellis Island Week (Grade 4)
December 24-January 1 – Holiday Recess
December 25 – Merry Christmas!
January 15 – End of Quarter 2
January 18 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Observance
January 22 – Report Cards Released Online
February 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day!
February 22-26 – Winter Vacation
March 9 – District Workshop Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
March 27-April 3 – Passover
April 2 – End of Quarter 3
April 2 – Good Friday
April 4 – Happy Easter!
April 9 – Report Cards Released Online
April 26-30 – Spring Vacation
May 31 – Memorial Day Observed – NO SCHOOL
June 11 – Tentative Last Day of School
