A Few Bits from Ridgefield Public School Superintendent Dr. Susie Da Silva
School Status
There are no changes in our current school models (at any level) for next week.
Parent Requests for Changes into or out of Cohort “C”
Parents who elect to change their children’s learning model into or out of Cohort “C” (full time distance learning) may do so by:
- Elementary School Parents: Please directly contact the building principal via email and “cc” your child’s classroom teacher
- Middle and High School Parents: Please directly contact your child’s school counselor via email, and “cc” a building administrator
Asynchronous Early Dismissal Days
We will be holding one Early Dismissal day per month between January and May, where students will engage in asynchronous learning in the afternoon. The purpose of this time is to allow our faculty to plan, prepare and discuss best practices to support student learning. Each of our schools will send a reminder as we approach the dates below.
- Friday, January 29th
- Friday, February 26th
- Monday, March 15th
- Monday, April 26th
- Monday, May 24th
Announcement!
Congratulations to Dr. Wes DeSantis who will transition to the role of Director of Education Technology beginning January 1, 2021! Please join me in wishing Dr. DeSantis well in his new position- we know he is up for this new challenge.
Budget Announcement
Please hold Saturday, January 23, 2021 for a full-day Budget Workshop. The leaders of the Districts cost centers will share their budget goals.
CDC Guidelines
Governor Lamont has given Connecticut schools the go ahead to adopt the new CDC quarantine guidelines that were issued this week. We met with Town of Ridgefield Health Department Director Ed Briggs and RPS Medical Advisor Dr. Ahern today and they are in agreement. Beginning today, for all new COVID-19 exposures at RPS, the quarantine period will be 10 days with the option to reduce it to 7 days if PCR test is done on the 5th day after exposure and comes back negative. This change will apply to future exposures. Those who have already been placed in quarantine will continue with 14 day quarantines.
Here is a link to a short video of Aaron Crook RN reviewing the new guidelines
RPS Highlights
Enjoy the RPS News here!
Ridgefield Tiger Talk: In this episode we are excited to have a big panel of music teachers while also having Dr. Alison Villanueva co-host. George Beratis, Michael McNamara, Alexandria McGowan, and Shane Peters join us on the show to talk about how the music programs adapted to this year’s needs, the enthusiasm of having children play instruments, and the takeaways from this year we can use to improve music education in the future. Thanks for listening!
School nutrition being very important to all students, the CASBO, SNACT, CAPSS, and CAS/CIAC have worked together to create the following PSA to help parents understand the current process and to encourage participation in our school lunch program. During the PSA you will hear about the school lunch program and a breakfast program. The Ridgefield School District is not currently part of the breakfast program but will be looking into this in the future. The PSA also brings attention to weekend meals. We have started a pilot program at our Scotland Elementary School with the hope of bringing this program to the other elementary and middle schools in the near future. As always, in addition to lunch being served at school we will continue to offer to any student in Ridgefield, 18 years of age or younger, the ability to pick up meals at our East Ridge Middle School location on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
English PSA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBoUiAz9X0Q
Don’t forget to follow fun and important news on social media at: Twitter: @RPS_DaSilva Instagram: rpssuper
COVID-19 Resources
State Testing Locations:
https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/Priority-Populations
2-11 COVID-19 Resources Page:
https://uwc.211ct.org/covid19resources/
-HHvid.jpg "Free Meals PSA (English)")