A Few Bits
Public Comment at the Board of Education Meeting
In an effort to ensure that members of the public are able to communicate feedback and thoughts on the Superintendent’s Proposed Budget, we have made some adjustments for February 8. Here are the directions and live links:
The February 8 PUBLIC HEARING and SPECIAL MEETING of the Board of Education will begin at 7 p.m.
1. If you would like to VIEW ONLY the meeting that is taking place in live time, please click on the YouTube link below. This link is for viewing only, you will not be able to make public comment.
Click here: VIEW ONLY PUBLIC HEARING AND SPECIAL MEETING
2. If you would like to make PUBLIC COMMENT AND VIEW the Public Hearing Portion of the meeting live, please click on the link below and follow instructions on the form.
Click here: PUBLIC COMMENT AND VIEW PUBLIC HEARING
Personnel
The District will welcome Ms. Cory Gillette, our new Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction on Monday, February 8. Ms. Gillette is ready to hit the ground running!
School Status
This was a short week, and next week will be the same. The learning model will remain the same for the upcoming week 2/8/21 (elementary in full). SRMS and ERMS will continue in a Hybrid Model. RHS remains hybrid, however, due to the number of families who are opting for Temporary Remote Cohort C, families choosing in-person cohort A/B are able to attend five days in person. Please contact your school counselor with any questions.
Health and Safety
Bus riders will notice that the first few rows of our full sized busses have been blocked off. This was done to increase the distance between students and bus drivers in the event that a student or driver is positive for COVID-19.
As a reminder, RPS is continuing to follow Connecticut Addendum 5 guidelines. Individuals who have a symptom of COVID-19 must stay home from school. There are three options for return to school- 1) To get a negative COVID-19 test and to be symptom free; 2) To isolate at home for 10 days and be symptom free; 3) To get a note from your medical provider stating an alternative diagnosis other than COVID-19.
Food Service
We are excited to report that our two elementary schools Scotland and Barlow Mountain are doing well with their weekend meal distributions. Thank you to all families who are participating in this program, your support in the school lunch program is greatly appreciated!
Next week at East Ridge Middle School, we will be offering four meals on Thursday February 11, 2021 between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to support families during the school break. There will be no meal distribution at East Ridge on Friday February 12 or Monday February 15. We will be back on our regular schedule for Wednesday February 17 and Friday February 19 of that week.
RPS HighlightsEnjoy the RPS News here!
Ridgefield Tiger Talk: Joining us on this week’s episode is Steven Anton. He is a Math, Computer Science, and Engineering Teacher at Ridgefield High School. We talk about what students learn in a computer programming class, useful skills that can go with you to any occupation, and what younger students can do to get interested in programming. Thanks for listening! We will not have a podcast next Friday, so this is a good time to catch up on missed episodes.
In the NEWS….Assistant Principal Jennifer Phostole and RHS: CABE Journal, read it here
Instagram: rpssuper We had a little bit of fun this past week- our “special guest” will visit periodically sending along messages to our students.
Celebrating World Read-Aloud Day
Resources found here
CSDE
Connecticut Learning Hub available to families: found here.
and
CSDE: CT College Bound Initiative
The University of Connecticut (UConn), Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU), the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges (CCIC), New Haven Promise, the Connecticut Association of Professional Financial Aid Administrators (CAPFAA), College Board and the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) have launched an initiative – #CTCollegeBound – to provide virtual sessions and individual appointments to help guide
students and their families through the college application and financial aid process. The effort recognizes that current pandemic-related circumstances might make the process more complicated for families than in regular years. Information sessions have been scheduled so far to take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from Jan. 26 to Feb. 7, and additional sessions might be added as needed. The sessions all will be held virtually, and students and their families will also be able to reserve one-on-one appointments with admissions and financial aid officers. Interested students and families can register here: http://bit.ly/ctcollegebound