What's Happening at the Hive

Issue #13

The communication below provides important information from the Florida Ruffin Ridley School.

Translations and accessibility options are available at the right side of the page.

The Buzz

Hello Florida Ruffin Ridley School Families and Friends,

I hope that everyone had some opportunities to rest, recharge, reflect, and READ over the April break. We have had a smooth first week back and can feel the excitement that spring and this time of year brings for our students.

The return from April break signals the start of the closing quarter of the school year and what can at times feel like a speeding roller coaster to the end of June. It is a great time to pause and reflect on the progress each of our students have made both socially and academically. In those reflections we can find celebration and opportunities to think about short term goals for this last stretch of the school year as well as longer term goals for whatever next year may hold.

With all of the excitement of this time of the year we also find ourselves with some nervous anticipation of the unknown. The May 2nd elections and vote will impact our school community regardless of outcome. I encourage everyone to get out to the polls and vote to have your voice represented.

In the building, in addition to delivering high quality instruction, our team is busy with preparations for next school year. We are working on class placement and scheduling using a variety of data points and feedback to inform our decisions. We are also starting the process of hiring for some positions that we anticipate will be open for next school year. Mr. Ola and I had the opportunity to attend the Brookline Educators for Educator Diversity (BEED) recruiting event on Wednesday evening at Hamilton's and met some educators who are interested in coming to serve in our community. We should have a better sense of vacant positions and next steps as the budget comes into clearer view and will communicate with the community throughout process.

There is likely to be an increased volume of communication over these next two months with all that needs to be done in order to close this school year and prepare for the next. We will do our best to streamline the various communications and updates while keeping you all informed of the myriad of activities, events, and happenings in and around our building. In these times of busyness, high stress, frantic pace, and uncertainty it is even more important for us to keep lines of communication open and clear, show each other grace and patience, and offer gratitude and kindness whenever possible.

I look forward to seeing you all at the many events and celebrations that are on the calendar in the weeks and months ahead as we look to close out the school year with positivity, hopefulness, and joy.

Jen

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8th Grade Play: Finding Nemo Jr.

Go with the flow and swim on over to the 8th grade's production of Finding Nemo, Jr.!

TONIGHT Friday, April 28, 6 pm (new time!)

Saturday, April 29, 7 pm

FRR Multipurpose Room

Tickets are $5/child (up to 8th grade), $10 adult, $30 maximum per family.

Payment for tickets is available at the door by cash or Venmo. Cash is preferred!

Concessions will be available for sale before and after the show.

Come explore the big blue world with us!

End of the School Year Events

May and June are busy months here at the Hive with lots of opportunities to connect and celebrate as a community. Below are some important dates to put on your calendars:

International Night: Friday May 5th 6:00p
Educator Appreciation Week: May 8 - 12
Art Show Opening Night: Thursday May 11th 5:00p
Big Book Bazaar: May 23 - 25
Salad Days Harvest: May 24th (rain date: May 25) 8:00a - 1:00p
3rd Grade JFK Ceremony: Wednesday May 31st 10:00a
Carnival: Friday June 2nd 3:00p
Incoming Kindergarten Family Open House (on Zoom): Tuesday June 6th 7:00p
Incoming Kindergarten Peek and Practice: Tuesday June 6th 3:00p
Grade 8 Harbor Cruise: Tuesday June 13th
Grade 8 Graduation: Tuesday June 20th 5:00p
Last Day of School (Noon Dismissal): Wednesday June 21st

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Salad Days: Family Volunteers Needed!

Salad Days is a celebration of sustainable growing practices and eating healthy, locally grown food! FRR students LOVE our garden, and this is a wonderful way to get them excited about growing, harvesting, and eating veggies while learning how to care for our planet.

Help us to celebrate our 3rd Annual Salad Days event at FRR on Wednesday 5/24! In April, all Pre-K -Grade 5 students at FRR planted a variety of lettuce greens. We need LOTS of help to support classrooms with harvesting, washing and packaging our delicious lettuce so students can taste the fruits of their labor!

Students will enjoy salad together at school the day after the harvest.

When: Wednesday 5/24 (we need volunteers for 2 hour time slots between 8-1)

Where: FRR Garden

How: Sign-Up to volunteer here:

Rain Date: Thursday 5/25

Just in case it's too wet to harvest on our original Salad Days date, please consider signing up to be a rain date volunteer.

Rain Date Sign-Up

Many thanks for your support!

Check out our FRR Garden Twitter page for recent garden news!