Melville Message Community Update

In partnership with families and community, the mission of Melville Elementary School is to provide all students with a strong academic foundation through diverse and challenging instruction in a safe and nurturing environment enabling them to achieve their greatest potential while developing self-confidence, respect, responsibility, compassion and a love of learning.

Congratulations Class of 2038!!

From start to finish our Field Day was a blast. Thank you to all the volunteers who and the MPTG for making this day possible.

Great job Grade 1 team it was such a fun and educational afternoon!

Many thanks to the Feinstein Foundation for your generous support! This grant will help us expand our Choose Love book collection and strengthen our students' social-emotional learning through stories that highlight courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion in action. We’re grateful for your continued support and generosity to our school community.

A School Improvement Plan is a roadmap for how we will continue to grow and strengthen student learning, school culture, and family partnerships. At Melville, our Building Leadership Team develops this plan with data and feedback from families and all stakeholders in our school community.

Click below to see the results of this year’s plan and our draft plan for the upcoming school year.

If your child will NOT be attending the Portsmouth Public School System in the Fall of 2025 - please fill out the GOOGLE form linked below below.

Dear Melville School Community,

As many of you are aware, in accordance with Portsmouth School Department policy, Melville Elementary School has a new visitor system in our vestibule. This system is used to sign guests into our building by scanning a driver’s license and verifying your identity with a comparison photo.

Please note that any person that is entering our school building for a meeting or an event is REQUIRED to sign in.

In order to expedite the sign in process, we are strongly encouraging all families to download the app and create your profile today. You may do so by scanning the QR code below or by visiting the App Store or Google Play Store and searching for Raptor Safe.

For any questions or for assistance contact the main office. Thank you for your help in keeping our school safe.

Minutes from 1/8/25

Minutes from 11/13/24

Minutes from 9/11/24

Minutes from 10/9/24

At Melville Elementary, we are committed to every student’s success, and regular attendance is key! Did you know that students who miss two or more days a month—about 10% of the school year—are considered chronically absent?

Attendance Matters

We know that attendance plays a huge role in student success, and your support is key to improving it. Melville is currently ranked #55 in the state for attendance on the State’s Attendance Leaderboard.

In accordance with RI S2202, all RI school districts are now required to annually distribute information to the families of all enrolled students regarding the importance of secure firearm storage, associated risks, state storage laws, and available suicide prevention and behavioral health resources. More information about this legislation and resources can be found in this link and flyer.

June 🌞

16th- Grade 4 Stepping Up Celebration (invites sent to grade 4 families only)

18th or 180th day: Last Day of School – All Students

We take all reported incidents seriously. If you see something that could be constituted as bullying, cyber-bullying, or harassment, please say something.

Melville Elementary School is seeing an increase in students with illness. While Melville Elementary staff are doing their best to prevent the spread of illness here at school, we are asking for your help at home. To prevent widespread flu and illness in the school, we recommend that your child stay home from school if he/she experiences flu or cold symptoms. To decide whether or not to send your child to school, please consider the following guidelines:

Consider contacting your pediatrician if he/she has any of the following:

● Very stuffy or runny nose and/or cough

● Sore throat (no fever, no known exposure to strep)

● Headache

● Stomach ache or nausea

DEFINITELY keep your child at home for treatment and observation with these symptoms and contact your pediatrician:

● Fever (greater than 100.0 degrees)

● Vomiting

● Diarrhea

To help prevent the flu and other colds, teach your children good hygiene habits:

● Wash hands frequently

● Do not touch eyes, nose, or mouth

● Cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing

● Avoid close contact with people who are sick

Reminders:
-A child who has a fever should remain at home until fever-free, without the use of fever-reducing

medications, for a minimum of 24 hours.

-A child with vomiting and/or diarrhea should remain home until they are vomit and diarrhea-free for 24hrs.

-Please be sure to notify staff at Melville Elementary School if your student is going to be absent from
school.

-A Doctor’s note is required to excuse any illness-related absences.

**If your child is diagnosed with influenza by a physician, please reach out to Nurse Trainor via email: trainora@portsmouthschoolsri.org or Phone at (401) 683-1650, Option 2.**

Thank you in advance for helping make the rest of this year at school as healthy as possible.

Planet Aid is a nonprofit organization that collects used clothes to protect the environment and strengthen communities. Planet Aid’s non-binding school partnerships provide a passive fundraising stream and an opportunity to teach students about environmental sustainability. Melville School hosts a Planet Aid clothing donation bin and with this we raise funds for every pound donated.

The Planet Aid bin is in our parking lot again this year...please continue to fill it with clothes and shoes. Thank you!

Going forward please use meloffice@portsmouthschoolsri.org to notify the main office of changes to your child's dismissal routine or of your child's absence.

If you are interested in volunteering or chaperoning this school year, then you will need to complete the volunteer approval process. Please check in with our office if a notary if available to assist you.

We love to celebrate our students. If they have special news that you would like us to share, e.g. State Wrestling or Cheerleading Championship accomplishments, then please email me at lauried@portsmouthschoolsri.org and we will be sure to include their recognition in our morning announcements.

In keeping with the spirit of giving, our Feinstein Jr. Scholars are excited to start an in-school food pantry that our students and families can donate to and access when needed.

Please help us as we continue to support our community by sending in food items with your child from time to time. Please email

Mrs. Powell: powelld@portsmouthschoolsri.org or

Mrs. Pascoe: pascoen@portsmouthschoolsri.org

if you would like to access our food pantry during the school year.

Securly Home is an app that allows parents to monitor their child’s Chromebook activity at home and add rules for home use. Please take some time to review the slideshow from the informational parent meeting hosted for families.

We encourage you to sign up now for Securly Home!

Google Slideshow

At Melville School we provide continuous updates on student progress. Mid-Trimester Progress Reports and Report Cards help us to better communicate student progress with parents and caregivers.

Benchmarking assessments are assessments given to students three times a year to measure their progress towards achieving the end of year standard for their grade level. If your child qualifies for a Response to Intervention Plan, this will be discussed during the conference. Report Cards are published three times a year and will be available on the ASPEN Platform.

Report Cards reflect your child's current mastery of end-of-grade level standards. The grades earned by your child, as reflected on the Report Card, are their current mastery of end-of-grade level standards. For example, if your child is in second grade they are being assessed on the standard that is expected of a student exiting second grade. If your child receives an S (secure), this means that they are secure and have reached the end of the year benchmark. Earning a D (developing) means your child is demonstrating growth towards meeting the end of grade level with support. If your child is beginning to progress towards meeting the end of year standard, then they will receive a B (beginning). It is common for most students to receive B’s and D’s during the first trimester now that we are switching to reporting out on end-of-year standards. An N/A means that this standard has not yet been taught. NP means that your child did not participate in the learning/activities related to this standard.

Fire drills occur on a regular basis. State law requires each school to conduct eleven fire drills, two lockdown drills and two evacuation drills each year. Shelter in Place drills are conducted throughout the school year. Children are given instruction on all procedures. Children are expected to behave in a calm, orderly manner during these exercises. Please review the importance of such exercises with your child and emphasize the need for appropriate behavior.

A lockdown is an alert to the school community indicating that students and staff should remain in their classrooms, dispersing around the room and staying low, either standing or crouching, to avoid visibility. This positioning also prepares students and staff to move quickly if evacuation becomes necessary. Remain in this position until further direction is given

An evacuation requires all students and staff to exit the building and meet at a designated safe place.

A shelter in place is an alert to a school community that movement outside of classrooms is being restricted for a brief period of time. It is typically used when a student or staff member is requiring some sort of attention (sometimes medical) and the school is trying to keep that area clear and/or protect that person’s privacy. If there were a serious safety concern the school would not issue a shelter in place.

We will send notification of lockdowns, evacuations, and shelter in place drills and events via email.

Here is the presentation that was shared at a Parent Safety Forum that was hosted in conjunction with the Police and Fire Departments. The Run, Hide, Fight FBI philosophy guides our safety training.

The P3 Sandy Hook Promise Anonymous tip line is a resource that we encourage anyone to use if there is ever an immediate safety concern.

Email: lauried@portsmouthschoolsri.org
Website: https://www.portsmouthschoolsri.org/Domain/11
Location: 1351 West Main Road, Portsmouth, RI, USA
Phone: 401-683-1650
Facebook: Melville Principal
Twitter: @MelvilleSchool