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.

As we settle into the routine of the school year, we want to take a moment to highlight something very important to your child’s success—daily attendance. Every day counts. When students are present and on time, they have the best chance to learn, grow, and thrive—both academically and socially. Even just a few missed days can add up and make it harder for your child to stay on track.

Here’s how you can help:

• Establish a consistent routine at home, including bedtime and wake-up time.

• Plan appointments and trips outside of school hours whenever possible.

• Communicate with us if your child is struggling with illness, anxiety, or anything else that might impact attendance—we’re here to support you.

Each week we will highlight attendance in our "Attendance Matters" section. Together, we can ensure that your child has the best opportunity to succeed.

Resources for Families
Looking for strategies and tips to support good attendance? Visit Attendance Matters RI Resources.

Each family should have received a magnetic attendance calendar to keep at home as a reminder of the importance of being in school. Every day counts!

School Improvement Plan

Every year, our school creates a School Improvement Plan to guide our goals and priorities. The plan is based on data such as student achievement, attendance, and feedback from families, staff, and students.

The process includes:

1. Reviewing data – We look at student performance and school climate to identify strengths and areas to grow.

2. Setting goals – Together, we develop key goals that will have the biggest impact on student success and align with our District Strategic Plan.

3. Planning action steps – We outline strategies, programs, and supports to reach those goals.

4. Monitoring progress – Throughout the year, we check in on our progress and make adjustments as needed.

This process involves multiple stakeholders and our families play an important role by sharing input, supporting learning at home, and staying connected with school activities. If you are interested in serving on our School Improvement Team-please click here!

After thoughtful feedback and discussion with our leadership team, we’ve decided to raise the bar and make our Whaledone weekly recognition even more special. To start the year, we will be highlighting grade-level winners, encouraging students to reach high, meet expectations, and take pride in earning this recognition. Class recognitions will still be celebrated monthly at our Community Gatherings.

Families can help by continuing to reinforce our four expectations at home:

Respectful, Responsible, Safe, and Ready to Learn.

We are open to feedback from our community and will continue to reflect at our

monthly leadership team meetings.

September

9: MPTG 6:00-7:00 in the Melville Library

15-19 It Starts with Hello Week

17: One-hour early release for students-Dismissal will be from 2:15-2:30

18: Open House & Ice Cream Social 5:00-6:30

23: Fall Festival Planning Committee 6:00-7:00 in the Melville Library

October

2: Yom Kippur (No School)

13: Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day (No School)

14: MPTG 6:00-7:00 - In the Melville Library

16: Family Teacher Conferences, 3:30-6:30

18: Fall Festival

22: Unity Day-Wear Orange to unite against Bullying

23:Family Teacher Conferences, 3:30-6:30

31: Schoolwide Storybook Character Day, 2PM K Parade for Melville staff, students, and K families

November

11: Veterans’ Day Observance (No School)

18: MPTG 6:00-7:00 -In the Melville Library

19:One-hour early release for students-Dismissal will be from 2:15-2:30

26 – 28: Thanksgiving Recess (No School)

December

10:One-hour early release for students-Dismissal will be from 2:15-2:30

13: Merry Melville 9:00-12:00 (Chorus performs at 10:30)

15-19 Winter Spirit Week

22 – 31: Holiday Recess (No School)

January

1 - 2: New Year’s Day (No School)

13:MPTG 6:00-7:00 - In the Melville Library

14:One-hour early release for students-Dismissal will be from 2:15-2:30

19: Martin Luther King Day (No School)

26-30: Scholastic Book Fair and Reading Spirit Week

February

Family Teacher Conferences (Flexible, each grade level will notify families and find door support)

10: MPTG 6:00-7:00 - Library

16 - 20: Winter Recess (No School)

March

Wellness Week-TBD

Arts for Life- TBD

Whale of an Evening-TBD

10: MPTG 6:00-7:00 - In the Melville Library

18: One-hour early release for students-Dismissal will be from 2:15-2:30

April

Month of the Military Child

3: Good Friday (No School)

7: RICAS grades 3 and 4 ELA Session 1

8: RICAS grades 3 and 4 ELA Session 2

14: MPTG 6:00-7:00 - In the Melville Library

20 - 24: Spring Recess (No School)

May

Family Teacher Conferences (Flexible, each grade level will notify families and find door support)

12:

RICAS grades 3 and 4 math Session 1

MPTG 6:00-7:00 - In the Melville Library

13: RICAS grades 3 and 4 math Session 2

20:One-hour early release for students-Dismissal will be from 2:15-2:30

21: Fun Run (Rain Date 22nd)

25: Memorial Day (No School)

June

5: PHS Graduation

8: Pre K Graduation

9: MPTG/Volunteer Appreciation 6:00-7:00 - In the Melville Library

10: Field Day (rain date 11th)

TBD -Grade 4 Stepping Up & Family Picnic

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

If your child is going to be absent, or it is absolutely necessary to make a dismissal change, then please complete the: Attendance Notification Form. Please bookmark this form or you can find it on our website. Dismissal changes must be made by 2:15

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.

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.

All families will be invited to parent teacher conferences the week of October 15th. At the conference teachers will review beginning of year data and benchmarking assessments. 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 a school community that students and staff should not leave the classroom and should gather in one area of the room until provided with further direction.

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: 4016831650
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009159177892
Twitter: @MelvilleSchool