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.

Melville School, in partnership with First Student, taught all students Bus Expectations on a bus this week. Thank you to FIrst Student for supporting this event to ensure all students have a safe bus ride home each day.

Please support our students by reviewing bus expectations with your child at home. Thank you.

☕You can register to attend by scanning the QR code below or by CLICKING HERE.

I am writing to share information on ways that you can provide feedback that will help to inform the drafting of our next District Strategic Plan and on upcoming Parent Coffee Hours at each of our schools throughout the month of October.

Strategic Plan Development Community Forum & Survey

On Tuesday, October 8th, we will be hosting a community forum for all PSD families and staff related to the creation of our next District Strategic Plan. This meeting will be held at PHS beginning at 6:00 pm. Babysitting will be available if needed. This forum is an important opportunity to provide feedback for this process and will be in addition to surveys and smaller focus groups for students, staff, and families that will be part of the data collection process. Please use this link to RSVP.

If you are not able to attend the forum (or even if you can), here is a community survey where you can also provide your feedback. The survey is currently open and will be accessible through October 8th.

Parent Coffee Hours

Dr. Kenworthy and the principal from each school will be hosting parent coffee hours during the month of October. This will be an opportunity to gather in an informal setting, ask questions, and share ideas on education in the PSD. More details will be sent out from each school. Please save the following dates if you can join us:

October 9th, 10:00am - Melville

October 10th, 10:00am - PMS

October 24th, 10:00am - Hathaway

October 25th, 10:00am - PHS

I hope that you are able to attend one of these upcoming events. My continued best wishes to all in the PSD community!

October 🎃

4th- Escobar Corn Maze (Time TBD, Raid Date: 10/8)

14th-Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day (No School)

16th-Unity Day-Wear Orange to make a Stand Against Bullying

16th- Melville Community Clinic

23rd- School Picture Day

24th- After School Family-Teacher Conferences

26th-Fall Festival

29th-Kindergarten Monster Mash 5PM-6PM (more information to follow)

🦃November

5th- Election Day (No School for Students)

5th- Staff Professional Development Day

7th- After School Family-Teacher Conferences

11th- Veterans’ Day Observance (No School)

27th – 29th: Thanksgiving Recess (No School)

December 🎄

5th- Picture Retake Day

10th- Holiday Craft & Ornament

23rd– 31st- Holiday Recess (No School)

As the winter season approaches, we understand that keeping our children warm is a top priority. The Portsmouth United Methodist Church has committed to supporting our community and ensuring that every child has the necessary clothing to stay warm during the colder months.

To assist with this, they are offering to provide winter coats to students who may be in need. If your child needs a coat for the upcoming winter season, they would be honored to help.

Click here for the form to submit your request for a Winter Coat.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Has everyone in your family had their flu vaccine?

There will be a FREE flu vaccine clinic at Melville Elementary School (in the cafeteria) on Wednesday, October 16, 2024 from 4 pm - 7 pm. Ages 3 and up are welcome. The COVID-19 vaccine will also be available.

Here’s some important information about the FREE flu vaccine clinic:

• Register online at schoolflu.com to schedule an appointment.
• Online registration is required to ensure the availability of the vaccine, walk-ins will be limited.
• Insurance information will be collected, but the vaccine is FREE whether you have insurance or not.

The flu is a serious, highly contagious, and sometimes deadly disease. Catching the flu means missing days of work and school. You might even have to spend time in the hospital. Don’t take the risk — the flu vaccine is your best protection against the flu.

For more information, visit health.ri.gov/flu/, or call the Department of Health’s information line at 401-222-5960.

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.

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: 401-683-1650
Facebook: Melville Principal
Twitter: @MelvilleSchool