The event has been in the important dates for a while, BUT I would love to remind our families that TOMORROW is Bus Driver Appreciation Day. If you could give your driver an extra smile or student could give a small token/note of appreciation, I know it would go a long way! They work hard to keep our students safe and happy on the way to and from school each day.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WINTER BREAK!!!!

THANK YOU for your support, as always!!

Warmly,

Michelle Pitts

News from RES

I wanted to share some information with all of you that was discussed at the School Board meeting last evening. The wonderful and magical Michelle Gwinn has submitted her resignation as of June 2025 to explore other opportunities. We are so thrilled for her but, of course, sad for our RES family. We will enjoy every moment with her until then and hope she will come back and visit often!

This resignation led to Eileen Murphy's decision to request a shift back to the classroom from Outdoor Education. This caused much discussion among our staff. We have struggled to get outdoors this year due to high winds, trees that are not stable due to last year's storms, and frigid temperatures. In addition, we are working to fit in more content in our core academic areas. We are fortunate to have seven Unified Arts classes but have been discussing how we might embed outdoor learning time into our classroom time on days when the weather cooperates and is more in line with our curriculum and student needs.

We continue to be grateful for the grant funding and opportunities that REF, PTA, and other organizations have provided to this program. We have several ideas for how we will continue using our amazing outdoor spaces (gardens, platforms, and fire pit - as just some examples!). RES is dedicated to ensuring our students are outside and active as much as possible. We appreciate your trust that these experiences will continue without the formal scheduled outdoor education time each week.

Photo Day 2

This is a NEW event and we are going to try and see if there is interest for another round of pictures. PLEASE know that we have done individual photos once and class photos but if you want to show your child's growth, this might be for you?

BONUS: We are sending home a sheet asking families if they would like SIBLING photos. We must have this form returned by Friday, March 7. We will send this home on the Monday after break.

Snowshoes For RENT!!!

Just a reminder that snowshoes for both adults and students are available for sign out over vacation and on the weekends now that we finally have some snow! Email Mrs. Warden at hwarden@sau50.org if you would like to sign them out. Below is a size chart, please indicate what sizes you would like. Thanks!

16 " (light blue) 25 - 60 lbs

19" (red) 50 - 110 lbs

21" (light blue adult) 80 - 160 lbs

25" (light blue or black and yellow) 120 - 200 lbs

30" (black and yellow) 160 - 260 lbs

The number of adult sizes are limited but we have plenty of kids sizes 16 & 19". A form will need to be signed and left at the front office. Please let me know by Thursday mornings and I will let you know when the snowshoes are available for pick up.

Mrs. Warden

FOURTH GRADE ONLY!!!!: Kids Heart Challenge is COMING!

Fourth grade students are invited to participate in the Kids Heart Challenge!

Here are some parent resources KHC Parent Resources

Fundraising Support and Fun ways to move at home

All donations are due by Friday, March 7th.

If you have any questions please reach out to hwarden@sau50.org

SEND IN YOUR COINS!!!

We are collecting COINS!!!! Please send in any coins you have at home to support students who were affected by the Califrornia fires.

Kindergarten Registration

Rye Elementary School is presently registering Kindergarten and Grade 1 (new students entering RES only) students for the 2025-2026 school year. Our Kindergarten program is a full day program. It is important that all students register so that we can plan classes for next year. We are already in the planning and budgeting process so please register right away.

You can register at:

https://sau50.powerschool.com/public/formbuilder/form.html?formid=2327135.

Once approved, you will receive instructions on how register for Power School and complete

forms online.

Please register early. Details are online at the RES webpage. http://res.sau50.org/

Students chronological age will be age 5 to enter kindergarten or age 6 to enter Grade 1

on or before September 30 of the year the student plans to enter school. There will be Kindergarten Orientation information announced in the spring, as well as details regarding kindergarten screening.

Special Education Parent Partnership News

Special Education Parent Partnership Group Monthly Meetings

The Parent Partnership Group recently hosted a presentation on Dyslexia and Specific Learning Disabilities at Greenland Central School on January 27th. Check it out here: https://gcs.sau50.org/contentItem/a5e04cc0-137b-445b-8897-239e38cf9ad9/1762167064

Parent Partnership Meetings- All welcome!

Upcoming guest speakers include:

March 4, 2025 - Occupational Therapy with Jodi Fletcher, Occupational Therapist, Greenland School District
April 1, 2025 - Speech Therapy with Gina Henshaw, Speech Pathologist, Rye School District
May 6, 2025 - Psychological Services with Jen Drew, School Psychologist, Greenland School District
June 3, 2025 - IEP Document with Stacey Kirby, Director of Special Education

CHILD FIND

School districts are responsible to actively seek out families who may have children with disabilities and require special education. Our Preschool team will hold the second screening on April 4, 2025. Notification of the screenings was included in weekly school newsletters as well as mailed to local preschools, community service agencies, and pediatrician offices.

RJH 2025 PLAY ANNOUNCEMENT: Auditions (Grade 4), Play Attendance (ALL!)

Rye Junior High School announces this year's musical, “BEETLEJUICE".

Performances: Thu 4/10, 7pm; Fri 4/11, 7pm; Sat 4/12, 2pm & 6pm

Lunch in Our Caf

We invite one family member at a time to have lunch with their child(ren) but this is very optional and we don't want families to feel pressured to attend. This is an occasional event as we do want children to build independence and social skills in the cafeteria, a perfect time for this!

Email resoffice@sau50.org if you would like to attend with the date/time. It is important to anticipate who will be in the building. We love these opportunities for students and their family members but we will always put safety first.
Adults must bring their own lunch and can bring lunch for their own child.
We do have a focus during this time...eating for energy and brain power!
Family members must meet the child in the cafeteria and leave from the cafeteria.
Days for family visits are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We do not have lunch visitors on Fridays.
Lunch times are:

Kindergarten-11:45-12:10

First Grade-12:10-12:35

Second Grade-12:10-12:35

Third Grade- 11:15-11:40

Fourth Grade-11:15-11:40

Photo Highlights

Grade 3 and 4 Lunch Macarena Challenge

We had been inside for a couple of days for cold weather so we got up and did some dancing. We had a Macarena challenge and so many of our students knew all the moves!

Hula Hooping

Speaking of moves...look at these first graders hula hooping! In PE, our students learn so many movement skills it is hard to keep track. We are so proud of the wide repertoire of knowledge they gain with Mrs. Warden.

Valentine's Assembly and Parties

Thank you to everyone who attended our assembly, helped with the parties or was here in spirit! We thrive on the support of our families and community. We want to thank these two brave RES students for singing with the Riptide Rhythms band, they were amazing!!!