Steere Farm Elementary School

October was filled with many highlights! Our curriculum is off and running and students are focused on learning! Teachers are also preparing for parent/teacher conferences on Tuesday, November 3rd from 12:00-3:00 and 4:00-7:00 p.m. Students do not have school on this day. Teachers will have professional development prior to parent/teacher conferences.

On behalf of Steere Farm School, I would like to recognize the unconditional dedication of our PTA members. With the support of SFE families, the PTA covers the costs of buses for field trips, special classroom supplies, assemblies, and more. Our PTA also plans events that create meaningful and special memories for our students. To date, they have sponsored and coordinated the raffle fundraiser, Trunk or Treat, Hallowen Magic Light Show (in school assembly) busses for field trips, replenished recess equipment and fulfilled special grants written by teachers! They also plan restaurant nights to help raise funds for the school. A special thanks to our PTA officers, Kerrie Czerwein, Shannon Luttge, Jen Brown, and Erika Iafrate! The school community looks forward to a continued partnership with our supportive parent group!

November promises to be another month filled with exciting learning opportunities and reasons to be thankful. As always, I encourage you to reach out with any suggestions, questions, or concerns.

Warm Regards,

Mrs. Francis

The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) recently released school accountability data, and Steere Farm Elementary School earned an overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars! We are proud to see our students’ growth in English Language Arts, with proficiency increasing by 3.4 percentage points, as well as continued progress in reducing chronic absenteeism, which decreased to 9.8%. Our school also demonstrated strong performance in school quality and student success. While we celebrate these accomplishments, we remain committed to strengthening academic achievement and ensuring that all students receive the support they need to thrive. Thank you to our dedicated staff, students, and families for being part of our Bronco community!

Please note, there is no school on the following dates:

• Monday, November 3rd: Professional Development Day & Parent/Teacher Conferences.

• Wednesday, November 11th: Veterans Day

• November 25th-27th: Thanksgiving Recess

The School Improvement Team is looking for members! Team members help provide input and ideas to support school goals and initiatives. If you’re interested in joining, please reach out to Mrs. Francis at francisc@bsd-ri.net. Our first meeting will be December 7th at 3:30 PM.

We are pleased to support our families this Thanksgiving! If your family would benefit from a Thanksgiving basket, please complete the form below to submit your request. Please submit only one form per family, even if your children attend multiple BSD schools. Thanksgiving baskets can be picked up at SFE during school hours on November 23 or 24.

The form will close on November 16.

Regular attendance is an important part of student success, and every day counts! Each month, we will be highlighting the class with the best attendance.

Congratulations to Mrs. McConaghy’s class, which had the best attendance for the month of September with an impressive 16 days of perfect attendance! Mrs. Detonnancourt’s class takes the spotlight for October with 14 days of perfect attendance!

Keep up the great work, Broncos! Every day counts! 🎉

Each year, our fourth-grade students participate in a poster contest to build excitement for the new Rhode Island Children's Book Award (RICBA) nominees, also known as the Rooster Games books! This year, we received 32 creative entries, and after a schoolwide vote, Ashton and Penelope were selected as our winners! Their original, eye-catching poster will be displayed in the library throughout the school year to promote the 2027 nominees. After the Rooster Games, the winning poster will be displayed in the children's area of Jesse Smith Public Library for the community to enjoy. Congratulations to Ashton and Penelope!

Steere Farm Elementary fourth grader Niellium Rodriguez is a Feinstein Foundation golden ticket winner!

As a golden ticket winner, Niellium's school will receive a $2,000 grant and his charity of choice, Hasbro Children's Hospital, will receive a $500 grant.

Congratulations, Niellium, and thank you to The Feinstein Foundation!!

We are excited to continue Toodle Tickets this year! Students are invited to fill out a Toodle Ticket to give a special shout out to another student who was kind or helpful. At the end of every month, Toodle Tickets are chosen from grades 2-5. These students are then invited to have a special popsicle with Mrs. Francis. Check out the pictures below from our first Pops with the Principal!

Each month SFE recognizes students who have gone above and beyond to show their 3Rs: Respectful, Responsible and Ready to Learn! Students are nominated by their classroom and/or special subject teachers. Our November recipients will be announced later this week!

New this year, students have the opportunity to complete a Teacher Shout-Out certificate sharing the teacher’s name and why they deserve to be recognized. 💙💛

Each month, we’ll select some shout-outs to read aloud during our school assembly, and all completed shout-outs will be displayed on our Teacher Shout-Out bulletin board in the front of the school for our school community to enjoy! We will also feature a few stand outs in our newsletter - take a peek below!

We are accumulating quite the collection of water bottles, sweatshirts, coats and hats! If your child is missing any items please contact Ms. Tiffany and she will do her best to locate it! Our lost and found is located in the cafeteria. We will be donating all unclaimed items at the end of every month.

*Lost & Found items will be left out in the front lobby during parent/teacher conferences. Please take a look!*

Our Scholastic Book Fair will be held November 2nd-6th and will also be open during parent/teacher conferences on November 3rd. The online book fair will run through November 13th. Click here to access the book fair online!

Retake day is November 13th! New students or students who were absent during the original picture day should have their picture taken. Students who would like a retake must bring their original portrait packet and return it to the photographer.

The online order code is EVTK2MDRC

On November 13, 2026 SFE will be recognizing Diabetic Awareness Day and we encouraged staff and students to wear blue to show support!

Everyday Speech is up and running in all classrooms! Ask your student about their weekly lesson!

Our APE classes have been having a blast with their new equipment this year! A huge thank-you to the PTA for the paddles and parachute. Ms. Lynne and Mr. Lasalandra are so grateful for your generosity, and the kids have absolutely LOVED using the new equipment! We’ve included a few bonus scooter pictures, too, just for fun!

In our Multi-Age classroom, we are settling into the rhythm and routines of the school year! While we spend our days exploring a variety of subjects, including reading, writing, social studies, science, social skills, and life skills, we wanted to share a glimpse of some of the ways we have been building our math skills.

Although students may be working on different skills and learning goals at any given time, one thing we all have in common is how much we LOVE hands-on learning! These activities provide us opportunities to explore, practice, problem-solve, and learn in fun and meaningful ways.

Our second graders had some Halloween fun creating mini replicas of their own Halloween costumes! This creative activity gave students a chance to show off their artistic skills and share a little Halloween spirit!

Third grade scientists have been working on Unit 1 in our new OpenSciEd curriculum. Our first unit, called Forces and Interactions, focuses on sculptures and how to construct sculptures that will balance. Scientists have been asked to consider balance points, weight, symmetry, and other scientific concepts to build both standing and hanging sculptures that balance!

In partnership with the Recess Rocks program, we recently launched year 3 of our Junior Coach initiative. Junior Coaches are students who are selected to be leaders at recess and received special training! They are tasked with assisting at recess, being a positive role model and promoting a safe and fun environment. We are excited for this leadership opportunity for our oldest SFE students! Way to go, Coaches!

*Special thanks to Mrs. Dittrich for being the Jr. Coach coordinator!

During National Fire Safety Week, the Harrisville Fire Department, including Sparky, visited SFE to talk about fire safety, firefighter responsibilities, and the trucks/equipment firefighters use!

Unity Day was a success! Thank you for your support. Staff and students wore orange to symbolize that we are united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion!

Students also participated in decorating rocks with symbols, words and/or images to represent kindness, inclusion and friendship. They came out beautiful and are proudly displayed in the front of our building near the flag pole!

October was filled with many spirit days including a district wide Pink Out and Homecoming Week!

The annual Burrillville Cross Country Fun Run brought together student-athletes from our high school, middle school, and elementary schools for an afternoon of running and cheering. Older students handed out high-fives and encouragement, and our youngest runners crossed the finish line to a crowd of coaches, teachers, and families cheering.

That’s role modeling at its best: kindness, perseverance, and good sportsmanship, shown in real time.

Thank you to our runners, coaches, teachers, volunteers, and families for making this tradition something to be proud of... Go Broncos!

Our students had a blast enjoying a Halloween-themed Prismatic Magic light show, generously provided by our PTA! It was a fun and festive experience for our Broncos. Thank you to our PTA for making this special treat possible!

Our next PTA meeting is Monday, November 2, 2026, at 6:30

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/3566762627?omn=87531252938

Meeting ID: 356 676 2627

A HUGE THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who donated and supported our Fall Raffle Ticket Fundraiser! With your generosity and support, we raised an incredible $17,530, with a net profit of $14,780!

We are so grateful for our amazing school community. We couldn’t do it without you!

Thank you for supporting Steere Farm PTA and our students!

A huge thank you to everyone who donated candy and volunteered their time to make our event so special! We couldn’t make these events happen without your amazing support.

We hope everyone had a spooktacular time! Thank you for supporting Steere Farm PTA!

Don't forget to check out the school store to get your Bronco gear!

November 2nd: PTA Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.

November 6th: PBIS (Student of the Month) Assembly

November 9th-13th: STAR (reading/math) progress monitoring window

November 10th: Student of the Month Family Ceremony @ 8:25 a.m.

November 11th: No School

November 13th: Picture Retakes

November 13th: Diabetes Awareness Day! Wear blue!

November 25th-27th: No School - Thanksgiving Recess

November 30th: End of First Trimester