Rochester Memorial Minute

In celebration of Veterans Day, our students have been showing their appreciation for the brave men and women who have served our country! Students have been coloring special Veterans Day posters to honor veterans who are member of their families, friends, and our local community. These heartfelt creations are being brought into school and proudly displayed throughout our hallways as a ways to recognize and celebrate their service and sacrifice.

This meaningful activity helps students understand the importance of gratitude, respect, and honoring those who have served our nation! We are asking everyone to show their appreciation to our Veterans by wearing red, white and blue on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

Dear RMS Families,

This week felt different with the hour change and no school on Tuesday; however, our students continued to be engaged in learning and respecting one another. This month our students are focusing on what it means to be a responsible citizen as it relates to our CARES acronym. Our students are also making connections to how this applies to taking care of themselves, taking care of each other and taking care of our environment. We love capturing the genuine moments when students clean up their space without being reminded or help a classmate. We are growing our students one day at a time.

With Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving approaching, we want our students to extend their thinking to understanding gratitude and learning how to show gratitude towards one another. It would be great if families can point out and recognize acts of gratitude in the moment so students can recognize these acts of kindness in different settings outside of school.

Sincerely,

Principal Letendre & Assistant Principal Vanderquist

1. The next PTO meeting is Tuesday, November 10th at 6:30 PM.
2. Tuesday, Nov. 10th: Wear your red, white and blue to honor our Veterans!
3. There is no school on Wednesday, November 11th to honor Veteran's Day.
4. Friday, November 13th, 5th Grade has a Field Trip to Plymouth
5. The Lost and Found items are growing hoodie sweatshirts, have you labeled them yet?
6. Help us to support the High School's community Service Clothing Collections: We will put the boxes by the front and back door for donations. Please see the flyer below.

Once again, RMS will participate in the Feinstein Foundation. Each student aka "Jr. Scholar" has been given their own individually numbered Golden Ticket.

Here’s how the Golden Ticket Program works for the 2025–2026 school year:

• Weekly Drawings: Every Monday, 5 new winning Golden Ticket numbers will be randomly selected and announced. It all starts October 6th, 2025!

• Mrs. Letendre will post the weekly winning numbers in the SMORE each week.

• Announcements: Winning numbers will be emailed directly to Feinstein Leadership Schools & posted on The Feinstein Foundation’s website & social media pages! (Please note: announcements will no longer be shared on WPRI Channel 12.)

• Winning school receives a $2,000 grant!
• Winning student receives a $500 grant to donate to a non-profit of their choice!
• Winning student also receives surprise gifts from The Feinstein Foundation!

Our students had an exciting opportunity to experience science in action during a special assembly featuring Emmy-nominated science performer David Hagerman! Through engaging demonstrations, fascinating experiments, and plenty of audience participation, David brought science to life in a fun and memorable way. Students were encouraged to think like scientists, ask questions, make observations, and discover the excitement of exploring how things work. It was an entertaining and educational experience that reminded us all that science is happening all around us! Thank you to our PTO for this wonder event for our students!

Lunch at RMS:

All Schools

Assorted Snacks. $1.00 -$1.50

Helpful School Nutrition/Lunch Link: https://orrschoolmeals.com/

Please review calendar carefully and note any changes to after-school activities. The after-school activity teacher should be notifying families of any changes.

Please know, many of our buses arrive at school by 8:30 AM. Only students having breakfast in the morning will get off the bus at 8:30 AM. If your student is not to have breakfast please let the office know. Students not having breakfast will be dismissed from the buses starting at 8:40 AM. We dismiss kindergarten students first and they are escorted by our faculty and staff.

Lunch Schedule:

Daily Snack:

Just a reminder that students do have a snack each day. The snacks need to be packed separately from their lunch and need to be free from peanuts/tree nuts.

We do have an allergy table in the cafeteria. If you have any questions regarding allergies, please reach out to our school nurse, Mrs. Murphy at ellenmurphy@oldrochester.org

Our students put their creativity and scientific thinking to work as they explored how different materials can be used to design hats for various weather conditions! Students investigated materials such as aluminum foil, paper plates, paper towels, and pater bags, testing their softness, and absorbency, and stiffness. They then use their observations to design and create their own unique hats, considering how different materials might provide comfort and protections from the elements. This hands on STEM activity encourage problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking as student discovered how science plays a role in everyday clothing choices!

• Our school’s PTO is an active organization that supports many school initiatives. This is a great organization that meets monthly.
• The first meeting of the school year will be on Tuesday, October 13th at 6:30 PM. We hope to see you there.

The Holiday Helping Angels are a group of Rochester-based volunteers. Our mission is to

provide support to Rochester families & seniors who need a little extra help during the holiday

season. We provide Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday dinner food bags as well as Christmas

gifts. Christmas gifts include both items that are “needed” and others that are on a “wish list”

All food and gifts are provided by donations from several community organizations and

citizens. The Holiday Helping Angels program is coordinated by a retired RMS teacher with

assistance from Rochester Firefighters Association, Rochester Police Brotherhood, Rochester

Lions, Wareham Chiropractic, Town of Rochester employees, Eliot Farm, Snipatuit Pond

Association, Old Orchard Estates residents, Friends Market and many more.

If you are in need of a helping hand this holiday season please find the form at the link below.

https://forms.gle/sfDK6StS5WD6vnZP8

If you have any questions, please email

angelsfromrochester@gmail.com

We are excited to share that RMS has its own Facebook page, just look up Rochester Memorial School and add yourself to the page. Here you will find notifications and other information throughout the week and year ahead.

ORRconnect Mobile App

This mobile app allows families to receive targeted, real-time updates right at their fingertips regarding school happenings. Families can filter content, calendars and settings unique to one building or all. Check out the Mobile App Info Sheet for details on the information within our app.

Search ORRconnect in the app store or use the links from your mobile device.

From your Apple Mobile Device

From your Android Mobile Device

You can also access a lot of our information on our school website at https://rms.oldrochester.org/

Main Office Administrative Assistant

Lisa Russello

508-763-2049 ext. 2000

lisarussello@oldrochester.org

Special Education Administrative Assistant

Kristina Miranda

508-763-2049 ext. 2001

kristinamiranda@oldrochester.org

School Nurse

Ellen Murphy

508-763-2049 ext. 2019

ellenmurphy@oldrochester.org

School Social Workers

Sharon Cruz

508-763-2049 ext. 2015

sharoncruz@oldrochester.org

Jamie Pacheco

508-763-20-49 ext. 1116

jamiepacheco@oldrochester.org

Assistant Principal

Josh Vanderquist

508-763-2049 ext. 3000

joshuavanderquist@oldrochester.org

Principal

Heidi Letendre

508-763-2049 ext. 2010

heidiletendre@oldrochester.org

Amaral Bus Company

Cheryl Sweeney, Dispatch Manager Phone: (508) 324-0551

Press 1 (for Amaral Bus Co)

Then press 2 (for Tri-Town District)