Hope Valley School Weekly Update

Dear Parents:

The Rhode Island Department of Education is currently administering its annual SurveyWorks Family Survey, which is an opportunity for family members to provide feedback about our school community and our children’s opportunities to learn. The survey results are most useful when all families participate, so I am writing to ask you to participate in this survey.

Your views on matters like the safety of your child at school, the way students are taught, the condition of the school, and how connected you feel to this school are important. By taking this short survey, you can help our school leadership and school community to make improvements. Responses are anonymous and cannot be linked to any individual; no one can tie your responses back to you.

You can take the short survey online through March 31. To take the survey, visit: bit.ly/ridefamily. Choose Hope Valley Elementary School from the dropdown list.

On a personal note, I am always wanting to know how to help Hope Valley School, so your participation in this survey is of the utmost importance to me. We get a very detailed summary on how to improve the school and we take that data very seriously. Please take some time to complete this survey. Your participation is always so greatly appreciated!

CHALLENGE: If we can get to 60% participation. I will hold a very special event for the children. Thank you!

Please click here to review our FY 23 School Budget Flyer. You will find the top 3 questions for this year's budget, a link to our frequently asked questions document, and a google form to submit any additional questions you may have.

FEBRUARY 2022

2/21-2/25 – February Break

2/22/22 - TWOs Day Activity (see information below)

2/28 - Reading Week begins (see information below)

MARCH 2022

2/28-3/4 - READING WEEK (see information below)

3/1 - PCR Collection Screening Event

3/7 - PTO Meeting (6:30 in the library)

3/7 - SIT meeting (5:00 in the library)

3/8 - PCR Collection Screening Event

3/14 - State PD Day for teachers (DL day for students)

3/15 - PCR Collection Screening Event

3/18 - Trimester 2 ends

3/22 - PCR Collection Screening Event

3/23 - Early Release Day (AM PreK attends)

3/25 - Report Cards Distributed

3/29 - PCR Collection Screening Event

APRIL 2022

4/4 - PTO Meeting (6:30 in the library)

4/5 - PCR Collection Screening Event

4/5 - Chariho Budget Referendum (Voting will be at the 3 Town Halls)

4/6 - RICAS ELA Testing Session 1 > Grade 3

4/7 - RICAS ELA Testing Session 2 > Grade 3

4/12 - PCR Collection Screening Event

4/12 - RICAS ELA Testing Session 1 > Grade 4

4/13 - RICAS ELA Testing Session 2 > Grade 4

4/15 - No School for students and staff

4/18-4/22 - Spring Recess - No School

4/26 - PCR Collection Screening Event

MAY 2022

5/3 - PCR Collection Screening Event

5/3 - RICAS Math Testing Session 1 > Grade 3

5/4 - RICAS Math Testing Session 2 > Grade 3

5/5 - RICAS Math Testing Session 1 > Grade 4

5/6 - RICAS Math Testing Session 2 > Grade 4

5/9 - PTO Meeting (6:30 in the library)

5/9 - SIT meeting (5:00 in the library)

5/10 - PCR Collection Screening Event

5/11 - State PD Day for teachers (DL day for students)

5/17 - PCR Collection Screening Event

5/18 - Early Release Day (PM PreK attends)

5/24 - PCR Collection Screening Event

5/30 - No School for students and staff

JUNE 2022

6/20 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL (as of 2/11/22)

On this special day known as TWO's Day (which happens to be on a Tuesday) and in preparation of Reading Week, please encourage your child to read for 22 minutes and 22 seconds. Feel free to take a picture of your child(ren) reading and upload it to the google folder link below. You can also email it to me at ggen@chariho.k12.ri.us if you prefer. Bring out your creativity side when taking the pictures. :-)

Add your picture to this Google Folder

Hope Valley School is swimming with excitement for our Reading Week which starts once we get back from February vacation (February 28th-March 4th). To get ready, we want everyone to read over break and help us create a fish tank in our school hallway showcase displays. But, we need your help! Click on the link below for more information. We appreciate your help in this exciting endeavor.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16P1ES01-eXnLZLcNfhpfhulzrKZ7ef1nSE8dZlAy7gE/edit?usp=sharing

Hope Valley first graders have worked hard to decorate the display cases near the library. With lots of help from Mrs. Smith, the display is truly a Winter Wonderland! I love the imagination of our first graders! Way to go!!!

Message from Superintendent Picard:

Dear Chariho Community,

Last week Governor McKee announced that he is ending the state-wide mask mandate for schools as of March 4th, 2022. In essence, this means that beginning March 5th, masks will be recommended in Chariho Schools and it will be a family choice as to whether or not a student will wear a mask while in school. Adjusting the masking requirement fits our existing policy. I have linked it here for your review.

As a reminder, wearing a mask on a school bus is a Federal requirement not subject to the Governor’s order, so masking on buses will be expected and enforced until that requirement is changed.

Our schools will continue to conduct regular COVID-19 monitoring tests of students and staff who have already opted-in for testing to help prevent further outbreaks and ensure we can keep our students in school. If you would like to be added to the regular testing, please contact your child's school for directions on how to opt-in. To review the current COVID data, please visit the Rhode Island Covid-19 Pre-K-12 Datalink.

We do not yet know how RIDOH will adjust the guidance or mask requirements regarding a return from infection, the “monitor to stay” protocols, an increase in cases, or other associated scenarios. When we are informed regarding those details, we will let the community know as soon as possible and adjust our policies and practices accordingly.

It is also important to note that when our students, staff, and parents attend events or field trips outside of the Chariho Regional School District an organization or another district may still require masks and we ask that all individuals respect the policies of the organizations.

I am appreciative of the ongoing support and partnership of the entire community. We will continue to do all we can to keep our students and staff safe and healthy, and I am grateful for your understanding and patience as we move forward together.

Please reach out if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Gina M.Picard

If you are bringing your child to school late, the expectation is that you come to the front door of the school to sign your child in. For safety reasons, please do not leave your child at the school to walk to the front door by themselves. Thank you!

Starting this month, Chariho Regional Schools will be starting our initiative "Look What Chariho Can Do In 2022". We are asking everyone to show their support by helping us promote all of our wonderful students, teachers, staff, community and events that happen every day. Please join in by sharing a photo or words that celebrate all the wonderful things that are happening in Chariho. We ask that you tag @CharihoRegional and @MrG_HVES on Twitter and use the hashtag #candoin22. We look forward to sharing all of the amazing things happening in Chariho.

Chariho is currently taking applications for individuals interested in mentoring 5th-12th grade students attending Chariho Regional Middle School (CMS), Chariho Regional High School (CHS) and Chariho Alternative Learning Academy (CALA). If you are interested, please click the link below for more information.

https://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/parent_resources/chariho_mentoring_program

At the beginning of the year we asked all parents to submit a COVID -19 Health Check one-time sign-off for their child/children in PowerSchool. The attestation form has now been revised due to changes from CDC and RIDOH. We need all families to resubmit the form in PowerSchool based on these revisions.

As a reminder, *Students will not be able to submit a COVID-19 Health Check using their account. Parents, please do not log in using your child’s PowerSchool account as the COVID-19 Health Check will not function. A Parent/guardian will need to log into PowerSchool from a computer at https://ps.chariho.k12.ri.us/public/home.html or https://ps.chariho.k12.ri.us/public/. If you need any assistance please contact the school.

Here are directions on how to do this: PowerSchool Student COVID eFORM instructions updated Jan 2022[2].pdf

I wanted to share how you can register your child to participate in the weekly COVID testing that we conduct at school (typically on Wednesdays). Our testing company (Concentric by Ginkgo) now offers a way to register digitally. Thank you to those who have already consented. Our population of students being tested more than doubled this week. See directions on how to register below:

How do I provide consent for a child?

Please navigate to https://testcenter.concentricbyginkgo.com/minor-consent/ and complete the consent process if you wish to allow your child to participate in testing.

The access code you will need is HVES2321. If you need to provide consent for more than one child, please complete the process for each child.

Attached are additional instructions to guide you through the consent process. Click directly below for the instruction.

Absences - If your child is going to be absent, please call the school office at 401-539-2321. If your child happens to test positive for COVID, PLEASE be sure to email Nurse Tara, Ms. Donna, and Mr. G with that information.

• Nurse Tara: Tara.McAloon@chariho.k12.ri.us
• Ms. Donna: Donna.Sunderland@chariho.k12.ri.us
• Mr. G, Principal: giuseppe.gencarelli@chariho.k12.ri.us

Student Devices - Students in grades 1-4 have devices that MUST go back and forth to and from school everyday. Please ensure your child has his/her charged chromebook on a daily basis.

Snow/DL Day Information - Devices will need to be used if there is a snow day. Please see information regarding DL days for inclement weather days here. The emergency plan used as last resort is linked here as well. In case of a DL day I will be sure to inform parents like I did for the Jan 7th DL day.

Dismissal - Parent pick up for students in K-4 are arriving while prek dismissal is happening. PLEASE be mindful of our pre-school population and do not arrive prior to 3:10. The entire dismissal process for K-4 takes roughly 10-12 min. We have some amazing staff getting our students out quickly and safely.

Peanut & Tree Nut Free School - We continue to be a nut free school which means no peanut butter and no tree nuts including Nutella.

Cold Weather Alert - Please be sure your children are appropriately dressed for recess weather. Please ensure your children are dressed in coats, hats, and gloves. When I make the decisions for outside recess, I consider the air temperature and wind chill. All the Chariho elementary schools use a specific chart/table to determine if it is safe to go outside.

TOYS - Please make sure that your children do not take any toys from home to school. We continue to see an uptick in this and it is causing problems at school.

Identification - PLEASE be sure parents who are picking up children early from school have proper identification with them when they come to the front door. Ms. Donna is not always the one in the office and we must verify who is picking up the children. Thank you for your undivided attention to this request.

Parking at HVES - The parking spots that are numbered in the school lot are for staff ONLY. We are having issues with parents dropping off children in the morning and taking up a staff parking spot which is causing staff members to be late which is becoming problematic. Also, some staff end up getting blocked since we have double parking at the end of the day. If parents need to come to the building, PLEASE either park in front of the school or at Langworthy Field and walk up the stairs to the main front door.

Celebrations Outside of School - Throughout the district, there have been some inquiries regarding passing out birthday invitations. With the concerns with COVID, schools will not be passing out personal invitations or non-district events at this time unless it’s an approved organization event that is required to follow COVID protocols. We are sorry for this inconvenience.

Here is the link to access Superintendent Picard's newsletter (February).

A link to past issues of the newsletter can be found here as well:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1grxKQ2ZjeBENC4UTdO1b8SwStqKmFqPL?usp=sharing

Hello members of the Chariho community,

Please find a copy of the February issue of the We Are Chariho newsletter here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TnXw86Qyt5J_83Z5aI9qkgjSJdrzw88S/view?usp=sharing

A link to past issues of the newsletter can be found here as well:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1grxKQ2ZjeBENC4UTdO1b8SwStqKmFqPL?usp=sharing

Here are the PTO meeting dates for the rest of the year. All parents are welcome to attend any of the PTO meetings. Hope to see you there!

March 7th at 6:30pm

April 4th at 6:30pm

May 9th at 6:30pm

PTO Members

Co-President: Kristin Clarke > kristinc49@aol.com

Co-President: Leah Sousa > leah.sousa@hotmail.com

Treasurer: Stephanie DaPonte > sdaponte14@gmail.com

Secretary: Chloe Morgan > cmako28@yahoo.com

Communication: Chelsea Vandeveer> chelseabaker101@yahoo.com

School Contact Information

School Principal: Giuseppe Gencarelli – Giuseppe.Gencarelli@chariho.k12.ri.us

School Secretary: Donna Sunderland – Donna.Sunderland@chariho.k12.ri.us

School Webpage: https://hopevalley.chariho.k12.ri.us/

School Contact Info: Phone - 401-539-2321 Fax - 401-633-7099

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Hope Valley Elementary School is to work in partnership with our colleagues, students and families. We are committed to creating a learning environment where children are expected to achieve their full potential.

Email: ggen@chariho.k12.ri.us
Website: hopevalley.chariho.k12.ri.us
Location: 15 Thelma Drive, Hope Valley, RI, United States
Phone: 401-539-2321
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mr.Gencarelli/?ref=br_rs
Twitter: @MrG_HVES