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.

As part of Melville's Hour of Code celebrations this month, students in Grades 3 and 4 had the opportunity to work with computer programmers and historians from the Rhode Island Computer Museum. During the forty five minute workshop students worked with the coding program Scratch to learn the basics of the application and then designed and created their own video game or scene. Students were creative, worked together to problem solve and were eager to share their experience with one another.

Your child's Report Card will be available on ASPEN via the Family Portal on December 9th. The ASPEN link can be found on the PSD home site and then click on the ASPEN button. If you have any issues logging in, then please email familyportal@portsmouthschools ri.org.

Please join us for the Melville Holiday Craft Night on December 13th from 4:30-6:30.

You can sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094CA5AB2CABF85-46488833-holiday#/

Order your Melville Spirit Wear from the Melville PTG! Order Form

Please fill out this form if you are interested in babysitting services.

On Tuesday December 19th, Mr. Soares will be hosting a Holiday Obstacle Course Night for Kindergarten Families in the Melville Gym from 4:00 - 6:00pm:

ATTACHED IS THE FLYER FOR THE EVENT.

If you plan to attend please sign up using this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084DAAA72DAAFEC16-46243516-holiday#/

• IMPORTANT: This is not a drop off event, and you must be in attendance with your student(s).
• You will be ENTERING and EXITING Door 10, which is connected to the GYM.
• You WILL NOT be able to enter through the main doors.

There will be a sign in sheet- after you have signed in: knock on door and I will let you and your student into the gym.

DIRECTIONS:

1. If you are looking at Melville you will enter the parking lot on the LEFT not the main entrance with the bus loop.

2. You will park and walk all the way to the fence straight ahead at the end of the parking lot.

3. Once you have walked to the fence take a RIGHT as if you were walking to the back of the school.

4. There will be a long hall-way like cement path and at the end of that will be DOOR 10.

If you have any questions please feel free to send Mr. Soares an email: soaresr@portsmouthschoolsri.org

Looking forward to seeing you!

“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” ( Dweck, 2015)

We will have a bin in the Vestibule after the holidays.

Please send in your Clement's Receipts. Our MPTG collets them and over the year Clements gives Melville back a percentage of what was spent. This year Clements gave our MPTG approximately $600!

We go outside as much as possible and we want our students to be warm and ready to play! Please help your children select weather appropriate clothing as we enter the colder months.

If you would like to order a yearbook then please do so by following this link and use the SCHOOL ID.

Yearbook Order: https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/

School ID: 12072424

If you do not order a yearbook, then we may not have enough available to purchase at the end of the school year when it comes out. We order some extra, but the only guarantee is to pre order, so I highly recommend ordering one ahead of time.

If you have a child in grade 4 and need financial assistance to purchase a yearbook, then please email me directly at lauried@portsmouthschoolsri.org and we will make sure your child gets a yearbook.

You can learn more by visiting this site:https://feinsteinfoundation.org/jr-scholar-card.html

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.

If you are interested in volunteering or chaperoning this school year, then you will need to complete the volunteer approval process. Mrs. McEvoy in our office is a notary and can be of any assistance, so please do not hesitate to reach out!

Please use meloffice@portsmouthschoolsri.org to notify the main office of changes to your child's dismissal routine or of your child's absence.

We love to celebrate our students. If they have special news that you would like us to share, e.g. State Wrestling or Cheerleading Championship accomplishments, then please email me at lauried@portsmouthschoolsri.org and we will be sure to include their recognition in our morning announcements.

We will have our Planet Aid bin again this year...please continue to fill it with clothes and shoes.

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

December

12th-IEP Progress Reports are open in the Family ASPEN Portal

13th-Holiday Crafts and Ornament Party 5pm-7PM, Melville Cafeteria

21st-School Wide Pajama/Cozy Day

22nd-Holiday Break-No School

January

1st–New Year’s Observance (No School)

10th-MPTG Monthly Meeting, 6PM-7PM, Melville Library

12th-Staff Professional Development Day (No School for Students)

15th–Martin Luther King Day (No School)

29th-2nd-Scholastic Book Fair

February

7th--MPTG Monthly Meeting, 6PM-7PM, Melville Library

8th-Parent Teacher Conferences 3:30-6:30

19th–Presidents’ Day

19th-23rd –Winter Recess (No School)

March

12th–End of Trimester 2

13th--MPTG Monthly Meeting, 6PM-7PM, Melville Library

14th & 15th- Grade 3 Seal Watch Field Trip (date to attend per class TBD)

29th–Good Friday (No school)

April

10th-MPTG Monthly Meeting, 6PM-7PM, Melville Library

15th-19th– Spring Recess (No School)

23rd–Staff Professional Development Day (No School for Students)

May

6th-10th-Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week

8th--MPTG Monthly Meeting, 6PM-7PM, Melville Library

16th - TBD tentative date for Spring Parent Teacher Conferences 3:30-6:30

21st-Fun Run (rain date 5/23)

27th-Memorial Day (No School)

29th-Grade 2 Family & Caregiver Celebration

30th-Kindergarten Family & Caregiver Celebration

31st-Grade 3 Wax Museum and Family & Caregiver End of Year Event

June

3rd-Field Day (rain date 6/4)

5th-Grade 1 Family & Caregiver Celebration

6th-Pre Kindergarten Graduation

7th–PHS Graduation (Tentative Date)

12th-FINAL MPTG Meeting, 6PM-7PM, Melville Library

13th-Grade 4 Stepping Up Ceremony with Family & Caregivers

14th- or 180th day – Last Day of School – All Students

17th,18th, 20th, 21st– Snow Makeup Days

19th – Juneteenth (No School)

Email: lauried@portsmouthschoolsri.org
Website: https://www.portsmouthschoolsri.org/Domain/11
Location: 1351 West Main Road, Portsmouth, RI, USA
Phone: 4016831650
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009159177892
Twitter: @MelvilleSchool