March 2021

3/2 - Annual Budget Hearing at 7:30 pm (information below)

3/3 - Early Release Day (students dismissed at 12:45)

3/8 - PTO Meeting at 6:30pm (Virtual)

3/8 - SIT Meeting at 4:00pm (Virtual)

3/10 - Early Release Day (students dismissed at 12:45)

3/15 - State Professional Development Day (Virtual Learning for All)

3/17 - Early Release Day (students dismissed at 12:45)

3/19 - Trimester 2 Ends

3/23 - School Committee Meeting (see agenda link below)

3/24 - Early Release Day (students dismissed at 12:45)

3/26 - Report Cards Issued

3/31 - Last day to complete Survey Works (see information below)

Attestation Self-Check Site: https://ps.chariho.k12.ri.us/public/

Chariho Parent Virtual and Concurrent Learning Site

It is IMPERATIVE that families are monitoring their children for symptoms. We are still in the middle of a pandemic and we need to continue to be watchful. No one with any symptoms should be coming to school.

March 2- Annual Budget Hearing- 7:30 pm -You will need to register using this link, answer the required questions (ensuring it matches your voter registration information), and be a registered voter in Hopkinton, Charlestown or Richmond to be counted towards the quorum. The Chariho Act states we will need 25 residents from each town to attend. The Board of Canvassers will be reviewing all information to confirm the quorum.

You must register and then attend the 7:30 pm meeting in order to be counted towards the quorum.

How to Complete the Survey: Visit http://bit.ly/ridefamily (click on the link) and choose your school from the dropdown list. Currently we are at 38% particpation. We need to get more people to complete the survey to get to our target number of 60%. If we get to that magic number, the children will have an outdoor DJ party with the famous DJ Jazzy G.

Very Important: When you click on the survey link above, you will have to choose your child’s school from the dropdown menu. There will be two options for Hope Valley School. You will see Hope Valley Elementary School (Chariho) and Hope Valley Elementary School Annex (Chariho). All families of pre-school children MUST use Hope Valley School ANNEX and all families of children in grades K-4 will use Hope Valley Elementary School. RIDE had to separately identify the two schools a few years ago. Thank you.

Please complete the online form (link is below) ONLY if you wish to change your student's current registration. This choice will be effective for Trimester 3 which begins 3/22/2021 or sooner if you prefer. If you want to leave things status quo then you do not have to do anything. Click here to access the Link to the Google Form.

As a principal, here is my perspective on distance learning. I strongly believe ALL students should be in school to learn as long as there are no medical concerns. I can understand that there are people who are nervous to send their child to school during a pandemic. I do get that. Let me state that there have been very few cases at the school (less than 1% of positive cases). Overall we have a great systems in place at school such as open windows for ventilation, large HEPA filters, mask wearing, and stable pods in addition to our cleaning protocols. I encourage families who are not vulnerable to return back to school because in-person learning has so many advantages. Here are Mr. G's Top 10 Reasons to return to In-Person Learning:

1. Your child's social emotional health (this is my biggest worry). Holding kids at home will drastically increase their anxiety and decrease the way they communicate with peers and adults.
   

2. Much easier for teachers to engage in person than through a computer screen.
   

3. Actually allows your child to have LESS screen time.

4. Offers less distractions. In actuality, distance learning requires much more discipline and self-motivation to stay on task. Here are some of my observations with students on distance learning: students not as engaged, students not motivated, students not working to their potential, students eating or playing with their pet during live instruction, and lastly parents showing frustration with their child.

5. Helps the teacher see first-hand if the class is learning at the same pace and what he/she has to do to help any student who needs extra support.

6. Allows the teacher to help the student right there in the moment.

7. Allows for face to face interaction with teacher and students.

8. Gives children the opportunity to play and interact with their friends.

9. Provides more hands-on experience.
   

10. Allows the teacher to motivate, encourage, and supervise the children.

All in all, online learning makes it harder for students to learn versus the traditional educational environment. The workload is completely up to the child to complete. In my opinion our children's educational and social/emotional well-being are at stake right now and I strongly believe the best course of action is for all students to be at school.

Kindergarten registration is coming very soon. Stay Tuned. For anyone looking to register a child for Kindergarten in the 2021-2022 school year, be on the lookout for that message. Registration will be online this year.

State testing (RICAS) will occur this year for our 3rd and 4th grade students. Mrs. Pastore and I have started to plan for state testing and more information to be coming out soon. All grade 3 and 4 students will need to take the assessment in-person at the school. We are working on how to do this with our DL students in a safe and socially distanced way. More information will be coming out early next week.

Book Fair is coming to Hope Valley School on March 5th. Preview books or order online for our DL families. Click here to preview books.

Instead of cash/checks, use E-wallet as a safe, easy way for your child to shop in person at the Fair! Set it up by scanning the QR code to or type in the weblink:

https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/parent-how-it-works.html?fairID=4701754

We have several important reminders. Please take the time to carefully review all of the information.

3/23 School Committee Meeting Agenda - As you are aware, the School Committee voted to pursue the first option to build one large elementary school for all of Chariho. At the 3/23 School Committee meeting, the Chariho Regional School District Committee is requesting an extension of time to submit its Stage II Application more than one year after preliminary approval specific to the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education Regulation pertaining to the submittal of the Stage II Application within one year of the preliminary approval. The capital improvement plan in Chariho’s Stage II Application is to replace four elementary schools with one regional elementary school. The agenda is directly below this section.

March 3- Anti-Racism Task Force - 7 pm- Use this link to register to attend the meeting. Agendas are posted 48 hours prior to the meeting per the Open Meetings Act. Agendas can be found on our Website by selecting the District Information tab, clicking the Calendar Section, and locating the date of the meeting as well as on the Secretary of State’s website. You can access recordings of previous meetings using this link.

March 9- Health and Wellness Sub Committee 4 pm-Use this link to register to attend the meeting. Agendas are posted 48 hours prior to the meeting per the Open Meetings Act. Agendas can be found on our Website by selecting the District Information tab, clicking the Calendar Section, and locating the date of the meeting as well as on the Secretary of State’s website.

Registration for Trimester 3

• Elementary School(ES) Registration for Trimester 3 will begin after February Recess. We do not anticipate any major concerns in regards to accommodating elementary school requests. Trimester 3 begins on March 22nd.

• You will only need to register for Trimester 3 if you are looking to change your learning scenario. If you want to continue with your current selection no registration is required.
  

• Please note that if your child is registered for in-person learning the only time they should be accessing distance learning is if they have symptoms, are in quarantine/isolation, their class/district/school is placed on distance learning per the district/school administration or DL was the learning scenario they registered for Trimester 2.

• The school administration will be continuing to message the district expectations in regards to when a child may participate in distance learning. Students cannot simply just move to DL, it must be for the reason stated above. If a student accesses DL and it is not for one of the reasons noted above the student will be marked absent for the day.

Sincerely,

Gina M Picard

Superintendent

We are running into issues where families are trying to access DL for reasons other than what's listed below. There are district guidelines and expectations for Distance Learning. Students cannot simply just move to DL, there must be a valid reason. So, please know that if your child is registered for in-person learning, the ONLY time they should be accessing distance learning is:

• if they have symptoms,
• are in quarantine/isolation,
• the class/district/school is placed on distance learning per the district/school administration, or
• DL was the learning scenario they registered for T2.

If a student does access DL when they are an in-person learner, and it is not for one of the reasons noted above, the student will be marked absent for the day.

Life Changer of the Year!

Did you know that Hope Valley School has NOT 1, NOT 2 but 3, yes, 3 teacher’s who have been nominated for the life changer of the year award?!!!

This is a nationwide award with over 700 nominees. In the next few months those 700 will be narrowed down to the final 16. The 16 winners will get a stipend for the school and also for themselves! You can help our Hope Valley Community by taking a minute to see what people have to say about these amazing educators and perhaps leaving a comment of your own! Click on the nominees name or scan the QR code! You can also help by mentioning these teachers on twitter or facebook using the hashtag #LCOY

You can click right on the teacher's picture below and it will take you to the teacher's page so you can leave a comment or click on the links directly below.

Support Mrs. Mankoff

Support Mrs. Abbott

Support Mrs. Mello

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: @JoeGencarelli1

Pleas take a few minutes to complete this important survey. Currently we have 38% participation. We need to get to 60% participation for students to have their outdoor live DJ Party with DJ Jazzy G.

1. Visit http://bit.ly/ridefamily (click on the link)
2. Choose your school from the dropdown list. (** See the important note below to make sure you are taking the correct survey for the grade level your child attends.)
3. Complete the survey.

** Very Important: When you click on the survey link above, you will have to choose your child’s school from the dropdown menu. There will be two options for Hope Valley School. You will see Hope Valley Elementary School (Chariho) and Hope Valley Elementary School Annex (Chariho). All families of pre-school children MUST use Hope Valley School ANNEX and all families of children in grades K-4 will use Hope Valley Elementary School. RIDE had to separately identify the two schools a few years ago. Thank you.