The Weekly Buzz

Dear PRES Families,

We are so excited to launch our very first Weekly Buzz for the 2025-2026 school year! This newsletter will be your one-stop shop for all things Palmer River. In your email inbox each Friday, we’ll send you a recap of the week, highlight the amazing things our students and staff are doing, and share reminders and updates about upcoming events. Our goal is to keep you connected, informed, and part of all the wonderful moments happening here at PRES.

This week’s edition is especially important as it includes the key details you’ll need to start the school year smoothly. From schedules and upcoming events to opportunities for family involvement, you’ll find it all here. One special event we are looking forward to is our Open House on the evening of September 2nd—we hope to see everyone there!

We’re thrilled to begin this new year of learning, laughter, and growth together. Thank you for your continued support and for being such an important part of our school community. We can’t wait to see all that our students will accomplish this year!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kristine Kefor, Principal & Mrs. Cassey Monte, Assistant Principal

#WeAreDR!

Please check our school and district website for the most up-to-date bus routes provided by Bloom Bus Company. If your child’s bus stop does not appear as expected, please email or call the school so we can work directly with Bloom to correct any errors.

Rest assured, Bloom Bus Company is responsible for transporting all students and will do so—even if a child’s name or stop does not yet appear on the published route. Please also note that if an adult is not present at the bus stop to receive a child, the driver will return the child to school at the end of the route. For safety reasons, bus drivers are required to see an adult before releasing a student. This policy is in place to ensure the well-being of all children. If you have any questions about this process, or if you would like to request an exception, please contact Mrs. Kefor or Mrs. Monte directly.

As always, the first few weeks of school may bring slight delays as routes settle into a routine. We ask families to plan ahead by being at the bus stop 15–20 minutes before the listed time in the morning and allowing for the same time frame in the afternoon for drop-off.

We appreciate your patience and partnership as we get this year's transportation off to a great start.

Please read below for the Annual Child Find Notice.

Reminder: All volunteers must have a valid CORI on file with the school district. These background checks are good for three years. If you have questions about this process or would like to verify the status of your CORI, please contact Mrs. Halajko (ahalajko@drregional.org) or Mrs. Saxon (lsaxon@drregional.org).

Our student information system has a section called "Permissions" that needs to be completed by all new families, and reviewed by returning families. Please be sure to log into your Aspen account and select your "Permissions" for each of your children.

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our former fourth grade students (now fifth grade students), their families, and our PTSA for their contributions to the purchase of some beautiful plants for our front garden through our Legacy Project. We are also grateful to Darlene at Araujo's in Dighton for her generous donation of plants and expert guidance in selecting the ideal plants. Furthermore, we want to acknowledge the assistance provided by Ella, a former fourth grade student and her mother Sarah in selecting, purchasing, and delivering to plants to PRES. We would also like to acknowledge the Ainsworth and Sine families for their green thumbs and willingness to assist with planting our new plants.

As Superintendent Runey shared in an email earlier, we’re excited about the October launch of ParentSquare, which will be our new tool for safe and simple school-to-home communication.

Families will get an email invite on Tuesday, September 2, 2025—be sure to activate your account to stay connected! Once staff members are trained throughout September, we will notify families of the official launch. Questions? Email ParentSquare@drregional.org. #WeAreDR #DT2030 #EIS

One of the required "Permissions" you’ll be asked to sign in Aspen is the Student Handbook. Please take a few moments to review the handbook to ensure you are familiar with both school and district guidelines. Click below to review our student handbook.

If your child needs to take medication during the school day, please help us ensure their safety by following these important steps:

✅ Complete the required medication forms
✅ Provide a doctor's order for any prescribed medication
✅ Send all prescription medications in their original container, clearly labeled with:

• Your child’s name
  
• The name of the medication
  
• The correct dosage
  

🚫 Please do not send medications to school with students.

Parents and guardians should contact the health office to arrange drop-off.

📩 To coordinate medication drop-off or if you have any questions, please reach out directly to our school nurse, Mrs. Elizabeth Ferreira, at eferreira@drregional.org.

Thank you for your help in keeping our students safe and healthy!

• Open House and PTSA's Playground Playdate Grades 1-4: Tuesday, September 2nd
• First Day of School for Students in Grades 1-4: Wednesday, September 3rd
• Kindergarten Open House: Wednesday, September 3rd from 10:00-11:30am
• First Day of School for Students in Kindergarten: Thursday, September 4th
• Preschool Open House: Friday, September 5th, AM classes 9:30-10:30, PM classes 11:30-12:30
• First Day of School for Students in Preschool: Monday, September 8th

• PTSA Meeting at PRES: Thursday, September 11th at 6:30pm at BMS
• Early Release/No PM Preschool for Staff Professional Development: Wednesday, October 1st
• Holiday/No School: Monday, October 13th
• Fall School Picture Day: Monday, October 20th
• Professional Learning Day for Staff-No School: Tuesday, November 4th

Please click below to open and download the district calendar of events for the 2025-2026 school year. Each student will also receive a PRES take home folder that has the district calendar included.

Each grade level has created a list of recommended school supplies to help students feel prepared and confident for the year ahead. These supply lists can be found below.

We are fortunate that the Greater Attleboro Council for Children has once again shown their generosity by donating backpacks and school supplies to support our students. These resources help ensure that every student starts the school year feeling prepared and confident. If your student would benefit from receiving a backpack or supplies, please reach out to Mrs. Monte or Mrs. Kefor, who are happy to assist. We will respect your confidentiality through this process.

We’re pleased to share that school breakfast and lunch are provided free of charge to all students each day. This ensures every child has access to nutritious meals to support their learning and growth. On early release days, only breakfast will be served, so students should plan accordingly. To help families stay informed, weekly menus can be found in our family newsletter.

While meals are free, milk and water are available for purchase each day for students who would like an additional drink option with their lunch.

As the year progresses, we’ll be offering snacks for purchase in the cafeteria. These will first become available to students in grades three and four. Then, once our younger students have had time to settle into lunch routines, we’ll begin offering snacks to kindergarten through second grade students later in the fall. To keep things simple, students may purchase one snack per day, and because of food allergies and intolerances, they are not permitted to buy snacks for others.

For snack and drink purchases, families are welcome to send cash or checks. However, we also offer the MySchoolBucks website and app, which many families find convenient. Through MySchoolBucks, you can create an account, reset passwords, check account balances, and deposit funds directly into your child’s meal account.

Even though meals are free, we ask all families to complete the Free & Reduced Lunch Application, as these forms directly impact school funding and grant opportunities. The application is linked below.

We’re so excited to welcome our newest learners to PRES!

📅 Kindergarten starts Thursday, September 4, 2025
🖍️ But first… join us for a Drop-In Open House on
📍 Wednesday, September 3, 2025
🕙 10:00–11:30 AM

Come meet your teacher, explore the classroom, tour a school bus, and get ready for a fantastic first day! Please enter at the Kindergarten entrance, which is located to the right of the building's main entrance.

Palmer River Elementary School's instructional day begins at 9:05 a.m. Students may enter the building starting at 8:55 a.m. The school day ends at 3:20 p.m., and dismissal will proceed according to prearranged locations. Please inform the school office (ahalajko@drregional.org & lsaxon@drregional.org) and your child's classroom teacher of any changes to dismissal plans before 2:45 p.m. each day.

The AM PreK session begins at 8:45am and ends at 11:15am.

The PM PreK session begins at 12:30pm and ends at 3:00pm.

Please inform the school office (ahalajko@drregional.org & lsaxon@drregional.org) and your child's classroom teacher of any changes to dismissal plans before 2:45 p.m. each day.

Please see below for more information about our morning arrival procedures for students who arrive via car/drop off. Please review the map so you can plan for drop off in the morning.

Please see below for more information about our dismissal procedures for students who leave school via car/pick up. Please bring photo identification whenever you pick your child up at PRES.

We’re so excited to welcome our littlest learners to PRES! PreK students should be dropped off at the front of the school and enter through the Kindergarten entrance, located just to the right of the main entrance. Our friendly PreK staff will be there to greet students and caregivers each day with a warm welcome! At the end of the session, families should also plan to pick up at the same entrance.

If you have any questions or need a little extra guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the main office — we’re happy to help! We can’t wait to see our PreK stars shine!

Proceeds benefit the Beckwith Unified Sports Program and all student athletes at Beckwith Middle School. Race information and registration form are below.

The Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District

Website: https://pres.drregional.org/

Location: 326 Winthrop Street, Rehoboth, MA 02769

Phone: 508-252-5100/Fax: 508-252-5110

Dighton Rehoboth Regional School District does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other legally protected group.