The Principal's Newsletter

Rosemary Hills Primary School    

Notes from the Principal:

We have had a terrific start to this new school year here at Rosemary Hills! It is hard to believe that soon snow will be in the air.  I have enjoyed spending time with our returning families and those who are new to the RHPS community at our opening events such as the Open House, Welcome Back Picnic, and the Back-to-School nights.  At the Back-to-School nights, we shared that we continue to be the largest elementary school in the BCC cluster. This school year our kindergarten class currently has 197 students, the first grade class currently has 188 students, and the second grade has almost 194 students. As we did last year, we have eight classes of all-day kindergarten classes; eight classes of first graders; and eight classes of second graders. We also have two pre-kindergarten sections with over 20 students in each session, morning and afternoon. Additionally, we have two pre-kindergarten classes for student with Autism, and each will have approximately 8 students. It is truly amazing to watch how 640 students quickly learn the routines and expectations of our school during a few short weeks!

We spent much of the summer and into the beginning of the school year hiring new staff for our school. Ms. Leslie Zimmerman has joined the administrative team as our Assistant Principal.  Ms. Ann Bartlow, Ms. Sarah Marsh, and Ms. Jacqueline Tust have joined the second grade team, Ms. Stephanie Mazzoli is our new part time Art teacher, and Mr. Zachary Tilkens is our new part time Music teacher.  Ms. Ashley Brigham, Ms. Susan Greifer, and Ms. Jennifer Kadlec have joined our staff to support our students with Autism as special education paraeducators, and we have three new paraeducators in grades K-2, Ms. Rebecca Baras, Ms. Seynabou Gaye and Ms. Sashia Wilson.  Ms. Sheri Hale and Ms. Robin Goldberg have joined our staff as our new Speech Pathologists and we have a new Reading Initiative teacher, Ms. Jessica Deighton.  Our health room is now staffed by Ms. Pat Greig, Registered Nurse and Ms. Vanessa Copelin, Health Room Technician.

Classroom water fountains can be used as long as they are flushed for one minute in the morning before students arrive. Teachers will do this in their classroom. The building services team will flush the hallway coolers for 15 minutes each morning.  Our water fixtures have been assessed and all fixtures were in compliance with recommendations by the Environmental Protection Agency.

MyLunchMoney is a service to make prepayments to your child’s cafeteria account using your credit card. The service is easy to use, convenient, private, and secure. Simply go to www.myLunchMoney.com to enroll and start using the site to deposit funds into your child’s cafeteria account. Once your account is established, you can check balances and fund the account anytime from your computer. Your child’s information is safe and your personal and payment card information is protected by the most advanced Internet security. There is a $1.95 convenience fee per transaction. Using myLunchMoney.com is optional for families interested in this service. You can still send checks or cash to school, but online payments save time and are convenient. For more information about how to use this service, visit www.myLunchMoney.com

Parents, be aware that some of our students have peanut and other food allergies. Please keep this in mind if you send snacks into the classrooms. Please remember that we have a “nut-free” table during each lunch shift. Talk with your child about the importance of sitting at this table during lunch, if he/she is at risk for an allergic reaction to environmental exposure to nuts and nut products.

We have started new lunch and recess routines.  We are using whistle signals.  The first whistle is a tune, and it signals students to freeze.  The second whistle is a long blast that signals students to walk to a line. Students in all grade levels have been very cooperative and this has led to a very organized dismissal of both lunch and recess.

There are some important dates we would like you to put in your calendar. Please see the calendar for information on school events, closures, early dismissals, and more. I would also like to ask that you refrain from signing students out after 3:15 p.m.  Please wait for the normal dismissal at 3:30 if possible. Signing students out after 3:15 is very disruptive to the dismissal process. Also, please refrain from dropping off children in the morning before 8:50 a.m.  There are no staff members available to supervise students before that time.

We have had a tremendous number of parent volunteers over the past several weeks. These volunteers have helped with important tasks that range from assisting students on and off buses to opening ketchup packets. Thank you to everyone who has made the beginning of this school year a success!

Thank you for partnering with us to ensure that your child has a successful year. We are looking forward to the opportunity to work with your child and family this school year.

Sincerely,

Ralph Viggiano, Principal