January 27, 2023
Dear Florence Roche Families,
Winter made its presence known again with the snow day to begin the week and the early dismissal midweek. It’s been tough to get our rhythm back after our holiday break with these interrupted weeks. Hopefully, the weather will settle out as we move into February next week.
As the snow accumulates on our playground, students will have the opportunity to get out and play in it. Please remember to send your child to school with the proper snow gear so they can responsibly play in the snow. Students need boots to walk through the snow and snow pants to roll around in the snow. We plan to be out for recess as long as the temperatures and precipitation allow us to be.
The bus company would like to remind parents and guardians to make sure students are standing back from the snow banks and away from the road as they are waiting for their bus. Visibility for our bus drivers is more challenging with the snow banks and solar glare during their morning routes. We want to be sure that all students arrive at school safely. Thank you for your help with this.
Thank you to our 3rd grade families for providing us with all of the snacks today. It always seems to raise everyone’s energy levels when we have snacks. It was a great addition to our full day Friday!
Our 4th graders put on a memorable concert performance under the direction of Mr. Wiesner last night. This was an extra special performance as we haven’t been able to host these during the COVID restrictions. Thank you to all who came out to support our students!
Thank you to the Groton Commissioners of Trusts for supporting our visiting poet, Andrew Green. Mr. Green has a couple of days scheduled to work with our 4th grade students. They will be working on using language to creatively express a “small moment”. I look forward to hearing their poems.
We have some fun school spirit activities planned for the month of February. Follow this link for all of the details. Spirit Activities We kick it off this week with the Global Day of Play on Wednesday and a Stripes and Flannel Day on Friday.
The Wish Project was grateful for our support with the sneaker drive we held last fall. Mrs. Kinneen received this note of thanks and wanted to make sure you all saw it too!
We are noticing more students coming to school with smartwatch devices this year. As a reminder, students are not to be texting or using the phone function on these devices during the school day. The guidelines in our handbook for a smartwatch are the same as they are for a cell phone. Here are the guidelines for toys and electronic equipment under Section 2: Code of Conduct in the elementary handbook. If your child has a smartwatch, please make sure that you and your child understand the guidelines. Thank you for supporting us with teaching the responsible use of technology.
Toys and Electronic Equipment
Toy weapons and similar toys are not allowed in school. Any toy brought from home can be distracting and disruptive to the educational process. Any toys brought from home are strictly the child’s responsibility. We do not recommend sending your child with toys. The school will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items. We appreciate your support on this issue.
We acknowledge that an increasing number of our students have access to personally owned electronic devices including but not limited to cell phones/smart phones, iPods, iPads and eReaders. Students and parents are responsible for adhering to our guidelines regarding personal technology. If a student is not responsible for following these guidelines, the device will be held in the school office until a parent is able to pick it up.
Cell phones are to be turned off and stored in the student’s backpack.
No photos or videos of other students are to be taken with personal devices on school grounds or the bus.
eReaders may be used with teacher permission.
All other electronic devices of personal value should be left at home
The school assumes no liability for the loss, theft, or damage of any personally owned electronic device.
Have a nice weekend!
Brian