August 2019

Dear Narragansett Families,

On behalf of the Narragansett School faculty, I am delighted to welcome you to the 2019-2020 school year!  We are fully committed to "growing hearts, as well as "growing minds." As such, our staff will consistently engage students in an educational environment that fosters our core values: compassion, courage, responsibility, respect and honesty.  Recognizing that YOU have been your child's primary "teacher" for many years, we welcome your partnership in the educational development of your child.

All elementary schools have added 20 minutes to the school day this year. School will start 10 minutes earlier (8:50 a.m.) and end 10 minutes later (3:10 p.m.) than last year. Students should arrive to school each morning between 8:30 and 8:45 a.m., so they are ready to start their day at 8:50.   If you will be picking up your child at the end of the day, this dismissal process will begin at 3:05 p.m. Please be prepared to present your photo ID during the sign-out process.

You may notice increased activity on the school grounds this fall as we prepare to add numerous modular classrooms to the back of the school for future use.  This project is designed to help with the increased student enrollment at the K-5 level in Gorham. A gated access road will be constructed on the east end of the building to allow the entrance/exit of construction vehicles.  In order to keep students and staff safe, the east playground will not be utilized until the construction is complete; likely the full school year. We will maximize the use of the west playground for all students throughout the day.

With the changes in the school day schedule and no access to the east playground, there will not be a school-wide recess period before the official start of school as we have done in the past (“Fitness Fun”).  However, research supports regular movement breaks throughout the instructional day; as well as a specific fitness break that allows students to get some fresh air and to have unstructured play.  Therefore:

• Each teacher will incorporate opportunities for students to engage in physical movement throughout the day.  These movement breaks may be a part of instruction, transitions from one activity to another, or scheduled as formal “brain breaks” (i.e. Go Noodle, etc.).  
• Each teacher will also schedule a formal recess break (10-15 minutes in length) each day.  This may be done on an individual basis or scheduled with the whole grade level. Students will go outside for these recess periods on fair weather days and stay inside during inclement weather (according to our regular school procedures for the noon recess period).

This change in practice will insure that all students will benefit from a physical and mental break within their instructional day. In addition, all students will continue to benefit from a 20-25 minute recess during the noon hour. The noon recess will be with the entire grade level or multiple grade levels.  Here is the specific lunch/recess schedule:

11:35-12:20  Kindergarten Lunch/Recess

12:00-12:45  Grades 1-2 Lunch/Recess

12:25-1:10  Grades 3-5 Lunch/Recess

We look forward to welcoming students and families back to school for the following events:

August 28         Kindergarten Orientation for Students and Parents (9:30-11:30 a.m.)

August 28         Open House for Grades 1-5 (5:30-6:30 p.m.)

August 29         First Day of School for all students (8:50-3:10)

September 12   Back-to-School Picnic (5:30-7:00 p.m.)

September 16   PIE Meeting (6:00-7:00 p.m.)

We recognize that students thrive when there is a three-way partnership between students, families and school personnel.  As such, we welcome your ideas for innovation, suggestions for improvement, and ongoing involvement in our school community. I am looking forward to a wonderful and exciting year!

Sincerely,

Cynthia Remick

September is Attendance Awareness month!

                                                          Growing Hearts   Growing Minds