Dear Students, Staff, and Families:
As we count down the final days of winter, there’s a noticeable sense of energy building across our schools. Longer days and a bit more sunshine seem to bring a renewed focus and excitement for the months ahead. Classrooms remain busy with learning, activities, and preparation for the many events that make this time of year special. It’s always encouraging to see our students and staff embracing the momentum of the season and continuing the great work happening throughout our district.
BF Norton Construction Update
On March 4th, we celebrated a construction milestone with the “Topping-Off Ceremony”. A topping-off ceremony commemorates the placement of a structure’s final beam, signaling that the framework is complete. Placing an evergreen tree on this beam is an ancient Scandinavian tradition meant to appease displaced forest spirits. Today, it symbolizes life, growth, good luck for future occupants, and the safe completion of the project. BF Norton students and staff, as well as community members, and other stakeholders had an opportunity to sign the final beam and then watch it be hoisted into place. To view photos from this celebration, click here.
ReadBowl IX
Community School is proud to announce that Team Disney and Team Marvel Grade 4 have been crowned RI State Reading Champions. This championship resulted from reading the most minutes per team over four weeks during READBowl IX: The World Championship of Reading, a global reading competition put on by Read With Malcolm, the Youth Literacy Initiative of NFL Super Bowl Champion and children’s book author Malcolm Mitchell.
The seventh annual competition was held from January 12 through this past Super Bowl Sunday.
“Winning a state championship is always prestigious,” said Mitchell. “However, this year is especially notable, as there were more than one million students, from all 50 states and 19 countries, in the reading field for the big game this year. I am so proud of every student who competed and congratulate our state and national champions.” Ms. Friedland’s ELA classes will enjoy a prize Scholastic book package. Congratulations to Ms. Friedland’s Homeroom Team Disney and Ms. Kirkpatrick’s Homeroom Team Marvel on your win!
Crossing Guard Shoutout
I want to acknowledge receipt of an email from a Cumberland Hill parent. “The traffic at pick up and drop off is extremely chaotic, but your crossing guard, Frank, makes everyone around feel safe. Every day, he is so friendly and kind. He goes out of his way to make sure everyone is safe. He really cares about the kids and community. It’s rare to find people like Frank, so I really wanted to let you know how outstanding he is. All the parents comment on how great he is, so I wanted to pass that on to you.” We are lucky to have Frank Kempf manning his post at McCourt Middle School before heading up to Cumberland Hill. Thank you, Frank, for all you do!
Sincerely,
Philip D. Thornton, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools