Raymond C. LaPerche Elementary School

Our fabulous fifth graders hosted the annual pasta dinner at Smithfield High School on January 26. They were hosts, servers, and bussers for over 300 guests. With the generous support of their families and many businesses and individuals, they raised $6,020 for the fifth-grade class! We are so thankful for the LaPerche community who came out to support the fifth graders. Thank you to the fifth-grade parent committee who planned and organized such a fun event and to the fifth-grade team at LaPerche for getting the kids' restaurant ready! Take a look at the photos to see the business that supported us. When you visit their establishment, let them know how thankful we are for their support! Check out the rest of the photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7mrrGXXpkVWzY82n8

Eight fourth and fifth graders from LaPerche battled it out for 15 rounds during the school spelling bee on Thursday, February 1. In the end, two spellers remained who will represent LaPerche in the district spelling bee on Friday, February 9. The kids cheered each other on through the highs and lows of the spelling bee. The audience attempted to spell more than 70 words on paper as the spellers spoke the letters aloud. Congratulations to all of our classroom spelling bee winners and to Neil and Arianna who will represent us on Friday. Check out the photo album for more photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7N1sW91XSmjubWdS6

In first grade today, during fundations, students were working on a variety of skills. The teacher read the sentence and the students wrote a line to represent each word. The kids do this to help them understand how many words are in the sentence and to put spaces between the words. Then they tapped out the words to build the sentence focusing on spelling, capitals and lowercase letters and punctuation. First graders are hard workers!!

The winter concert at LaPerche was a big hit! Students in kindergarten through grade 5 sang their hearts out. Students in grade 3 and 4 provided a taste of the recorder and students in grade 5 played their first song together as a band. The whole event was so joyful and impressive! Our wonderful music teacher, Jenn Shafer, worked tirelessly to get all students performance ready. Thank you, Mrs. Shafer!

In first grade, the students are learning about how to act as good classroom citizens. They read the stories, Fine, Fine School, and The Recess Queen and discussed how good school citizens act. Today they are writing their own opinion paragraph about how a good citizen should act. These first graders think good citizens are responsible, kind, and respectful to others. They should be nice to others.

It's writing time in kindergarten. After reading the book The Four Seasons, the students are writing their own book about the four seasons. The kindergarten teachers model with their own writing, and the students are writing one page at a time. Today they were writing about spring. The students tapped out the words and drew pictures to match what they wanted to share. In the spring, they find Easter eggs, play baseball, and it rains a lot. Kindergarten kids are learning how to read and write!

Every fifth grader at LaPerche serves on the student council. The November student council did a great job speaking in front of the whole school and making announcements over the intercom. Way to go November student council!

On Friday, the second graders at LaPerche were on a field trip so the first graders stopped up as the Cafeteria Rangers. First grades were leaders and did an amazing job helping kindergarten students sort their items into recycling, composting, and landfill. LaPerche rockstars!

Fifth graders are learning about insulation in our school garden with Annie Bayer from Revive The Roots. A month ago we planted oats and peas in order to fertilize and insulate our soil for spring planting. Today the fifth graders visited the garden and tasted the oats and peas and then were challenged to build a hole with materials to insulate ice. They discussed adding rocks versus leaves, sticks versus grass. The ice cubes were added, and the kids will return tomorrow to see which survived the evening.

Centers were so engaging in our library, media stem center with Mrs. Nonis. Fourth graders checked out their own books, created messages of kindness in the STEM area and battled negativity on Kind Kingdom. The kids happily and independently moved through each center. What an amazing space to learn and explore!

The SHS Music Department has its first concert of the year on Thursday, Oct. 26th, at 7 pm. The band, chorus, Sentinel Singers, Garageband, and soloists will perform. All are invited! It will be a FREE, fun, Halloween-themed concert lasting no more than one hour.

In first grade today, a student shared her writing with the class. She told us that she felt nervous but she was going to try. Then she took a deep breath, displayed her work for all to see and read it to the class. They were so proud of her! The class gave her two stars and a wish for feedback. The kids told her they liked the colors she used in her pictures as well as the details she added to her story. They said she could add more labels to her writing to give them more information. LaPerche students practice speaking publicly from the start!

The Kindness Squad made its debut at LaPerche today. Members of the squad greeted students and families who arrived by car and bus. The music was playing, the students were shouting greetings, and kindness was being spread. What a way to start the day. Thank you third grade Kindness Squad!

Wear Green Friday in recognition of Unified Day.

Smithfield Public Schools is featured in Edible Rhody this month for its farm-to-school programming. Check out the article, "Sowing the Seeds of Food Education", https://bit.ly/46mdc8a

Busy week @ SHS counseling office. Students learned about early college enrollment courses they can take in high school, college admissions counselors are meeting with interested students, & Mr. Jackson provided tips on high school success to 9th graders. Great opportunities!

Due to the expected extreme heat conditions Thursday, Sept 7, the Smithfield Public Schools will have a 2-hour early dismissal for grades K-12. PM preschool and the YMCA After School Programs are cancelled. Your principals will be sending you a message regarding the dismissal time for your schools. Administrators will be in our schools until the end of the day to ensure that all students are able to arrive home safely. Breakfast and lunch will be served. Thank you. Sincerely, Dr. Bartz Superintendent

The Smithfield Public Schools are closed on Monday, Sept. 4 in recognition of Labor Day and Tuesday, Sept. 5 for special primary elections voting. We are open on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

The Smithfield Public Schools welcomes our new kindergarten students to their first day of school & are greeted by our teachers & staff.

Our developing Innovation Centers include multimedia computers, 3D printers, gaming chairs, podcasters, & green screens starting in our elementary schools. The equipment has been purchased through our grant applications @SmithfieldSchls