Raymond C. LaPerche Elementary School

Mrs. Ferreria’s third graders enjoyed the outside for their reading lesson today. They are reading The Case of the Gasping Garbage and they focused on chapters seven and eight. The students discussed the setting, theme, and plot. There were great discussions about the possible themes including loneliness, love, you can’t explain love and science isn’t always science! Ask your third grader which themes he/she supported. After the students finished their reading jobs, they enjoyed snack while reading their independent books!

What a beautiful day to read outside. Mrs. Nonis took her class outside for read aloud. They discussed figurative language vs. literal language, temporal words and various vocabulary. The students tried to figure out who was speaking and why the author added certain words to the story. It is also an opportunity for a mask break if needed. We are so thankful for the outside space!

LaPerche students love creative play! This group of second graders used the stepping stones to play a “lava game”. The creator of the game, Zoe, yells “floors lava 5, 4, 3, 2, 1” and everyone has to change to a new lava stone. And not move. And balance without falling off!! If you fall off you join the leader and start the countdown. It was intense and great fun!!

What is happening at LaPerche on a Friday night? The gym is being worked on and looks AMAZING!! Acoustic panels and padding have been added and it is being stripped right now!! The end is in sight and the kids are going to love this new space!!! Thank you to the team who is working around the clock to get the new parts of our elementary schools ready for learning!

There are many leadership opportunities for LaPerche students. Our fourth graders are invited to serve on the recycling team. When Mrs. Dorsey asked Mr. Mederios’ class who would like to serve, almost every hand shot up. The team started yesterday and did a great job investigating what was placed in the classroom bins and determining if the class was following the guidelines. Working together to save our beautiful earth!!

LaPerche art teacher, Miss Miller, took advantage of the beautiful weather today and brought the first graders outside for observational drawing opportunities. The students observed the landscape and texture of the world around them and tried to draw it to scale.

It’s a rainy day and you can’t go outside? And your gym is under construction? No problem for LaPerche PE teacher Mr. Connell. He used the hallway space to set up a variety of centers for PE today. Here the kindergarten students skip down, leap frog back abd then limbo under the pole. So fun and engaging for the kids! They were worn out!

Yesterday, the October student council at LaPerche hosted a “Topping Off Ceremony” which refers to the placement of the last major piece of steel during construction. All LaPerche staff and students were able to sign the beam before it was hoisted in the air and placed on the addition. The beam was decorated with an America Flag and a miniature tree. The America Flag on one end of the beam is a traditional “Topping Off” symbol of good luck. The miniature tree on the other end of the beam symbolizes that there were no injuries on the construction site. The students have been watching in amazement as the new addition at LaPerche rises out of the ground! The student council thanked the construction supervisors for always being willing to address any question or concern quickly and for a job well done. We can’t wait to see the end product!

At LaPerche, we understand the importance of offering flexible seating options for our students. Due to the pandemic, we had to remove many of those options as well as our rugs. LaPerche teachers are so creative they still come up with ways to offer other options when working. Kids learn best when they have options to move and change position. Check out these students in their flexible seats while socially distancing!

LaPerche families gifted the school with so many interesting and fun pieces of recess equipment. Recess looks different this year with no competitive games but the same with lots of fun! Thank you to our families for your generosity. We love our new equipment!

We had a special visitor at LaPerche today. Governor Raimondo stopped by to see how we are utilizing our outside space. Have you noticed the flags all over the field near the gazebo? There are 13 pods sectioned off so each classroom has a designated space to use for outdoor learning, picnic lunch, playtime, and more. Each space is 14 feet from the next to provide a safe amount of distance as recommended by RIDE and RIDOH. The kids were thrilled to meet the Governor and shared a variety of information with her. One student even shared his plan to have a safe Halloween! The news media accompanied the Governor so check out Channel 10, 12, 6, or Telemundo tonight to see the story on LaPerche!

We had an awesome first day at LaPerche! The LaPerche teachers and staff were so happy to see the kids and the kids seemed just as excited! Everyone did a great job with mask-wearing. Thank you for your patience this morning as we moved through the morning arrival as quickly as we could. It was wonderful to see our returning families and meet so many new ones! If you have any questions or concerns about today, please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher or to me. Tomorrow you will receive a blue transportation form and a yellow photo permission form. As soon as everyone returns the photo form we can start posting and sharing photos! Of course, we always respect families who wish for their child not to be photographed. A few reminders: Please send your child to school with the following items every day: A Mask A reusable water bottle A beach towel to sit on when outside Wearing shoes that cover the toes and are secure on the heel A reusable grocery bag Today students went outside for snack, lunch, recess, and/or learning time. They have many items to bring with them each time and putting it all in a sturdy open bag makes the trip outside so much easier. Please label the bag with your child’s first and last name. If you do not have any of the reusable grocery bags, I have quite a few I will bring in tomorrow for any students who do not have one. If you have extra you want to donate, send them in with your child! Thank you! Peanut and Tree Nut Free Just a reminder that due to the fact that students are eating in the classrooms, LaPerche School is a peanut and tree nut-free school for the 2020-2021 school year. Breakfast and Lunch Menus Breakfast and lunch are free for all students. Feel free to check out the menus and see if your child would like to order. If your child would like to order milk only, it is 50 cents. You can create a lunch account and place money on the account for the milk. We recommend families still complete a free and reduced lunch application as the free program will eventually end. https://smithfieldps.nutrislice.com/menu/raymond-c-laperche-elementary Moving onto day TWO! #Back2SchoolRI

BUS ROUTES ARE POSTED! Transportation is available for students who are NOT in a walk zone and did NOT opt out of transportation this year. See this site for information on times and stops: https://www.smithfield-ps.org/o/smithfield-public-schools/page/transportation--244

We didn’t fool anyone with our last “Who’s under that mask” post! Lilia, Catherine, Madison, Mackenzie, Ava, Arianna, John, Anabelle, Jaxon, Owen, Capello Kids, Ferreira Kids, Jaiden and Sienna all guessed correctly!! It was our fabulous library media specialist, Mrs. Clapprood, and our amazing, kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Friel, under the masks!! Bonus points— what is the name of Mrs. Clapprood’s daughter?? Most people will be stumped by our next masked educator, but not our friend Avery!! Who is this under the mask and what does she do at LaPerche?

Mrs. Dorsey, Mrs. Elefsiades and Mrs. Biafore met virtually with the incoming 5th grade students this morning to plan for the upcoming year. Each fifth grader at LaPerche serves on student council during the course of the school year. The fifth graders created their first video to show LaPerche students how to socially distance and still greet their teachers and friends. You can check it out here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KgrpDIXw3_u6TbsujOAKOTokjqY2mLHB/view?usp=sharing Let us know what other videos you would like to see the fifth grade create in the comments below!

At our staff orientation on Tuesday, August 25, we recognized teachers and staff who have reached five year milestones. Please join me in celebrating Miss Feeley, Mrs. Barrette, Mrs. Friel and Miss Giarusso on five years of amazing service, Mrs. Beckel, Mrs. Hegarty, and Mrs. Clapprood on 15 years of outstanding service and with 25 years of dedicated service, we recognize Mrs. O’Hara!! Shout out these fabulous LaPerche educators in the comments below!!

Please join principal, Julie Dorsey, for a parent forum on Tuesday, August 25 at 7:00 pm to discuss our Return to School plans. This will be a google meet call. Please click on this link: https://meet.google.com/xsz-erqd-kze?authuser=0&hs=122 or dial in with your phone. Join by phone ‪(US) +1 260-702-9399‬ PIN: ‪658 713 526‬# If you have questions that you would like to have answered, please submit them here: https://forms.gle/neWzUewgCtuNJ8si8

Many LaPerche friends knew our latest masked staff members!! Chase, Arianna, Lilia, Richard, Isabella, and Nason all guessed correctly!! It was kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Caswell, and first grade teacher, Miss Zucker, two more dynamic educators from LaPerche. Please be sure to show your children smiling, unmasked photos so they remember the joy that is under the mask!! Up next, two more masked LaPerche educators! Who are they and what is their role at LaPerche??

So many LaPerche friends including Nick, Brody, Maddie, the Cappello crew, and Jaxon knew our last two teachers who were under their masks. It was fifth grade teacher, Mrs. E, and fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Schnell. Although they are very different educators they are both phenomenal!! LaPerche staff always put children first! We have two new masked people to try and stump the LaPerche kids! Who are these two LaPerche educators under their masks?

Abbey has it right this time! Mrs. Calderone, one of our sensational special educators, was in the flamingo mask and Ms. Kovacs, our fabulous school psychologist, was in the stripped one!! Here are two more LaPerche educators that a lot of our students will recognize! LaPerche students, who’s under these masks??