Raymond C. LaPerche Elementary School

LaPerche is excited to announce some changes and a new face you will see at LaPerche Elementary during the upcoming school year. Mr. Plante has joined the team at Gallagher and will be teaching art at the middle school. While we will miss Mr. Plante, we are thrilled our students will have a familiar face when they enter Gallagher. We will miss you, Mr. Plante! At LaPerche, we are welcoming Miss Miller as our new art teacher. From Miss Miller: Hello Families! My name is Casey Miller and I am very excited to begin teaching Art at LaPerche and McCabe during this coming school year. I look forward to getting to know all the students and families this fall but for now here a little bit about me! I am a recent graduate of Rhode Island School of Designs Masters Program of Arts in Education. Previously I worked as a K-6 art teacher for Utica City School District, a Teaching Artist for Project Open Door at Shea High School and a counselor for the Kelberman Center which supports individuals with Autism and their families. My studio practice is generally photo based art but I have experience in a large variety of mediums which I can't wait to share. I look forward to joining the Smithfield community! Casey Miller

June 19, 2019 Summer is here! Enjoy the time with your family and friends. Events are being added to the 2019-2020 school calendar every day! As always, please visit the school calendar for all upcoming events. School Website https://rles.smithfield-ps.org/o/raymond-c-laperche-elementary All students have made tremendous academic progress. Now, it is up to the families to keep those beautiful brains active all summer! Please visit our Summer Learning Guide for all of the expectations and suggestions for summer learning and for the verification form that needs to be submitted by September 13. All students who complete their summer learning are invited to an Outdoor Fun Festival in September! https://rles.smithfield-ps.org/o/raymond-c-laperche-elementary/page/summer-learning--10 Your child should have brought home his/her report card on the last day of school. Inside the report cards was a supply list for next year. We have removed many general items from the lists that the school will be providing. One area we hope to grow in as a school is that every student will come to school everyday with a reusable water bottle. We would love to reduce the use of single use water bottles and help preserve the earth! We are also offering a service where you can order the supply lists and it will be delivered to the school labeled with your child’s name. Please visit the LaPerche PTA facebook site for the details and to order your kit. They must be ordered by JUNE 30. Of course, you are always welcome to shop for the items with your child. You can find all supply lists here. https://rles.smithfield-ps.org/o/raymond-c-laperche-elementary/page/school-supplies--20 Please be reminded of the district calendar for 2019-2020. Since we have February and April vacation off from school as well as long weekends and Christmas break, we ask that you schedule all school vacations when school is not in session. Thank you! https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/310537/2019-2020_School_Calendar.pdf See you on August 27 for the first day of school for first through fifth graders! All kindergarten students will receive their screening appointment this summer and will come for the first day on Friday, August 30 arriving at 9:30 with a family member. If you have not registered your incoming kindergarten child for a screening appointment, please complete this form. https://forms.gle/XxX56xAZEjVjzKcF7 Enjoy the summer, Julie

Did you know that at Fort Getty in Jamestown, RI there is geological proof that R.I. was once attached to Africa? Well it’s true! Fourth grade students at LaPerche also learned about all the biodiversity located on our shore line. Children had a blast collecting, sorting and learning about different kinds of marine life found in tide pools and rock formations on this awesome field trip!It was a cool day in many ways!!

Second graders stepped up to teach the first graders all about analog clocks and how to tell time. Then they challenged the first graders to “show” a specific time. Teaching opportunities are so important to help develop leadership skills.

Fresh water from the Blackstone River and salt water from Narragansett Bay combine together to form the area we visited today. The fifth graders had the opportunity to take a river cruise and test the water and air temperature as well as test the water clarity. On the shore, they scooped the stream to search for creatures and found fish and plankton. A great time was had by all.

The kindergarten students in Mrs. Friel’s class were excited to learn the new word and sound being introduced. Mrs. Friel shared it was a first grade sound and asked who was ready for it? Every hand was up immediately! Ask your k student about the new word (soon) and how many words they brainstormed that made the same sound.

Wiffle Ball is not the way you remember it. At LaPerche Mr. Connell teaches it a different way so the kids move the entire time and work as a team for each play. After the student hits the ball, she runs the “bases” by running all around the gym outside the cones. As soon as one person hits, the next person can hit. The fielding team must get the ball to the catchers who must remain in their space and get each ball into the bucket before the runner gets around the bases. Everyone bats each “inning” and there are no outs. Endless movement, success for all and teamwork are the goals!

Favorite book day in kindergarten at LaPerche! Mrs. Caswell challenges the students to think of three reasons why their chosen book is their favorite. The students are working on opinion writing to share how they feel or what they think about a topic.

Fifth grade students at LaPerche learn the basics of CPR starting with the importance of assessing the scene if you were to come upon someone who was in need. Ask your fifth grader what he/she learned!

Our annual Variety Show is coming up and it would not be complete with a Master ofCeremonies! Who will it be this year? 7 fabulous fifth graders auditioned yesterday and the winner is... Plan to join us Friday, May 10 at 5:30 at LaPerche to find out!

Pickleball Tournament is in full swing in third grade. The competition was intense but the sportsmanship was stronger!

LaPerche Students In Mrs. Ferreira’s third grade class discuss the new book they are reading. Then, partner check each other’s work to ensure it is high quality. Comprehension is deepening through discussions!

Care about the Earth and keeping it clean?? Join the Smithfield Department of Public Works and Smithfield Conservation Commission for a community clean up. The event will kick off at 9:00 at Deerfield Park on Saturday, April 27.

Smithfield High School students visited LaPerche as mystery readers during Reading Week! Thank you to this awesome group of young women. The LaPerche students have excellent role models to look up to! Take a close look at the group shot. Can you see who is photo bombing??

LaPerche is turning 50 and you are invited to come and celebrate with us!

The 2019 Variety Show will be held on Friday, May 10 @ 5:30 pm at LaPerche School and your child is invited to perform! The Variety Show is an opportunity for students to showcase their talents. Students from all grades are welcome to participate. Past acts have included dancing, singing, musical instruments, acting, story/poem reading, comedy, acrobatic, magic and more. We are always looking for new talent so any creative idea is welcome. Acts may be up to 2 minutes in length. We welcome group acts and solo acts and there will even be a group dance routine for all who wish to participate. Students are welcome to perform in one solo and one group act as well as the big routine at the end. For additional information please visit this link and sign your child up for the show! https://my.cheddarup.com/c/varietyshow2019 The deadline to sign up to perform is Sunday, March 31. For all questions about the Variety Show, please reach out to Nicole Campbell at ncampbell6@cox.net or 401 523 5706

During writing time in Miss Martino's third grade, students became the teachers! Given some sample work, students worked in teams to comment on and score different written responses. The students provided impressive critical feedback. Together, they came up with a list of criteria for level 4, 3, and 2 work. Now that students had a better understanding of the criteria, students were given the opportunity to improve an old written response about Ben Franklin! The results were outstanding!

Fifth Grade movie night at LaPerche last night was a time to build friendships that will last for a lifetime! Thank you to all the parents who helped put the event on.

Students in kindergarten, first and second grade came together in the library to read The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle. They showed the characters emotions as each reacted to the ladybug. Can tell which one is surprised, frightened, amazed, annoyed?

During fitness week at LaPerche, students were challenged by the 5 levels of the box jump. Students had to jump with two feet and land fully on the box increasing from one level up to five. Students spotted each other while offering words of encouragement as classmates moved from level 1 to 5. Fitness is an important focus at LaPerche as we develop the whole child; mind and body!