Blazers Bulletin May 27th 22

Dear RBS Family,

 No matter how crazy or long the day, Daniela and I – before we head off the bed – almost always find a few minutes just to peek in Gabi and Lucas’s bedrooms to just, well, see them, sleeping, breathing, being there. And the image I can’t shake from my mind this week is the anguish the families in Uvalde are having, peeking into those bedrooms at night, and not seeing their precious babies there anymore. My heart breaks.

 Yet my heart fills, also, from being be a part of a community that is so connected, supportive, loving and caring – for it is those connections that help sustain us, help us mend, help us feel hopeful that the world we work to create for our children is warm, and caring, and “okay.” Each morning – and this week especially, seeing our students arrive at the front door or the bus circle – filled with optimism and joy – the whole RBS family truly feels lucky to be roles that we have the honor or serving in.  This idea of connectedness is a thread that runs through our school, and it’s been an intentional focus this year for our entire staff. I’d truly appreciate it if you would share your feedback with us regarding these efforts. This is a (literally!) one question Google Survey – please take a moment to submit it in the next few days – thank you!

 Some of the connections we have here at Roaring Brook School can be measured in the decades, and we’ve been able to celebrate the soon-to-be-here retirements of Grade Two teachers Mrs. Sally Pirla and Mrs. Anne Marie Riley, who have served Avon Public Schools for 34 and 38 years respectively! We are also wishing a wonderful retirement to Mrs. Karen Wright, who has served as a beloved paraeducator here for the past 3 years. The collective wisdom, care, and love these three amazing professionals have brought to our school and our students will be sorely missed – and we can’t wait to hear about the amazing adventures that they’ll no doubt be off to!

 Retirements also mean wonderful opportunities for change within a building, and we’re pleased to announce a number of these for the upcoming school year. First, we are delighted to welcome Mrs. Becky Arigoni and Ms. Jill Thompson to those two Grade Two classroom positions, moving up from Kindergarten and down from Grade Three, respectively! Second, due to the large group of students moving into Grade Four next year, we welcome Mrs. Jill Polinsky and Mrs. Jen Grady into the Grade Four classroom teacher roles! Jill is moving out of her Special Education role and the incredible teaching experience that brings, and Jen joins us from TBS – or more accurately, “rejoins” as she began her teaching career here some years ago!

 At RBS, we work to ensure that our students recognize that connections occur within and outside our building, and we spent time this morning discussing the significance and importance of Memorial Day. We are honored to hear how many of our families have connections to our Armed Forces, and hope that we all can take a moment on Monday to reflect on the very true idea that our freedoms aren’t always free. We’re also looking forward to the connections that will occur next Friday, June 3rd, after school, with our first Blazer’s Backyard Bash! Our ticket pre-sales have been beyond-wonderful; consider this is a personal plea to consider volunteering for a half hour so that we can ensure we have enough staff helping out with our games and food and all the fun – click on this volunteer link if you can spare a half hour!

 Sincerely,

Noam, Susan and the whole RBS Team