A Letter from Mr. Cieciwa
Dear Rockland Parents and Guardians,
I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing spring break! At Rockland, we jumped right back into the swing of things with our IAR testing beginning this week. It will be the end of the year before we know it so we are busy planning our end of the year activities including field day, assemblies, 5th grade picnic, 1st grade reading celebration, kindergarten snack and share, and much more! At the end of the month we will have our Famous Author Visit Assemblies sponsored by our amazing RFA. Students will get to learn and interact with the author and the illustrator of Gnat and Corky!
Kindergarten Registration and Kindergarten Family Orientation:
If you have a child who will be turning 5 by September 1, 2022, make sure to register them for Kindergarten at Rockland. Early registration helps us to plan and staff so there are no last minute changes. Use this link to our district website to register. If you know a family in the neighborhood who will have kindergarten age children please let them know as well.
Kindergarten/New Student Registration
Our Kindergarten Orientation for families is scheduled for April 12th at 6:00 pm. This event will be held in-person at Rockland. Please have your child registered prior to this event if possible. If you have already registered, you should have received a communication from me already regarding this event. If you have not, please contact me as there may be an issue with the email address listed.
Summer School Registration is Open:
Registration for our summer school has opened this week. Similar to last year, our summer program will focus on academics. Summer school will be hosted at Butterfield this year and paid busing is available as well as Champions Day Care. Registration will close April 29th, so sign up soon. Directions on how to register can be found at this link. Summer School Registration
Returning Student Registration:
Please complete registration for the upcoming school year as soon as possible if you are planning to return to a D70 school next year. This information helps us in sectioning and class building. The process begins in the Powerschool parent portal. For more information, use this link: Returning Student Registration
Dates To Remember:
Tuesday April 12 - Kindergarten Family Orientation at 6:00 pm
Friday April 15 - No School - Good Friday
Monday April 18 - No School - Teacher Institute Day
Friday April 22 - Backwards and Inside Out Day
Friday April 29 - Fun Hat Day
Sincerely,
Jim Cieciwa
Principal
A Note From Mrs. Vertanen
Greetings Rockland Friends & Families,
In February I shared information about Erin’s Law which requires schools to implement an age-appropriate assault and abuse awareness and prevention curriculum for all grade levels. District 70 partners with the Zacharias Center (Z Center) to deliver these important lessons in a developmentally appropriate manner for our students.
Given that April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, it seems time appropriate to share some additional information about this sensitive topic. According to the Z Center, a child becomes a victim of sexual assault every 9 minutes which underlines the importance of knowing and recognizing the Indicators of Child Sexual Abuse. Please take a moment to review these and Upcoming Educational Events offered by the Z Center.
On an unrelated note, we welcome Jillian McMahon, School Psychologist Intern, and CJ Locke, School Social worker, to Rockland next week to ensure psychological services are not disrupted following my departure from District 70. I am confident Rockland will be in good hands! Thank you again for embracing me as part of the community and allowing me the privilege of knowing your children.
Warmest Regards,
Michelle Vertanen
School Psychologist
Fifth Grade News
Fifth grade is finishing the school year strong as our Veteran Raptors are finishing their careers here at Rockland. It is a bittersweet time, as we are proud to see them move off to Highland, but sad to see them go. We are excited to end the year with Highland Buddies stopping by, our class picnic, and the RFA's end of year party. Along with the normal school celebrations, it should be a fun rest of the year.
Academically, our students are working through the foundations of the United States government. They have learned about the three branches of government set up by our constitution, and are currently uncovering the Bill of Rights. In science, we are expanding on the water cycle, and discussing what water is safe do drink and how we can conserve all of our water here on Earth.
As we finish up our Math and Language Arts IAR next week, the students are reviewing key concepts learned in 5th grade through in class activities. The students have been working hard all year, and it's been fun to see their hard work pay off. We look forward to seeing their final scores this summer!
Have a great weekend, and fantastic last two months of the school year!
The 5th Grade Team
RFA News and Updates
Book Fair:
We’ll be having our spring Scholastic book fair May 2-6, with classes previewing the book fair on Monday/Tuesday and then shopping with their library class on Wednesday-Friday of that week. It will run just as it did in the fall.
I’m in need of some additional parent helpers who want to be able to check out the fair with their students. If you can help set up the fair (April 28 after school), help during the week of the fair, or help take down the fair (May 6 after school), please use this link to sign up. Multiple spots are encouraged if you’ve got the time available. https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/4090d4ca5a723a0fb6-parent
Please email Keri Woodward with any questions. Kwoodward83@yahoo.com
Egg Hunt:
Please join us for a school-wide Egg Hunt that will take place on Friday April 8th at 5:30 p.m. Hopefully it stays dry but if it does rain, the event will be moved to Saturday 4/9/2022 at 11am. You must have RSVP’d for your children to participate. We can’t wait to see everyone there. Egg Hung Sign-Up
Save the Date:
The 5th grade boys end of the year event will be held on Saturday, May 14 from 6:30 - 9:30 pm. This event is for graduating fifth grade boys and their VIP. More details to follow!
The 5th grade girls end of year event will be held on Saturday, May 14 from 6:30 - 9:30 pm. This event is for graduating fifth grade girls and their VIP. More details to follow!
The Fifth Grade End of Year Celebration will be Saturday, June 4, from 6-9pm at Adler Pool. Swimming, food, and fun! More details to follow.
School Supplies:
It’s hard to believe we are already planning for next school year. Teachers have finalized their lists for the next school year and you can now order online. The kits are delivered to the school and will be in your child's classroom waiting for them on the first day. Here’s the link to order. https://1stday.sale/34603
Rockland Cares:
Our next event is the Earth Day Park Clean Up on Friday, April 22. Sign up here to clean up the Nicholas Dowden Park at 3:30 pm or the Northshore Bike Path at 5:30 pm. Thanks for helping to keep our world beautiful.
Social Mixers:
The 3rd Grade mixer will be hosted by Jani Vuckovic on Friday, April 30th. Look for evite with more details.
Lisa Gatto and Lauren Timony will be hosting the 4th Grade mixer at the Gatto residence on Friday, May 6th at 7pm. Invitations will be on the way soon.
Field Day - Save the Date:
Rockland School Field Day is Thursday, June 2nd! Thank you to all the volunteers that signed up to help! We will be in contact with you in May!