R I S I N G S T A R

From the Principal’s Desk I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Principal’s

Letter

1

Upcoming

Events

5

SRS Garden 5

H&S Letter 6

Language

News

7

Green Tip 7

Cookbook 8

S W A R T H M O R E -

R U T L E D G E S C H O O L Rising Star S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 0 W W W . S R S K I D S . O R G

At SRS we set the bar high. We grow and

thrive as a school community by having a

strong commitment to doing a good job

and always focusing on doing it better.

What follows is a partial list of the things

we can be tremendously grateful for at

SRS.

Our clear mission:

Our mission at Swarthmore-Rutledge School is

to enable our students to experience academic

and social success through a sound, student-

centered instructional program. Character edu-

cation and social awareness learning opportunities are provided within a positive and sup-

portive school community. The goal is for our students to become critical thinkers and

problem solvers, with genuine respect for diversity and social responsibility, and a life-long

love of learning.

Dear SRS Parents and Friends,

Excellent academic

program:

Our curriculum provides academic

challenge while recognizing that chil-

dren learn in different ways. Aca-

demic excellence is achieved through

sound instruction in basic skills as

well as hands-on, inquiry-based

learning experiences. Our students

are challenged to achieve and innovate in every aspect of our child-centered cur-

riculum. We believe that learning should be purposeful and is more effective

within a rich, meaningful context. This is reflected in our commitment to keeping

projects simple, learner-friendly and process-driven.

Incredible faculty and staff:

The SRS learning community is a place where the entire staff is dedicated to help-

ing students acquire the social and academic skills necessary to become life-long

learners and contributing members of our world. We are blessed to have an in-

credible, creative staff that works daily to do what’s best for kids.

Dr. Gary Davis

Instructions for Recipe Submissions

P A G E 2

Beautiful and functional facilities and grounds:

We are lucky to have a first-rate educational facility. In addition,

thanks to the combined effort of our H & S and the District, we

have cutting-edge technology which is integrated into the curricu-

lum at all levels. Further, we have beautiful school grounds and a

large playground filled with new playground equipment. A re-

cent state grant allowed us to install an assortment of new play-

ground equipment over the summer.

Solid bully prevention and character education

programs:

We take a proactive approach to creating a peaceful and respectful

learning community. We do this in many ways: using responsive

classroom techniques, teaching students about conflict resolution

and “I” messages, discussions and role plays in the classroom,

classroom skits at All School Meetings, to name a few. Our

Olweus Bully Prevention and Four Cornerstones programs help

our students learn how to make good choices. Our Connecting

With the Wider Community program offers our students opportu-

nities for leadership as well as thoughtful engagement in service

to others.

Strong ties to the surrounding community:

Whether it’s visiting Scott Arboretum and developing an appre-

ciation and a better understanding of plant life and nature, or

learning about the world of work from local businesses and or-

ganizations; whether it’s benefiting from the knowledge and skills

of students and professors from Swarthmore College, or taking a

walking field trip to Crumb Creek, our school’s relationship with

the surrounding community provides us with special educational

opportunities that enrich our curriculum.

Wonderful families and students:

We are fortunate to have a very active parent involvement at SRS--

-volunteers who spend countless hours helping to make our

school a better place for our students and teachers. Most impor-

tantly, we are blessed to have bright-eyed, cheerful students who

enjoy coming to school each day eager to learn.

SRS is fortunate for all of the above, and we know there is more.

As we continue to improve, we do so from the solid ground of the

strengths we have developed over the years.

R I S I N G S T A R

Principal’s Letter cont.

Reading Specialists

First Grade

Randie Gallagher , Gifted Coordinator

Kathy Gemberling, Guidance Counselor

Maria Klumpp, School Psychologist

Mary Kristal, Nurse

Judy Young, Nurse

W W W . S R S K I D S . O R G P A G E 3

Jennifer Cichowski

Jennifer Connolly

Billie Jo Fries

Liz Cotrufello/Kelly Kane

Jennifer McDonnell

Erika Benson

Ellen Gidaro

Michael Haines

Tina Smart

Second Grade

2010 - 2011 SRS Faculty Members

P lease join us in welcoming Liz Cotrufello to SRS.

She will be filling in for Kelly Kane in her 1st

grade classroom during the first half of the school

year while Kelly enjoys being with her new baby. Liz was

a multi-age 1st/2nd grade teacher for many years before

leaving us to raise her family. She did a masterful job cov-

ering for Jen Connolly last year so we are lucky to have

her with us again.

Principal’s Letter cont.

Third Grade

Pat Cronin

Noreen Gaynor

Pat Hacik

Jennifer Kennedy

Fourth Grade

Irene Buecheler

Ed Gaynor

Cheryl Knox

Eric McElroy

Jill Brook

Liz Corson

Carrie Saunders

Renee Strehle

Bridget Welsh

Special Education

Kim Aronovitz

Dorri Brooke

Katherine Lord

MC Petras

Carol Prendergast

Kevin Stahler

Sue Vatnick

Bill Kane, P.E.

Helen Mangelsdorf, Art

Renee Stroback, Library

Jeff Shaull, Instrumental Music

Kara Suarez, Choral Music

Karen Goetting, Art

Specials

Elma Jones

Jeanette Lynch

Other SRS Faculty

Fifth Grade

P A G E 4

Important Reminders

R I S I N G S T A R

At the beginning of each year I like to remind us all of the little, yet very

significant, things we need to do in order to make SRS a safe place for

everyone.

1. Sign-in at the Office: While volunteering and/or visiting SRS

during school hours you must first sign in at the office and wear a

name tag.

2. Arrival: School hours are from 8:45 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. Students

are considered late if they arrive after 8:45 A.M. We believe that

being on time is a lifelong skill. We appreciate your efforts to get

your child to school on time.

3. Before School Supervision: In order to keep our students

safe, they must not arrive before 8:20 A.M. Support staff are not on

duty prior to that time.

4. Early Dismissal: Parents must sign their child out from the of-

fice whenever they are picking them up for an appointment. We

will call the child down to the office by the intercom. This provides

us with a safety check on the whereabouts of our students and mini-

mizes disruption to classroom instruction.

5. Absent/Late Arrival: When your child is absent and not attend-

ing school, or has an appointment and will be arriving late, please

call 610-544-5702. This enables us to keep better tabs on who is on/

off campus for their safety.

6. Transportation Change: When your child is riding a different

bus or has a change in their normal dismissal routine, please send a

note with them to school that day. Also, please include last names

on the note.

7. Dog Policy: For safety reasons, please do not bring dogs on

school property during school hours.

Our Parent-Student Handbook will again be included in the Swarth-

more-Rutledge School Directory. Please review the information in this

handbook. If we are on the same page, we’ll have a wonderful year at

SRS!

Gary Davis Principal

Principal’s Letter cont.

School starts at

8:45am. Please get

your child to school

on time.

Let’s keep our

children safe.

Support staff are

not on duty until

8:20Am. Please do

not let your child

arrive before then,

or bring dogs on

school property

during school

hours.

Wednesday, September 15 Home and School Meeting

Library - 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, September 21 Picture Day,

Grades 3,4,5

Wednesday, September 22 Picture Day,

Grades 1,2

Thursday, September 30 Back to School Night

7:00-8:30 p.m.

Monday, October 4 H&S Foreign Language Classes

begin

Thursday, October 7 Back to School Picnic

5:15-7:00 p.m.

Thursday, October 14 Back to School Picnic

5:15-7:00 p.m. (Rain Date)

SRS Upcoming Events

W W W . S R S K I D S . O R G P A G E 5

The SRS garden was cared for over the summer by a rotating group of SRS families. Many thanks go to Claire McLear for organizing these wonderful vol-unteers! Stop by and check it out - it's sure to make you smile!!

Throughout the summer, the SRA campers also helped water the garden under the guidance of Betsy Prugh. Thank you!!!!!!

SRS Garden Update

P A G E 6

A Few Words from Home and School

R I S I N G

Welcome Back! We are Kathryn Mehan and Marj Hatzell, the co-presidents of Home and School for the 2010-2011 school year. We wanted to take a moment to extend a greeting to everyone! We hope you had a relaxing summer break and are looking forward to a wonderful new year. Home and School is the portal to exploring and participating in school events. We hope you will join us at our monthly meetings and we look forward to greeting new members. Our first meeting

will be Sept. 15th at 7:00pm in the school library. Parent volun-teers are always needed and this year we particularly want to thank our 40 plus volunteers for signing up and giving their time. Thank you! There are many opportunities available, from all-year posi-tions to more occasional volunteering. Be sure to visit our website, srskids.org, and click on “Subscribe by Email” link to sign up for email blasts! You may also sign up to subscribe to the website and receive updates when new informa-tion is posted.

We have had a busy summer putting together a new foreign lan-

guage program (thanks to Vippy Yee and Sandra Sullivan!), tend-ing the newly-installed SRS vegetable garden and watching the

playground work begin. Click on “Educational Programs” on the website to see all of the exciting programs! We want to extend a special thank you to all parents, faculty and staff who participated in our end-of-year survey. We got a lot of responses and learned more about what you, the SRS community, would like to focus on going forward. We appreciate your time in filling it out!

Mark your calendars for the Back to School Picnic on Oct. 7th! This is a great event that the children (and parents!) look forward to each year. It’s a chance to re-connect with school friends and kick off another great year. We hope to see everyone soon and be sure to give us your ideas and feedback during the year.

Dear Friends,

Thank you!

Kathryn Mehan & Marj Hatzell, Home & School Co-presidents 2010-2011 e-mail us at Presidents@srskids.org

Be sure to visit our

web site srskids.org

and sign up for our

e-mail blasts!

www.srskids.org

If you enrolled your

child in a H&S foreign

language class, please

look for the confirma-

tion e-mail during the

week of Sept. 13th.

Mark your calendars!

Our first H&S meeting

will be on Sept. 15. at

7pm in the school li-

brary.

Find out how you can

make a difference in

your child’s experience

at SRS.

W W W . S R S K I D S . O R G P A G E 7

H&S Foreign Language News

W e are very excited about the upcoming foreign language classes

being offered before and after school at SRS. We would like to thank all of the families that filled out our foreign language sur-

vey at the beginning of the summer. Your responses were crucial in help-ing to shape this pilot program. This year we are offering beginner classes

in Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and French. If you have enrolled your

child in a class, please look for the confirmation e-mail the week of Sep-

tember 13th. All classes will begin the week of October 4th. For more in-

formation, please contact Vippy Yee at 610-338-0454 or by e-mail at vip-

py1@yahoo.com.

Green Roof?

Do you want to see a Green Roof up close and personal?

Scott Arboretum offers a free tour of three vegetative roof systems installed on the Swarthmore Campus. You can learn about the workings, benefits and beauty of these popular systems. The next tour is September 19th 5-6:30.

Call the Scott Arboretum for more information at 610-328-8025.

Green Tip of the Month

P A G E 8

SRS Cookbook Still Available

R I S I N G S T A R

Dear SRS Families, Faculty and Staff, Thank you for helping to make the first phase of the SRS Cookbook project a huge success. We received over 250 recipes, and they look delicious! In the book you’ll find great recipes like Wheat Berry Salad with Dried Fruit, Saffron Risotto with Shrimp, Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage, Marble Chocolate and Orange Cake and Easy Biscotti. We still have a few cookbooks left, so if you missed ordering one last year, don’t worry, you didn’t miss out. Simply print out the order form below and send it to school with your child. Please enclose a check made payable to SRS Home & School. Order forms are also available in the SRS office. Remember, proceeds from our cookbook sales will not only help fund Home

and School projects, but will also help those who are so hungry in these tough

economic times. In the U.S., 49 million people are now considered to not have

adequate food on a regular basis and 17 million of these are children. All

monies raised over the H&S budgeted goal will be donated to a local food bank

or hunger organization.

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Cookbook Order Form

I’d like to order _________cookbooks x $14.00 per cookbook (checks made payable to SRS Home & School) Enclosed: $__________ Your Name: __________________________________ Phone: __________________________________ Child’s Name: __________________________________ Teacher: __________________________________ Please return to your child’s teacher in an envelope marked “Jennifer Vincent, cookbook order”.

(Teachers, please send order forms and recipes to the SRS Office for collection)