Lift Your Spirits By Watching This Video Featuring Our Little Creek Classrooms |
We wanted to share with you some of our cutest moments of Thanksgiving with our Little Creek Children in song.
Please watch this video clip to see our youngest students share their classroom Holiday songs.
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Speech given by Meg Bamford to the School Assembly on Friday November 20, 2020
"When we think about heroes, we might think about superheroes in the League of Justice or Marvel heroes. My favorite is Wonder Woman! Or we might think about fictional heroes in books like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson in books.
I think about real people whom I call my heroes. They may have lived before us or are currently alive. None of these people were born with the mark of a hero. They are everyday people who thought beyond themselves to do good things for people and the world we live in. These people inspire me to be a better person. People like Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Ruby Bridges, Mahatma Gandhi, or Malala Yousafzai. To look beyond yourself takes practice and it takes heart.
Every single person who is here today has the capacity to make the world a better place. There are 1440 minutes in a day. That is a lot of opportunities to make a difference in someone’s life. How many minutes does it take to help someone pick up something they dropped, thank a waitress for serving your food, carry a friend's book, empty the dishwasher for your mother, or listen to someone who is having a “no-good-very-bad-day?" It is MUCH easier to be an everyday hero than to be mean, apathetic, or pessimistic, and it sure feels better.
I don’t know if you ever thought about it, but our school was founded by every day heroes. People like Mrs. Judge, Mrs. Cohee-Wright, Mrs. Bushby, Mrs. Cooperage, Mrs. Herron, and many of their friends who believed there needed to be a school for really smart kids who learn differently. They are heroes to us. These everyday heroes spent years working to make sure our school was there for the kids before you, the kids who attend now, and for students in the future.
Listen to me carefully. There are so many everyday heroes who support our school and believe that you have talents and hearts that need to be nurtured. We believe that everyone has strengths and everyone has something to work on whether it is pushing your pause button, reading better, or being a good friend.
Today I also want to take some time to honor one of our school’s recent heroes, Mrs. Gayle Murray. Mrs. Murray passed away over the summer. Mrs. Murray was an everyday hero full of love, passion and she set about making life better for all around her, especially kids.
We thank the Murray Foundation for seeing that each one of us at Radcliffe can live out her legacy by being an everyday hero, one act of kindness at a time.
The Murray Foundation, like many of our donors, believes that children like you are the future of our country. They believe that if they can be everyday heroes for you today, one day you will ensure others can grow, learn and make a difference in the lives of others.
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Honoring An Everyday Hero: Gayle Murray
A Note From the Head of School: A Reflection on Everyday Heroes
On the Friday before Thanksgiving Break, our school community safely gathered outside to reflect on the notion of everyday heroes. Following our social skills curriculum, we believe it is essential for our children to identify acts of kindness and the good things that come their way, and then thank those people who do those good deeds. Before the school departed for Thanksgiving, it seemed apropos to talk about the notion of everyday heroes in our community and their impact on our school.
I believe that when children are able to recognize and articulate the good things in their lives, they have resiliency. The act of saying thank you and really meaning it, is something that not only provides a sense of acknowledgement to the doer of the good deed, but brings on a "side effect" of a feeling of positivity and well-being for the person making the effort to express their gratitude. During these challenging times of COVID, fostering a sense of gratitude for the things we have allows children to more easily navigate a situation of difficulty, changes in venue, and perhaps not being able to receive the things they want. In essence, we are working to teach them positive thinking and that not only is the glass half full, but it actually is overflowing with blessings. When my children were little, every night at dinner each family would be asked what was the best part of their day. I highly recommend it to families. This may take the adults at the table modeling more sophisticated answers versus a typical 3 word phrase or the same thing every night.
In October, Radcliffe was incredibly blessed to receive a check from the Murray Foundation for the amount of $122,175! Last year was monumental when we received $64,000 from them. You can imagine our joy when we saw amount for this year. We received this amazing grant because many members of the Foundation directed funds to Radcliffe in memoriam of an incredible woman, Mrs. Gayle Murray. Mrs. Murray was the great grandmother of Olivia Murray who currently attends 7th grade at Radcliffe Creek School. She devoted her life to children whether it was raising her own or actively working in the child care centers she started with her husband. She had a knack for teaching and a passion for life. The Murray Foundation’s mission is to provide funding for “the care, training, and education of people with disabilities and the training and education of those who will provide education, and training for people with disabilities.” As you can tell, the Murray Foundation and the mission of Radcliffe Creek School are an excellent fit.
In working with Mr. Murray, I wanted our community to be attuned to the idea that this donation is incredible because the small acts of love, kindness and care of one person inspired others to pay it forward to our students and our school. Also, small donations combined to create this substantial grant that has a huge impact on our school. Our students have the capacity to do small things that will have a huge impact on their world. We are grateful to have many donors and supporters of our school who see the tremendous capacity in our students to not only grow but to lead in innovation, kindness, empathy, and problem solving. The hero's journey for our children starts at Radcliffe. What a wonderful childhood opportunity to attend a school in which everyone is viewed as a potential everyday hero and receives "hero coaching."
Click on the link below to view a video that we made to thank the Murray Foundation:
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Students should come to school dressed warmly.
Students are asked to bring and wear warm clothing.
We continue to do everything we can to keep our children healthy. We open outside doors in RCS during the day to allow for fresh air to circulate through the school. Students will not need to abide by our specific dress code if they need to wear appropriate warm clothing in the building. Gym classes are held outside as much as possible.
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Students at Radcliffe understand that we need to give back to the community we live in.
For the Holiday Season, in the spirit of giving, each pod is looking to help our community through the challenges of COVID-19.
The Narwhal pod is looking to collect cans of soup to give to the Kent County Food Pantry.
The Blue Whale Pod is collecting new, unwrapped toys for Kent County 4H Toy Drive.
The Beluga Pod is looking to host a Dollar Dress Down Day to support the Cat Colloquium in Chestertown.
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School Spirit Day
December 4, 2020
Crazy Hat Day/Winter Accessories
RCS EARLY DISMISSAL
December 9, 2020
DRESS DOWN DAY
December 11, 2020
BELUGA FUNDRAISER FOR THE CAT COLLOQUIUM $1
RCS EARLY DISMISSAL
December 16, 2020
EARLY DISMISSAL FOR HOLIDAY BREAK
UGLY SWEATER DAY
HOLIDAY PROGRAMS VIRTUAL
December 18, 2020
HOLIDAY BREAK
12/21-1/3
RCS and LC will be closed
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Maryland Childcare Subsidy
Here is the link to provide you with more information
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Greetings from the Blue Whale Pod!
We are collecting toys for the Kent County 4H Toy Drive. All the toys you donate will go to kids in Kent County. The toys need to be new and unwrapped, for ages birth to 18. The final day to bring in a toy is Friday, December 11. Plus, if you bring in a toy you earn a dress down day!! What you are doing will spread joy and cheer for kids around Kent county.
Thank you!
From the Blue Whale Pod
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Thank you so much to everyone who participated in Giving Tuesday. We are excited to purchase 3 new Chromebooks thanks to the generosity of our donors.
Annual Fund donations are happily accepted throughout the year. Every dollar matters! If you haven't yet had the opportunity to donate to this year's Annual Fund, please donate here: Donate to RCS
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Look at What The Blue Whales Are Learning in Discovery |
Ms. McGrory's classes just finished their unit on Ancient Egypt. From writing writing hieroglyphics to mummifying apples, these kids learned so much! Enjoy the summary of their unit and wonderful pictures by clicking on the link below.
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Learning is fun at Little Creek. This week we kicked off our month long learning about holiday's around the world!
1. Infants: Cabot and Gareth are enjoying some tummy time together.
2. Toddlers: Aela is enjoying some fresh air during an afternoon stroll.
3. Two's: Grady and Luna are busying cooking lunch for each other.
4. Three's: Forest is learning about the Star of David. Everyone got to decorate their own Star of David with star stickers.
5. PreK: Garner is enjoying this science activity! Everyone took turns making and observing their our own water cycle, using a Ziploc bag, water, and the windows.
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COVID 19 Reminders
Please know that our goal is to continue to offer in-person instruction and child care for as long as possible. Compared with many other schools, we have more of a capacity to be together due to the size of our classes and cohorts, our stringent community guidelines and the physical plant of our building.
Over the last few weeks, the positivity rate and daily increase rate per 100,000 for COVID-19 has risen all over Maryland. Radcliffe Creek School serves children who come from as far as Prince George's, Anne Arundel, Talbot, Queen Anne's and Caroline Counties as well as children from Delaware.
I ask for your continued cooperation and help. In order for us to continue to be with your child in person, it is CRITICAL that our families and staff follow our agreed upon guidelines. We need you to continue to communicate with us if anyone in your family is exposed to COVID-19. Please communicate directly with the Director of Little Creek or the Head of School regarding travel to other states or international travel. In accordance with Governor Hogan's mandate from last week, if your child should travel to a state listed with a positivity rate of 10% or higher, your child and any other household members who work or attend Radcliffe Creek School, will not be able to return until they are tested for COVID-19 and receive a negative result or they have self quarantined for 14 days. Here is the map where we are tracking this information: CDC Website.
We have done extremely well as a community of almost 100 children with no cases of COVID within the walls of our school due to everyone's commitment to safety and health.
*PLEASE FOLLOW OUR COVID GUIDELINES*
It is imperative that all members of our community continue to abide by our agreed upon COVID-19 Guidelines. Here are the community guidelines we all agreed to follow. COVID Guideline Agreement
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201 Talbot Blvd.,
Chestertown, MD 21620
Phone (410) 778-8150
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Discover. Create. Thrive. |
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