Palmer River Elementary School

Each year, our fourth graders collect funds to provide a special “legacy gift” to our school. This year, thanks to the generous support of our PTSA—who matched the funds raised by our students—and a kind donation from Araujo’s Greenhouse in Dighton, our students will be gifting several trees and plants to enhance the front garden area at PRES. In addition to the plantings, students also painted rocks to contribute to our growing Kindness Rock Garden. A dedicated group of fourth graders helped prepare the space today by weeding and clearing debris during recess. We’re so proud of their hard work and generosity in leaving a lasting mark on our school community!

Important: Intermittent District Phone Issues Dear Parents and Guardians, We want to make you aware that the district is currently experiencing intermittent phone issues that may impact your ability to reach our school by phone. If you are unable to get through by phone and need to contact the school, please email the secretarial staff directly. She can be reached at: LSaxon@drregional.org. She is monitoring email closely and will respond as promptly as possible. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to resolve the issue. Thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Kristine Kefor, Principal Palmr River Elementary School

🎉🏃‍♀️FIELD DAY is TOMORROW at PRES!! 🏃‍♂️🎉 We’re ready for a day full of fun, games, and memories—are YOU?! 😎 Here’s your last-minute Field Day checklist: 👕 Dress comfortably and wear your grade-level shirt or color: * Pre-K = 💜 Purple * Kindergarten = ❤️ Red * 1st Grade = 💙 Royal Blue * 2nd Grade = 🩵 Teal Blue * 3rd Grade = 💚 Green * 4th Grade = 💛 Yellow 👟 Sneakers REQUIRED—no flip flops on the field, please! ☀️ Apply sunscreen and bug spray *before* school 🧢 Hats = genius move 💧 Bring a labeled water bottle—refills available! We can’t WAIT to see all the smiles, teamwork, and epic tug-of-war faces tomorrow! 😂 Let’s make it the BEST Field Day yet!! 🎊

🎉 Pajama Day Celebration! 💤🐝 This Friday, June 20th, we’re celebrating school-wide with a PAJAMA DAY to recognize the amazing support for our Boosterthon Fun Run! 🙌 81% of our students registered — and we didn’t just meet our fundraising goal… we crushed it! Our goal was $20,000, and together we raised over $32,000! To celebrate, Mrs. Kefor and Dr. Leandro will be rocking inflatable bee costumes 🐝💛 — because this school community is the bee's knees! THANK YOU to the PTSA and everyone who helped make this happen!

Every year, Ms. Kennon's first graders bring learning to life by running a classroom "store"—and this year, it’s the Palmer River Mini Mall! 🛍️ This hands-on project ignites creativity, shapes real-world skills, and empowers students to take on roles as employees and shoppers. From job applications and interviews to managing their responsibilities and selling goods, these young learners are gaining experience—and having a blast along the way! How adorable and impressive is that? 💼👏 #EIS

🚨Last chance to donate before our Palmer River Fun Run! 🚨We are SO CLOSE to reaching our $20,000 goal, can you help?🙏 Every donation, no matter what size, makes a HUGE impact on our school! #supportourschool #thankyou #choosebooster❗️

Students and families, we have a new nightly challenge! The class with the most new donations will get to go on a quest with the Booster Team! Go to MYBOOSTER.COM tonight to register and help our school!

Students and families, we have a new nightly challenge! The class with the most new donations will get to go on a quest with the Booster Team! Go to MYBOOSTER.COM tonight to register and help our school!

Know someone from out of state? Join our 50 State Challenge! 🇺🇸 Check out the “State Map” on your MyBooster.com dashboard and share your fundraising page to a state we haven’t received a donation from yet! ❤️🤍💙

Dear Families, This is a reminder that road work is ongoing around the new rotary at Route 44 and Route 118. Starting tomorrow at 9:00 AM, the eastbound section from the rotary to Circuit Drive will be temporarily closed to traffic. We encourage all families to allow extra travel time and avoid the area if possible, as detours and increased traffic may cause delays. Bus routes may also be slightly delayed due to road work. Thank you for your patience and understanding as this work continues. We will keep you informed of any updates or changes as they become available. Sincerely, Mrs. Kristine Kefor, Principal 📧 kkefor@drregional.org 📞 508-252-5100

🎉 LET’S GO! 🎉 Our Palmer River Fun Run fundraiser starts TODAY! We’re raising $20,000 for student enrichment and need YOUR help — it just takes a minute to sign up! Then, share your page to friends & family! 🙌 Thank you for making a difference for our school!

📢 Field Trip Update for First Grade: Due to the weather forecast for Thursday, May 22, the first grade trip to Roger Williams Zoo will be rescheduled. 🐘🌧️ We’ll share the new date and details with families as soon as it's confirmed. Thank you for your understanding!

Our DR Champions! We are so proud of our athletes who participated in the Dartmouth Special Olympics Day Games today! Go team PRES! 🥇💛💚

Field Day T-Shirts – Order Now! Field Day is almost here, and PRES t-shirts are available for just $10 each! To purchase: ✔️ Send in $10 cash or a check made payable to Palmer River Student Activities ✔️ Orders are due by Tuesday, May 21st ✔️ Keep an eye out—order forms will be coming home in your child’s backpack! Thank you for helping us make Field Day a fun and spirited event!

This is a friendly reminder that kindergarten classes will be canceled on Monday, June 9; Tuesday, June 10; and Wednesday, June 11 at both district elementary schools. These days are set aside for our kindergarten team to conduct screenings for incoming students who will be joining us in September. These screenings are an important part of preparing for the upcoming school year and help us better understand the needs of our newest learners. We understand this schedule change may require adjustments at home, and we sincerely appreciate your support and flexibility as we welcome our future kindergarteners. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the main office at your child’s school.

This week, fourth graders participated in The "Palmer River Project," a tradition that has become one of the capstone projects of the elementary experience at PRES. Students collaborate to determine river health by the quality and quantity of macro invertebrates living in the water. The kids LOVE this project, and learn a great deal about real life science. Thank you to the Friends of the Palmer River, Katy Wilson, the fourth grade team, and Mrs. Sullivan/Ms. Eldridge for bringing learning to life!💚💛

Today our kindergarteners had a wild time—literally! They got up close and personal with some amazing animals during a one-of-a-kind enrichment experience that helped cultivate curiosity, ignite excitement, and possibly shape future zookeepers (or at least enthusiastic pet owners). Big thanks to the PTSA for turning our school into a temporary jungle. No animals were adopted… yet!

Over the past two months, PRES has been collaborating with the Freshmen Engineering class in the CTE program at DRRHS to solve a unique design challenge. The tables in our STEAM laboratory have large grommet holes that require covers, but these covers are no longer available for purchase. Under the guidance of their teacher, Mrs. Nardozzi, students have been working on designing custom grommet covers. On Thursday morning, students presented their design solutions to Ms. Eldridge, our current STEAM teacher (who is filling in for Ms. Sullivan until her return in September), and Mrs. Kefor. The students did outstanding work! Once their prototypes are completed, they will be brought to PRES, where students will vote on their favorite design. The winning design will then be manufactured and mass-produced for our STEAM room tables. We would like to extend our special thanks to Mr. Demers, DRRHS Principal, and Mr. Strojny, CTE Director, for their ongoing support of this project and partnership. Check out the video of a protoype in progress and some photos of some excellent student work products! Well done!

Sending along a quick reminder to families- tomorrow is a half day and there is no school on Thursday due to our District Professional Development Day.

Get ready to show your school spirit tomorrow! It’s District Green and Gold Day, and we’re all wearing our green and gold to celebrate not only our District pride but also St. Patrick’s Day! Let’s show our pride as members of the District and have some fun with the holiday spirit. #EIS #WeAreDR #DT2030 #StPatricksDay