Rhode Island
These are the top 10 elementary and middle schools in RI, per U.S. News & World Report
Kraft Heinz pulls school-approved Lunchables off the menu
Kraft Heinz pulls Lunchables from US school lunch programs due to weak demand and sodium content concerns.
Straight Arrow News
U.S. News & World Report just released their 2025 elementary and middle school rankings in each state, and Barrington Public Schools lead the lists for Rhode Island with four rankings.
The digital media company used data from the U.S. Department of Education to base their rankings of over 70,000 public schools on four indicators: mathematics proficiency, reading proficiency, mathematics performance and reading performance. Analyzed schools were then given a score based on a formula which factored in the four criteria and socioeconomic context.
Here are the full rankings for Rhode Island schools.
Top 10 elementary schools in RI
Here are U.S. News & World Report’s 10 best Rhode Island elementary schools of 2025:
- Nayatt School (K-3) – Barrington
- Community School (K-5) – Cumberland
- Jamestown School-Melrose (PK-4) – Jamestown
- Clayville School (PK-5) – Clayville
- Sowams Elementary School (K-3) – Barrington
- Lincoln Central Elementary School (K-5) – Lincoln
- Raymond Laperche School (PK-5) – Smithfield
- Forest Park Elementary School (K-5) – North Kingstown
- Primrose Hill School (PK-3) – Barrington
- Hamilton School (K-5) – North Kingstown
Top 10 middle schools in RI
Here are U.S. News & World Report’s 10 best Rhode Island middle schools of 2025:
- Barrington Middle School (6-8) – Barrington
- Wickford Middle School (6-8) – North Kingstown
- Archie R. Cole Middle School (6-8) – East Greenwich
- North Cumberland Middle School (6-8) – Cumberland
- Jamestown School-Lawn (5-8) – Jamestown
- North Smithfield Middle School (5-8) – North Smithfield
- Narragansett Pier School (5-8) – Narragansett
- Exeter-West Greenwich Regional Junior High School (7-8) – West Greenwich
- Portsmouth Middle School (5-8) – Portsmouth
- Lincoln Middle School (6-8) – Lincoln
Rhode Island
In a Small Rhode Island Factory, This Designer Is Championing American Luxury
Lindy McDonough started her brand, Lindquist (the full version of her Swedish middle name), with a rule about glue. It had to be high quality, holding together the layers of her unique bags, but also free of VOC—a toxic compound used by most leather bag brands—and all other toxins. The rule was a non-starter because it’s both a nexus and metaphor for the brand’s ethos.
In 2020, McDonough started Lindquist with her husband, Conor MacKean, a mechanical engineer, and Kate Gronner, head of production, in a small factory in Providence, Rhode Island. “We had dreams—we still have big dreams—about what we wanted to do, but we wanted to do it the right way,” she tells Vogue. The right way meant ethically handmade bags created by a team that earns competitive wages, with full healthcare and benefits. It also means no toxic dyes, no waste, and only high-quality, vegetable-tanned leather. “[We thought] if we make a beautiful thing and treat people well, it will work,” she says of the beginning stages.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Blood Center celebrates holiday season with giveaway for blood donors | ABC6
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Starting today, the Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC) will be spreading holiday cheer with a special gift as a thank you for critically needed blood donations.
Donors will receive either a festive pair of socks or a beanie in an effort to encourage blood donations.
According to the RIBC, this time of year can be the most challenging for donations, as they can decline 20 to 30% during the last week of December.
RIBC said they encourage new and returning donors to schedule an appointment, and prioritize blood donation this holiday season.
Blood donors can give every 56 days, and platelet donors can give twice per month.
The holiday promotion will be available from today until Tuesday, January 3 at all of RIBC’s donor centers.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently lifted several blood donor eligibility restrictions. To view current eligibility guidelines or make an appointment, you can visit the RIBC’s website or call 401.453.8383.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island high school hockey schedules, scores and stats for Dec. 20-21
The Providence Journal is going to try something new this winter.
Readers swarmed to our weekly football scoreboard in the fall. The state’s football coaches did their part and submitted results to us, and we did our best to publish in a timely manner.
We want to do the same for hockey. We don’t know if it’ll work, but I really hope it does. The readership for hockey is strong and we think if this is done correctly, it will be successful. There’s probably going to be growing pains and it might take a bit to smooth out the kinks. But if done right, it will get hockey players in the paper weekly.
And if we get enough results, we can start publishing ballots for hockey athletes of week. Coaches have been asked to send results to pjsports@providencejournal.com after the games.
Now let’s get to the games from Dec. 20-21.
The top returning high school boys hockey players? Here are 30 players to watch this season
The top returning high school girls hockey players? Here are 14 players to watch this season.
Games are subject to change
Boys schedule
Friday’s Games
Portsmouth 2, Ponaganset 0
Friday night is a formula Portsmouth boys hockey could use for a repeat championship run.
A quick start, contributions from its second line and a shutout from a title-winning goalie showcased the Patriots’ first win of the season. After trudging through their opening games against Barrington and North Kingstown, the Patriots scored on their first power play vs. Ponaganset.
Chase Pascoe put Portsmouth up with 2:59 left in the first period and then the sophomore tallied again just eight seconds into the second period. Portsmouth’s 2-0 triumph at Levy Arena comes on the heels of an 8-5 defeat to Barrington and 5-2 loss to North Kingstown.
“We need him to produce,” senior captain, Shane Temple said of Pascoe. “That was amazing from him today. And honestly, we just have to play like we did last year – with some heart and grit.”
Pascoe was Portsmouth second leading scorer last year. The sophomore winger finished with 10 goals last winter and is well on his way to topping that mark.
“The first few games were rough,” Temple said. “I feel like we played teams that were just ahead of us at this time in the season. But in both games we lost, we came out really hot in the third period. And I feel like today we fixed that. We came out hot in the beginning of the game and we played the whole game today.”
Goalie Jonathan Cabral faced 27 shots in the win and grabbed his first shutout of the year. Portsmouth finished with 31 shots on net.
“We just need to do the same thing we did last year [to have another successful season],” Cabral said. “And that’s just putting in more effort. Last season we hit a little slump, and then once we started trying a lot more and put in a lot more effort, it came together.”
Barrington 6, Burrillville 2
Revenge came in the first week of the season for Barrington.
The Eagles were swept in the quarterfinals vs. Burrillville last year, but they already toppled the Broncos in their first in-state contest.
Burrillville’s Patrick Murphy redirected Cam Force’s shot for the game’s first goal just three minutes into the night cap of the doubleheader at Levy Arena. But Barrington responded with back-to-back goals in 45 seconds.
A Burrillville turnover in its defensive zone saw Henry Kelsey bury the tying goal off an assist from Joseph Carmone. The Eagles added their second when Austin McCarty found Trent Senn on the crease for a 2-1 lead with 5:03 left in the first period.
Force retied the match with a wrister, top left, with 59 seconds remaining in the opening frame, but that’s all Burrillville could manage.
Connor Hayes made it 3-2 with a goal off a rebound and Kelsey added his second with 5.3 seconds left in the second period. And then Senn and Kelsey finished the night with goals in the third period.
EG/Toll Gate 8, West Warwick/EWG 4
Pilgrim vs. Moses Brown at Thayer Arena, 3:45 p.m.
South Kingstown vs. Nariho at Boss Arena, 6:30 p.m.
RMT vs. North Kingstown at Boss Arena, 8:15 p.m.
Coventry/Johnston vs. Cumberland, ppd.
Smithfield vs. Hendricken, ppd.
Prout vs. La Salle at Smithfield, ppd.
Saturday’s Games
Barrington at New Canaan (CT), 2:30 p.m.
Bishop Guertin vs. Prout at Schneider Arena, 3 p.m.
RMT at Burrillville, 4 p.m.
Cranston vs. Ponaganset at Levy Arena, 6 p.m.
Blackstone vs. Lincoln at Route 146, 6:45 p.m.
La Salle vs. Hendricken at Thayer Arena, 7:45 p.m.
Pilgrim at Smithfield, 8 p.m.
Girls schedule
Friday’s Games
East Bay vs. Cranston at Cranston Veterans, 8:10 p.m.
SCMB vs. Warwick at Thayer Arena, ppd.
Saturday’s Games
South County at Longmeadow (MA), 2 p.m.
La Salle at Falmouth (MA), 6 p.m.
Sunday’s Game
South County vs. La Salle at Route 146, 4:35 p.m.
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