Near the end of Winter Carnival, the faculty joined the 4-5th graders including Macy Moore, Aiden Sicard, Jeremiah Watson, and Gabi Young in Tug of War against the middle school.
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Greetings!
Here is a Wednesday Memo to get us started with the week. We hope the students enjoyed a restful vacation!
Happy Wednesday,
Nelia
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The winner of our school Geography Bee, 8th grader Oak Clarke, took an additional written test last month, earning one of the top 100 scores in the state of Vermont. That success qualifies him to compete at the state bee on March 29.
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20 2nd-8th grade students participated in Riverside's spelling bee before vacation. 8th grader Liam Markey won 3rd place, 7th grader Maaike Dam won 2nd place, and 7th grader Donovan Randall won 1st place. Donovan will go on to compete in the state-level Bee in Montpelier later this month.
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We have been disappointed to feel some loss of trust (with digital devices and cubby room space) in our older students and so have instituted some new rules/restrictions for now, which we look forward to revisiting with them in the coming weeks.
We hope that this opportunity to teach and learn about supportive community gives students a chance to practice their engaged citizenship and propose some ideas about how to rebuild trust.
- The cubby room is closed. 6-8th graders are responsible for packing up and carrying everything they need for the day with them - class materials, outdoor gear, snack, and lunch. This afternoon we will clean out cubbies entirely and we hope that students will take some time tonight to reorganize, prioritize, and plan for doing that over the next couple of weeks.
- There will be no use of the computer lab before school, at break or lunch, or after school. There may be Chromebooks available at those times for students who need to complete homework to do so under direct supervision.
Please remember that it's our hope that students do not bring cell phones to school, but should they need to,
phones are to be left in Michelle's office during the school day
. You can be reminded of that policy in detail in the
Family Handbook
, page 24.
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Students with speaking roles need to have their
lines memorized by this Thursday, March 7
.
Play Week will be March 25-29, during which there will be no academic classes and a complete focus on the students' production and rehearsal effort. Performances are Friday, March 29 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 pm at Lyndon Institute Auditorium. Admission is by donation. This show is appropriate for all ages, please invite your friends!
Stay tuned to next week's Memo for costume announcements and requests for extra help in a few different ways.
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DOWNHILL SKIING/SNOWBOARDING
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This Friday is our last week of x-country and downhill adventures. Please remember to pick up at Kingdom Trails at 3:00 pm or the Burke Mountain Base Lodge at 3:30 pm. Chaperones, please communicate with Joel or Nelia about any changes in your availability this week.
Thank you to the Markey and Griffin/Crytzer families for bringing snacks for the downhill crew this week. If you can donate snacks to the x-country crew, please let Joel know.
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NEK DISTRICT MUSIC FESTIVAL
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This Friday, Alexa, Maren, Oak, Maaike, and Henry will be attending the Junior High District Music Festival to participate in a day of choral workshops and sing in the Festival Choir alongside young musicians from across the Northeast Kingdom. Attendance at the festival is highly selective with only a few students from each school nominated to participate.
The festival culminates in a concert at 6:30pm in the auditorium at North Country Union High School. The concert is open to the public, and tickets are $5 each or no more than $15 per family.
Come enjoy this performance with your family!
Parents of those students, you should have received an email from Lydia about logistical details for Friday. She will be carpooling students from school to Newport at 9:00 am. Students should plan to wear cschool-appropriate clothing during the day, bring concert attire for the performance (preferably black and white), and bring a snack and water. Lunch and dinner will be provided. Parents should pickup students after the concert, around 7:30 pm.
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Mrs. Toney is excited to start a new after school club for players of the game Catan.
Two students have signed up and she looks forward to having a few more 4-8th graders.
It will happen on Monday afternoons in March and April. Please
email Mrs. Toney
if you plan to join.
We also still need to find a game to use; please let her know if you have one we could borrow.
“Picture yourself in the era of discoveries: after a long voyage of great deprivation, your ships have finally reached the coast of an uncharted island. Its name shall be Catan! But you are not the only discoverer. Other fearless seafarers have also landed on the shores of Catan; the race to settle the island has begun!” (www.catan.com) Come join us and learn to build, settle, and trade in the game of Catan. Test your luck and build your strategy.
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AGES & STAGES COFFEE HOUSE
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Inspired by parent suggestions that we continue to offer opportunities for parents to discuss issues of teaching, learning, and parenting, and in particular questions about developmentally appropriate strategies, Michelle has planned the following coffee house event for Tuesday, March 12 at 5:30 pm, open to Riverside families:
Ages & Stages: a conversation with parents and professionals about what to do when.
Special guests will include:
- Dr. Amanda Van Straten is a Neurologist practicing at NVRH. She has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Florida State University. She completed her medical degree at the University of Oklahoma where she also completed a four-year residency in neurology. She completed additional training in neurophysiology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
- Scott Fournier LCMHC, MS, VT Rostered Clinical Mental Health Counselor and has worked with children, teens and families for over 20 years. He works with issues of depression, anxiety, trauma, family issues and spectrum disorders. He uses mindfulness, cognitive behavioral and internal family systems techniques and therapy dogs.
- Sheryl Cole, MED, M.A., VT Rostered Clinical Mental Health Counselor, received a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a Master’s of Education in Special Education from Westfield State University in 1987, and a Master’s of Science in clinical mental health counseling from Springfield College in 2016. She has been working with children and families for over 30 years.
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We are excited to take our youngest students downhill skiing and snowboarding this year! We are very grateful to the preschool parents who are all attending in order to make this possible.
Some details for preschool families:
- Miss Heidi sent an email to all parents with many of the logistical details explained and specific questions she needs you to answer. Please reply to her ASAP if you have not already.
- We will depart for skiing from Riverside at 12:30 on Wednesdays, March 13 and 27.
- Cost of lessons and lift tickets is included in Riverside's program, but rentals ($9 + $5 for a helmet) will be billed to your school store account.
- Parents are encouraged to attend the lessons with their children. On the JBar lesson parents will need ski/snowboard gear. On the Red/beginner lesson parents will be standing on the snow in front of the very short hill, so no need for gear.
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We look forward to celebrating the relationship between the circumference and diameter of every circle in the world on Pi Day, March 14! The schedule is as usual on a Wednesday, with some dedicated conversations and lessons happening at different times during the day.
Traditionally we have also celebrated with pie at morning break time.
If you're willing to bake one to share, we'd be so grateful, please let Nelia know.
Please put your name on any dishes you need to have returned.
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K-3rd graders will begin their swimming adventures next Friday, March 15 at St. Johnsbury Academy. Students should bring their suits and towels to school. They will take a bus at 1:30 and be in the pool with Nelia (who is a certified instructor and lifeguard), SJA staff member Sandy Lazerick, as well as other rotating Riverside staff.
We need the help of two male parents to supervise the boys' locker room
, teach the boys how to manage time and belongings, and take them to the bathroom as needed during lesson time. This would mean being with us at SJA from 1:45-3:15. If you can assist, please let Nelia know.
Mark your calendars: pick up for K-3 students is at 3:15 at the back door of the SJA pool (around/behind/below the field house) on March 15, 22, April 5, 26, and May 3, 10.
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PARENT-TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCES
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On Wednesday, March 20, PreK-8th grade students will be dismissed at 12:30.
Preschool will hold its conferences later in May, but that class is still having the half-day as they keep a consistent schedule with the rest of the school.
The After School Program will begin at that time.
K-8th grade parents and students are encouraged to attend conferences with teachers together.
Please call Krystal to schedule your 20-minute appointment.
Thank you to the Shackleton, Markey, Engle, and Adams families who volunteered to bring in some snacks to sustain the faculty through the long afternoon!
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SERVICE LEARNING FOR AREA ANIMALS
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One of the Destination Imagination teams is working on a collaborative service project to support the Lyndon Dog Pound. Cindy Cady who runs the pound actually needs a lot of
help getting rid of unwanted donations, and so the students would like to help her sell them
for funds that she could better use to help care for the animals.
If you or someone you know would be willing to make a donation in exchange for food bowls or animal crates
, please
email Mel Finn
.
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RACE BACK TO SCHOOL INFORMATIONAL EVENING
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Our parent organizing committee for the 2nd Annual Race Back to School (August 18) is already hard at work reflecting on the inaugural year, setting goals for 2019, and delegating leadership roles to other willing parents. The event is a walk-run-bike-athon for youth, families, and visitors to the Kingdom Trails.
A major goal for this year is to increase participation among other area schools and youth development organizations.
To further that effort, we will host an informational event in the Barn on March 19 at 5:00 pm for members of such groups to learn more about how they can participate in the Race Back to School and raise money themselves. Please help us out by sharing this event with anyone you know who works with young people and would appreciate a fundraising opportunity.
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The Club has been going really well; the group is designing and building a robot that can solve a puzzle cube!
Note: the club will not meet on March 11 or 25. Parents, please stay tuned for communications from Henry/Maryellen about how/when the club will schedule its final meetings.
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5-8: Wednesday, 3:45-5:00
K-4: Thursday, 3:45-4:45
Note that there will be no Karate on Wednesday, March 20 because of Conferences, or during Play Week (March 27-28).
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Latin Club will meet Thursday from 3:45-4:45. Note that there will be no Latin Club during Play Week on March 28.
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Mel-Lilias-Rick's Team: this Wednesday 3:15-4:15 (See note above about project efforts.)
Courtney-Alison's Team: Thursday 4:00-5:00
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Registration is Live
for this year's 48 Hour Student Film Slam, April 26th - 28th, taking place in St. Johnsbury, VT. This event is FREE and open to Middle School, High School and College teams - with or without previous film making experience. Middle School and High School teams can opt to sign up for workshops designed to provide the skills necessary for a successful weekend, and are able to borrow a production kit and use an editing station during the event, as well!
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30 Lily Pond Road, Lyndonville, VT 05851
phone: 802.626.8552
fax: 802.626.4156
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