Riverside Monday Memo

MONDAY MEMO

The preschool class worked in small teams to create Leprechaun Traps for St. Patrick's day, and when they returned to school on Thursday, they found evidence that the leprechauns had been there and then escaped, leaving behind treasures! From left to right are Emmy, Lucy, Soso, Naomi, Bo, and Sofia.

Greetings!

In addition to Riverside-info, it's exciting to be sharing details below about recreational activities in our community that connect with our mission to develop active learners, patient leaders, and engaged citizens, in a supportive community. We are grateful for local leaders in our supportive community who are developing safe opportunities for engagement like these.

Happy Monday,

Nelia

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NOTES

GROW RIVERSIDE OUTSIDE

As you've seen in the Heron News and prior Monday Memos, the pandemic, the passions of our teachers, and the 40th anniversary are together inspiring a Grow Riverside Outside initiative to deepen our outdoor education and to build an outdoor classroom pavilion on our campus in honor of all Riverside's teachers. Molly Moore '12 (7th grader Macy's sister) helped us create this video to explain the plans.

Let's Grow Riverside Outside

YARD SALE HELP

Please start your spring cleaning now! Look in those closets, bins, attics, and basements for those items that are no longer valuable to your family, but could be to someone else's. Riverside's annual yard sale is a huge, well-known event that benefits everyone: those who clear out their clutter, those who find what they need, and the Riverside students who benefit from funds raised! This is one of the parent-organized fundraisers that helps to bridge the gap between tuition income and the cost of our program. The parent group has a $25,000 goal for its fundraisers. We will begin collecting donations in April, stay tuned for those details here in the Memo.

Help we need now: We are so grateful to the dedicated parents who've been planning this year's COVID-safe event for many months, and will be counting on more parents to help in a variety of ways. The list here will evolve over coming weeks.

to borrow for the week of April 26-May 1: outdoor gazebo-style pop up tents and 6' - 8' folding tables

If you can help, please email Fiona Shackleton (8th grader Trixie). Thank you in advance for your help!

COVID FAQs

Please review this COVID FAQ doc for a reminder of some of our health policies and a summary of some of the new guidance from the governor about multi-household gatherings and fully vaccinated individuals.

MONDAY, MARCH 29

Next Monday, March 29:

there is no school, as we had planned this as an additional 3-day weekend, like those we had in the fall, anticipating the stress of the COVID-year would require some extra days off for students and teachers
we will be launching a new website at www.theriversideschool.org
there will be no Memo until Tuesday, March 30

MORNING TEMPERATURE CHECKS

As the outside temps warm up, students’ foreheads are reading warmer and causing us to have to retake temperatures in the morning. If convenient, please turn the car heat down a few minutes before pulling into the driveway to help save a little time at drop-off.

PLANNERS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

6-8th grade teachers and advisors are making a concerted effort to help students keep their planners up to date. Having a classroom for each grade level is very helpful because homework assignments are on the board in each student’s homeroom. Please check in with your child occasionally to see that they have their planner and that it is accurate and let their advisor know if this needs attention. Teachers are happy to team with parents for specific planner expectations/communications if that's the best way to support your child.

TRAVEL AND QUARANTINE REMINDER

Please remember that Vermont’s cross-state travel and quarantine requirements are still in full effect (after non-essential travel, 7 days + negative test result or 14 days symptom free before returning to campus). The only individuals that don’t have to quarantine after leaving the state for non-essential travel are those who have been fully vaccinated. Please keep us in the loop on any travel plans you have that might require testing for return to school. We’re happy to help figure out your timeline and testing. This policy is also explained in our updated COVID FAQ document.

LATIN CLUB

The Latin Club will be hosting a certamen, or Latin quiz bowl, on the evening of April 1st. We already have schools from VT, NH, Arizona, Florida, and DC signed up. This virtual event will be open to spectators, so this is an opportunity to see the fruits of the Latin Club’s labors. We’ll post links and further information here as the event draws near.

CONTRACTS

Contracts for returning students were mailed home last week. If you would like a financial aid application for next year, you can email Krystal. Please return contracts, deposits, and financial aid applications promptly by Friday, April 9. This deadline is extremely important as we have a waitlist situation in many grades, and would like to offer those spaces as soon as possible to those applicants if they are not going to be filled by current families.

STANDARDIZED TESTING

3-8th graders will be taking standardized tests beginning next week and through April 16. We will share a more specific schedule next week, but you can estimate that those students will sit for a computer adaptive test for about two hours every two or three days. If you have any questions about this process, email Nelia.

LACROSSE

Information about St J Rec's spring lacrosse program is forthcoming for boys, and 1-2nd grade girls. All the details about 3-8th grade girls lacrosse, which begins this week, are in this flyer.

Players of all ability and experience levels are welcome in the lacrosse program. You do not need to be from St. Johnsbury to play. Most games for the youngest players are on Saturdays either at home in St. Johnsbury or in the Upper Valley area (Norwich, Hartford, Woodstock). Grades 7-8 play a bit more frequently and have a combination of midweek and weekend games. Grades 1-2 are an in-town skills program that will start once we can get outside.

ANIMATION FEST

NVU and Catamount Arts are hosting the Vermont Animation Festival this weekend, March 26-27. Riverside families may be interested in the workshops about the history of cartooning, introduction to animation, and designing flipbooks. The keynote speaker is animator Alan Jennings. More information about the event is here on their website. You can also email event organizer and Riverside parent Kate Renner (preschooler Hannah and 3rd grader Raya) with questions.

TAP INTO FILM SLAM

Catamount Arts has opened registration for SOCAPA’s eagerly anticipated annual film slam. SOCAPA’s Tap Into Film 72-Hour Family Film Slam, scheduled for the weekend of April 22-25, invites both novice and experienced filmmakers alike to write, shoot, and edit a short movie, from initial concept to final cut, in a single weekend. Learn more here, and register your family as a team here.

"Recognizing a genuine, urgent need for collaboration, expression, and fun, SOCAPA and Catamount Arts opted last year not to cancel the popular annual film slam, but to offer it entirely online, open admission to participants worldwide, and challenge teams to promote public safety by working exclusively within their own households. A record-breaking 77 teams participated in the event, with over 2000 votes for Audience Favorite, and the competition’s biggest challenge—quarantined filmmakers forced to work exclusively with their own family members—led to surprisingly moving and often hilarious results as multi-generational teams competed for the first time in event history." (Caledonian Record) Numerous Riverside families participated. The event will use the same format this year.