Riverside School PTA Newsletter |
Friday, November 12th, 2021 |
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FALL PTA MEETING IS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18
Please join us on Thursday, November 18 from 9:30-10:30am via Zoom for the Fall PTA General Meeting. The first 15 minutes will include PTA business items, followed by a discussion with Karen Santucci, MD FAAP (Chief Medical Officer at Greenwich Hospital) about the COVID outlook as we head into the winter months; latest info on variants, treatments, vaccines and boosters; and other topics of interest! For the Zoom link, please see the email from Wednesday, November 10.
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HOLIDAYS FOR HAITI: ONE WEEK LEFT!
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has been plagued by poverty, hardship, natural disasters and political crises. Riverside School will continue to support Danita's Children Orphanage & School with our 4th annual Holidays for Haiti. Families can sponsor students, make them holiday cards and donate money which will go toward a holiday party, gifts and backpacks for each child. Please visit the Holidays For Haiti page on the RIVPTA.ORG for more information on how this virtual event will run.
Registration closes on Friday, November 19. We look forward to continuing the tradition of generosity and spreading holiday cheer to children who otherwise would not have much to celebrate. Thank you!
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AMERICA RECYCLES DAY & BATTERY DRIVE
Monday, November 15 is America Recycles Day, also known as National Recycling Day! Students are encouraged to wear green to celebrate!
Collection bins will be outside the front doors November 15-19 for a week-long Battery Drive. Batteries will be weighed before being deposited at The Holly Hill Resource Recovery Facility. Let's see what we can keep from entering the landfill!
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NOVEMBER SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY
Friday, November 19 is a Gratitude-themed School Spirit Day! Our students will share what they are most thankful for this year on leaves that will be displayed on our school bulletin board. Be sure to look out for the Riverside Red Hawk, who will make a special appearance to greet students during morning drop-off!
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SCHOOL PHOTO RETAKES / MAKEUP DATE: NOVEMBER 15
Photo Retakes are slated to take place outside on school grounds on Monday, November 15. If your child was absent or if you are not satisfied with your child's school portrait and would like the opportunity to retake it, please email Janet Delos or Emily Trammell.
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HYBRID BOOK FAIR: DECEMBER 1 & 2
Bookfair is back! We hope your little readers will enjoy visiting this year's hybrid style book fair the week after Thanksgiving break. Riverside students will be taking class “field trips” to the cafeteria, wish lists in hand, to peruse single copies of a multitude of titles for purchase by Main Street Books. Purchases can then be made through our Riverside Book Fair website and delivered to the school or home just in time for the holidays.
Accompanying activities and our all-time favorite lists, including “Mrs. Browning’s Best", will be featured to help us kick off December, where there’s snow better time to read! More details to follow. Any questions, please contact Susan Matsko and/or Julie Ahn.
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WHAT'S THE PTAC ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE COMMITTEE?
Are you familiar with the PTAC Academic Excellence (“AE”) Committee? PTAC is a volunteer organization with representatives from all 15 school PTAs in the GPS system and the AE Committee focuses on advocating for the needs of all students.
Hollen Spatz is Riverside School's AE Rep. Hollen partners closely with the Riverside PTA and the broader AE Committee and would love to hear what’s on your mind related to academics. Please feel free to reach out to Hollen at riversideschooleducation@gmail.com with questions or to learn more.
The AE Committee hosts public workshops throughout the year relating to various aspects of the GPS curriculum. The first one, “A Data Date with Science”, will be held on November 16 at 10:30am (details in the District News section below). Please be on the lookout for additional sessions!
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A HOST, OF GOLDEN DAFFODILS!
Last week the children had their annual daffodil planting day, putting another 500 bulbs in the ground! This is the 8th year of this wonderful tradition and the children love the idea that their flowers continue to bloom long after they have graduated. See our share site, Riverside Reel (rivpta.shutterfly.com) for photos of your children!
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SEND US YOUR BOO BASH PHOTOS
The Riverside Reel (our private, permission-only PTA photo share site) is up and running with photos from recent Spirit days, in-school enrichment, and more. The Reel is also set up so that the photos stay with each grade, and the Yearbook team can use the Reel to find memories for the 5th grade yearbook. We welcome all submissions, but especially need your recent Boo Bash photos! It was such a fun night! Please email photos to riversidereel@gmail.com and, if possible, include the first name, last initial, and grade of kids in each photo. For example: Adam B. 5A, Claire D. 3B.
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ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS
Upcoming Enrichment Programs:
November 22-23: High Touch High Tech's "Vibes" (grade 5)
December 10, 14-15: High Touch High Tech's "What's the Matter" (grade 3)
December 16: Dinosaurs Rock (grade 2)
These programs are paid for by your generous donations to the PTA. Thank you!
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SAFETY DUTY: MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN JUST 15 MINUTES!
In addition to making sure everyone is familiar with the drop-off/pick-up “Rules of the Road”, Safety Duty is an important part of keeping our children safe at Riverside School. Volunteers make the morning drop-off process more efficient and secure. Volunteers assist from 8:30-8:45am daily and must wear a mask at all times during a shift. Sign up online. For more info, contact Brielle Goldfaden at brielleg@gmail.com.
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VISIT THE ONLINE APPAREL STORE
Whether you're a returning Red Hawk or new to the nest, you can support Riverside School by showing your school spirit! Our online apparel store is open for business and stocked with lots of great new items, including tees, shorts, sweatshirts, ROPES shirts, water bottles and more. Go to RIVPTA.ORG to shop spirit wear now! Orders placed by noon on Thursdays can be picked up between 7am-7pm on Fridays at 41 Owenoke Way.
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BIKE RODEO BONANZA
Fifth grade students had a great time Wednesday afternoon riding the obstacle courses, talking to a Greenwich Police officer about bike safety, and learning about taking care of their bikes.
Special thanks to our awesome PE teachers, Mr. Bogardus and Mr. D'Andrea, for organizing the event in collaboration with Pedal Greenwich, and the 5th grade parent volunteers who helped out at the different stations!
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NOTIFYING THE SCHOOL IF YOUR CHILD RECEIVES THE COVID-19 VACCINE
If your child has received either dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and you choose to share this information with the school, kindly email Nurse Melissa Luiso evidence of your child's vaccination card so that the school's medical records can be updated accordingly. Thank you!
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HEARING AND VISION TESTING FOR GRADES 1, 2, 4 AND 5
School Hearing and Vision Testing will begin Monday, November 15 for Grades 1, 2, 4 and 5. If you do not want your child to get tested, please notify Nurse Melissa Luiso and include your child's name and grade.
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NOTE FOR PARENTS: ITEM DROP-OFFS
As a reminder to parents, when dropping off items for children, please make sure the item is labeled with the child's name and teacher. Sometimes office personnel cannot immediately obtain items from the bins due to other obligations, and clear labeling will minimize confusion and inefficiency at the time of retrieval.
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ORDERING LUNCH
PLEASE NOTE: School lunches continue to be FREE this school year. All orders MUST be submitted at least TWO full school days in advance (and up to five days in advance). Orders entered for same day lunch may not be seen, and cafeteria staff don't want students missing out. Please visit the Lunch Page on rivpta.org for information on submitting lunch orders and a link to the school's order form.
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WAYS TO FOSTER INDEPENDENCE & RESPONSIBILITY IN CHILDREN
Greenwich Public Schools will be holding a series of parent workshops focused on social and emotional learning. The first workshop, to be held next week on Monday, November 15, is titled "Effective Ways to Foster Independence and Responsibility in Children.” To register, or see additional info, visit the district's SEL Events Page.
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A "DATA DATE WITH SCIENCE" WITH TARA FOGEL ON NOVEMBER 16
Are you curious about the digital resources students are using in their science lessons and classrooms? Do you have questions about what the children are learning in science this year? Then please join speaker Tara Fogel, GPS Coordinator for K-8 Science, on November 16 at 10:30am to learn more! Please see the flyer for more detailed information and the link to join.
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GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS
Board of Education meetings are easier to attend now that they be viewed on Zoom--stay informed! Here is a list of 2021-2022 academic year Greenwich Board of Education meetings. Information on how to access the meetings can be found on the GPS Accessing Virtual BOE Meetings page. All meetings start at 7:00pm unless otherwise noted.
- Thursday, November 17, 2021
- Thursday, December 2, 2021 (Budget)
- Thursday, December 16, 2021
- Thursday, January 20, 2022
- Thursday, February 3, 2022 (Retreat, no public comment)
- Thursday, February 24, 2022
- Thursday, March 24, 2022
- Thursday, April 28, 2022
- Thursday, May 19, 2022
- Thursday, June 2, 2022 (Retreat, no public comment)
- Thursday, June 16, 2022
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UPCOMING GPS "PARENT CHAT" EVENTS
During these challenging times please know that you are not alone! Join a "Parent Video Chat" with our GPS psychologists and learn effective strategies to manage personal stress and discuss other relevant topics. Please view the flyers (English or Spanish) to learn more.
Tuesday, November 16 at 11am
Link for all meetings:
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SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOLS NEWSLETTERS
Make sure you are receiving GPS e-newsletters directly to your inbox! To subscribe, select the relevant newsletters below and click the orange "Follow" button on the right side of the page.
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YWCA Greenwich: What Does It Mean to Be an Antiracist?
Join YWCA Greenwich on November 16 from 7:00-8:30pm to learn what it means to be an antiracist. During this 90-minute session, the question will be answered by examining race as a social construct and briefly discussing the legacy of racism in the United States. This is an in-person event at YWCA Greenwich (259 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich) with a cost of $25 per person. Masks are required. Register at www.ywcagrn.org/becomingantiracist.
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Audition for the Open Arts Alliance Musical Production of Cinderella
Open Arts Alliance is proud to announce auditions for its upcoming musical production of Cinderella will be held December 7 & 9, at 6pm at The River House (125 River Road Extension, Cos Cob). Callbacks will be held on December 10 at 6pm. All youth in the community ages 8-18 are encouraged to audition. Complete required audition registration by December 5. Auditioners need only attend one of the scheduled audition dates. They should be prepared to sing a song of their choosing a cappella, and be ready to read from a portion of the script. Performances of Cinderella will take place from April 28-30, 2022 at The Powerhouse theatre in New Canaan.
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The Nutcracker is Back on Stage in Greenwich on November 13 & 14
Kick off the Holiday Season with The Nutcracker ballet. The Greenwich Ballet Academy’s performance of The Nutcracker will be held at the Greenwich High School Performing Arts Center November 13 at 7:45pm and November 14 at 2:00pm. Numerous Greenwich Public School students are featured performers along with professional guest artists from American Ballet Theater (ABT). Tickets starting at $30. You can purchase tickets here.
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The Turkey Trot is Back – Join the Thanksgiving Weekend Tradition!
Support the Greenwich Alliance for Education by participating in a morning of family fun and exercise on Saturday, November 27. Proceeds benefit Greenwich Schools. Choose from a one-mile fun run/walk and a 5k race that begins at the Arch Street Teen Center and loops through Bruce Park. When you register, don’t forget to participate in the Run for Your School Competition. The Greenwich school with the greatest participation wins a $500 gift card for PE equipment! Register here.
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COVID Resources from the School |
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IN-SCHOOL COVID-19 SYMPTOM PROTOCOL
The Nurse’s Office has received many questions about how the school is making decisions about when the school is sending students home. Extra precautions are being taken in order to do our best to keep students in school. Unfortunately, there will be many students sent home this year even though they may have normally been allowed to stay in school and we hope all families will be understanding.
Greenwich Public Schools COVID Symptom Protocol:
- If a student exhibits 1 low risk symptom (fever of 100.4 or greater, congestion/runny nose, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, sore throat, headache, muscle aches) and has had no exposure to a COVID-19 positive person, the student may return to school 24 hours after symptom resolution (without medication for fevers)
- If a student exhibits 2 or more low risk symptoms (see above) or has 1 high-risk symptom (new cough, difficulty breathing, loss of taste/smell) AND has had no exposure to a COVID-19 positive person, the student must be seen by a healthcare provider.
- If the student has a negative PCR swab test for COVID, the student may return to school 24 hours after symptom resolution (without medication for fevers).
- If the student has lab testing and evaluation, or an alternative diagnosis, the student may return to school 24 hours after symptom resolution (without medication for fevers).
- If a student has a positive PCR swab test for COVID, the student may return to school after 24 hours without fever (without medication) AND symptoms improving AND approval of local health department (10-14 days); AND release by the primary care provider will be required
- If a student is exposed to a COVID positive person, the student may return to school 14 days after last contact unless symptoms develop. If symptoms develop, the student must obtain a swab.
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SUBMISSIONS
Have something to add? Email us at: peekweekriv@gmail.com Deadline for submissions is 3pm on Wednesday of the school week
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