Weekly News & Updates

October 23, 2022

Administration


Dr. Robert Compton

Head of School


Ms. Erica McCray

Elementary Principal


Dr. Christina Dempsey

Secondary Principal

6 - 9


Mr. Richard Ball

Secondary Principal

10 - 12


Ms. Dwana Tillman

Assistant Principal

K - 9


Other Contacts


Ms. Kathryn Carr

School Counselor

K - 6


Ms. Caroline Menges

School Counselor

7 - 12


Ms. Christine Born

Program Coordinator/ College & Career Counselor

10 - 12


Mr. Chris Carroll

Dean of Students


Ms. Shenelle Mabey

Student Information


Ms. Katie Robinson

Front Office


Nurse Donna

School Nurse


Ms. Kelly Burns

Food Services

K - 9

Riverwalk Academy App



Download our Riverwalk Academy app to see updates, announcements, and other resource:



Happy Sunday, Pride,


Are you a "Natter" and does it work?


Nattering is repeatedly giving verbal but meaningless warnings. We, as parents and teachers, are pretty good at this. Here's what it sounds like: "You need to stop doing that." "If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times to leave her alone." "I don't know what I'm going to do with you." "Haven't we discussed this before?" "If you do that again, then you're really going to be in trouble." "Stop it right now!" (I'm sure you have your own pet natterings that you might use.) If the word "nattering" sounds like the word "nagging" to you, then you have the right idea. Nattering is about our increasing frustration with our children's behavior. We want to be the good guy and don't want our kids to suffer from consequences. It could happen because we don't want to exert the energy that it takes to follow through. The US Department of Education (US DOE) did a million dollar comprehensive study and observed thousands of kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers. They looked for how many times a teacher "nattered" or gave a warning before issuing a consequence. They found that the average was 4.3 times. (I would argue that is true for most of us as parents as well.) Nattering really doesn't work because it is focused on us as adults rather than our children. We own the problem more than our kids do. We get more and more upset as we issue another natter. Our blood pressure goes up. We become more frustrated and agitated. And, the behavior doesn't change. So, what can we do? What's the answer? Out of the US DOE study, researchers found that the most effective teachers did one simple thing to change a child's behavior. They gave children warnings with clarity of the consequences if they did that again...and they followed through. Know that it wasn't the significance of the consequence (i.e. "You will be in detention for a week," or "I'm sending you to the principal's office.") but the fact that there was one. For most teachers who did this well, it wasn't a major repercussion, there was simply something that happened. For example, for a child who talked lots in class, the teacher may say, "If you continue to talk to your peers, you will move to another seat." If he/she continued to talk again, he/she was moved. "If you don't clean up your table at lunch, you will have to stay and do that instead of going outside." If they didn't clean up then they didn't leave the cafeteria. The natural, meaningful consequence happened at a lower level rather than resorting to a big, major consequence. The "time" fit the "crime." That interaction happened when the adult and the child were functioning at lower levels of emotional intensity. Simply put, it is "nipping it in the bud" rather than allowing it to grow to become a full flower or an out of control bush. For all of us, this is an easy say and a hard do. It requires us to have the emotional energy and maturity to be consistent and to think ahead what appropriate, meaningful consequences might look like. This really is the better path for changing children's behavior (One might argue this could be true in other relationships, too). It effectively transfers the ownership of the problem to the little person creating it. It helps set good boundaries for our children that ultimately enables them to be most successful.


In Strength and Blessings,


~Dr. Compton

Photo of the Week


Pink Out Day in support of breast cancer on Thursday was a success! 

Attention Parents: Important Attendance Info


Parents: please be reminded that our school day starts at 8am. Any student arriving at school after 8am must have an adult sign them in tardy at the kiosk in the front office. There may be some occasions where you may see faculty still linger around outside or even walk in with your student, however your student must be signed in to be counted present for the school day.


This also applies if you are returning a student back to school after an appointment. It is imperative that we have accurate attendance throughout the day, every day.


If you have any questions regarding attendance and or tardies, please contact Ms. Robinson.


Sign Up to Help

Book Fair 


It’s almost time for our first Book Fair since Covid!! We are so excited; but, we can’t pull it off without parent volunteers!! Please follow the link below to sign up for a time slot!

Friday Oct 28th will be set up

Monday Nov 1st the students will preview the Book fair and make their wishlists

Tuesday Nov 2-Thursday Nov 3 the students can make purchases

Friday November 4- we will be packing up the Book Fair.

Thank you for helping make the Book Fair a success!!


Text Link

School Lunches (K - 9th Grade)


The new menu for October has been uploaded to our website.  

Lunch Menu
ImageForNews_721710_16599712842538987 image

COVID

Pride, we adjusted our COVID-related protocols to be more inline with the latest DHEC recommendations (which were updated on 8/15/22).  The latest DHEC guidance can be found here. 


If your child tests positive for COVID, please use this form to communicate this to Nurse Donna. If you have any COVDI-related questions, please contact Nurse Donna

A Note from Ms. Carr and Ms. Teague

Greetings,


It has been another fabulous full week (despite being only 4 days) at Riverwalk. We were able to get back into our classroom lesson routine and have a couple small groups. All of the students are learning about friendships and how we should treat each other. Our K-1 classes have been watching a clip from Toy Story and completing pages to make class books on how to share, be kind, be polite and say “hi”. Our 2nd-3rd grade classes have been watching the book All Are Welcome (found here: All Are Welcome) and creating parts for a surprise wall display. We will share pictures when it is complete. Our 4th-5th grade classes have also been watching the All are Welcome  book video and completing pages for a class book as well. Their book pages show how to be friends. It includes topics such as “if a friend wants me to be mean, I would…” and “if a new person comes to school, I would…” They have to complete the sentence and draw a picture related to the statement. 


Next week is Red Ribbon Week and we can’t wait to see all the fun outfits and videos, thanks to Ms. Menges, Ms. Bumgarner and Mr. C. This year’s theme is Celebrate Life. Live Drug Free. A great resource for this particular week is found at Parent & Caregiver Resources-SAMHSA. If you would like any other information or resources, regarding healthier living, please let me know.


As always, if you have any concerns regarding your student(s)’ mental health, academic success/struggles or physical wellness, we are here for you! A counselor is here to support all academic, physical, mental and/or career growth. Please reach out to me or my intern, Ms. Teague or Mrs. Menges (7th-12th). 


Hugs,


Mrs. Carr

Ms. Teague

Save the Date

Elementary Yearbooks


Just wanted you to know that you can go ahead and purchase the yearbook for this school year if you want to get a head start.




Order Now

A Note from Dr. Dempsey

Hello Pride!


We had a great week this week. It is hard to believe we are already in the second nine weeks.


We are looking forward to seeing many of you on Monday at Eastview Baptist for our Parent 101 session. Please fill out the link below if you are planning to attend so we can make sure we have plenty of refreshments. We are very blessed and thankful for our partnership with EBC for allowing us use of their space as well as providing refreshments for the evening.


Families, please check the graphics for the Red Ribbon Week activities this coming week. As always, thank you for trusting us with your student and please reach out with any questions or concerns you may have.


Warmly,

Christy Dempsey


RSVP Parent 101

A Note from Ms. Menges

Happy Sunday!


I can't believe the weather that we had this past week. I certainly was not ready for it, and was chilly during arrival most mornings. While I typically am not a below 75 degree weather girl, I will say that cold weather means we're getting close to the holiday season which I look forward to! This coming week I am excited to celebrate Red Ribbon Week as a school. Red Ribbon Week is the nation's oldest and largest drug prevention awareness program that encourages students to say no to drugs and to live a healthy lifestyle. As time goes on and students grow, the hope is that they will understand more about the danger and risks of these substances and how to make good choices that will create a positive and healthy life. Please have age appropriate conversations at home with your students to help them learn and understand these topics!


Things to note:

-Everyone, Red Ribbon Week will include celebrating with a spirit week. Please look at the flyer posted in this newsletter to know the themes for each day!


-11th and 12th graders, please check out our biweekly newsletter called "The Upperclassmen Tribune." This will give you great resources regarding college, scholarships, and careers. 


Quote of the Week:

"Be there for others, but never leave yourself behind."

-Dodinsky


Sincerely,

Ms. Menges

Middle/High Yearbook


Just wanted you to know that you can go ahead and purchase the yearbook for this school year if you want to get a head start.

Order Now

RiverTech Students

(a catchy-name for our 10th-12th grade students)

A Note from Mr. Ball

Hello PRIDE,


I hope everyone had a great weekend. You should have received your students report card this past week. Please note that in high school courses the Q1 and the Q2 grade will each count 40% of the final average for the class. The final exam (EOC or teacher made) will count 20% of the final grade. Please review your students report card with them.


We are starting up several extra curricular activities on the York Tech Campus. Please encourage your student to find something we are offering they might be interested in. If we are not offering something your student is interested in, please ask them to talk with me so we might find something for them.


As always, if you need any assistance please feel free to reach out.


Thank you for your continued support,


Richard

803-981-7061


Dual Enrollment Students

I hope your second week of classes went well and you're enjoying your new courses and professors. I encourage you to get involved in campus events and activities. York Tech's social media pages announce special events and you can also see announcements when you log in to D2L and Navigate!


During our meetings this week we will continue to work on choosing Spring courses. We must have all course choices complete by the first week of November so we can ensure enrollment in the classes you want. If you haven't made an appointment with Mrs. Born yet, please reach out and do so as soon as possible!

Please let us know if you're planning to attend our FAFSA Event on November 14th by clicking here.

Senior Announcements

Seniors:

Senior families who are interested in purchasing a Senior Ad: please visit the Jostens Website HERE to begin your creation!Seniors!


The deadline to order your cap and gown for graduation is PAST DUE! If you have not completed your order, please reach out to Mrs. Born ASAP.

Junior and Senior Announcements

Juniors and Seniors! Keep an eye out for the Upperclassmen Tribune newsletter that is sent out every other week. This is a special newsletter full of career opportunities and advice, scholarship information, college application deadlines, and more!

Make-Up School Information

(Grades 10-12)

  • There is a charge of $20 per session payable in advance at the Riverwalk Academy Store..
  • This must be paid in advance.
  • Students must be on time.
  • Students will not be admitted to make up school sessions late.
  • Make up school is held in room D-20.
  • Students must bring lunch with them when they enter the D-20 classroom. No deliveries will be allowed by family, friends, etc - NO EXCEPTIONS.
  • Students must be working on assignments or reading while in the make-up session. Students that are being disruptive, not on task, or not following directions will be asked to leave. They will not receive a refund nor credit for any missed time.

Summer Opportunities for High School Students


High school students! I know summer break seems far away, but it’s never too early to start thinking about your future. Click on the links below to learn about some fun summer opportunities through LeHigh University and the University of Pittsburgh. I encourage you to attend the interest sessions if you're curious to learn more. 



Iacocca Global Entrepreneurship Intensive


University of Pittsburgh Health Career Scholars Academy

Interest Session

PadLet 

Don't forget to check the Riverwalk Academy Padlet daily for updates on scholarships. Opportunities are uploaded frequently, so don't miss your chance to earn some cash for college!

Padlet

Middle/ High Yearbook


Just wanted you to know that you can go ahead and purchase the yearbook for this school year if you want to get a head start.




Order Now

Fall Sports for all 7th - 12th Grade Students


If you have any questions about playing sports for Riverwalk, please contact the coach or contact our Athletic Director, Coach Ball.


Thank you for coming out and supporting our athletes and their coaches. The fall season is starting to wind down for several of or programs, but you still have time to come out and support them.


This weeks schedule:

  • October 25: Cross Country at Great Falls High School - 5:00- Region Championship
  • October 29: Cheer at Rock Hill High School - TBA


Winter sports will begin October 31. If you are interested in playing sports in the winter or spring you need to make sure you get an athletic physical and upload information into PlanetHs before competing. If you have any questions please contact Mr. Ball at rball@riverwalkacademy.com or 803-981-7061.


Follow us on:

Facebook - Riverwalk Academy Athletics

Instagram - riverwalk_athletics

Twitter - @riverwalklions1


Monday: 10/24/22

  • Red Ribbon Week Day 1: Wear Red
  • Parent 101: Vaping and Other Risky Behaviors @ Eastview Baptist Church- 6:00 pm


Tuesday: 10/25/22

  • Red Ribbon Week Day 2: Camo Day
  • Cross Country 1A Region 3 Championship @ Great Fall - 5:00 pm


Wednesday: 10/26/22

  • Red Ribbon Week Day 3: Crazy Sock Day


Thursday: 10/27/22

  • Red Ribbon Week Day 4: Jersey Day
  • York Technical College Open House 5:00-7:00 pm


Friday: 10/28/22

  • Red Ribbon Week Day 5: Crazy Hat or Hair Day
  • Terrific Kids Ceremony - 8:00 AM


Saturday: 10/29/22

  • Cheer Competition at Rock Hill High School
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