Greetings,

Happy New Year! I couldn’t write for last week because I was driving home from Delaware. My three oldest children live there and we got to see them over the break. It is wonderful to visit them and reconnect and have all my children together under one roof - but then we have to leave. We have to return to our routines and life obligations. This transition back to school/work after a long break is always hard. It is hard on everyone, no matter how much you love your job, school and seeing friends, a change in routine is difficult. As adults, we take it for granted, to just do it, get up and move forward. But for children, it is often very hard, so remember to be gentle but firm. Children show their stress differently than us. Sometimes we can’t see it unless we stop and look. Check out the cool image shown with my article listing 10 ways to lower stress. These are simple fun things you can do along with your children to relieve the tension that comes with change. 

My intern, Ms. Teague will be working with me more this semester and we look forward to a fabulous time together. We look forward to the coming week and starting lessons again. We’ll also begin working with two new small groups of students.

A note from Ms. Teague ~

I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work with your children each day this semester! Ms. Carr and I have planned engaging activities for this month that focuses on students’ “one word” for 2023 (see Dr. Compton’s message about one word) and creating vision boards (upper elementary). 

A little about me ~ 

I’ve been an educator for 21 years (with a focus on STEM) and have chosen to change gears to help children as their counselor. This has been a rewarding journey and I’m looking forward to graduating in a few months! 

Your child might mention that I bring a dog with me to school each day. I have a service dog who the kids call Beethoven. Because she is a service animal, she’s always working; therefore, the children are not allowed to pet her and do not interact with her. If you’d like to learn more about service dogs, please visit Assistance Dogs International. 

Hugs, 

Ms. Carr and Ms. Teague

Hello Pride!!!

We are so glad to be back and have had a great week. As we begin the second semester, may I ask for your help in a few things? We are reaffirming our expectations of students that they not have cellphones out except for lunch. We ask that they be on silent and in the students’ bookbags. The same is true for air pods and wireless headphones. These become major distractions in the classroom and lead to increased behavior issues. Please encourage your students to follow these guidelines. Also, please encourage your students to get work completed in a timely manner, this prevents students from getting behind. I know it does not seem like it, but time from now until summer will fly by. Staying caught up allows everyone to finish strong and with their best academic achievement possible. Thank you for all your support.

Warmly,

Christy Dempsey

Happy Sunday!

We had a great couple of days back here at Riverwalk Academy. I loved seeing everyone jump back into their normal routines. This next week I will be starting individualized graduation plan meetings with 9th grade students. These meetings are held for all students from 8th grade up until 12th grade. In these meetings, we discuss your child's progress, future plans, and more! It's a great time to collaborate and talk through next steps for the coming school year to make the best choices for your student. 

Here's what we have going on as we return... 

Things to note: 

• 9th graders, IGP (individualized graduation plan) meetings are starting up this week. Parents, you should have received an email where you could have signed up for a time slot to meet about your student. Please do this if you haven't already!

Quote of the Week:

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” 

-Abraham Lincoln

Sincerely,

Ms. Menges

Hello PRIDE,Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a wonderful break with family and friends. We are looking forward to welcoming our students back on Monday morning.

It’s hard t believe we are half way through the school year. I am looking forward to all the upcoming events we have for our students this semester culminating with our Senior graduation ceremony in May!!!

One of the first things you will see on Monday morning is a new traffic pattern at York Tech. They have closed the entrance just past the Hood Center. Please go up to the traffic light that’s located around the middle of campus (The West Gate Entrance), make a left once you are on campus and follow the road around to our building.

The basketball team has an away game at McBee on Tuesday, January 10. They will need to use the shuttle that day to transport students to the game. The shuttle will still take the students from the Riverwalk main campus to York Tech's campus that morning. You will need to pick your child up from the York Tech campus at 3:00 that day.

As we begin the second semester, I want to make sure our students are engaged in their learning. One distractor I noticed last semester was the students cell phones in class. All students have laptops or Chromebook’s to enhance their learning, which really eliminates the need for cell phones in classroom. This semester we are asking students to make sure cell phones are powered off and put away during direct instruction and when taking quizzes or test. When working on independent assignments the teachers may allow the student to use their phone to quietly listen to music. Students can also use their phones during transitions and at lunch. One statement we always seem to hear from students is “my parents need to send me a message.” I understand emergencies come up. In those situations, please email me or your Childs teacher to get them a message. You can also call me to get a message to your child. Please talk with your student regarding these expectations as we begin the semester.

As always, thank you for your continued support.

Richard

803-981-7061

Seniors! Please save the date for our next Senior Meeting!

Sophomores- Save the date for your first class ring meeting!