Riverside Monday Memo

TUESDAY MEMO

6th graders Jay, Kingston, and Phoebe competed in a state-wide chess tournament this weekend. Unfortunately for Riverside, they were matched against each other in the opening rounds. But in the end Phoebe placed 5th against all 6th graders (despite having lost to Kingston, who lost to Jay in other rounds)!

Greetings!

Here it is, the final week of the 2020-2021 school year. Teachers are busy with final assessments of learning, celebrating the year with their student groups, and cleaning up tools and materials. We thank all of the parents who have shown their appreciation for us by making sure we are well-fed, it's a wonderful way to feel supported during this busy week.

Happy Tuesday,

Nelia

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NOTES

WHY DO WE LOVE RIVERSIDE TEACHERS?

If you were wondering, find out the answer to that question on this wonderful 1-minute video created by Molly Moore '13. Thank you to our Parent Advisory Group for suggesting this little project!

Riverside Teachers by Riverside Students

MIDDLE SCHOOL EXAM SCHEDULE

6-8th graders will be taking semester exams this week. Please help them to organize their study materials, prioritize which classes and units deserve the most of their time and attention, and to find the study strategies that work best for their learning styles. Teachers and advisors will be discussing the same intentions this week in their classes.

6th Grade

Tuesday: Math, English
Wednesday: Latin, Science
Thursday: Spanish, History

7th Grade

Tuesday: Latin, Math
Wednesday: History, Spanish
Thursday: English, Science

8th Grade

Tuesday: Science, Latin
Wednesday: Math, English
Thursday: World Issues, Spanish

SPRING FIELD TRIPS

Our youngest students will have their adventures this week! See more details in their lesson plan documents linked at the bottom of the Memo.

Preschoolers: Wednesday, June 2 (off campus by carpool): East Burke

K-3rd graders: Wednesday, June 2 (off campus by bus): Fairbanks Museum, details will be posted in lesson plan links below.

MOUNTAIN BIKE CLUB

This is our last week of mountain biking this year! Thank you to all the parents and faculty who have volunteered on rides. An extra thanks to Marie for joining and leading the elementary group rides as well. It's been so much fun to get out riding with everyone!

Middle School: Wednesday we will meet at East Burke Sports at 4:00. There was some interest in riding longer than the planned two hours, so we may go later than 6:00 pm.
Elementary School: Thursday we will meet at 3:45 at East Burke Sports again, and go until 5:00, as usual.

If your child does not have a KT pass, please email Sean by Wednesday so he can get those set up through KT. Otherwise we will assume they have one.

SCHOOL STORE BILLS

The School Store Bills that Krystal typically shares on the first of the month will not go out today. Instead, she will prepare them next Monday to include any charges from this final week of school. Please look for them in the mail after June 8 and pay them as promptly as possible.

SCHOOL MATERIALS

Please help your children remember to return any school materials to the appropriate place or teacher as soon as possible.

library or classroom library books
textbooks (Science, Math, American History, Ancient History, Spanish, Latin and literary texts from English class)
Chromebooks and chargers

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

Friday, June 4, our last day of school, will be a fun day full of celebration of a successful year.

Bike to School: If your children or family would like to bike to school together we encourage you to do so, and no one will be counted tardy if their adventure causes them to arrive later than 8:00 am. What's most important are the following guidelines, set in collaboration with Chief Harris of the Lyndonville Police Department, who is aware of challenges this event presented in the past and who will be out monitoring the roads on Friday morning:

groups riding together should be no more than 6 people
groups riding together should be of the same strength/ability level, so as to stay together on route
students who are biking must be able to bike consistently in a straight line outside of the lane of travel (on the right side of the white line)
everyone must ride in single file (adults can’t shield wobbly bikers by riding next to them in the lane of travel)
parents who are trying to help by driving with the group cannot block traffic by following at a very slow speed (if they want to assist they could “leap frog” the group at a standard speed, waiting in a parking place completely off the roadway)

Schedule:

8:00: Assembly

8:30: Fun Field Day "Olympics" Activities and Morning Break

11:00: Awards (first from the morning's Olympics, then the traditional from the whole year) - Google Meet Link Here

12:00 Lunch

12:45 Talent Show - Google Meet Link Here

2:15 - All School Capture the Flag

2:45: Ice Cream

Dismissal: It is a full day, with regular dismissal times at 3:00/3:30, and the Afterschool/Extended Day programs will run. Please email Sean or Jamie if your child will attend, so that they can plan accordingly for this unique day.

GRADUATION 2021 *UPDATED*

In order to make our graduation feel as normal as possible, Roy has made a few changes from the descriptions in prior Memos. Thanks to all the tents we have this year, we've been able to find enough space for the graduates and their guests to be seated with 6’ spacing (though individuals will be welcome to move their chairs closer to other members of their own family). That means that the graduates and their guests will not need to be masked at the ceremony.

Though we are streaming the event on Google Meet, we understand that there are also community members that would like to attend the ceremony in-person. It will be possible for other students and families, not originally invited, to come and sit on the outskirts, under the cedars, to watch the ceremony. Anyone coming to watch in this way would need to bring their own chairs and be masked, because we can’t control for spacing in the cedars. Obviously, there won’t be tents among the trees, but the weather forecast for Saturday currently looks clear. Also bring a potluck dish as described below. Please email Roy if you are not one of the original guests and now plan on coming, so we know how many people to expect.

8th graders and 7th graders in the select chorus who are supporting the Class of 2021 in singing should arrive on campus by 9:30 am on Saturday.

The ceremony will be shared on Google Meet at 10:00 am, and we hope that all students will watch, to celebrate these leaders and graduates at the end of such an unusual year. One of our founding teachers, Sally Newell, will be the graduation speaker, and awards will be presented to 8th graders.

The event will be followed by a potluck meal for those who are present. Please bring a salad or a main dish to share, with a note about its ingredients.

Help Needed, please email Nelia if you can assist:

We need one or two parents of those 6-7th graders who will be at graduation because they're joining the select chorus to manage the camera for the Google Meet
We need one or two parents of the 7th graders who will be in the select chorus to help set up and clean up the potluck meal (this is usually a 7th grade parent effort).

KINDERGARTEN UPDATE

Current Preschool Director Jamie Robinson will be moving to kindergarten starting next year. Jamie has taught kindergarten and 1st grade for nine years at the St. Johnsbury School, St. Albans City School, and Barton Academy and Graded School. Because Jamie is moving to Kindergarten, we will now be hiring a PreK director for the fall.

TEACHER CENTER AT RIVERSIDE

Two graduate-level courses for teachers are being offered here on campus this summer, and we are struggling to get the enrollment we need to make them happen. Please share this link for more information and registration with any area teachers you know!

Place-Based Learning (Aug. 2-6) - Place-based learning connects with the wisdom that is alive in our human and natural communities beyond school walls, and nurtures the capacity of students to see themselves as change-makers and integral members of their community. In our Place Based Learning Summer Institute teachers who work in Northeastern Vermont will explore strategies for cultivating curiosity and meaningful connection in relationship to place - at any grade level, in every subject area, and responsive to the real time events shaping our world. Designed to be dynamic, responsive, and outdoors, the Institute offers educators the time and space to develop projects of personal and professional interest while learning from and collaborating with colleagues, community partners, and other educational leaders.
Critical Skills (Aug. 9-13) - We need adults who know how to work together to solve problems, so let’s establish classroom-cultures where students practice doing that. Over four wonderfully intense days this summer we’ll integrate collaborative, experiential, problem-based, and standards based learning methods along with ideas of your own and methods that are a priority in your school. This classroom model is a highly interactive, experiential approach to learning that develops student knowledge and skills through collaborative problem solving, teacher participants will experience the same in the summer institute.

RACE BACK TO SCHOOL

Race Back to School 2021 will be held as a single day event this year (as it was pre-COVID) on August 22. All funds raised by Riverside students will go toward putting a roof on the pavilion, which requires $6,000 in materials. Students can start thinking now about how they will participate (on foot, on unicycle, on mountain bike?), whether they plan to join as a single or as a team (of friends or of family?), and who they might ask to sponsor their points and/or miles. Details will be included in our June and August mailings, as well as on social media over the summer. See more about the event in prior years with this video from Kingdom Trails.

We are looking forward to directing all future Race Back to School funds toward scholarship and tuition assistance, our next big institutional goal at Riverside.