The Class of 2022 led our first assembly as a whole, introducing themselves, each other K-7th grade student, and some of our morning traditions to the whole school. |
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Greetings!
We are thrilled to have our students back on campus learning actively, engaging as citizens, leading patiently, and supporting our community! Read on for lots of helpful information about you supporting our start to the school year.
Happy Tuesday!
Nelia
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The Monday Memo is an essential tool for building and maintaining our supportive community at Riverside. Please make it a part of your family's routine to read and make sense of it at the beginning of each week. On the annual Biography form there is a place to let us know if you prefer a hard copy, and to share grandparent email addresses with us if they'd like to receive it also. The Memo is also posted on our website by the end of the first day of the school week.
The Constant Contact platform for email uses a software system that formats the Monday Memo for your email address. If you wish to forward the email, please scroll to the bottom and follow the directions to forward. Please let us know if you are experiencing any technical issues with Constant Contact so that we can try to resolve them together. Often you will find the message in your promotions/spam folder.
As we await everyone's annual forms (see below) in order to finalize our email lists, all families will receive a hard copy of the Monday Memo on the first day of school.
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All families received their 2021-2022 Riverside Family Handbooks last week at the Back to School Open House, or today from teachers. Please be sure to review the booklet with your child as is appropriate to his/her age (a 7-8th grader might read it entirely, a 4-5th grader might read sections you recommend, you might talk with your 1-2nd grader about items you feel are important) and sign and return the acknowledgment form in the front pocket so that we know that students are familiar with the information.
Don’t miss additional information and forms in the front pocket, including a cover letter from Roy, the form to confirm that you've read/reviewed the handbook, and various other items.
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The Extended Day Program, directed by Sean Fortier, will begin running on the first day of school. We have made some changes to our program offerings after dismissal times: we will be increasing our staff-to-student ratio and offering a series of skill-based activities after snack time. Rotating topics may include robotics, chess, art, games of strategy, lego construction, cooking, study skills, tutoring, etc.
Because of additional grouping structures and staffing required to make this happen, it is essential for us to know how many students to plan for at a time. Additionally, some of our school day schedule and cohort arrangements will have to be made in consideration of which children might need to interact with each other after school, so we need the completed Extended Day Program Registration Form so that we can plan accordingly.
We understand that unexpected situations occur, and in the spirit of being a supportive community, we will work to accommodate changes in attendance when we have 24-hours notice.
Students in the preschool program must attend After School in that classroom, and be picked up by 4:15 ($5). K-8th grade students can be picked up by 4:15 ($5) or by 5:00 ($10) in the kitchen. More details about the program are in the Family Handbook.
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The state of Vermont will be providing weekly COVID testing to any students and staff who would like it. Riverside staff will administer those tests, a shallow nasal swab, to K-8th graders on Tuesday mornings beginning September 14.
If you would like your child(ren) to participate in these weekly surveillance tests, please complete the consent form here. (Note that our "district" is "Riverside School The (IND)".
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We are starting another unusual school year with an expectation that our supportive community of families will agree to:
- Wear masks when inside buildings on campus;
- Inform us of any testing or potential exposures in your immediate circle;
- Keep students home when anyone in the household is symptomatic or potentially exposed.
Those agreements are explained in more detail in a letter from Roy emailed to families earlier this month. Thank you for understanding how hard we are working to provide a safe, supportive, and regular school experience for your child(ren). We need your commitment in order to be successful.
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In regards to sports this year, things will run differently than they have in the past. With the merger of the LAYS and KESD programs, the way they organized age- and sex-banded soccer programs, and the way they have completed their season schedule within their district, there is now a clear choice for our students about what kind of team they want to play with. We believe the option for Riversiders to join KESD is a unique opportunity for our students. It provides a more specialized, developmental, and competitive soccer option for those students looking to take their skills to the next level. Those programs are open to our K-8th graders, and more info is available on their website here.
It also allows Riverside’s own teams to remain what they have always been: open to everyone no matter skill level, and more focused on community and teamwork than the actual outcomes of the games. That said, we will have a 3-5th grade team (with a fairly limited schedule), and a 6-8th grade team at Riverside this year. Most practices will happen during the PE class periods. Most games will be Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the potential for an additional practice during the week. Kids are welcome, and indeed encouraged, to play for multiple teams if they’d like. Take this week to discuss as a family what your options are, and students in both 3-5 and 6-8 can let Sean know directly by next Wednesday if they’d like to play for Riverside.
KESD has also added a cross-country program, which any K-8th grade Riversiders are welcome to join.
Additionally, there are several mountain biking opportunities opening up for our students. Roy and Sean are looking at our options as a school at the moment, but please reach out if your child is interested in mountain bike club, and/or the potential for some races/competitions this fall.
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We won’t be able to run our traditional trip under this year's school guidelines, specifically related to typical indoor sleeping arrangements. With community-building goals in mind and routines being established at school for health safety, we plan to organize two special days for our students this fall:
Thursday, September 9: K-8th graders will be together at Riverside in mixed-age outdoor activities for the entire regular school day, with a goal of community building and establishing Riverside culture.
Friday, September 10: Each grade band (K-2nd, 3-5th, 6-8th) will engage in their own plans. K-5th grade will be on campus, and 6-8th grade will be going to Copper Cannon Camp in Bethlehem, NH by bus. More details will be in next week's Monday Memo.
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Due to the significant time indoors and unmasked, we will not be taking 4-6th graders swimming this fall as we usually do. |
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Our Parent Advisory Group continues this year with its goals of communication, facilitation, mentoring, and fundraising. This group consists of at least one family from each grade level, and welcomes any other families who want to join in its efforts.
The group will be meeting for the first time on Tuesday, September 21 at 5:00 pm in the barn. An agenda will be shared here prior to the meeting, if there's anything you'd like to discuss, please email PAG Heads Ellen Moore or Kim Adams in advance. If you would like to join this group, please come!
The Leaders for each class are:
PK: Amanda Anderson, Tonia/Alex Brown
K: Kate Renner, Kate/Travis Keller
1: Deandra/Josh Early
2: Heather Linehan
3: Molly Moghari
4: Courtney Daffinrud
5: Katie/Scott Desjardins, Heidi Andrews
6: Kim Adams
7: Arcelie Reyes, Anat/Alex Donn
8: Ellen Moore, Suzanne Boles
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This year's event was back to the traditional model: students and families working as individuals or teams to bike, hike, or run designated loops and complete exciting fun stations to earn points in a designated two hour time frame. Participants reached out in advance to friends and family to pledge donations toward their success. Those funds will help Riverside complete the pavilion project. Thanks to everyone who helped and participated in this fun event, and especially to parent organizational leaders Carmenza Montague (3rd grader Antonia and 6th grader Ignacio) and Mel Finn (7th graders Molly and Pearl). |
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VOLUNTEERING AND PARENT PARTICIPATION |
Choosing to become a Riverside family means making it a priority to take an active role in the life of our school. The success of our mission depends greatly on the commitment of parents to make our program a real part of your family’s time, energy, and resources. Parents participate in a variety of ways, meeting many of our needs.
Below you will find a link to the message we sent out last Tuesday (with apologies for those who had trouble with the links in the Memo on Monday) that explains all of the volunteer opportunities with links to online sign ups for each. Signing the form does not mean you're making a commitment, just that you're willing to be asked when the need arises.
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The following are a few easy ways to help support Riverside throughout the year.
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Price Chopper Tools for Schools: This simple fund-raiser benefits the school each time you shop all year long. If you shop at Price Chopper, sign up to support Riverside on the sheet in the front pocket of your Family Handbook. In the past our Price Chopper rewards have earned us much needed sports equipment, a digital projector, and a wireless microphone set.
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Box Tops: Many food products in cardboard boxes have a small logo on the top that says “Box Tops for Education.” These can earn us rewards and supplies. Please collect and bring these to school. Your efforts greatly help!
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Good Search and Good Shop: When you use www.goodsearch.com as your search engine and select The Riverside School (in Lyndonville, VT) as your charity, we get one cent for each search conducted. Set your browsers now! From that site you can link to goodshop.com, which then links to all your favorite on line shopping sites (Amazon, Borders, Staples, Marriott), United Airlines, QVC, eBay). Following that link to complete your shopping, and having the Riverside School (in Lyndonville, VT) set as your charity, will result in a portion of the sale being donated to our school.
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Amazon Smile: Start at smile.amazon.com and select "Riverside School Inc" in Lyndonville, VT. Once you choose us the first time, all you have to do is start your shopping at that url in the future, and .05% of the price of eligible purchases will be donated to us!
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In the regular, digital version of the Memo, which you'll receive directly by email, you can click on the links below to read about what's happening in each classroom this week. |
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30 Lily Pond Road, Lyndonville, VT 05851
phone: 802.626.8552
fax: 802.626.4156
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