As part of their leadership training on 8th Grade Day, Henry and Celia considered the "tools" they might need on the assembly "job site." |
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Greetings!
Happy First Day of School! We hope each of you enjoyed a fabulous summer. We are thrilled to have students and families back on campus. The start of the year involves so many logistics and so much information, please reach out with questions!
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. You may find the message in your promotions/spam folder, and need to cue your email software that it's an important message that you want in your primary inbox.
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If you haven't yet returned your colored enrollment forms, please do so as soon as possible. It's challenging to start the school year without updated contact and medical info. We also need your permission to take students on the Fall Field Trip in two weeks.
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LABEL EVERYTHING REQUEST & FUNDRAISER |
We (and most other youth programs) ask that sweatshirts, water bottles, backpacks, raincoats, mittens, etc all be labeled with your child's/family's name. Right now you can shop for and order tags, labels, and other individualized items with Mabel's Labels, and 20% of all sales will come back to support Riverside and its mission. Simply follow this link and type "The Riverside School" in the central search bar that comes up. Our fundraiser will run until mid October, so plan your purchases and share this link with friends and family now!
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PICK UP & DROP OFF REMINDERS |
When dropping off your child(ren) between 7:45-8:00 am, please pull as far forward as possible, noticing the sign in front of the solarium room windows. Please unload students from the right side of the car, close to the cubby room porch, not in front of the barn.
When picking up K-5th students between 3:00-3:15 or 6-8th students between 3:30-3:45, please also pull up as far as possible toward the sign in front of the solarium windows, and do not expect students to get into your car unless you're one of the first three cars in line, near the cubby room porch. Loading (and un-laoding) in front of the barn creates a gap that slows down the process.
If you are dropping off after 8:00 am or picking up before dismissal times (3:00/3:30), please come in to Krystal's office to sign your child(ren) in or out on a red clipboard on Krystal's desk. Older, responsible students can also sign themselves in/out.
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COMMUNICATING WITH SCHOOL & STAFF |
During the school day, the best way to communicate with us is to call the landline phone: 802-626-8552. While staff can be absent from school or trying to focus on their students and not their personal phones, we always make sure the landline phone is covered with someone who can answer or redirect questions for that given day and time.
To communicate an absence, please either call the landline, or email both Krystal and the classroom teacher/advisor: firstname.lastname@theriversideschoo.org.
Many of our staff enjoy friendly relationships with Riverside parents, which include having each other's personal cell phone numbers. We ask that parents please be conscientious and intentional about how you use staff's personal numbers, with particular attention to the type of message (questions, concerns, and schedule updates are better via email or landline phone), and the time of day (during school hours they may enjoy sending you a picture or update, evenings and weekends they are attending to their own personal lives). When in doubt, please ask the teacher about their preferences, if they haven't already shared them.
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Most families received their 2023-2024 Riverside Family Handbooks at the Back to School Orientation, others will receive them today in boomerang folders or backpacks. 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 that highlights updates to this year's handbook, the form to confirm that you've read/reviewed the handbook, and various other items.
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Earlier today parents should have received an email with the digital version of our Volunteer Sign Up opportunities. If you haven't yet gotten a chance, follow the links to communicate what areas and tasks interest you. 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. We thank you!
Signing the form does not mean you're making a commitment, just that you're willing to be asked when the need arises. If you signed up on paper at the Back to School Orientation, you do not need to sign up again, a parent volunteer will transfer those names for us, some of that work has already begun.
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The Extended Day Program, directed by Sean Fortier, will begin running on the first day of school. 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. The rates are higher on half days when the program runs longer. More details about the program are in the Family Handbook.
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6-8th GRADE INSTRUMENT LESSONS & BAND |
In an effort to expand our music program, middle schoolers will be required this year to take either band or chorus (or both!) as one of their electives.
As part of the commitment to band, students will be encouraged to take lessons during the school day with Marie, at no cost to families. Marie will work with teachers to determine the classes that might be missed for lesson time according to individual student needs and the greater lesson schedule, which sometimes involves groups of students. Please talk with your child about the active learning skills that will be involved in missing class time, what you feel would be better/worse classes to miss, and encourage your child to communicate that with their advisor as well.
Ellis Music has great options for renting instruments and makes weekly stops at Riverside for drop-offs/repairs/supplies. Here is the link to their rental information. If rental costs are prohibitive for your family, please talk to Marie; we have some school-owned instruments that are available.
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MUMS and BULBS FUNDRAISER |
Riverside parents have organized a potted mums and bulbs sale, with $3 from each plant and 50% of bulbs sales going to support Riverside's programs, and the the parent-led fundraising goal of $25,000. Order yours here by September 5. Plants will be available for pick up at school on Friday, September 15 and bulbs will be shipped directly.
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We traditionally take our 3-5th graders to the pool at NVU-Lyndon on Fridays in the fall for swim lessons with Renee, Sean, and Nelia. We are still working to confirm that plan for this year, based on NVU's availability and lifeguard staffing.
If confirmed, we would bus students to the college in the afternoon, and ask that parents pick up outside the pool at 3:15 on the following dates: Fridays, September 8, 29, October 13, 20, and 27.
There is no Extended Day Program available for students dismissed off campus. Any parents who would like to help teach swimming lesson, join/supervise free swim time, or help keep kids moving through changing areas, please email Nelia.
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K-8th GRADE FALL FIELD TRIP |
4-8th graders will be spending September 13-15 at Siskin Coutts Camp in Derby, VT, and K-3rd graders will join us there on Thursday, September 14 thanks to parent chaperones and carpool drivers. Parents and siblings are strongly encouraged to join us, as your schedule allows. You might spend one or both nights, or maybe just join us for an afternoon activity, a dinner, or an evening campfire. Please let Nelia know if we should plan a bed for you. Details about the schedule, packing list, etc will be in next week's Monday Memo.
K-3rd graders will join us on the Fall Field Trip at Siskin Coutts just for the day, on Thursday, September 14. They will depart from and return to Riverside, traveling in carpools of parent chaperones. If you'd like to join us for that day, driving your own child and 1-2 others, and supervising small groups of younger students, please email Team Leader Emily Spring to coordinate.
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Riverside will organize a 5-6th and 7-8th grade soccer teams this year, and the potential for a couple games with mixed grades. Though Coach Sean is trying to schedule most games on Tuesdays and Thursdays, there are already a couple Friday games on the books. As always, the primary focus of soccer at Riverside is to have fun and bolster school spirit. All skill levels are welcome. Games will begin a couple weeks after school starts, and we look forward to posting the detailed schedule in the Monday Memo ASAP.
Parents: Sean would love help from a parent volunteer with coaching the 5-6th grade team. Please reach out to him if you are interested in helping out.
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Our PAG, who support communications, mentorship, and participation at Riverside, are gearing up for the year just like the staff are. Chairpersons Kim Adams (7th grader Cora and 8th grader Gabe) and Molly Moghari (3rd grader Bryn, 5th grader Emmett, 8th grader Kellan) have been meeting with Roy and Nelia to set goals for the year and help coordinate some of the fall community events. Other PAG members have been reaching out to new families in their classes to welcome them. We are so grateful for this team supporting our school. The first PAG meeting (to which all parents are welcome) will be Wednesday, September 20 at 5:00 pm. Remember that the parents listed here are prepared to support other parents.
- PK: Katie Baker
- K: Claudia Lechuga
- 1: Amanda Anderson, Alex & Tonia Brown
- 2: Ben Reed, Kate Renner
- 3: Dee Royer, Stephanie Smith
- 4: Linnzi Furman, Shawntel Sechrist
- 5: Molly Moghari
- 6: Courtney Daffinrud, Arcelie Newell
- 7: Katie Desjardins
- 8: Kim Adams
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BURKE FALL FEST AND PARADE |
We traditionally show off our school pride at the East Burke Fall Festival and Parade. Mark your calendars for September 30, when we will meet at 9:00 am to ride/walk in the parade. There may be some help needed in getting our float and giant heron puppet ready the week before, any info about that will be in future Monday Memos. |
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Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 21, from 3:00-7:00 pm (we won't schedule soccer games for that day). We hope students, teachers, and parents alike will register to participate solo, or as a team. The money raised by your pledges will go directly to Riverside's scholarship program. You'll keep track of points earned by completing laps and fun stations, on foot or on wheels! Stay tuned for links to register and print a pledge form. Start talking to your friends, neighbors, and extended family about why you think more students should be able to attend Riverside and why they should pledge money toward your success in the race. |
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Beginning next week in this space you will find links to google docs for all grade levels, with brief information about learning activities in each subject area and announcements unique to their class for the week. For this week and next, teachers are establishing routines and relationships in their classes. Middle school teachers were excited to share their plans, and so they are here 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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