July 24, 2022
This week is the start of a new school year! Our first student day is this Wednesday, July 27. Our theme this year is “Shine Bright at Riverside: Be bold, Be Brilliant, Be You!”. There are a lot of new faces at Riverside this year and we welcome all our new families and staff members. We will work together to make the best learning environment possible. Riverside is a great school family and WE are going to have a GREAT school year!
Arrival: Our doors open at 8:40. Please do not allow students to get out of cars or arrive at school any earlier than 8:40 when the doors open. There is no supervision prior to 8:40. We will be returning to normal practices of students going straight to the gym on Mondays at arrival. Breakfast will be served in the cafeteria for those who want to purchase it. This year you must apply for free and reduced meals and textbook assistance. There has been a program that made meals free for all students the past couple years due to Covid but that is no longer available.
Dismissal: begins with car riders at 3:25. More information regarding the routines, procedures and guidelines of school is available in the student handbook. These will be sent home in the first week of school. Please be watching for this information and review with your child.
Orientation information grades K-5
We will be hosting our normal back to school orientations on Monday. July 25 from 5-7PM. During this time, parents and students will get to meet the teacher and exchange information. Please be sure you sign in with your child’s teacher and verify transportation. If you are unsure who your child’s teacher is, we will have lists posted to help you. If you would like to drop off school supplies that evening, you are welcome to do so.
Chromebook distribution-
4th and 5th graders AND A PARENT should visit the library during orientation night to fill out paperwork and receive their chromebook. All other students will be assigned their chromebooks in the first few weeks of school.
Powerschool
We will be sending home powerschool letters on how to access or set up your child’s powerschool account after the first week of school. This is a great way for you to keep up to date with your child’s grades. Please do not call the office for assistance with this until AFTER you receive your letter which will be after the beginning of the school year.
Bus Riders
Please be sure when you verify bus information that the teacher has the address to which the student is being delivered. Sometimes this varies from the home address. All bus students in K-2 will wear name and address stickers for the first part of the year to ensure quick and proper identification. Parents must sign up for Ride 360 app if your student is new or riding the bus for the first time. There will be a representative from transportation at orientation night to help answer any questions.
Car Riders and Car Tags
Just a reminder…we ask that car riders are dropped off and picked up through the car rider line. Please do not come into the lot to park during arrival and dismissal. This causes pedestrian traffic which causes a safety issue. All car riders are dropped off along the sidewalk perimeter in front of the building only and come in at the front entrance. They are picked up along the same perimeter in order of intermediate closest to the front entrance (Grades 5, 4, 3) down to the primary towards the primary entrance (Grades 2, 1, K). You will be asked to move down in the line and your student will walk to his/her car loading forward in the line rather than back. This keeps the line efficient. We ask parents to please refrain from cell phone use once the line is moving. We need everyone paying attention for the safety of all. You must have your car rider tag hanging from the rearview mirror to help identify your car. The line will flow quickly and efficiently if we all work together to be patient and maintain safety. Please be mindful of being kind to our neighbors by not blocking their drives or being willing to move if needed. It is only the FRONT lot that is utilized for car riders. The side lot near the playground is reserved for daycare vans and buses. Please be sure your caregivers picking up your child are aware of these procedures.
Walkers
In the morning, walkers should not arrive until 8:40. In the afternoon, walkers will be escorted to the edge of the school property (the end of the fence) by school staff. If you will be meeting your child as a walker, please wait at the end of the fence. Walkers are only allowed where there are sidewalks, which is basically towards the Riverside subdivision.
Student Handbook-RES – APPROVED Version 22-23.pdf
Paper copies of our student handbook will not be distributed this year. It is also posted on our website: https://riversideeleme.wpenginepowered.com/.
Covid Guidelines remaining:
Our water fountains are open, however, you are encouraged to send a refillable water bottle to school with your child to refill at the water station. Please mark the bottle with your child’s name. Students who have a positive case of Covid will be required to quarantine for days 1-5 and will be able to return to school on days 6-10 with a mask. We will be meeting visitors on the front porch to assist and limit crowding. Anyone entering the building must sign-in through the front office. We will have plenty of staff in the building helping students to their classroom lines in the gym for the first few days of school. Our Kindergarteners should wear their lanyards (given out at orientation) on the first day so that they are easily identifiable. Thank you for your assistance in trying to keep all our students safe and healthy!
Attendance
It is super important to establish good attendance habits right from the beginning. If your child is ill and has to miss school you will need to call the school by 9:30 in the morning. A robo call will go out to all students’ families marked absent if we have not heard from you by 9:30. If your child has a Dr. appointment, please schedule these outside the school day if at all possible or send in a Dr. note. If you have questions over attendance, please contact our new Principal Intern Mrs. Terri Stone.
Color Theme Days
Each year we work together as a school community to help our Kindergarteners learn their colors with color theme days. Here is the color theme day schedule for this year:
August 1-5: M- Red, T- Blue, W- Green, R- Yellow, F- Orange
August 8-12: M-White, T- Brown, W- Purple, R- Black, F- Pink
Upcoming Events:
July 25- 5-7PM Elementary Back to School Night
July 27- First student day