Hello Everyone,

As some of you may know, we are co-chairing a committee called the Culture/Community Committee for the school (yes, even to us, the name of the committee is about as clear as the school drop-off and pick-up diagrams that we are still wrestling with!).  The Committee's goals are to suggest ideas that will further enhance what is already a really positive culture within all segments of the school population (students, teachers, administrators, board members, and parents).

All one needs to do to feel good about where we, as a school, are as a community is spend a few hours at the place. When there, you notice warm and friendly faculty and staff that seem to know each and every student by name. You notice that the kids, too, seem to know each other. You witness acts of kindness and support that are truly impressive and moving. You feel like, indeed, it is a place that has fostered a true and special sense of community...and one that we feel incredibly lucky to be a part of.

Now, given the content of the first two paragraphs, it would seem that this note is simply a public way for us to take a victory lap and pronounce the work of the Culture/Community Committee done...a rousing success, due in no small part to the incredible talents and leadership of the Committee (thank you to the Academy, and to all of the people that brought us to this incredible victory...). That is hardly our intent; we simply want to acknowledge that Riverstone is already a great place.

But what if it could be even better?  

We believe it can be. Over the next few months we will be suggesting little actions that all of us can do to deepen and strengthen our already strong sense of community, some of which are insanely basic and incredibly easy.  

The first of these suggestions is directed squarely at us, the parent body. As mentioned earlier, our kids seem to know virtually everyone at the school. We suspect that all of us would admit that our kids are far more in the know about the people that populate our community than we are. In fact, we often rely on our youngest children to keep us plied with information about the various people that we see at the school (our kids seem to know everyone's names, their siblings, and often their parent's names as well). Certainly this is understandable since our kids spend all day surrounded by each other, but still....what a great example we could all set for them if we dedicated ourselves to being more connected to each other. To be sure, we are not suggesting that you learn the name of every other parent in the school. Instead, why don't we all make it a habit of simply picking up our heads, noticing each other and greeting one another as we move through the school?

While this small act of friendliness might seem to be insignificant, imagine the impression it would make on our kids to see this happening. They would come to understand that at their school, EVERYONE is connected. Everyone is friendly. Everyone counts. For that matter, we suspect that all us would feel great about being a part of a place in which all of those things are true. Our hope is that this simple act will further engender in all of us a feeling of connection...of community.

So that is it for our first brush at this Culture Committee stuff. Nothing earth shattering. No major initiatives to suggest. No surveys to fill out. Just a small and simple act that each of us can do that will deepen our sense of connection...just smile and say hi!

Thanks for being patient enough to read this entire note (another indication of your deep commitment to this community is your patience for wordy missives!), and we will look forward to greeting you at the school!

Warmly,

Adam Kaplan and Suzanne Long

Culture Committee Co-Chairs

Adam and his wife, Stephanie, have children in Grades 1, 5, and 8. Suzanne and her husband, Matt, have children in Grades 3 and 5.

Enter your favorite photos in the Riverstone Spring Break Photo Contest that is being organized by the Elementary School Outdoor Education leaders from Student Council. Here's the scoop:

• Photos must be taking during spring break by the person entering the contest
• One photo per category per person 
• Email your entries to Ben Brock, Director of Outdoor Education, by Friday, April 11 (bbrock@riverstoneschool.org)

It's always a made dash til the end of the school year but here are some important dates for you to have in your calendar!  More details for each event will be included in upcoming newsletters.

Kindergarten: Montour Wildlife Refuge

Gd 1: Given's Hot Springs

Gd 2: Hagerman

Gd 3: Horsethief

Gd 8: Hell's Canyon

Gd 9: Grand Gulch

Gd 10: Sheep Creek

Each year, the Riverstone Board of Trustees elects generally from two to four new members to replace trustees whose terms are expiring. New trustees typically assume their office immediately following the Board's annual meeting in May of each year and serve one or two consecutive terms of three years each. 

The Board welcomes suggestions from the Riverstone community for individuals who might make a positive contribution to the Board for a term commencing in May 2014.

The Board is particularly interested in candidates with experiences and skills that will enable it discharge those responsibilities most effectively, in particular at this time individuals with finance, marketing, facilities/operations and development expertise.

We are interested in hearing from you if you believe you are an appropriate candidate or know of someone else who might be, regardless whether they are presently a member of the Riverstone community.

The Board will then reach out for further discussions with applicants who it believes are an appropriate fit for the Board at this time. Thank you!

Link to our school Facebook page here.

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