Hi All,

Welcome back! It is so great to have your students in our classrooms, hallways, and fields again - it's what we are made for.

Thanks to all of those who attended our Opening Convocation and heard a rousing grade level roll-call, a wonderful speech by senior Mackenzie Roan, and a spirited opening day community dance and sing-a-along by the Class of 2015; this year's seniors. Once again, being together as a community and looking forward with optimism is infectious.

As I mentioned yesterday, last year's strategic planning process has given us a renewed sense of purpose and energy as we refocus on our core values and mission.

"Riverstone's mission is to inspire courageous journeys of academic and personal exploration that enable our students to lead purposeful lives."

Students have always come first at Riverstone and the Five Year Plan that I will present at the State of the School Address in October will ensure that we remain focused on giving our students the best education now and long into the future. Thanks to the entire community for their honest feedback during the process.

The many moving parts that make up Riverstone are already at work. Over the next three weeks, all of our students will participate in a wonderful outdoor activity. As I always mention, when students leave us for college they take with them a "sense of place" like I have never seen before. For our youngest students, it begins with a rafting trip!

As we settle into the semester, please don't hesitate to stop by and see a Director or any Administrative team member (including me) if you have any questions. We are proud of our open-door policy and our customer service.

Call for anything,

Bob Carignan

Head of School

Qibo Jing joins Riverstone from the Rancho Solano Prep School in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has tremendous experience teaching AP and IB courses which include Mathematics Higher Level, Calculus B/C, and Physics. He holds advanced degrees in mathematics, chemical engineering, and applied physics from UC-Riverside, Brigham Young University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Qibo will teach Mathematics Higher Level and Physics in the Diploma Programme.

Hilda Ramirez de Allen is joining Riverstone from the Lewis Dual Language Magnet School in Wilmington, Delaware. She has 15 years of experience teaching in Elementary and Middle School Spanish and bi-lingual classrooms in Delaware and Idaho. She holds an advanced degrees and certifications in Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language. Hilda will teach Middle Years Program Spanish in Grades 7-9.

John Blossom is a very experienced independent school teacher with 22 years of experience in English, Humanities, and Arts classrooms. Most recently he has worked at the Bush and Eastside Schools in Seattle, as well as at the Parker School in Hawaii. John will teach Grade 9 Humanities and Grade 10 English. He will team with Kendra Dixon to teach Grade 8 English.

Gerardo Pacheco comes to Riverstone with a wide range of teaching experience at a variety of institutions including the Harmony Project, the Santa Barbara Symphony and the Laguna Blanca School. He is a professional flutist who has done, interestingly, practical research in Bulgaria on the interpretation of ornaments in Bulgarian music and other similar explorations in Turkey and Moldova. He holds  Bachelor of Arts degree and Masters in Music and Fine Arts from the University of Houston and the California Institute of the Arts. Gerardo will teach Grade 6 Spanish, and Grades 6-8 Music in the Middle Years Programme.

Amanda Micheletty is joining our staff to teach Grade 11 DP English and Middle Years Programme (MYP) English. Amanda holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a teaching certificate with endorsement for secondary English. Additionally, she is currently enrolled in a master's degree program for Teaching Language Arts. Amanda has been teaching for several years in the Treasure Valley and has been involved as the Youth Program Director for the Boise Balance Dance Company.

Kendra Dixon, previously a Riverstone Grade 5 teacher, is joining us to teach Grades 6 and 7 MYP English. Kendra has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing and is a very experienced and creative teacher who has done a superb job with Grade 5 and has led multiple writing camps and seminars for our Middle School students. She has extensive experience teaching English in independent schools. We are very excited to have her in our Middle School community. 

• Dates are listed on the school calendar on the website
• Parent letters, necessary equipment, and permission slips  for each trip are on the website under the About > Forms > Downloads & Supplies
• Watch for grade specific emails as well.