Riverstone International School Newsletter
September 18, 2014
|
|
 Hi All,
Thank you to all those who attended our Back to School Nights. It was great to see such strong attendance. It was also a pleasure to hear so many compliments about our staff, who are always at the heart of what we do at Riverstone. More than several parents commented that they, "would have loved to have gone to school here." The best compliment ever.
Over the next few months, I will be writing about our "5 Pillar" approach to education. As you hopefully already know, our Five Pillars are:
- Academic Excellence
- Community and Service
- Leadership by Example
- International Understanding
- Outdoor Education
A little background on how they were identified...when we developed our Strategic Plan in 2009, we were looking for a way to describe the breadth of how we were educating our students. While academics have always been our top priority, we knew that we were doing much more than academics only. We looked at our graduates, who were continually becoming the wonderful young adults they were meant to be; they had more than just academic achievement behind them.
What our graduates had done in their time with us, what they had engaged in, what they celebrated, and what they were passionate about led us to understand and name these "5 Pillars." Our academic preparation can match schools anywhere (I'll talk about that next week), but giving our students the opportunities that come with our 5 Pillars in ways that students find meaningful are what makes a Riverstone education unique.
We continue to refine and develop the 5 Pillars every year; in fact, doing so is part of our new Strategic Plan. While each student may engage in the 5 Pillars differently, the 5 Pillars are part of all of our students' lives.
Without a doubt, it is the 5 Pillars that form the essence of what we do at Riverstone and allow us to fulfill our mission, to "inspire courageous journeys of academic and personal exploration that enable our students to lead purposeful lives."
Call for anything,
Bob Carignan
Head of School
bcarignan@riverstoneschool.org
|
|
WARM SPRINGS ROAD CLOSURES
|
For more information about the Warm Springs City Sewar Project, scheduled work, and associated detours and road closures, visit the ACHD website here.
|
|
GR 9-12 MOVIE NIGHT *FRIDAY*
|
 Students in Gr 9-12 are invited to Movie Night on the Lawn!
On Friday, September 19, we will be showing Idaho's favorite movie, Napolean Dynamite, on the Elementary School wall. We know this sounds totally cool and everyone will want to attend but please remember that this is a Gr 9-12 student event only!
Gr 9-12 Movie Night on the Lawn: Friday, September 19 at 8:00 PM at Riverstone
If you have questions, please contact Tarrah Elam, Student Life Coordinator. |
Students in Gr 6 - 8 are invited to join the Middle School Student Council members for a trip to Linder Farms Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze on September 26!
Gr 6-8 Lindner Farms Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze: Friday, September 26. Meet at Riverstone for the bus ride out at 5:30 PM. Pickup from Riverstone at 8:45 PM
If you have questions, please contact Tarrah Elam, Student Life Coordinator. |
 Managebac is our online curriculum management tool for teachers, students, and parents. In the Middle and High School, parents may view a calendar with their student's academic activities, units being studied, assessed work, and more. In the Elementary School, parents typically use Managebac to view report cards. In the IB Parents' Association tab, you may download the Student Handbook or Riverstone Student Directory. All new parents should have received an email directly from Managebac to set up their account. If you had an account for the 2013-14 school year, you may log in at anytime to check your student's information.
|
 Students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 explore the world through our Passport Club, without actually leaving home! Every month, students will receive a map that corresponds to their grade. Starting in Kindergarten and Grade 1, students focus on identifying five countries per month. In comparison, students in Grade 5 learn 25 countries and 5 capitals each month!
Students in every grade provide one researched fact based on their current Unit of Inquiry, integrating the Passport club with the IB philosophy. Students are given the prompt, "Select one or more continents or countries from your study level and describe something related to the Unit of Inquiry you are currently studying."
It may sound daunting, but our students are very successful, and the program builds upon itself year after year.
We have posted the dates for the testing on the school calendar. We are also looking for volunteers to help with the testing -- no experience necessary!
September Passport Testing: Tuesday, Sept 23. Just around the corner so please encourage your child to study!
Please contact James Hamilton-Vail if you can help or have questions.
|
 Friday Morning Music starts next Friday, September 26! Join us at this monthly event in which students who take private music or vocal lessons share their talents with us. It's a great way to start your day!
If your child is interested in performing, please contact Laura DeLaney, Music teacher, for more information.
Friday Morning Music: Friday, September 26 from 8:00 - 8:30 AM in the Elementary School Atrium |
 The Fall Carnival Committee will be meeting weekly and would love your help! No experience required! Enthusiasm welcome!
Fall Carnival planning meetings will be held at 8:45 AM in the Library on the following dates:
- Thursday Sept 25
- Tuesday Sept 30
- Thursday October 9
Sign up to contribute baked goods for the cake walk, set up/cleanup, or help during the carnival on our Community Opportunities Sheet here.
If your family or business is interested in sponsoring the Orbiter or Inflatables, please contact our awesome Carnival Coordinators, Julie Worthington or Kim Fall.
Please invite your family and friends to Riverstone's favorite family event. Games, food, and camaraderie for all ages!
Fall Carnival: Friday, October 10 from 5:00-8:00ish PM outside of the Kennedy Gymnasium
|
|
Please feel free to share your newsletter with family or friends!
There is a button directly above to the left for your family and friends to click and join our mailing list. In order to maintain the integrity of our lists and follow best practices associated with electronic newsletters, requests to join the list need to come directly from the person receiving the newsletter.
Additionally, there is a button at the bottom of the newsletter each week. Thank you!
|
|
MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL DAY OF SERVICE
|
 Parents of Middle and High School students in Gr 6-12:
Please remember to mark your calendars for Thursday, October 16 for the Middle & High School Day of Service. Students are expected to be at school and volunteering with their Advisory Groups at local non-profits from 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM.
Middle & High School Day of Service: Thursday, October 16 from 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM
This is a special way that Riverstone students give back to our local community and show our commitment to Community & Service, one of our Five Pillars. If you have questions, please contact Tarrah Elam, Student Life Coordinator.
|
 Darci D (Gr 5), Cord G (Gr 3), Vedant R (Gr 4), Dennis D (Gr 5), Yutaka G (Gr 3), Lucas E (Gr 4), Cole G (Gr 2), Aidan C (Gr 3), and Daniel C (Gr 1) competed at the Velotti Chess tournament on Saturday evening.
Riverstone International School came home with the first prize team trophy! Congratulations to all our team players!
|
 From Coach Raymond:
The Riverstone International School soccer team is doing great so far! Soccer is a team sport where players need to work together, not only in practices to better their skills but also in weekend games. As a team, we are learning how to support each other during the game and off the game field. Together, we will improve and have a great Fall 2014 season!
We are looking forward to more exciting games on Saturday, September 20 where we will be playing Rush Wolves at 9:00 AM and Boise United at 3:00 PM.
Check out photos from the games on the Riverstone Facebook page.
RSFC Games: Saturday, September 20 at 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM at the Simplot Fields. Both games on Field #15.
Come cheer on the team! Go RSFC!
|
 High School Volleyball update from Coach Demi DlouhyThe Riverstone High School Girls Volleyball
JV team defeated Wilder High School earlier this week. The Varsity team had a tough match and lost against Wilder's Varsity team. The team continues to improve weekly and is preparing to face a tough opponent Thursday evening, Ambrose School.
Upcoming volleyball games include:
Tues Sept 23 High School Girls Volleyball vs Greenleaf Friends Academy at home at 6:00PM
Tues Sept 23 Middle School Girls Volleyball vs Compass Charter School at Compass at 4:00 PM Please come out to any Riverstone athletic event and cheer on our athletes! They love your support. Go Otters! Middle School Volleyball update from Coach Eric Pederson
The Riverstone Middle School volleyball team is already almost half way through their season. Despite having very little time to practice before games start, the girls were able to conquer the formidable task of rotation and positions by their first match without any "out of rotation" calls from the referee--very impressive for only 1-2 weeks of practice!
We have three returning players and five new players. We also have (in my opinion), hands down, the best setter in our league. We have a lot of good passers, and the new girls are picking it up really quick. We haven't beat a team yet, but the girls are developing quickly and are very smart volleyball players. They are having a great time and get really excited when people cheer them on. It's only a matter of time before we are one of the best teams in our league despite our relatively small size. One game, the Middle School team we were playing came out on the court and Aly G (Gr 6) said: "I don't want to play their varsity team!" The girls are getting better quickly and pretty soon are going to be a real challenge for these six inch taller teams. Come watch our little Davids beat Goliath!
If you have any questions, contact Demi Dlouhy, Athletic Director. |
Grade 3 visited the Create Common Good farm Thursday afternoon and learned about sustainable and organic local farming. Their current Unit of Inquiry is "Food for Thought" under the trans-disciplinary theme How We Organize Ourselves.
The children are in the process of creating the own "imaginary" local farm brochures, so this trip was timely! If you'd like to learn more about their trip, please ask one of our Gr 3 students!
|
|
PARENTS' ASSOCIATION & NEW PA HANDBOOK
|
|
Just a reminder to check out the new Parents' Association handbook! This document was created for everyone!
It's a wonderful documentation of all that is the PA!
Please link to the Parents' Association Handbook here. Also please consider supporting the PA by contributing $50 per child. Download the PA Contribution Form to read more about what the funds support and make your contribution! Thank you!
The next PA meeting will be Thursday, October 9. Join us!
If you are interested in learning more about the Parents' Association, contact Michelle Nenov, PA President, with questions or click here to visit the PA page on our website. |
 Our school community had a busy summer reading some great books!
If you haven't yet done so, please turn in your log sheets or enter your information on the online community reading log. We are creating a giant bookworm from links for each book that was read and don't want to miss a single link.
The question is...will the bookworm have enough links to stretch all the way around the gym?
Thanks for participating!
Dewey the Bookworm and Mrs Tabb our Librarian
|
More pictures from the Gr 7 trip are posted on the Riverstone Facebook page. Check them out!
|
|
FACEBOOK PHOTO OF THE WEEK
|
|
This week's Facebook photo of the week features Ben Brock, our Director of Outdoor Education, taking a selfie with Gr 7 on their Main Salmon River trip.
|
|
