Riverstone International School

June 3, 2015

Hi All,

I hope you are all looking forward to a relaxing and engaging summer with your family. It is hard to imagine that graduation was a week ago and we are in the middle of the craziness that is the last few days of school, so I will keep this brief.

This summer, my team and I will be working on continuing to improve Riverstone in line with the strategic plan and building on the work we did this year. As always, we strive to make each year better than the last.

Personally, I will once again have the great opportunity to attend the annual 3-day Malone Schools Conference at Stanford University at the end of June. This is a time to meet with Heads from around the country who represent outstanding schools. It will also be an opportunity to hear from speakers who are at the top of their fields. This is always a great treat! I will also try to find time to "kidnap" my busy children who will be scattered around the world at different times this summer and spend time together - harder every year.

As always at this time of year, we are saying goodbye and hello to teachers. We are saddened to say goodbye to Kendra Dixon who will be moving with her family to Seattle, she has been amazing for our students in so many ways; and we will miss her kindness, caring, and ability in the classroom. Please see below for a full wrap up.

I just want to say thank you for making this a wonderful year. Your support for our students, our staff, and me has been much appreciated. Please be safe this summer and sit close to your children!

Call for anything,

Bob Carignan

Head of School

bcarignan@riverstoneschool.org

STAFFING UPDATE

We have a few more staffing changes to share.

Kendra Dixon, Middle School English teacher, will be moving with her family to Seattle, WA to begin a new adventure teaching at an independent middle school. Kendra writes, "The staff at Riverstone is one that deeply cares about students and one that I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work beside. This incredible group of is made up of many people I now consider friends, which has been an added bonus. I will greatly miss the amazing students I have come to adore here at Riverstone. I have been blessed to be a part of their lives, and I will miss them tremendously next fall."

Nicole Golay will be joining the Elementary School staff as our Music teacher. Nicole graduated from California Institute of the Art with a Bachelor of Arts and Yale University with a master's. She has over twenty years experience as a professional performer and ten years as a teacher. Nicole has been teaching at Sage International School for the last two years, and is also an oboist with the Boise Philharmonic.

Julia Robison will be joining us as a Kindergarten teacher. Julia graduated from Boise State University with a BA in Elementary Education. She taught for two years at the Thai-Chinese International School in Bangkok, Thailand and for the last three years at Sage International School.

Natalie Green, currently a Gr 2 teacher, will be moving to teach one of our two Kindergarten classes.

Anita Wagonner will teach Kindergarten through Grade 3 Spanish.

Rhonda Shaff will be expanding her teaching duties to include Gr 4 and Gr 5 Spanish, in addition to Spanish Ab Initio in the Diploma Programme.

Andrea Kuenzli will be expanding her role to that of full-time School Counselor. Andrea recently obtained her Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling. She will continue teaching a counseling/wellness curriculum for Kindergarten - Grade 8, as well as being available for individual and group work with students.

Shirley O'Neil will continue to be available one day per week to meet with individual students.

Jeff Cole is joining our Middle School teaching faculty as our Gr 9 English teacher. He will also team teach Gr 7 Humanities. Jeff has a BA in Communication and is just finishing a BA in English Teaching from Boise State University. Jeff has worked at Idaho Rivers United, the Alzar School and in Lake Hazel Middle School in various teaching capacities. He is also an accomplished outdoors person and has already co-led trips and been a substitute at Riverstone.

Jon Moreno-Ramirez is joining our High School teaching staff as our Mathematical Studies and Diploma Programme Physics teacher. Jon is coming to Riverstone after teaching AP Physics and AP Calculus at the Colegio Internacional de Carabobo in Valencia, Venezuela for the past three years. Prior to teaching in Venezuela, Jon taught calculus and physics at Vallivue Academy. Jon is a graduate of the College of Idaho where he obtained a double major in mathematics and physics.

SUMMER HOURS

During the summer, the school will be open from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM with a few exceptions:

We are closed next Monday and Tuesday, June 8 & 9.
We will also be closed Thursday, July 2 - Wednesday, July 8.

Please feel free to call with questions or stop in at the Elementary School front desk during our open hours.

Rachel Pusch will be giving tours and meeting with prospective parents throughout the summer. Please encourage your family and friends to call or email Rachel to learn more about Riverstone!

ALL SCHOOL BBQ

Join us to celebrate the end of another great school year immediately following Field Day! Teachers and administrators will flip hamburgers and hot dogs for all students and parents.

We would love some help, though. If your last name begins with:

A - F: please bring a dessert

G - L: please bring a salad or side dish with serving spoons/forks

M - S: please bring a 6-pack of soda or bottled water

T - Z: please bring chips and dip

Don't forget to label all serving dishes, plates, or utensils! We look forward to seeing you there!

All School BBQ: Thursday, June 4 from 3:30 - 5:00 PM outside of the Kennedy Gymnasium

FIELD DAY

The Elementary School will continue their tradition of a Fun Run with Field Day (with an international flair) on the last day of school: Thursday, June 4.

The festivities will be kicked off by the fun run! Many students have been running, jogging, and skipping around the soccer fields to be able to qualify to participate in the Fun Run. The qualifying students will be running through a fun and exciting course with fellow classmates, faculty, staff, and parents cheering them on!!

The Elementary School Olympic Field Day & Fun Run will take place on Thursday, June 4. Opening ceremonies start at 1:30 PM on the Riverstone Field.

Please contact Demi Dlouhy with questions. Thank you!

SUMMER ACTIVITIES & CAMPS

Have you registered for summer activities?

All camps at Riverstone are open to the community, so invite a friend or family member to join the fun.

Download an updated listing of Summer Activities & Camps here.

Contact Tarrah Elam with questions.

OPEN GYM FOR GIRLS

Girls entering Gr 6-12 are invited to open gym sessions for basketball this summer.

Join us on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM in the Kennedy Gymnasium.

Please e-mail Coach Wally or Demi Dlouhy prior to attending for more information.

NAME THE OTTER

It's time to name our otter mascot! And we would like your help with ideas!

Please email Kathleen Gilton or drop off a note at the Elementary School or Middle School front desks with your suggestion for our otter's name, as well as your name and grade. Parents are welcome to submit ideas too!

Please turn in ideas by the last day of school, June 4.

We will announce the Otter's official name at our Convocation on the first day of school: Monday, August 31 at 9:00 AM.

HOSTS STILL NEEDED

World Flags As we come to the end of this year, we are still looking for a couple of host families for students who would love to attend Riverstone.

Bringing in students with diverse backgrounds is just one way that we help broaden our students' international understanding. We would love to accept these both of these students, but must have confirmed host families before that is possible.

If you or someone you know is interested in hosting one of these students, please contact Jane Kaserman.

Alejandro is a boy entering Gr 11 from Spain who loves sports, being outside, and going to soccer games. His parents are both teachers and he has one sister. He would like to try American sports like football or baseball. He is looking forward to his year as an exchange student in the United States with a a host family.

Katharina is a girl entering Gr 10 from Germany who enjoys volleyball, being outdoors, and cooking. Her German family is very active and likes to go to ice hockey and basketball games. Katharina speaks German, French, and English. She would like to go rafting and looks forward to experiencing school spirit.

NEWS FROM THE LIBRARIAN

We started with over 100 library books outstanding and are now down to a mere 24. Hurray to all the parents who challenged their students to find those pesky books.

The library is now open for summer book reading. Come find a good book to read. All Riverstone community members are welcome.

And don't forget to log onto the Summer Reading Challenge google doc and record your reading experiences. First grade is looking forward to measuring the book worm and estimating how many books we read.

Each segment equals one book. Can we wrap it around the gym next fall?

Find information on the Riverstone Community Opportunities Sheet - Otter Library

Enjoy your summer with a great book!

THE WEEK AHEAD