Riverstone International School
February 11, 2016
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Hi All,
I just want thank everyone for helping Riverstone manage and celebrate all of our moving parts. Music, research, sports, Chinese New Year, Carnival, Merci lunch, senior lunch - heck we even have well drilling!
Please take a moment to read and digest the newsletter this week and make your plans. Between now and Spring Break is a great time to join us at any one of our numerous events. It is always fun to watch our students really becoming risk-takers. Our fourth graders memorizing and reciting the Gettysburg Address is a perfect example!
Finally, a thank you to our Endowment Co-Chairs Kurt and Treacy Liebich for hosting such a lovely lunch last week. Please read further down about their cocktail party next week. Lastly, please take a moment to RSVP to the Auction and thank all of the auction committee members who are planning what is sure to be a great event on March 12! Enjoy all; this is a great place!
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SCHOOL CLOSED MONDAY, FEB 15
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In honor of Presidents' Day, school will be closed next Monday, Feb 15. We hope you all have a wonderful long weekend! 
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RIVERSTONE ENDOWMENT: YOU'RE INVITED
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 Kurt and Treacy Liebich are hosting an evening event to share more information about Riverstone's endowment campaign, Navigating Forward. Parents, grandparents, and friends of the school are invited!
Join us at the Liebich home (1650 E Holly Street, Boise, ID 83712) on Wednesday, Feb 17 at 6:30PM.
Please RSVP to Treacy via email if you will be attending. Download more information about the endowment here.
Endowment Campaign Cocktails: Wednesday, Feb 17 at 6:30PM at the Liebich home (1650 E Holly Street, Boise, ID 83712)
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If Riverstone's endowment fund is a long-term investment vehicle, why is it important now?
If you think about the school as a household, you can see why savings are always important. Among other beneficial aspects, having savings and assets allows a household to be much more flexible when looking at opportunities and options for financing.
For example, if you were a bank and two people with similar income applied for a loan and one had no savings and the other had $3 million in savings, you would be more likely to lend to the person with the $3 million in savings.
This same principle applies to our school. Having assets like an endowment gives us a great deal of flexibility in seizing opportunities as they arise; this makes it very beneficial for current students and those long into the future.
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CAUTION: NEW WELL BEING DRILLED
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 We will be drilling an irrigation well in the northeast corner of the school campus near the Elementary School dumpsters and Idaho Youth Ranch donation bin. While the work is being completed during the next few weeks, there will be a truck parked in the "U-turn" portion of the parking lot. There will be sufficient room for vehicles to pass, but please proceed with caution through this area.
Also, please help by ensuring your children stay clear of the work area. |
 With the extensive construction that will be taking place on Phase One of our new Middle and High School building, we will be offering summer camps at Riverstone the week of Monday, Aug 8 - Friday, Aug 12 only.
We want to ensure everyone's safety and allow the best access to the school grounds for our building contractors.
The week of August 8 - 12 will be jam-packed with fun enrichment programs for students of all ages. Mark your calendars! More information to come. Please contact Tarrah Elam with any questions.
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BOOTS, CHAPS AND COWBOY HATS
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It's round up time!
The annual auction is just around the corner and we need you!
Now is the time to organize and submit your donations: host a party, contribute something traditional from your family, or offer up your house at the lake. Maybe you love to dabble in art or share your secret fly fishing techniques; everyone has something to offer! As past guests at the auction will tell you, those items donated by our immediate community are always the biggest money makers.
Feel free to email your donation information to Amy Bava, Auction Chairperson, and she will make sure we put it to best use. You can also stop by the front desk at the Elementary School to complete a donor form.
Your invitation should be in your mailbox any day now. Don't forget to respond with your meal choice and table guests. Your early reply is greatly appreciated! You may purchase sponsorships and tickets online as well.
And mark your calendar's for the third annual Online Auction which will go live Thursday, Feb 18 at 10:00 AM. This is always a fun way to start the Auction momentum and share what we have with the wider community. We encourage you to share the link to the online auction with your own circles.
And if you are just itchin' to be a part of the fun, think about donating your time and talents. There's room for all y'all at this round up! Email Amy if you'd like be involved.
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RIVERSTONE LIVE! NEXT FRIDAY
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 Join us on Friday, Feb 19, at 7:30 PM at the District Coffee House (219 N 10th Street in downtown Boise) to watch Riverstone student bands perform.
Featuring Lone Tree River, Sloth Patrol, and The Regulars, it's sure to be a great night filled with great music. We can't wait to see you there!Riverstone LIVE! on Friday, Feb 19, at 7:30 PM at the District Coffee House (219 N 10th Street in downtown Boise)
Lone Tree River pictured at right.
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 Riverstone students in Grades 3-12 have been making inspiring efforts to complete math on Khan Academy during the first two weeks of LearnStorm! LearnStorm is a free, 9-week math challenge designed to build perseverance and grit through mastery of math skills.
On Tuesday, we received an extra jolt of enthusiasm as the first public Leaderboards were released. We are proud to announce that despite competing against more than 30,000 students and hundreds of schools throughout the state, 19 Riverstone students were recognized on the top-100 Mastery and Hustle Leaderboards for their individual grades, an amazing accomplishment! Congratulations to Hadley D (Gr 3), Vaughn G (Gr 3), Yutaka G (Gr 4), Alex G (Gr 4), Kimberly S (Gr 5), Clara N (Gr 5), Aidan S (Gr 5), Amelia K (Gr 5), Samantha S (Gr 5), Ethan E (Gr 5), Gage S (Gr 5), Dev S (Gr 5), Parker B (Gr 5), Gabby M (Gr 5), Nina N (Gr 5), Leah C (Gr 6), Marie-Alix D (Gr 7), Jordan L (Gr 9), and Carly L (Gr 12) for making the Leaderboards: keep up the good work! Led by these and many other student's outstanding efforts, Riverstone is also high above the state-wide Leaderboards for all schools in both Hustle (7th place!) and Mastery (#23)! These Leaderboards are pictured below. With only eight days remaining in the first Cup, we encourage every eligible Riverstone student to dig deep and give their supreme effort working on Khan Academy at home and in class through next Friday, Feb 19! Let's get Riverstone all the way to the top! There's still time to register and participate! Contact Trevor Lindsay or Stacey Walker with any questions.
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Next Parents' Association Meeting
Please join us at our next PA Meeting on Thursday, Mar 3 at 8:45 AM in the Library. International Committee Meeting
The next International Committee will be held on Wednesday, Feb 17 at 8:50 AM at Full Steam Bistro (920 E Park Blvd, Boise, ID 83716). We will discuss the International Committee item for the Auction and our Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival for the Elementary School in April. All parents are invited to join us!
 Merci Lunch Next Week Thank you to everyone who supported this month's Merci Lunch for all of our staff in the Elementary, Middle and High Schools. The staff enjoyed all of the Asian-themed dishes and it made everyone's day.
Donate your Riverstone gear
 Do you have used or outgrown Riverstone apparel? The PA is collecting retired Riverstone gear for a 2016 Auction Project. All colors, sizes, and logos are welcome. Please bring in anything you would like to contribute to the donation box at the Elementary School Front Desk or Kathleen Gilton's office in the Middle School.
If you have any questions, please contact Natalie Geffros or Sarah Taylor.
Photo Directories are still available!
If you haven't picked up a Riverstone Photo Directory yet, there are still a few available! Feel free to purchase your copy at the Elementary School front desk from Sarah Taylor. |
 Mix it up with a little of this and a little of that! Polka dots, plaid, stripes, neon, Hawaiian, western, crazy socks and accessories.
All students in Gr 6 - 8 and their guests are invited to our Mix-n- Match Dance on Friday, Feb 26 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM in the Kennedy Gymnasium Foyer.
Tickets will be sold the week of February 22 in Homeroom and are $5 if purchased before the dance and $7 at the door. Guests are more than welcome to attend with a signed Guest Permission Form. Please download and return to Tarrah Elam prior to the evening of Friday, Feb 26.
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HOSTING OPPORTUNITIES: WE NEED YOU
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 Riverstone is currently accepting applications and screening for new international students for the 2016-17 school year.
We accept two types of international students:
- F-1 Visa holders who are multi-year students who will be living in our new residential boarding facility
- J-1 Visa holders who study in the US for one year primarily for learning about the culture and language. The J-1 students are required by the US State Department to live with host families.
Although it may seem early, we are now seeking host families for J-1 students for the 2016-17 school year as it is a requirement that we must have a confirmed host family for every J-1 student that we accept.
By having host families paired with students now, we have more opportunity to enroll outstanding students who will become part of our school community.
Our community has hosted over 200 students over the past ten years. Hosting can be a very rewarding experience for families that leads to lifelong friendships and wonderful memories.
We currently have two J-1, grade 10 students interested in joining our community, a girl from Germany and a boy from France. Please consider hosting one of these students!
If you are interested in hosting a student for the next school year, please contact Jane Kaserman or Rachel Pusch for more information. |
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CARNIVAL AND CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
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International understanding was in full swing this week! Students celebrated the Chinese New Year in all grades and the International Committee hosted a wonderful Carnival celebration for the Elementary School.
Please read the Riverstone blog for all the details of our students learning about Chinese calligraphy, food, history and traditions to ring in the Year of the Monkey, as well as celebrating Carnival Around the World. Lots of photos too!
The Carnival display will be up through tomorrow, Friday, Feb 12, in the Elementary School Atrium. Make sure you stop by to look through all of the awesome pictures and learn about Carnival all around the world!
 
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FRIDAY MORNING MUSIC CALL FOR MUSICIANS
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 Our next Friday Morning Music will be Friday, February 26 starting at 8:00 AM. Please join us in the Elementary School Atrium and start your day off on a good note!If your child would like to perform in future events, please email Nicole Golay or Damon Brown.
This is a wonderful opportunity for students who study music privately to participate in a supportive recital setting.
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 In our newsletter from Thursday, Jan 28, we announced Riverstone students who were recognized for excellence in writing by the Idaho Scholastic Writing Awards.
We're excited to announce that Marija S (Gr 11) also won a Gold Key for Photography in her age group. Marija will be recognized at the spring ceremony at Boise State University alongside the nine other Riverstone students who won awards. Congratulations!
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 The following is a note from Andrea Kuenzli and Shirley O'Neil, our school counselors.The Winter and Spring trips are quickly approaching and this can have some students worried about spending time away from home. Homesickness is a very normal emotion for people of all ages and is usually displayed through worried thoughts, feelings of loneliness or isolation. Luckily, there are some quick and simple techniques to work through it.
Here are some tips to help overcome homesickness:
- Show your child pictures of where they are going and where they are sleeping before the trip. This helps to familiarize your child with their new setting.
- Bring something nostalgic or something that reminds you of home. It might be a stuffed animal, a picture, or a favorite book.
- Keep some of the same routine. If you always have a certain snack at the same time bring that snack with you.
- Share your feelings. Understand that it is completely normal to feel homesick and write those feelings down or share with a friend.
- Focus on ending the conversation on a positive note and write down things that you enjoy. Focus on enjoying the adventure that you're on with your classmates and have fun!
If you have any questions or would like to know more about homesickness, please email either Andrea or Shirley, or drop by their office.
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 A note from Middle School Boys Basketball Coach Jacob Sanders:
"We traveled to Compass last Thursday and while both the A and B team lost their games, there was much to learn and improve on for the rest of the season.The A game came down to the wire with Ethan H (Gr 7 ) sending us into overtime and keeping the Otters in the game. Although we eventually lost by one in overtime, it was a great game played by both sides. The Otters got back on the winning track with Horseshoe Bend School playing at home this past Tuesday. Both teams played solid defense and put up some good shots on the offensive side of the ball. Both the A and B teams came away with great wins. We are lucky enough to host another home game against Idaho City and are excited to finish out the season at home next week." A note from High School Girls Basketball Coach Wally Bashaw:
"Last week, the team started their quest for a district title. They played and won against Greenleaf Friends Academy 51-36 at home for the play-in game. Their next game was against Idaho City High School, the #1 team in the league. Idaho City came out strong, scoring on almost every possession. Riverstone keep fighting but eventually succumbed to Idaho City 31-78. The team was back in action playing against Compass Honors with only 8 players, which meant they had to adjust their line-up. They ended up playing more of a half-court game instead of the girls' patented up-tempo offense and continuing to change their line-up through the game, trying to find the right combination. In the last quarter, the girls were within 3 points of winning with 43 seconds left to play. The ball went out of the hands of a driving player and out of bounds with 9 seconds to go. You can never count the girls out though. With Compass taking the ball out, the signature defense that the girls have become famous for came through once more and Compass committed a 5 second turnover, giving the ball back to Riverstone under their own basket. Coach was trying to position the players in a last second attempt to tie the game up but the shot feel short. Riverstone lost 36-39. Even though the season didn't finish the way the girls had intended, they should be very proud of themselves. They have become a dangerous team and the league should take notice that the Riverstone girls team has arrived and the future looks bright! Thank you for all the support as we extremely appreciate it."
 A note from High School Boys Basketball Coach Eric Chapman:
"The Boys High School Basketball team is in the final week of our regular season and aiming for a strong showing in the district tournament later this month.
Despite being a bit humbled by a tough home defeat on Senior Night last week against the top ranked Ambrose School, our boys battled hard and displayed great competitive toughness. It was terrific to have such an enthusiastic home crowd cheering the boys on. Despite the loss, that experience helped focus the team on the challenge ahead of us in preparing for the district playoffs. That focus was rewarded with our first ever victory at Horseshoe Bend with the final score being 55-39. The inside tandem of Jack G (Gr 11) and Andres G (Gr 11) led the team offensively combining for 31 points and 22 rebounds while Zach C (Gr 12) and Sam C (Gr 11 ) anchored a strong defensive effort by limiting the Mustang's top two scorers to just 7 total points. Most importantly the win clinched home-court advantage for us in the first round of the district tournament. This was one of our goals from the start of the season and is the first time we have ever qualified as one of the top four seeds!
We have another tough contest this Friday night against Notus High School but the team is excited to try and cap off the regular season in style as a victory would secure a tie for second place in the final league standings. We hope all the Otter fans will come fill the gym on the Thursday, Feb 18 to cheer us on in our first ever home playoff game!
The Junior Varsity squad is also wrapping up the final few games of their season. The younger team split their two most recent games, capturing a solid win at home over Ambrose School with a season high for the team of 13 points from Orion B (Gr 9). Unfortunately, we struggled to a defeat the Horseshoe Bend team, losing 23-44. The boys continue to improve but have been a bit too inconsistent of late, particularly on the road. Hopefully they will come together for a strong performance in their final game at Notus High School this Friday night."
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 There are many great hot and cold lunch options for this week, please look through the entire spring menu here. Please remember there is no school on Monday, Feb 15, so there will be no lunches to order. If you are planning to order pizza, please only select the number of slices you'd like to purchase (do not adjust the pizza size). |
This week's Facebook photo of the week is of our Chinese High School students who celebrated the Chinese New Year by showing their peers how to write their names in Mandarin!
Keep an eye on Riverstone's Facebook page and Instagram to keep up with what's happening at Riverstone!
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