December 4, 2014

Headmaster Letter

Dear Rivermont Family,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday break and are having a fantastic winter season. With all the activities, events and shopping going on during this time of year, it can be overwhelming at times. Please be safe with all the traveling and errands.
First, I would like to thank all the faculty, staff and parents for the exceptional Grandparents and Special Friends Day. It is an honor for us to welcome our extended Rivermont family members to the school to see how talented and energetic our students truly are. A special thanks to Ms. Nikki Hildebrand and Ms. Tammi Burrell for all their hard work and effort in planning and organizing the event so flawlessly.

Also a special thank you to all the members of the Parents' Council, especially Lesli Shaheen, Amy Telleen and Melissa Sears for devoting their time and effort in decorating the mansion. It looks absolutely marvelous.

Each December there are a number of events occurring on our campus. Tonight for example is the Winter Concert that starts at 7:00 pm. Biz Town for the 4th and 5h Grades is on the 16th, with the Early School Winter Performance on December 17th at 9:00 am. Intermixed are a variety of Basketball games, the Upper School Robotics and Middle School Robotics Tournament and Rivermont's Community Open House on December 13th from 4:00 - 7:00 pm. This can be a hectic time of year, so if you have any questions on any event, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The National Honor Society is sponsoring an Angel Tree at Rivermont again this year. For those not familiar with an Angel Tree, it is a great way to give back to the community. Simply take a tag from the Angel Tree located in Becherer Hall. Each tag lists the gender and age of a child within the community who could use your help through the purchase of a gift. Unwrapped gifts are then placed under the Angel Tree where the National Honor Society will collect them for World Relief. Please help us make this season special for a child in need.

Rivermont will be releasing before the holiday break the results of our 2014 College Admissions Study. We started this annual study last year by examining 18-25 Universities and Colleges across the nation regarding admission standards, views on academic curriculum and a variety of other information. We use this information to examine our own curriculum and college counseling services in keeping up with the ever-changing college landscape. This study incudes a close examination of school catalogs, websites and most importantly, direct interviews with admissions panel members. Our plan is to e-mail an electronic copy to each family prior to the winter break. We will also have hard-copies available to parents on an as needed basis.

As always, if you have any questions regarding the myriad of events or activities happening at Rivermont, please do not hesitate to contact any member of the faculty or administrative staff. We are here to help.

Best,

Todd Zachary

Headmaster

Last Call for Tax Savings!

December 10th is the last day you can receive a 65% Iowa state tax credit for a 2014 gift to Rivermont through the MVSTO (Mississippi Valley Student Tuition Organization) program! Don't miss this great opportunity to save on your 2014 Iowa state income taxes while making a gift to Rivermont!
(Click here to download a donation form)

Visit our website for more information about the program.

Rivermont Choir to Perform at Arsenal Tree Lighting Ceremony

December 4th at 4:00pm

Come ring in the holiday season with the Rivermont Collegiate Show Choir at the Rock Island Arsenal's annual tree lighting ceremony. There will be lots to do and see including various children's activities.

There will also be a collection box for Toys for Tots so please consider bringing a new, unwrapped toy to help make a local child's holiday season a little brighter.

Join Us for An Evening of
Festive Music!
December 4th at 7:00pm

Rivermont's annual Winter Concert will be held TONIGHT in the Becherer Hall Auditorium. Performances will include songs from all three bands (Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School), both Middle School Choir and our Upper School Show Choir, and our Middle and Upper School strings ensembles. Admission to the concert is free and all Rivermont families are invited to attend. This production will also be available via LiveStream by clicking here: View LiveStream.

A BIG Rivermont Welcome to
Our Newest Lion!

Rivermont French teacher Ha Dao and her husband Kevin Brown welcomed HaLy Dao Brown at 9:50 am on Monday December 1st. HaLy is 7lbs 6 oz and 20 inches long.

Congratulations Ha and Kevin!

Good Luck Robotics Teams

Good luck to our Upper School FTC Robotics teams, Import* and Apple Pi, who will be competing at Pleasant Valley High School December 5th.

Go Lions!

It's Basketball Season!

Support our Lions

Rivermont's Boys Basketball season is in full swing! Come support our players at these upcoming games. Go Lions!

Friday, 12/5 (home): Varsity vs. Camanche, 5:00pm.
Monday, 12/8 (home): Middle School vs. Eagle Ridge, 4:30pm.
Wednesday, 12/10 (away): Varsity at Prince of Peace, 6:00pm.
Thursday, 12/11 (home): Middle School vs. Our Lady, 4:30pm.

Congratulations to the varsity boys basketball team on getting their first win of the season with a 33-21 victory on the road at Scattergood in their opening game on December 2nd. Go Lions!

Development Note$
Shop at Necker's Jewelers and Help Rivermont

This holiday season (from Dec. 1-31) Necker's Jewelers will donate a percentage of your purchases to Rivermont!
Just tell the salesperson that you want your purchase to count for Rivermont. Then simply fill out a voucher at the time of purchase (or download one by clicking below and bring in with you) and indicate our school. Necker's will keep track of all purchases and issue a check to the school in February. A minimum of 1 - 10% of your purchase will be donated. Everything is eligible including Pandora, Alex and Ani, Hearts on Fire, Tacori, and Patricia Locke.

Click here for a blank voucher or obtain one at Necker's. Last year we received $400 from this special promotion!

National Honor Society
World Relief Angel Tree

The National Honor Society is hosting an angel tree to provide toys for refugee children. Two trees will be in Becherer Hall through December 19th. Choose a tag with the age and gender of a child. Let Ms. Burrell know which tag you selected and return it with your unwrapped toy.

Upper School Exam Schedule
Tuesday, 12/16 - Friday, 12/19
Grades 9 through 12

Final exams are right around the corner! To keep everyone organized, we have published a schedule of all exam times (click here). Students are not required to be on campus unless they have an exam scheduled. Please note that exams begin and end promptly at the times posted. It is recommended that students be on campus 30 minutes prior to each exam and in the exam room 10 minutes prior to the start time. The Reading Room will be open for study and the US Honors Lounge will be limited to quiet study.
Good luck everyone!

More Than 300 Items Collected During Clothing Drive!

Yay team! Congratulations to our Girl Scout Brownies. They collected 314 pieces of clothing that will go to families at a local domestic violence shelter.

If you missed the donation deadline and you have winter coats, boots, hats, gloves, mittens, scarves or blankets to donate, the Wardrobe will happily accept those anytime....the need is great.

Please email Dr. Dara L. Wegman-Geedey for donation information.

Ally Lewis (Grade 8)

This week we are excited to introduce you to Ally Lewis, a Rivermont 8th grader who in addition to being an outstanding student, has a passion for ballet!
Ally has been dancing since she was 3 years old! She spent two summers training with the Joffrey Ballet Company in Chicago, Illinois and is currently with the Baker Youth Ballet Company which cast her in the role of Clara in this year's production of the Nutcracker. She enjoys sharing her love of ballet with the community whenever she can and her involvement in community outreach programs across the QCA gives her that opportunity. She was very excited to perform a piece of the Nutcracker ballet on the Rivermont stage for her friends and classmates this past Tuesday.

Ally and the rest of the Youth Ballet Company will be wrapping up the Nutcracker season and moving onto an audition tour which will take them around the country during the month of January. In February she will be competing in the regional Youth Grand Prix of America with a classical ballet variation. Ally loves classical ballet and plans to pursue it as a career.

We are proud to call Ally a Rivermont Lion!

Rivermont Students Rank Tops
in Online Math Competition

The week of November 14th, Rivermont students participated in a online math competition at Sumdog.com with other students across the nation. Our students placed in the top 5%. They are now participating at home and continue to receive high rankings.

Way to go Lions!