Book Swap next week

In Celebration of Read Across America the library will hold our 2nd annual....

Riverdale GS
Book Swap
When: March 2nd-6th
Where: Grade School Library
How it works:
Every 3 book donations = ticket for a free book
and/or paperbacks just 50 cents or hardbacks $1
You may bring books starting Feb 27th (Friday)

What happens to the left-overs?
They go in our classrooms, the library and to Alder Elementary in the Reynolds School District
Questions: Contact Lisa Becker lbecker@riverdale.k12.or.us

NEA’s Read Across America

I promise to read
Each day and each night.
I know it’s the key
To growing up right.
I’ll read to myself,
I’ll read to a crowd.
It makes no difference
If silent or loud.
I’ll read at my desk,
At home and at school,
On my bean bag or bed,
By the fire or pool.
Each book that I read
Puts smarts in my head,
‘Cause brains grow more thoughts
The more they are fed.
So I take this oath
To make reading my way
Of feeding my brain
What it needs every day.
Words by Debra Angstead

Missouri-National Education Association
Reader’s Oath

Jefferson Daancers Visit RGS

Principal Newsletter -- February 27, 2009

• This last week provided two opportunities to celebrate the ever-growing talents of our student musicians. On Monday night the 7-8 Jazz Band, led by Tim Bryson, performed alongside the High School Jazz Band. On Thursday the 5th graders made their debut at the 5-8 Music Concert, 6th grade band and choral groups performed, the 7-8 choir wowed the crowd with their ABBA medley, and the 7-8 band treated us to their talents. Both were amazing events. At last night's concert a neighbor leaned over to me and whispered, "We're lucky to have her," meaning Mrs. Scholz. He is absolutely right.
• On Thursday we also had the privilege to see the Jefferson Dancers perform. These pre-professional dancers are high school students attending a magnet school in Portland -- they devote six to seven hours a day to their craft, on top of their regular school work! It was as much an inspiration for staff and parents who attended as for children.
• The story of the 7/8 boys basketball team this year is something out of a Hollywood script. In order to make the payoffs they won four consecutive games, then won their first playoff game. In last night's semi-final they were ahead with less than two minutes remaining. The game slipped away, but the Herculean effort will last. We are incredibly proud of these guys, many of whom then boarded a bus to head straight to the music concert.
  
• This coming Thursday marks the end of the 2nd trimester. Unbelievable as it seems, we are readying for a second round of parent conferences. For those of you parents wishing to schedule a conference for the 12th or 13th please do so soon. After our last conferences I received considerable feedback that, while the format (of 5-8 conferences) is understandably necessary, in practice it has not always functioned properly. My assessment of this problem is that it is largely a function of keeping to the agreed-upon time limits for conversations with an individual teacher. We had some parents wait for as long as two hours without speaking to more than half of their child's teachers. I'll be asking faculty to curtail conversations in order to make things run more smoothly. This may mean a parent or teacher needs to request additional time at another date, something we are more than happy to oblige.
  
• In the upcoming district newsletter I will share about the development of this year's Cabaret experience, which will be contained (as far as practice goes) within the structure of the academic day, and will still allow students with serious interest in elective offerings like band and art to participate fully, but I wanted to mention just how excited we are to be producing another show!
  

Calendar

Monday
PTC exec. meeting 8:45

Tuesday

Wednesday
Early Release 2:30

Thursday
last day of 2nd trimester

Friday
no school

District homepage: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/District/
Grade School homepage: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/GradeSchool/
High School homepage: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/HighSchool/
Athletics schedules & information: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/Athletics/
Foundation information: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/Foundation/
Grade School PTC webpage: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/rgs_ptc/
High School PTC webpage: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/rhs_ptc/

Principal Newsletter -- February 20, 2009

• The sun is beginning to arrive a bit earlier and stick around a bit longer, meaning we will soon be heading out to the fields during recesses more and more often. One thing we've found is that, after a break, it is helpful to review playground rules and expectations with students. We'll be doing so here at school, and it would be great if families could talk about expectations at home as well. Somewhere in an English class I was surely told not to lead with dog poop, but here we are. A return to the fields also means that we are increasingly reliant on dog owners cleaning up after their pets. Thanks for your help with this!
• Two events I'd like to share are on the immediate horizon. The Jefferson Dancers, an accomplished group of high school students, will be performing for our student body on Thursday at 1:05. On Thursday evening we will celebrate our 5th through 8th grade musicians at 7:00!
• 7/8 boys basketball finished 3rd in league play; the first round playoff game is Tuesday at 4:00 in the gym!
  
• The PTC online auction items are posted and the bidding has begun. I hope to see everybody at Oak's Park next Saturday where, I am told, I'll be riding the mechanical bull for a good cause.
  
• We are just about finished with the OAKS (Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) testing, which we began a bit earlier than in the past. We started earlier for two reasons. First, as students have up to three opportunities to show their best work, it is advantageous to get data back earlier and therefore be more able to adjust instruction to meet their needs. We will be sharing testing results and opening a discussion about whether a second opportunity makes sense for individual students at or near conference time. Too, because we use the computer lab to participate in the testing, there is nearly always a crunch for lab time when we wait until the Spring; we hope to have alleviated this problem.
• Many faculty attended a technology conference hosted in Portland this week, and they are bringing all kinds of new ideas to the table. What, for instance, is the role, or instructional potential, of mobile computing labs and hand-held devices? More and more, native software applications are less relevant as more computing is done "in the cloud." At the same time, we are trying to balance the idea of increasingly ubiquitous technology with human connections and an understanding of the outside world and our local ecology.
• Obviously, this is a new format for my weekly communication. In the coming weeks I will try to ensure that families feel connected to the blog format, that they understand how best to access the information posted here, and also to be responsive to your feedback. The bottom line is that we rely so heavily here on effective communication that I want to be sure to meet your needs.
• Today is the last day to order lunches for third trimester on the PTC website (link below).

Calendar

Monday
Site Council Meeting -- 3:40

Tuesday
7/8 boys basketball vs. Portland Christian (home) -- 4:00

Wednesday
2nd Grade to Tryon Creek
Early Release 2:30

Thursday
Jefferson Dancers Assembly -- 1:00
5-8 band Concert -- 7:00

Friday


District homepage: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/District/
Grade School homepage: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/GradeSchool/
High School homepage: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/HighSchool/
Athletics schedules & information: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/Athletics/
Foundation information: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/Foundation/
Grade School PTC webpage: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/rgs_ptc/
High School PTC webpage: http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/rhs_ptc/