Special Ed.The River's Edge 8-11-21
Welcome to the 2021-2022 School Year!
Excited to Begin a New School Year!
Dear RBES Families,
We are so excited to have students back in the building five days a week beginning on the first day of school, Monday, August 23, 2021, for students in grade K-5. PreK students will begin on Wednesday, August 25, 2021. We expect our school day to be about 8:00am-3:00pm just as in years past. Please read below for answers to some frequently asked 'back to school' questions.
What if I have not registered my child? If you have not yet registered your child online, please do ASAP! We cannot assign your child a teacher/classroom unless his/her registration is complete in PowerSchool! If you need assistance with online registration, please call Ms. Billi Jo Morris in our front office. She is available Monday-Friday 8am-4pm!
When will I find out my child's teacher? Since there were no fee days this year and all school registration is online, we emailed families the name of your child’s(ren’s) teacher(s). Teachers in 1st through 5th grades sent email to parents/guardians of students in their classes on Monday, August 9. (Please note we can only assign registered students a teacher/classroom.) If you do not receive an email on Monday, August 9, 2021, please call the school office.
We are still currently registering kindergarten students. So, kindergarten teachers will contact all parents/guardians by Monday, August 16, 2021.
Where can I find a school supply list? The supply list is located on our school website at http://rbes.rockingham.k12.va.us/ It is also attached to this newsletter below. A paper copy is available at school and major retailers such as Walmart and Target.
Will school meals be free again this year? Yes! Breakfast and lunch is free for ALL students this year! Free and Reduced Lunch forms will still be provided. Families are encouraged to fill out this form if they believe they may qualify because additional assistance may available for families that are found eligible. The form will be provided at Meet the Teacher Night Thursday, August 19, 2021 (see information about Meet Your Teacher Night below).
Are parents required to pay school fees? There are no school fees required this year.
Are parents asked to drive their children to school when possible again this year? No, with different distancing requirements than the beginning of the year last year, there is no need to encourage parents to drive their child to school. There is space on the buses.
When will I find out pick up and drop off times for the bus? Bus numbers and specific bus pick up and drop off times will be emailed to families from the RCPS transportation department next week (the week of August 16). However, since this is just a few days before school starts if you have questions regarding your child's school transportation please call the school.
What are the first day of school for students, and what are the drop-of times? The first day of school for children in grades K - 5 will be Monday, August 23, 2021 from 8:15 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Teachers begin bus duty at 8:00 a.m., and students should not be dropped off prior to this time. The first bus will arrive around 8:00 a.m. The bus dismissal bell will ring at 3:00 p.m., and all students getting picked up will be released approximately 3:05 p.m. from the cafeteria. The first day of school for prek students is Wednesday, August 25, 2019. (If you have students in Head Start, Head Start staff will be communicating with families their first day and other information.)
Will my child have to wear a mask at school? At this time, yes, students will wear a mask at school as will all adults in the building. Once RCPS finalizes the health care plan for the start of the school year, we will share all the information with you.
Arrival and Dismissal at RBES
To help morning drop off go smoothly and efficiently, please have your child ready to exit the car when you pull to the front of the school. If you need to get out of your car to help your child out, or if you feel they are not ready to get out, please park in the parking lot, and walk your child to the cross walk or to the front doors. Please help us and other parents by doing this if you need additional time. It will help the line go faster to allow parents who need to get to work! We will continue a single line for morning student drop-off.
Afternoon dismissal will be the same as we did it last year. Parents will fill out the walker form (walker forms can be filled out at Meet Your Teacher night). We will take that information and create colored cards with that information on them. We will give them to parents and ask that you have that card displayed on your dash and available for staff on dismissal duty. This will allow us to ensure we know who can pick up each child.
We will have two lanes of traffic-one lane for prek-1 (the lane closest to the school) and one lane for 2nd-5th grade students (the lane closest to the parking lot). If a parent is picking up siblings, the parent should go to the lane of the youngest child.
We will have staff on duty to call students out to the cars. Those staff on duty will also have a clipboard that they will initial to verify the children went with the parent.
We ask that you please be patient with us at the beginning of the year until we get into our routine! It may take a us a few days to get our system down, but it usually works itself out in a few days. Thank you for your patience!
New Staff to RBES
Meet the Teacher Night is Thursday, August 19, 2021
We hope you will come by the school to meet your child's teacher, see his/her classroom, and get any additional information for the beginning of the year from your child's teacher. We look forward to seeing you at school!
Parent Communication
At RBES, we strive to find multiple ways to communicate with parents about school events. Here are some ways we are sharing school happenings with you this year!
- If you are on Facebook or Twitter you can follow the River Bend Elementary School page on both of these social media platforms. (See links below.) The school page on both Facebook and Twitter is updated multiple times a week sharing photos of activities in classrooms and sharing information about upcoming school events.
- From the office, a parent email is sent by me weekly/bi-weekly to parents with reminders about school events. If you or someone you know is not receiving the parent emails from me (it is always titled, "RBES Parent Update" and then a date), please call Ms. Billi Jo Morris in the office, and she will set it up so the emails are received.
- If you are not on Facebook or Twitter, we will be sharing photos of school activities in a periodic school newsletter just like this one. That way parents can still see examples of the great things going on in our school! Plus, the newsletter will contain reminders about upcoming school events. The River's Edge school newsletter will be sent electronically in the RBES Parent Update emails, and it will be shared on Facebook and Twitter. If anyone needs a paper copy of the monthly newsletter, The River's Edge, please contact Ms. Billi Jo Morris in the office.
- Classroom teachers will share with parents their main ways of communication classroom news.
We want to do all we can to ensure you are well informed of school news! If you have any questions, please contact us at school!
Calendars
Here is the link to the RBES calendar: RBES Calendar
Hello Cardinal Family,
As we gear up for the beginning of another great school year I wanted to take a moment and talk about attendance. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 18 or more days of school per year (that is just 2 days a month) and negatively affects a student's academic performance and development. 1 out of every 10 students in the United States are considered chronically absent, and in some areas Kindergarten and First grade students are closer to 1 out of every 4 students. Did you know data shows that students who miss between 2-4 days within the first 30 days of school will go on to miss more than a month of school throughout the year?
One of our goals at River Bend this year is to work together to improve our overall attendance. I know things come up throughout the year that are out of our control, but we need your help to make coming to school a priority. We will be reaching out to families early to identify barriers to attendance, providing assistance and support to families in need, and developing school-wide incentive programs targeting good attendance. We need the help of families to make attendance a priority, communicate with the school, and help your student stay healthy and engaged. River Bend is a great school, full of students with unlimited potential. Every student in our building plays an important role each and every day. Without them, we don't reach our maximum potential. So please help us, as we work together, to get our students to school every day and make this the best school year ever!
We are a family, and together we can do anything! Thank you for all you do for our students, our school, and our community!
I Wish You Well!
Mr. Gheen
Look What's Been Happening This Summer!
Look how shiny our school is! Thank you to Mr. Coffman, Ms. Helmondollar, Mr. Morris, and Mr. Thompson for all they do to keep our school looking great!
They wouldn't let me take their picture, but look at these hallways!
Thank you Gayle Harper and the Elkton Garden Club volunteers for working at River Bend Elementary School in the butterfly garden this summer!
Camp Cardinal Was a Success! See the Video Below!
The RBES Books Express Was a Hit!
Upcoming Events
- Monday, August 9-Emails from teachers to families went out in 1st-5th grades (Kindergarten teachers will contact families by August 16, 2021.)
- Thursday, August 19-RBES Meet Your Teacher for families A-L 5-6 pm; Meet Your Teacher for families M-Z 6-7 pm.
- Monday, August 23-First day of school for students in K-5
- Wednesday, August 25-First day of school for students in prek (Head Start families will be notified of the first day by Head Start staff)
- Monday, September 6-No School! Labor Day
Links to RCPS and RBES Handbooks
The RCPS Parent-Student Handbook: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zvVBQxDRdCKOm9TCJ7eSagpLNNqhUhl7/view?usp=sharing
The RBES Parent-Student:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1APFjt5RzesXeVEaXbwQvHSiGlbjwpe0H/view?usp=sharing
(Note: The handbooks may be updated regarding Covid-19 protocols after the RCPS Health Care Plan for 2021-2022 is released.)