The Riverview Gardens School District creates a community of learners equipped to be competitors in a global society and leaders demonstrating social and civic responsibility.

Dear Parents,

Wow, it's November! In-person teaching and learning at the high school is well underway and we are continuing our journey into the 2nd quarter. I know for certain that we could not have successfully accomplished this effort without each of you, your patience, understanding and support. I am so excited for the resilience of your children, our scholars. Their ability to continue in the face of change and push past their frustrations is commendable and I am so very proud of each of them. The high school Ramily of staff members have been excited to see the return of your children in their classrooms and the ability to get back to the business of traditional education. This first quarter has been spent getting to know and reconnecting with our scholars. We are in awe of how much our juniors and seniors have matured during our time away those 18 months and are happy to see them step up as being the leaders on our campus. Our freshmen and sophomores are excited about the newness of high school, being reunited with friends and all that high school brings. As a whole, we are on a mission to create a safe and supportive environment that is respectful, firm, fair and consistent. A conducive learning environment for all.

As a school leadership team, we have spent a lot of time over the course of the first quarter trying to find ways to better serve our scholars in this transition back to in-person learning. As you may have seen on countless news networks, schools across the nation are experiencing challenges with the return to traditional learning. Our high school is not exempt from those same challenges. There has been an increase, in comparison to previous years, in physical altercations occurring and inappropriate behaviors being displayed on our campus. This brings about a host of serious concerns and we need your help. Please support our efforts by encouraging your scholar to understand the importance of the decisions that they make during this pivotal time in their life. Please also encourage your scholar to create positive interactions on social media. Social media, when used in a negative manner, creates an undesirable learning environment as those negative interactions are brought onto our campus. Freshmen and Sophomores are being reminded of their need to do their very best in classes, get to class on time and that classes they do not successfully pass will have to be taken again in order to meet the graduation requirements. We need each of you to reiterate this in your homes. We are here to support all scholars and have resources to support additional needs that extend beyond the academic learning in the classroom. We are also looking into a variety of ways to support students who are struggling with emotional issues or are in need of academic guidance through our professional school counseling team. We also have group and individual counseling available. Please reach out to our Social Worker for more information. The first quarter has ended, report cards have been mailed and it is apparent that there are additional academic supports needed for many of our scholars, especially in the freshmen and sophomore grades as they get acclimated to high school. Our teachers are working together, spending countless hours to improve upon their practices, finding ways to support scholars and collaborating with each other to ensure that they are able to provide instruction to your children in a manner that is informative and supportive. As such, we have availability for night school and other extended learning opportunities should your scholar need assistance with meeting the credit requirements. Please encourage your child to reach out to their teachers and/or grade level counselor for more information.

As always, we are a RAMily, we are one and through it all, we will get through this together. Thank you for your support throughout this return to teaching and learning. Stay safe, remain healthy and know that we are here for each of you every step of the way.

In partnership,

Principal Nave

We are proud to share the accomplishments of our scholars during this month. Please congratulate them for their great work!

Mr. Metz would like to recognize Kamel for becoming a Questbridge finalist! Questbridge is a national nonprofit organization that aims to connect low-income or first-generation college students with prestigious and Ivy League schools. This scholarship will pay the full tuition to one of the following schools: University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, Brown University, University of Virginia, Yale University, University of Southern California, and Washington University of St. Louis. Good Luck Kamel! We are proud of you!

Please review this section of the newsletter if you need contact information or reminders of school policies and procedures.

All students are expected to be present every day from 7:30 am-2:30 pm. Students are also expected to arrive to each class on time. We will be keeping track of attendance daily. If your child will be absent, please contact the school to inform us prior to the absence if possible. Please email fshelby@rgsd.k12.mo.us or call 314-869-4700 ext. 22158 to report your child's absence. If your child's absence is due to quarantine, we encourage you to mention this when you contact the extension provided.