Riverside Community Connection
March 27th Edition
Resource Room Student Update
by Trystan McGowan, Isabella Fabian, Darnell Fitts and Benjamin Hargraves
(5th Graders)
The four of us are some of the Family Resource Room (FRR) Helpers. We volunteer a few days each week during recess because we want to support those who need with items such as clothing, food and toiletries. Our goal has been to make the Family Resource Room more accessible. This is important because we want kids and families to be able to find what they need quickly.
We started volunteering in February when the FRR expanded to a larger space. We learned that accessibility is important because one day a student came in looking for specific sized pair of pants. We couldn’t find any to fit the student because clothing wasn’t well-sorted.
At that point we started moving the clothing from a small closet to a more accessible area. We also had nice clothing racks donated to us from Tractor Supply. We received donations of more hangers and additional clothing.
Moving forward, our goals are still to make the Family Resource Room an easier place to find what you need. One other thing we hope to do in the future is turn the closet into a legitimate changing room.
Like McDonalds, our Family Resource Room started small, but we came in to help make it a better place.
One word French Fries (franchise).
School Dance by Student Advisory!
by Nina Keoviengxay, Donte Sao, Sean Guingon
We thought a school dance was a great way to get to know and communicate with students and teachers from other grade levels. We also thought it would be a great celebration before Spring Break.
The best part of the dance was the beach balls. We hit them in the air during some of the songs. We also enjoyed teaching new dances to the kindergarteners and first graders.
Next year we would like to make a few changes to make the dance even more fun! We would like to have more beach balls. We would like to select even better music and find a bigger space for movement and dancing. We hope the Spring Dance will become an annual Riverside tradition!
Our School Garden
By Ryann Speer, Austin Gallie & Aaron Mechelke - 4th Graders
Our 4th grade is helping to build a school garden. It’s not just the 4th grade garden, it’s everyone’s garden.
Two weeks ago we went around the school to see where a good spot for the garden would be. We were looking for a good water source, sunlight, good soil and a spot where it wouldn’t be disruptive to kids playing sports in the field.
One reason we want the garden is to help families in need. Went all families to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables that are in need to stay healthy.
Another reason we want the garden is because we want experience in gardening and building.
We also want to have the garden to make our school look better. The garden will also bring bees to help start pollinating the area because bees are becoming extinct.
Lastly, we are excited about our garden because it gives anybody who wants ot come help us and maybe give us a few tips so we can get more experience and to help people make new friends.
We will fill you in on our progress. Let us know if you want to be involved!
**Tentatively scheduled Garden Party May 5th (Cinco de Mayo). More information to come.
Gabby's Passion Project
By Gabby Griffin
Because I have a passion for sewing, fashion and helping people, I decided to start a fashion line for children in need during genius hour.
When I sew I like to think about style and how it can affect somebody. Somebody who doesn’t have clothes or have what the need.
I have been working with Ms. DeCook. She is a professional sewer. She is also Mr. Simmon’s mother-in-law.
For my first clothing design, we drew what I wanted to be able to create. I labeled the drawing with colors I liked. Then, we opened up the seam of the pants to make sure the shapes would stay flat. Then, we cut out the shapes to iron them on to the pants.
(gabby, can you add one more paragraph about why you love this project? You can write on the back of this paper.)
Riverside's Mental Health Support Picture
Riverside is fortunate to have a dedicated team of mental health professionals supporting our students, families and sometimes staff with related supports.
Hearing how this incredible group of people works together and separately was both helpful and interesting for me. And while it's difficult to "sum up" their individual roles in bullet points, my hope is that this picture provides a basic explanation of their collective role within our school community.
Cuentos y Canciones
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 18th from 5:30 - 6 p.m. as our own 5th grader,
Diego Mejia Roman will be one of the special guest readers for the event! We are SO proud of him and thrilled that he gets to share his expertise and home language with so many others.
Kiwanis Sunshine Club Reads with Riverside!
Upcomming Events
April 13th and 14th Book Fair - Volunteers Needed! Sign up here: http://signup.com/go/wywBr8
April 13th, Ice Cream for Books 6:00 -7:00 p.m.April 14th, Grand folks Day 8:15 - 8:45 a.m.
April 18th Cuentos y Canciones at Rochester Public Library 5:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Running Club begins in mid-April, exact start date TBD