The Riverwalk Roar
March 22, 2020
Note from Dr. Compton
Pride,
I hope each of you had a wonderful weekend and that you were able to find some time to go outside and enjoy some of our beautiful weather. As most of you know, my wife is a teacher and we have two girls; 6th grader and 4th grader. I spent a lot of time this weekend thinking about "what's important" right now. How do we balance the reality of what's happening right now (loss of jobs, fear of the virus, concerns about having the necessities) with other things like "school work?"
I wish I had an answer. One would think that my wife and I, both educators, have this all figured out. We don't. We've tried something new each day last week, each with a different outcome. For us, we're trying to find a simple routine that includes:
- school work
- family work (chores)
- physical activity
- independent time
- family time
I have a feeling that this week is going to be a test for all of us. Last week was a bit of a novelty, but this week, it's going to feel real. With this being said, our promise to you is that we're going to be here, ready to support you. Each teacher is available via Google Hangouts 2 hours per day. When you or your child hops into their hangout, I guarantee that you'll see a smile on our faces. We miss interacting with our students.
I also promise you that we're going to be working this week to refine our "distance learning plan." I have a feeling that we're going to be "at home" longer than April 1st. I hope I'm wrong, but if I am honest with myself and each of you, I don't think an April 1 return is probable. With this being said, we're going to find a way to provide a better "at-home" experience for you and your child. Yes, we'll have some daily math and reading, but we're going to work this week to come up with some educational opportunities to let your child's inquiry drive some of the work they are doing. With us being a PBL school, this is a perfect time to find opportunities to let our students drive their at-home learning experience.
We're going to find opportunities this week to have our students become more interactive with themselves and with each other. You should notice more "live" videos on our Facebook page, along with more "live" hangouts for those of you who want to take advantage of it for you and your child. I'd like to start this off by inviting each of the students to respond to this question using an online program called FlipGrid (works on the web and on phones). The question they need to answer via a video is, "What is one thing you miss about coming to school each day." Be sure to check back because your peers and your teacher might even respond to your video.
Finally, we're going to try to "be normal," as much as we can be. For starters, we've returned to our normal newsletter format (slightly modified). On Friday, although their ceremony is postponed, we still have some Terrific Kids that I can't wait to tell you about.
I know that none of us signed up for this. I know I didn't, but I know that we will get through this and that we all will be better because of this experience. Like I shared last week, the Riverwalk Academy team and I are choosing to be brave and choosing to be the coffee bean.
If there is anything that any of us can do to help support you, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Even though in most cases it's remotely, we're still working and available.
- Your Child's Teachers
- Ms. McCray, K - 5 Administrator
- Mr. Graham, 6 - 10 Administrator
- Ms. Carr, School Counselor
- Nurse Donna, School Nurse
- Ms. Mabey, Student Records/PowerSchool
Have a great week and remember to be brave and be the coffee bean,
~Dr. Compton
This Week's Newsletter Photo
This week's photo was taken from our Facebook submissions from our Saturday challenge of "wearing crazy socks" in honor of World Down Syndrome Day. You all Rocked Your Socks!!!!
Lion Artists of the Week (picked by Dr. Compton's daughters)
Check out Riverwalk Academy's online art gallery at Artsonia. Artsonia is the World's Largest Student Art Museum. Yet it's so much more than that! It's a free, safe, educational program designed to connect parents and families with their child's creative activities at school.
Sea Turle
Alex Hudson (2nd Grade)
Picasso style Flowers
Cambri Moss (5th Grade)
Reading to our Cubs
Pride, we're going to "Read to our Cubs" twice a day, live on Facebook. We will have a guest reader one each night at 7:00 pm on Sunday through Thursday, and another guest reader on each morning at 9:30 am, Monday through Friday.
Weekly Art Virtual Challenge
About Us
Email: info@riverwalkacademy.com
Website: www.riverwalkacademy.com
Location: 5750 Mt Gallant Rd, Rock Hill, SC, USA
Phone: 8033278400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riverwalkacademy
Twitter: @RiverwalkLions