Falcon Flyer
August 2018
Riverview Elementary
Website: http://re.usd232.org/pages/re
Location: 21550 West 47th Street, Shawnee, KS, United States
Phone: 913-441-0808
Twitter: @riverviewfalcon
Welcome to the 2018-19 School Year!
"We only get one chance to prepare our students for a future
that none of us can possibly predict.
What are we going to do with that one chance?"
~Stephen Covey
Dear Riverview Families,
We don’t know about you, but we are ready to ride the wave of the 2018-19 school year and let our leaderSHIP set sail!!! We are staying Nautical! Riverview is going to be Sailing the 7 Seas of Student LeaderSHIP in Year ONE of being a Leader In Me ("LIM") school! A huge thank you again to all of the 2017-18 parents who have supported this important new building initiative! Our staff are so excited for what is in store for the year!
Summer is almost o-fish-ally over, and we have been carefully preparing for the arrival of our students and believe that this year will be a great educational experience where all students discover their treasures, map their journey, and follow their compass as they set out on a voyage to success. Why? Because all students possess leaderSHIP skills, and it's just a matter of putting some wind behind their sails!
If you were with us last year, you know we taught and applied Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People within our school community. This summer, all teachers are receiving training from the Covey Foundation on how Creating Culture and Launching Leadership, and we are excited to pass this along to our students and families throughout the year! Be on the lookout for more on how the principles of personal and interpersonal effectiveness, such as responsibility, vision, integrity, teamwork, collaboration and renewal, can make a lasting impact in all areas of our lives. By being open to positive change and having a growth mindset, we hope to help students see the importance of viewing every challenge as a learning opportunity. We will encourage our students to sail into uncharted waters to grow socially, emotionally and academically.
School is quickly approaching and in order to keep you informed and prepared, I would like to communicate some information prior to the start of the year.
Back-To-School Bash – Aug. 9
The Riverview staff will be happy to sea you at our Back-To-School Bash on Thursday, August 9, from 5:00-7:00 pm. There will also be Kindergarten Extended Back to School hours from 3:30-7:00 on Aug. 9 (open for kindergartners and their parents also from 3:30-5:00 pm). At the Back-To-School Bash, parents will be provided with important classroom parent information material. This information will be provided mainly via an online video tailored to each teacher/classroom that you may watch at your leisure. Teachers will email you a link to their video.
New to Riverview? Consider attending a Falcon Orientation Meeting with Principal Mildren. You will receive information about important policies and procedures, tour arrival and dismissal locations, and have a chance to ask questions! The Falcon Orientation Meeting will be from 6:30-7:00 pm and meet in the school foyer by the office.
Attention 5th Grade Parents: A Band Information Meeting for parents whose children want to take Band will be held from 6:00-6:30 in the East Activity Area.
**Before the end of August, the building will be sending out an email to sign up for fall Parent-Teacher Conferences, in an effort to alleviate some of the stress of the Back To School Bash. Parents will NOT be signing up for conferences at Back To School Bash.
In order to protect student privacy and to provide an opportunity to find out classroom teachers in advance of the Back-To-School Bash, parents will be emailed their students’ classroom teacher on Thursday, August 9. If you would like to wait until you arrive that evening to find out who your student’s teacher is, you can continue the tradition. Upon your arrival, we will have staff members present with class rosters to share student/teacher information as requested for your students. If you ordered school supplies through the PTA in the spring, they will already be waiting for you in your child’s assigned classroom.
Extracurricular Activities & School Tables
At the Back-to-School Bash, to give families the opportunity to see the many extracurricular activities offered at our facility, RE families will enter through our fabulous gym before heading into the building. Although Riverview does not directly sponsor or endorse third party extracurricular activities, there will be representatives there to answer questions about the following activities offered on-site that parents can sign up for electronically or that evening:
· Girls On The Run (girls only)
· Let Me Run (Boys only)
· LEGO/Robotics Club (K-5)
· Bully Busters Program (offered through American Sport Karate Centers)
· Mad Science
· JCPRD
· Riverview Diversity Team** New this year!
· Riverview Student Nutrition Staff
· First Student Bus Company
· Riverview PTA
PTA Information
The 2018-19 PTA Board is excited to announce that it will be accepting online payments this year, and offering a Back-To-School Bundle, which includes a PTA membership, Car Hanger, Birthday Sign, and discount Falcon card. All items can be purchased separately as well. Go to the PTA webpage at www.REFalconsPTA.org and click on "SHOP" for details. Be sure to stop by the PTA table at the Back-to-School night for spirit wear and join our wonderful PTA!
Tuesday, August 14 – First Day of School for ALL students!!
Aug. 14 is a HALF-DAY of school for ALL students. School is in session 8:45 am-12:10 pm.
Lunch will not be offered on the first day of school, please send your student to school with a snack.
Parents may walk their child down to their classroom on the first day only. After that, please plan to drop your child off at the front of the building via car or walker.
Arrival & Dismissal
****CHANGE IN ARRIVAL CAR LOOP**** -- See Falcon Flyer section below for details
Morning arrival time is always 8:30-8:45 am.
· Students should not be dropped off or let out of parent vehicles, until 8:30 am when adult staff members will be outside on duty. If you know you consistently need to drop your child off by 8:15 am, please look into carpooling or JCPRD, which allows drop off at the cafeteria door starting at 7:00 am. If your child walks/rides a bike and consistently shows up on campus before 8:30 am, you will be contacted to work out better timing for when they leave the house.
· ALL Walkers, bike riders, and parents, should enter and exit the campus by using the crossing guard location on 47th Street.
· Daily car loop or walker student drop off may begin at 8:30 a.m. (Exception: Students eating breakfast at school may enter through the cafeteria at 8:25 a.m.). Students must be in their seats ready to go at 8:45 when the school day begins. Please be certain to have students at school regularly and ON TIME to avoid issues with truancy. Truancy concerns will be filed with the Division of Family Services and/or Johnson County District Attorney. The compulsory attendance law states that students enrolled in school must be in school.
· There are times (especially at the start of the school year) when the car loop may run slower than normal, and extend a bit beyond 8:45 am. We fully expect that car loop may take a little longer than expected at the start of the year or when there is inclement weather, and as long as someone is opening doors, you don’t need to worry that your child is tardy.
· If, on the other hand, if you pull up and there are no adults actively on supervision duty for students, you will need to park your car and walk your child in to sign them into school.
· Students should only exit a vehicle on the passenger side only.
· The cafeteria will be open for students who want to purchase a school breakfast (8:25-8:45am); please enter through the cafeteria doors 8:25-8:30 am.
· · Per district policy, pets are not allowed on school property without prior administrative approval.
· Lunch is not served on the half-day, please send a snack with your child.
On the first day of school, Kindergarten parents will be allowed to walk their student down on the first day of school for a quick goodbye hug, and are invited to attend the PTA-sponsored ‘Boo Hoo/Woo Hoo Breakfast’ in the West Activity Area….crying is optional, celebrating of all your hard work preparing your child for a successful kindergarten year is mandatory! :) After the first day of school, each day we will have student Greeter Leaders present at the front to help walk kindergarten students to their classrooms daily until all children are comfortable walking down independently.
· If you have questions about building Arrival and Dismissal procedures, including bike rider ages and guidelines, please click on the Arrival and Dismissal School Map HERE.
Wednesday, August 15-Friday Aug. 17 will be typical school days (Arrival is 8:30-8:45am; Dismissal is 3:50 pm).
Friday, August 17, will be a typical school day.
All Riverview families are welcome to attend the free PTA-sponsored Ice Cream Social in our cafeteria Friday evening 6:30-7:30 pm. Remember, the line looks long, but moves quickly! Parking can get full, so please consider walking if you live near enough. Parents asked to keep their children under direct supervision. To keep everyone safe, running in the cafeteria is not allowed, even during Ice Cream Socials. ;-)
Thanks for taking the time to review the Falcon Flyer newsletter when it arrives in your mailbox. As with this issue, it will generally contain some helpful logistics, links to upcoming events and opportunities, and hopefully a little something to support your journey as the parent of a Falcon. In addition to the school’s monthly newsletter, parents will receive an “On Deck” email each Friday, outlining the upcoming week’s school-wide activities to keep informed and Be Proactive in planning ahead.
We look forward to sailing on the 7 Seas of LeaderSHIP this year!
Respectfully,
Beth Mildren
Principal
CHANGE TO MORNING CAR LOOP
***CHANGE TO MORNING CAR LOOP***
***CHANGE TO MORNING CAR LOOP***
***CHANGE TO MORNING CAR LOOP***
In an effort to reduce the amount of time it takes to get through morning car loop, the Arrival car loop is CHANGING, effective the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.
WEST Front Car Loop Arrival: For K-2 Oldest and Only
- Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students who are Only Children, or
- Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students with younger siblings
EAST Front Car Loop Arrival: For Grades 3-5 Oldest and Only
- 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students who are Only Children, or
- 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students with all younger siblings
These students will use the EAST Car Loop (the side by the cafeteria). This car loop will not be staffed by Honor Patrol. Students in grades 3-5 are expected to be able to independently get out of the car without assistance, and they can help any younger siblings do so as well. All students MUST exit out of the passenger side of the vehicle. An adult will be supervising this car loop by the front crosswalk.
Afternoon Dismissal car loops will not change from last year; Grades 3-5 Oldest (and younger siblings) and Only Children will be in the front EAST car loop. Grades K-2 (and younger siblings) and Only Children will be in the Back West Car Loop.
View the new Arrival and Dismissal Map and Procedures HERE.
The Leader In Me
Riverview educators have a true passion for instilling a sense of self-confidence, love of learning, and leadership qualities in all students, not just a few at the academic top. Our staff has read the book by Stephen Covey, The Leader In Me, which has been the springboard and inspiration for many of the positive initiatives in the building to do more to empower students. Our staff is ecstatic to be a Leader In Me school, entering into our first official year in the program!
The Leader In Me book describes a process for schools in which educators develop the capacity to help each child realize how their own unique strengths can be applied, and embodies the idea that every student can be a leader. It focuses strongly on teaching students 21st century leadership and life skills through incorporating Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective people into the school culture. The Leader in Me has been shown to produce results such as higher academic achievement, improved problem-solving/critical thinking skills, and increased engagement among teachers and parents. Here is a link with more information. Currently there are only two ‘Lighthouse’ schools in Kansas, but nearly 3,000 schools in the process across the globe. It’s definitely starting to gain attention because of its results, though. Olathe just went from its one lighthouse school to now helping to fund four more schools to get the process going, hoping to achieve similar results.
Our staff members have visited both lighthouse schools in Kansas, and have been impressed by the direct impact on the students and staff at the schools, and the high level of community involvement and support. We can't wait to see what opportunities the Leader In Me could bring to Riverview students and how it will strengthen our community and families. We started utilizing bits and pieces of this philosophy over the past two years at school with no formal training, but this year will be our first formal training on Launching Leadership and Creating Culture with the RE staff!
We want to encourage families to "Set Sail on the 7 Seas of LeaderSHIP" with our staff and to consider reading the book. The Leader In Me (2nd Ed.) outlines the instructional and life-long gains from such a focus on student leadership through the 7 Habits lens.
Thank you for your support and for your involvement in this important process!
New at Riverview - Diversity Team!
The RE Diversity Team will be hosting a number of school events this year. The first event will be a Riverview Family Meetup at the KC Ethnic Enrichment Fair at Swope Park in Kansas City, MO on Saturday, August 19 at 2:00 pm. Join Riverview families and feel the world beat in the heart of America. **60+ Cultural Booths * Native Foods * Crafts Performances * Ethnic Music & Dances. The entrance fee is $5, kids 12 and under are free! Click HERE for the flyer and details! Click HERE for directions to Swope Park.
The RE Diversity Team's next meeting will be during the WatchDog Dads dinner, Wednesday August 22 at 6:30 pm in the library. Bring the whole family and attend whichever event calls to you!
On Deck: Upcoming August Events
On Deck: Upcoming August Events
· Sunday, August 12 – Kindergarten “Playground & Popsicles” at the RE Playground, 5:00-6:00 pm. Kindergarten parents and students invited to meet and play on the school playground, Q & A with Mrs. Mildren, and make PTA purchases.
· Thursday, August 9 – Kindergarten Extended Back-to-School Hours, 3:30-5:00 pm at school (Kindergarten only) Meet the teacher!
· Thursday, August 9 – Back-to-School Bash, 5:00-7:00 pm at school. K-5. Enter through the gym, check out PTA and sign up for extracurricular activities, meet the teacher!
· Tuesday, August 14 – First Day of School for ALL K-5 students. HALF-DAY ONLY; School is out at 12:10 pm. Please make necessary arrangements for dismissal and after-school child care. Lunch will not be served, please send a snack.
· Friday, August 17 – Free PTA Ice Cream Social (RE Cafeteria) 6:30-7:30 pm. All RE families welcome! Come socialize, enjoy ice cream, and celebrate the start of a new school year!
· Saturday, August 19 - Ethnic Enrichment Fair RE Meetup at Swope Park! Event hosted by the RE Diversity team.
· Tuesday, August 21 - Skate Night - Riverview Students are invited to skate at Skate City, 6:00-8:00 pm. Portions of the proceeds benefit the PTA.
· Wednesday, August 22, Watch D.O.G.S. Kick-Off Dinner, 6:30-7:30 pm in the cafeteria. Calling all Dads Of Great Students! Dads and kids are welcome to attend an informational session of how to join Watch DOGS, learn about All Pro Dads, and enjoy Pizza West pizza, complimentary of the PTA.
- Wednesday, August 22 – Diversity Team Meeting 6:30 pm in the library. Open to all parents interested in creating an inclusive and culturally aware school community!
- Monday, August 27 - General PTA Meeting 7:00-8:00 pm in the Library. Open to all RE parents.
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