Monday, December 17, 2018

Younger Kids News

Dear Parents,

It is so hard to believe that this is the final Monday Note prior to the end of 2018!  This semester has flown by. We are blown away by the progress that our students are making and we are so thankful that you have chosen Rivendell for these important formative years in your child’s development.  Thanks for everything that you do to help your child be ready for school each and every day!

This is a short week of school.  School gets out at 11:30 on Thursday, December 20 and there is no school on Friday, December 21.

Because we have no school on Friday, we will not be sending Friday Folders home this week.  

The Talent Show is Thursday!  We are excited to see the talents of the kids who have signed up to share during this event.  Parents are allowed to come and watch the show if you wish!

Since this is the last week of December we will have sharing this week.  Our Sharing will take place on Wednesday.  Our theme for this week’s sharing is…

Something Terrific!

We hope that the break from school allows for some excellent family memories to be made.  We look forward to seeing you in the New Year!

Seth, Annie and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/898-2/

Younger Kids News

December 10, 2018

Dear parents,

First off, we would like to extend a sincere thank you to those of you who dedicated time to helping put on a very successful art show on Friday. It was amazing to see the creative work of our talented students facilitated by our incredible art teacher, Tina.

Over the next two weeks, we will be wrapping up our first semester here at school. The countdown is on… only 8 ½ days until Winter Break!

For topic work this week, we will be talking about the three different types of levers and some examples of each.

On Thursday, we will enjoy some exciting tales by Polly our storyteller for YK story time!

If your student is interested in participating in the Rivendell talent show next Thursday (the 20th), please fill out the yellow form that came home in Friday folders and return them to Madeline in the office.

We also need your help with collecting paper towel tubes for a project after winter break.  We don’t need any toilet paper tubes this time, but we need quite a large amount of paper towel tubes!  If your wrapping paper comes on a roll with a tube in the middle we would take that as well. Thanks again for your help!

Short and sweet this week; thanks for reading!

Seth, Annie, and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/895-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday, December 3, 2018

Dear Parents,

Happy December! This month brings a new Author of the Month, Robert Munsch, more exploration of Simple Machines, our 2nd Annual Rivendell Student Art Show, another Kids Night In and the Rivendell Talent Show!

The kids had a great time last week learning how wheels and axles work, while making vehicles from the paper tubes and plastic tops you brought in. This week, we will learn about pulleys. The kids will get to see and feel the difference that using a pulley makes with a fun demonstration on our playground. Be sure to ask your child about it later in the week!

Our 2nd Annual Rivendell Student Art Show is this Friday, December 7th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Rivendell families and friends are welcome to stop by and take a tour of our “galleries” that will be set up in the commons and classrooms. All Rivendell students will have art pieces on display, so be sure and stop by to see what your child has created!

There will be another Kids Night In on Friday, December 14th from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. The movie will be Stuart Little (rated PG) and pizza, popcorn, drinks, games and a craft will also be provided. To sign your child up, go to https://rivendellenrichment.campbrainregistration.com/.

Another event coming up is our Rivendell Talent Show! The Talent Show is the perfect opportunity for students’ creative talents to shine!  It will take place on the last day of school before Winter Break, December 20th. Look for the sign-up sheets to come home in this week’s Friday folder. Some things to keep in mind:

• Talents must be three minutes long or less.
• Talents must be appropriate for school.
• Both individual or group talents are welcomed!

This is always a fun event and of course, parents are welcome to attend! For more information and to sign up, contact Madeline at madeline@rivendell-school.org.

That’s all for now! We hope you have a good week!

Annie, Rachael and Seth

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/893-2/

Monday, November 26, 2018

Younger Kids News

Dear Parents,

We hope that you all had a terrific break filled with food, friends and family!  We are very excited to be back with our students today and we have enjoyed hearing about all their adventures during the break.

We are right back at it this week in our theme of Simple Machines.  We will be using the toilet paper tubes and the lids that you all helped us to accumulate in a fun wheel and axle project later this week.  We look forward to giving our kids a chance to enjoy some great hands on activities this week and in the weeks to come!

With the arrival of Thanksgiving we are officially in the holiday season!  We like to know what holidays our students celebrate so that we can embrace the diversity of the season with our classes.  If you would be so kind as to let us know about what holidays you celebrate and what some of the special things are that you do to celebrate we would really appreciate it.  Feel free to reply to the Monday Note email or just chat with us some morning during drop-off.

This Friday is the last Friday of the Month which means that Sharing is upon us again!  Your child may pick something that fits our theme to share with their classmates this Friday.  Please help her/him to come up with at least three interesting facts to share about their item.  Our Sharing theme for this week is…

Something That Represents a Holiday You Celebrate!!

Have a terrific week!

Seth, Annie and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/890-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday, November 19, 2018

Hello parents!

There is not a lot of news with our short week this week. School is out November 21-23.

Here are a few quick reminders for you:

• We are still collecting toilet paper/paper towel tubes and lids for an upcoming simple machines project. We are more in need of lids than tubes!
• Mark your calendars for Friday, December 7th, 6-7:30 pm and join us for the 2nd Annual Rivendell Student Art Show! We are looking forward to seeing the displays of amazing work by our talented and creative kiddos.
• Please be sure to take home everything from your child’s hook for the holiday break and check the lost and found for any missing items!

Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving,

Rachael, Seth, and Annie

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/888-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday, November 12, 2018

Dear Parents,

Thank you to all of you that came to Chuck E. Cheese’s last week. What a fun way to raise money for Rivendell! We hope that parents enjoyed it as much as the kids!

This is our last full week of school before Thanksgiving Break. On Tuesday, the children will get to visit the Mercado, a Spanish market set up in the commons, complete with merchants ‘selling’ (Older Kids have been busy making things for the Mercado for weeks) and Middle and Younger Kids able to ‘purchase’ items with ‘pesos’. The Mercado is a lively event, with peddling  and bartering just like a real Mercado. It is a fun experience for all!

We are continuing with Simple Machines this week, taking a look at wedges and screws. The students will get to experience the power of a wedge with hands-on movement through rice and will be able to experience turning screws into pieces of wood. They will learn about current real-life applications of these simple machines.

Thank you for bringing in paper tubes and bottle tops. We still need more bottle tops! You may leave them in the collection area on the table between Rachael’s and Annie’s rooms.

Remember, we do not have school next Wednesday, Thursday or Friday for Thanksgiving Break. Please let us know if you plan to take your child out for a trip before then.

Have a great week and stay warm!

Annie, Rachael and Seth

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/885-2/

Monday, November 5, 2018

Younger Kids News

Dear Parents,

First of all, the three of us would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who helped make our Halloween festivities here last week such a success.  The kids had a great time and we have you to thank for that! We appreciate all of the hard work that went into the planning of the party and that took place on Halloween itself.  Thank you!

This week we will be leaving Mesopotamia in our past as we begin our new topic unit on Simple Machines!  We are excited to dive into this unit this week as we think the hands on activities that we have planned will be quite engaging for our students.  This week we are focusing on the inclined plane.

This Thursday picture retakes will be happening at Rivendell.  If you are interested in getting a new photo of your child, please refer to the newsletter sent yesterday for more information.

Thursday also happens to be a restaurant night fundraiser and community event for Rivendell.  We hope that you can join the three of us at Chuck E. Cheese any time prior to 9:00 for games, food and fun!

We loved our books written by our October Author of the Month, Andrea Beatty.  Our featured author for the month of November is Sandra Markle!

Just a reminder, we are still collecting toilet paper tubes and plastic bottle caps of any shape or size for an upcoming project!  

We hope you have a super week!

Seth, Rachael and Annie

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/883-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday, October 22, 2018

Dear Parents,

Wow, what a day Friday was! Thank you all for coming to Fun Fest! There were great costumes and pumpkins with just the right amount of spookiness. Thank you to all of those who volunteered to make it a fun, successful night!

This week, we are continuing our Mesopotamia unit with a study of one of the earliest known forms of writing, cuneiform, which was developed by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. Each child will learn to write the first letter of their name on a clay tablet using this ancient form of writing. Our models of the fertile crescent that we made last week are already growing our ‘crops’, an example of why Mesopotamia was an ideal place for the first known complex civilization.

This Friday will be the last Friday of the month, so it is, again, time for SHARING! This month’s sharing theme will be SOMETHING ORANGE OR BLACK. Please have your child practice three things to say about the item that they choose to bring. We hope all kids will participate in this fun classroom experience!

Since our Fun Run exceeded expectations this year, Younger Kids have earned all three of their incentive rewards! So on Wednesday, October 31st, Younger Kids are invited to:

1. Wear pajamas to school
2. Bring a stuffie
3. AND watch a movie (name and rating will be announced soon!)

This will take place during the morning of Halloween Day. Later that day, kids will change into costumes for our annual Halloween Parade and Party that afternoon! Stay tuned for more details about this beyond exciting day!

There are new after school offerings listed in our weekly newsletter, so if you haven’t read the Rivendell Newsletter yet, please do! Classes include Odyssey of the Mind, Tinker Tuesdays, Have You Ever Wondered?, The Gift of Giving, and more! You can read the newsletter here.

Thank you all for coming to conferences. We enjoyed getting to talk with all of you about your child and all of the growth that we have already seen!

Have a great week!

Annie, Rachael and Seth

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/880-2/

Monday, October 15, 2018

Younger Kids News

Dear Parents,

It was so nice to have time last Friday to sit down and chat with so many of you about your wonderful kids!  We look forward to seeing the rest of you this Friday. As a reminder, there is no school this Friday but there is an enrichment camp happening.  If you are looking for something fun for your child to do this could fit the bill! Check out the Newsletter sent from the office yesterday for more info.

Another exciting event happening this Friday is Fun Fest!  Again, the Newsletter has more info for you about this super-fun community event.  It is sure to be a blast for your kiddos and we’d love to see you there!

This week we are starting a three week unit about our new theme; Mesopotamia.  During these three weeks we will be exploring why civilization took root during this time in human history.  Then we will examine all of the amazing inventions that people came up with during this time period. It should be one that captures the inventive spirit of all our students.

As a last reminder, don’t forget that school picture day is this Thursday, October 18.  

Have a super week…

Seth, Rachael and Annie

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/877-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday, October 8, 2018

Hello families, and happy Monday!

The air is getting chilly, which means it’s that time of year again… conferences! We are looking forward to meeting with all of you either this coming Friday the 12th or next Friday the 19th. There will be no school on both of these days, but enrichment camps are available (see newsletter for more information). If you are unable to find childcare, you are welcome to bring your child along and they can quietly look at a book or play with a toy in the hall while we meet.

Cooler weather also means that students need to be prepared for outside breaks at school. Please send them with gear to bundle up in so that they are able to have fun outdoors and be comfortable.

We are wrapping up our topic unit on Oceans this week by talking about the impact that humans have on the earth’s waters. We are excited to share the students’ first theme writing books with you!

We have a special guest visiting Younger Kids on Thursday this week. Former Rivendell teacher Polly Walters will be joining us on behalf of Spellbinders Oral Storytellers. She will be here once per month. We’ve had storyteller visitors in the past, and we’re excited to have one this year. The students are always so engaged and mesmerized by the stories!

Speaking of stories, we have a new author of the month for October- Andrea Beaty! She is well known for the books Rosie Revere Engineer, Iggy Peck Architect, and Ada Twist Scientist.

That’s all for now. Have a great week!

Rachael, Annie, and Seth

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/874-2/