Hello Parents of Younger Kids,

We wanted to remind you of some of the things that will look different on Monday. 

• Drop off is between 8:00 and 8:30 AM in the front of the school. You will stay in your car and drive through the drop-off lane. Rivendell staff will be available to help your kids get out of the car if need be. You will stay parked while your child gets their temperature checked and a quick health screening. Once you get the okay from Rivendell staff, your child will be walked around to their outside classroom door and you may drive away. Parents are not allowed in the building. School starts promptly at 8:30 AM.
• If you would like your child to wear sunscreen, please put it on before they arrive at school.
• Please pack a morning snack for your child and an optional afternoon snack. It is helpful if this is separate from their lunch. 
• All kids will need a water bottle, as they are not allowed to drink from our drinking fountains at this time. There will be places where they can fill up their water bottle as needed. 
• There will not be hot lunch or milk this year, so each child will need to bring a packed lunch with an ice pack to keep things cold. We are not able to refrigerate or microwave food for kids so lunches need to be ready to eat.
• This year, we are allowing and encouraging Younger Kids to bring a stuffie to school that they can keep in their classroom cubby. They will be able to get their stuffie out at free choice times to play with. This can stay at school if you like during the week. 
• All Rivendell kids and staff are required to wear masks. For Younger Kids, it is a good idea to provide an extra one in their backpack just in case. We will provide mask breaks throughout the day. When playing outside, kids are allowed to play mask free.
• Pick-up for Younger Kids is from 3:00 to 3:15 PM. You will need to park your car and come to your child’s outdoor classroom door. You do need to wear a mask at this time. We will have your child all ready to go with their things and we’ll send them out the door to you. There is a $25 late fee if you pick up your child after 3:30 PM. Below is a video introduction to our class that will show you where your child’s classroom door is located. 

We know that this year will look different for you and your child. We also know that it will be wonderful for all of us to be together in person to see returning friends and make new friends. Below is a video tour of our classroom to watch with your child. We can’t wait to see your child on Monday morning!

Annie & Dylan

Monday, March 9, 2020

Younger Kids News

Dear Parents,

We hope you were able to take advantage of the beautiful weekend we had here in northern Colorado!  While we all enjoyed the extra hour of sunlight last night it was sure a bit more challenging to get moving this morning!  We wanted to let you know that it is very common for it to take several days for our students to reset their internal clocks.  During this week children’s behavior can often be less than ideal! We will be sure to give some extra patient support to our students during this week to help them navigate the change.

This week our study of weather takes us up in the atmosphere as we examine the different types of clouds that pass through our sky.  We have a fun project planned and are excited to keep the great learning happening this week.

Don’t forget!  This Thursday from 5:30 – 7:00, we are hosting a Science Share Night at Rivendell!  There will be all kinds of interesting scientific discoveries to be made. Please make sure to stay with your kiddos as they move through the school to see all of the amazing activities that we have planned.  More info on this, and other happenings around school, can be found on the Rivendell e-newsletter sent out yesterday.

As we head into spring break we wanted to wish all of you a wonderful week with your kiddos!  We hope that your adventures are fun and we look forward to hearing all about them upon our return to school after break.

Have a wonderful week!

Seth, Annie and Dylan

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/1018-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday February 3rd, 2020

Happy Monday Younger Kid Families!

Our young adventurers have learned about the Louisiana Purchase. They have followed the incredible journey of Lewis and Clark’s expedition. They have packed up their wagons and headed West for a better life for them and their families. The Younger Kids have learned so much about Westward Expansion, and had fun while doing it! 

But it is that time again, time for our students to shift their brains, stretch their thinking muscles, and pivot into our new topic. 

From American History to everyday science, we begin our dig into Weather. Students will start by noticing the weather everyday and keep track on our weekly storms and sunshine, with a daily weather check in. At the end of the week they will practice their nonfiction writing to create a summary of the week’s weather and their observations. 

This is also going to be the last Friday of the month, so that makes it our sharing Friday. For Sharing this week, please have your child bring in an item that reminds them of their favorite kind of weather. If they love sunny summer weather they could bring in swim goggles, or flip flops. If they are a snow bunny, maybe they could bring mittens, or their hot chocolate mug.  Have your student think about what their favorite weather is and why that item reminds them of it. 

Some exciting events are coming up soon for our Rivendell Younger Kids. On Wednesday, March 4th, they will be performing their musical for the other students in the school at 2:00 PM. Then the final performance for parents will be on Friday, March 6th, at 12:00. The following week is the Rivendell Science Share night on March 12th. This is a fun night that allows students to engage in hands on experiments and dive deeper into some of the Science concepts that excite them. Then the week of March 16th to 20th is Spring Break! 

Have a great week and as always thank you for sharing your children with us!

Dylan, Annie, and Seth 

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/1015-2/

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Younger Kids News

Dear Parents…

It was wonderful to meet with you all for conferences during these past few weeks!  Thanks for taking the time to come and chat about your wonderful kids. We are excited for the remainder of the year and we look forward to seeing your kids reach for those goals that were just set.  

This is our final week studying Westward Expansion.  After learning all about the Louisiana Purchase, the Corps of Discovery and Lewis and Clark we will now turn our attention toward the individuals who decided to strike out toward (and beyond!) the state that we call home.  Next week we will transition to our penultimate topic of this school year, Weather.

Speaking of the weather, thanks so much for ensuring that your child is ready for whatever the weather might throw at us.  We appreciate you having those snowpants, gloves, hats and coats here for those wintery days!

Have a super week!

Seth, Annie and Dylan

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/1013-2/

Younger Kids News

February 10, 2020

Dear Parents,

We have a short, fun and busy week ahead with Rivendell Has Heart week, Valentine’s Day and our last set of parent/teacher conferences on Friday!

It was fun to see kids and teachers dressed up all in one color for Crayon Day today, as part of Rivendell Has Heart week! Here’s a reminder on dressing for the rest of the week:

Tuesday – Sports Day – Wear your favorite sports team gear

Wednesday – Mismatch Day – Be creative and mix it up

Thursday – Rivendell Spirit Day – Rock your favorite Rivendell attire

We are also collecting donations for the Food Bank of Larimer County this week – there is a bin set up by the office to place your non-perishable donations in. Also, for Rivendell Has Heart week, Younger Kids will be decorating lunch bags to brighten the day for recipients of Meals on Wheels.

Valentine’s Day is sure to be a fun experience at Rivendell! Class lists were sent home in last week’s Friday Folders. If you choose to participate in giving valentines this year, please make sure that your child brings one in to give to every student in the class. Each child will have a Valentine’s Day bag set up in the classroom. Your child can distribute their valentines into the bags as soon as they bring them in. Our school-wide Valentine’s Day party will be on Thursday, February 13th. Students will read their valentines with their book partners from 2:15 to 2:35 and classroom parties will follow from 2:40 to 3:15.

We will continue our Westward Expansion unit with a look at Lewis and Clark this week. The kids will have to think about what they would bring if they were to journey across the country in a time before electronics. What would they bring to play with? What would they bring to wear? This should be a fun and enlightening exercise for them!

We look forward to our final set of Winter Conferences on Friday. It is always enjoyable to spend the day talking to you about how much your child has grown! Remember, there is no school on conference days!

Have a good week!

Annie, Seth, and Dylan

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/1010-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday February 3rd, 2020

Happy Monday Younger Kid Families!

As the students zoom past the 100th day of school, a lot of other fun things are happening around the school! 

We are transitioning from Light and Sound to Westward Expansion! This week we will be talking about the Louisiana Purchase. We will talk about how small the United States was and how much bigger it was made with one single deal. This will set up the foundation for us to talk about Lewis and Clark next week. We will also be learning about a new author of the month. Our author for this month is Faith Ringgold. 

With our first round of conferences done, we have a normal week of school this week before another four day week. This week starts the priority enrollment for summer camps! It may seem far away, but summer will be here faster than you know it! The camps fill up quickly so be sure to sign up as soon as you can.

Next week, in addition to the second round of conferences, is also Rivendell Has Heart Week! This is our spirit week where students will be showing their love for their school and reaching out to help the community by decorating meal bags for Meals on Wheels and by donating non perishable foods to the Fort Collins Food bank over the course of the week! Students are also encouraged to dress up each day based on the Theme. Monday is Crayon Day, Tuesday is Sports Day, Wednesday is Mix/Match Day, and Thursday is Rivendell Day!  

Have a great week and as always, thank you for sharing your children with us!

Dylan, Annie, and Seth 

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/1007-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday January 13th, 2020

Happy Monday Younger Kid Families,

What a wonderful first week back we had! It seems like after the break, the kids are excited, engaged, and ready to learn. We started our dive into Light and Sound last week and the students were ready to soak it up. Whether they were using prisms in Science and Engineering with Emily or leaning about how Light travels and Shadows in the classroom, the students love our hands on approach to the subjects. This week we will start talking about the difference between translucent, transparent, and opaque. We have more fun experiments in store! 

As many of you already know, the conference sign-up sheets have been posted for our mid-year conferences. These will be the last scheduled Parent-Teacher conferences this year, so be sure to find a time that works for you! 

This Friday at 8:30 there is a meeting for the RPA, or Rivendell Parents’ Association, in the commons. Please consider going if you would like to volunteer in the classroom, in the school, or help with larger events. It’s the time and consideration of the families that make Rivendell so wonderful! This is also where parents can give their input and feedback for the school. 

Finally, there will be no school next Monday, January 20th, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. There will also be no school Friday, January 31st, or Friday, February 14th, for Parent-Teacher conferences, 

Have a great week and as always, thank you for sharing your children with us!

Dylan, Annie, and Seth 

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/1004-2/

Monday, January 6, 2020

Younger Kids News

Dear Parents,

Welcome back and happy new year!  We hope that you all enjoyed the holiday season with your kiddos.  We are very excited to be back and starting the second half of the year.  It has been fun to hear about the adventures that our students had over the break.  

January is a busy month for us here.  We are starting to prepare for our mid-year parent teacher conferences coming on January 31 and February 14.  Sign up sheets will be posted outside of our classes soon so be on the lookout for those! We are also excited to celebrate both the 90th and 100th day of school with our classes this month.  On January 30, Zeroman will come for the final time this year as we celebrate our 100th school day with a party!

With the new year comes a new unit of study here at Rivendell.  This week Younger Kids will be transitioning from Asia to Light and Sound.  We have lots of great activities planned for this four week unit.  

It’s wonderful to be back at school with your kids!  Have a terrific week…

Seth, Annie and Dylan

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/1002-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday, December 16, 2019

Dear Parents,

As we head into this final week before Winter Break, the excitement level among the kids is high! Keeping normal bedtime and morning routines amidst the holiday anticipation is a good idea to help your children smoothly navigate their school week.

We will finish our studies on Asia with Southeast Asia and the South Pacific Islands, with a focus on Cambodia and Indonesia. The kids will complete their Asian flag books and finish their Travel Journals of the Asian countries they have ‘visited’. This has been a fun unit and our classes have enjoyed learning about the differences and similarities of kids their age that live on the other side of the world.

We will also complete Author of the Month writings on our favorite Ezra Jack Keats books this week and we’ll have group storytime with Spellbinders storyteller, Polly Walters.

On Friday, school will end at 11:30 AM after our Rivendell Talent Show in the commons.

Parents are welcome to watch the show, which will begin at 9:00AM. Please note, if you choose to take your child home directly after the show, which you are welcome to do, please make sure we know that you are leaving with your child!

We hope you have a fabulous Winter Break with the perfect mix of celebration and relaxation!

Happy Holidays!

Annie, Seth, and Dylan

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/999-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday, December 9, 2019

Dear Parents…

It’s another week and another Asian country to visit as our learning takes us to India.  We will be completing a really cool project about the National Bird of India, the peacock.  Your child will have a chance to create a peacock project using actual peacock feathers. We look forward to these adorning our classrooms before coming home to do the same for you!

This Friday also presents us with our final opportunity for Sharing this calendar year.  Please help your child to select an item to fit our sharing theme below and practice three things to say about their item.  Our sharing theme is…

Something that represents a holiday you celebrate this time of year!

We cannot wait to see what sorts of items our kiddos bring in!

Next Friday, December 20, is our final day of school prior to winter break and we will be ending school at 11:30 for this half day of school.  The big event on this day will be our Talent Show! Madeline is organizing this event so if your child is excited to participate and show her/his talent, please encourage them to sign up and submit their sheet to Madeline in the office.  We hope to see loads of talented kids signed up! More info can be found about this event in the Sunday e-news from this recently completed weekend.

As a final note, we wish to pass on our thanks to all of you who helped out with the Art Show last Friday.  This event has become a Rivendell favorite and it truly could not be done without the volunteer hours from so many Rivendell parents.  If you helped out please receive our thanks!

Have a super week…

Seth, Dylan and Annie

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/997-2/