Younger Kids News

March 11, 2019

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the last week of school before Spring Break!

This week, Younger Kids will continue to learn about Colonial America and will explore how life was similar to and different from life now in 2019! We will make some tricorn hats to wear and bring home. This will be our last week studying Colonial America, as we will jump into our next unit after Spring Break!

Make sure to check out all of the cool Science Fair projects that our Middle and Older Kids have displayed in the commons. They have worked hard for weeks getting them ready and have some informative and interesting projects displayed!

Also, mark your calendar for this Thursday evening’s Science Share Night from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.  Bring the whole family for a scientific experience. Eight rooms will be open for family exploration!         

Topics include:

Microscopes

Chemistry

Electricity

Machines

Engineering

Physics

Stay the whole night or just 30 minutes…but stay together.  Students are required to stay with parents during the event.  We hope you have a great time learning and enjoying our favorite science experiments!

Remember, there will not be school next week due to Spring Break. We hope you enjoy this time with your families!

Have a wonderful week!

Annie, Seth, and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/930-2/

Monday, March 4, 2019

Younger Kids News

Dear Parents,

We are so proud of all of our kiddos for doing such a terrific job on the musical last Friday.  We had the songs swimming through our heads all weekend. They did a terrific job and we are so glad that the kids had the opportunity to put in all the hard work necessary to present a show for you all.  We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

It sure is a cold one today!  This latest blast of winter is a good reminder that as the season moves closer to spring we will still have days like today with cold and snow.  Please make certain that your child is prepared with appropriate clothing for whatever kind of weather we might encounter. Kids need to have gloves or mittens, hats, coats that close and any other warm gear they wish to have on cold days.  On snowy days they need all of the above, boots and snow pants in order to truly enjoy their time on the playground. Thanks for ensuring that your child is prepared!

We are well on our way with our Colonial America unit.  We have discussed with the kids where the colonists came from, the fact that Native Americans were already in the ‘new world’ long before them and a bit about colonial life.  We have begun work on a Mayflower project that the kids are enjoying and we also created a flag that represents one of the first ones used by the new country of America. This week we will continue our learning by discussing what life was like for colonial children.  We will also complete a project similar to what students in colonial schools would have done.

As a reminder, our spring fundraiser is this Saturday.  If you haven’t already, purchase those tickets ASAP!

Have a super week…

Seth, Annie and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/925-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday, February 25, 2019

Hello parents!

It is crazy to think that this is the last week of February. These last three months of the school year are going to fly by.

The main event this week is the Younger Kids Musical happening this Friday, March 1 at 12:00. There will be a dress rehearsal for the school this Wednesday at 2:15 that parents are welcome to attend if they cannot be here for the performance on Friday.

This week marks the beginning of a new theme unit. We will be studying Colonial America in the next three weeks leading up to Spring Break. We will start with a flag project this week. It will be interesting for our students to compare the original American flag to the one that they see today.

Don’t forget to Buy your tickets today for the Spring Fundraiser next Saturday, March 9. Bring some luck and your best poker face to enjoy a fun casino night while supporting Rivendell!

That’s all for now. Have a nice week!

Rachael, Seth, and Annie

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/922-2/

Younger Kids News

February 19, 2019

Dear Parents,

We hope you had a nice long weekend with your child! We look forward to a short but productive and enjoyable week!

This will be our last week studying Central and South America. This week, we will reflect on why it is important to learn about different countries and what we can learn from exploring them. We are looking forward to seeing your child’s research on their Central/South American animal and having them share with us what they have learned! Please remember to have your child turn them in directly to their teacher on or before Friday.

This week we will continue to work hard practicing for the YK Musical. Be sure to mark your calendars to watch them perform at 12:00 PM on Friday, March 1st!

Rivendell Summer Camp Registration will open to the public starting next week (February 25th). These camps fill quickly, so to avoid missing out or being put on a wait list, please take advantage of our priority enrollment for Rivendell families this week. To view the camp descriptions, please visit https://www.rivendell-school.org/programs/summer-camps/. To register, go to https://rivendellearlyregistration.campbrainregistration.com/.

Have a wonderful week!

Annie, Seth, and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/920-2/

Monday, February 11, 2019

Younger Kids News

Dear Parents,

Thank you so much for making time to conference with us about your child!  We love having the time to sit down with all of you and we look forward to working with your child to try and achieve the goals we set for the remainder of the year.

We are moving into our final two weeks studying Central and South America.  This week we are ‘visiting’ Argentina. We are continuing to collect the theme writings that your child is completing each week and we are excited to share their completed books with you at the end of the month.  

Valentine’s Day is Thursday and Younger Kids are excited about it!  We are decorating our valentine mailboxes early this week so that they are ready for deliveries.  If you and your child are crafting valentines to bring to school you may bring them in any time this week.

This week is Spirit Week here at Rivendell.  Kids are invited to wear clothing to fit a theme each day.  Participation is optional, but fun! Below are the clothing themes for each day.

Monday – Sports

Tuesday – Pajamas

Wednesday – Favorite Book Character

Thursday – Valentine’s Day

Friday – Rivendell Pride Day

Have a terrific week!

Seth, Annie and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/917-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday, February 4th, 2019

Happy February, Parents!

At drop off this morning, you may have noticed the decorations in the commons and the staff sporting blue t-shirts. We are excited for the launch of our 2019 Summer Camps! Spots fill up fast, so be sure to get yours now by taking advantage of priority enrollment for Rivendell families: https://rivendellearlyregistration.campbrainregistration.com/

Thank you to those of you who took time on Friday to meet with us for your child’s conference. It is always a pleasure to sit down and chat with you. We look forward to the rest of the conferences this Friday (the 8th). Again, there will be no school but enrichment camp is offered. Register on our enrichment camp website!

It is likely that your child has been talking about the 100th day of school. We can’t wait to celebrate tomorrow with Zeroman, cake, fun, and games!

We continue our travels in South America this week in Chile. Younger Kids have enjoyed exploring so many new cultures!

Our new Author of the Month for February is Russell Hoban, who wrote the “Frances” stories.

Valentine’s Day is coming up next week! Students will be decorating their valentines boxes later this week and are invited to start bringing in their valentines next Monday (the 11th). We are still in need of empty cereal boxes– so be sure to gobble up the rest of those Lucky Charms or Frosted Flakes!

Enjoy the sunshine today!

Seth, Annie, and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/915-2/

Younger Kids News

January 28, 2019

Dear parents,

This last week of January, our Theme Unit studies will move from Central America to South America. We will explore the country of Brazil and learn about its beautiful land and colorful culture. We will learn where it is located in South America and color a Brazilian flag.

Today marks our 95th day of school! Zeroman has come to our classrooms 9 times so far this year! Next Tuesday, February 5th will be our 100th Day. We will mark the occasion with a day of activities, games, a 100th day cake and more fun!  Zeroman will come to our classrooms for the last time this school year and will pose for a picture with your child. It is sure to be a memorable day!

This month’s sharing will reflect the theme of the 100th day. For this sharing, kids are invited to bring:

ONE of something that they have one hundred of!

This could be one lego (if they have 100 legos at home) or one toy car (if they have 100 toy cars at home) or….you get the idea! Since we don’t have school on Friday due to conferences, we will have our sharing this Thursday instead.

Valentine’s Day is around the corner! On the 14th, we will have Valentine’s Day parties in our classrooms. You will soon get a list of the kids in your child’s class. Giving out valentines is not mandatory, but we do ask that if you choose to participate please bring one for every child in the class. In preparation for this day, we are collecting empty cereal boxes to make our Valentine’s Day mailboxes. Please bring in an empty cereal box for your child by February 7th.

We are looking forward to talking with you about your child at their conference this Friday or next. If you haven’t yet signed up, please do!

Have a great week,

Annie, Seth, and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/912-2/

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Younger Kids News

Dear Parents,

This week our travels through South and Central America take us to Panama.  We will be learning all about the country, the people of Panama and of course that famous canal!  It has been fun to experience the kids’ excitement as we move from country to country. We look forward to sending home the amazing theme writings that they are creating once our unit is complete.  

It’s hard to believe on a cold, windy day like today but summer is coming!  The office asked us to pass on this note to you about registration for the Summer 2019 Summer camps at Rivendell.

Registration for Rivendell Summer Camps begins for Rivendell families ONLY on Feb. 4th.  As Rivendell families you will receive a special email link to the registration site as the date gets closer.  If you just cannot wait to take a look, click the link below for a view only page of the summer offerings that will be available in just a couple short weeks.      https://www.rivendell-school.org/programs/summer-camps/

Did you know that Rivendell Younger Kids have a special storyteller who comes every month to share her tales with us?  Former Rivendell teacher, Polly, is a volunteer for the Spellbinders program. This program is geared toward exposing kids to the wonders of oral storytelling as a way to pique interest and further connect developing literacy skills.  We are excited to be able to welcome her back to our classrooms this Thursday for the next monthly installment. Be sure to ask your kids about the stories they learned on Thursday night!

Our Younger Kids Musical is coming up in about six weeks!  Mark your calendar for Friday, March 1, at noon. We hope you can come to our performance!

As a reminder, conference sign-up sheets are posted right outside your child’s classroom.  If you haven’t done so, please select a time on one of the days listed or contact us to schedule a different date and time.  

Have a terrific week!

Seth, Annie and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/910-2/

Younger Kids News

Monday, January 14, 2019

Hello families!

We are happy to be back to another week of school with students who are growing rapidly before our eyes! It’s so exciting to see the changes in our students that occur at this point in the year. We look forward to discussing your child’s progress with you soon. Conferences are coming up quickly! The dates are Friday, February 1st and 8th. Enrichment camps will be available on these days. Please be sure to sign up for a time slot with your teacher on the sheets posted outside of classroom doors.

For topic work this week, we are diving into the culture of another country in Central America- Costa Rica. We will be learning about layers of the rainforest.

Reminder: there is no school next Monday (the 21st) in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Rivendell’s priority enrollment process will take place January 8th – January 31st.  We very much value your family as part of the Rivendell community and are pleased to provide the opportunity during priority enrollment to ensure that your child has a spot at Rivendell for the 2019-20 school year.  Priority enrollment will end January 31st, and open enrollment for all families will begin on February 4th. As many of you know, our school has been growing! This is great for our Rivendell community, but it also means that it’s important to have your registrations submitted before the February 4th open enrollment period opens up to the public.

If you wish to re-enroll your child at Rivendell for the 2019-20 school year, please review, sign and submit the Renewal of Financial Agreement, which was emailed to you on January 8th.  If you did not receive an agreement, contact Madeline (madeline@rivendell-school.org).  Thank you!

Have a great week,

Annie, Rachael and Seth

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/907-2/

Younger Kids News

January 7, 2019

Dear parents,

We hope you all had a wonderful Winter Break! We welcome your children back to school as we prepare for new topics and a lot of learning and growth to happen over the next several months.

Our new Topic Unit is Central & South America. We will start this week with Central America and the country of Honduras. The kids will learn about the land, people and culture of the country. The paper towel tubes that you gathered for us will turn into Rain Sticks that will emulate the sound of the rainforests of Central America when turned upside down. During this unit, our theme writings will take the form of travel journals, as the kids write about each country that they ‘visit’.

January’s Authors of the Month are Margaret and H.A. Rey, the creators of the Curious George books. We hope the kids will enjoy hearing stories about the rambunctious little monkey and his friend, the Man with the Yellow Hat. We’ll also read some lesser known books by this author duo!

Coming back to school after a long break is exciting for kids, but also a change from days at home that have been less structured. Keeping to familiar routines, such as arriving by 8:15 AM and being prepared for the day, can help the transition be a smooth one. We look forward to a busy and positive January!

Have a great week,

Annie, Seth, and Rachael

https://www.rivendell-school.org/youngerkids/904-2/