Timber Talks

River Mill Elementary - September 1, 2023

Dear River Mill Families,

We had an incredible first week of school! Thank you for promptly supporting your child to arrive to school on time, every day. This past week, we saw students and staff together identifying their hopes and dreams for this school year, and this week, they will work together to begin to map out how they will accomplish those by identifying classroom agreements. This is how they can hold each other accountable to being successful. You should be so proud of the start your child has had at school so far!

In the mornings, we have many families dropping their child off, and we are so grateful for you. However, we noticed that the line of cars can get long. To help alleviate this, please make sure you wait at the stop signs as appropriate, but when you are in front of the school, close gaps between cars and pull as close to the cross walk as you can. We need students in cars 1 and 2 to get out swiftly in order to help our line moving and our streets moving smoothly. Thank you for understanding and supporting your child transition quickly.

For all families: During morning drop off, we ask that if you choose to walk your child toward the building that you give a hug and well wishes at the door and let our staff take it from there. Families will not be walking their child into the building. We know it can be emotional and hard to walk away, but your child is in good hands! If your child has a hard time, we still ask that you not linger because sometimes that can make it even trickier. If your child does continue to struggle, we will be in communication with you.

Safety & Security: Your child's safety is our top priority! In order to make sure we know what to do with your child at the end of the school day, it is imperative that you access and utilize PickUp Patrol. You can find information below about how to do that, or you are welcome to call our office for assistance. Here you can indicate if your child should ride the bus, walk, or be picked up by someone, including who. If your child's dismissal plans change, you can make edits right within that system. All changes must be made in PickUp Patrol, or via the office. If you are planning to pick your child up from school, please have your ID ready. We want to ensure we get to know you and exactly who is allowed to pick up your child after school.

School Meals: Every morning all students (with the exception of PreK) will go into the cafeteria. If your child has breakfast, you will be charged for it. If you do not want them to have school breakfast, please make sure your child understands this. We will not be able to monitor and keep track of that for 500+ students upon entry. Same thing with lunch. If your child grabs a school lunch, you will be charged for it. Many families qualify for free or reduced lunches, even when they don't think that they would. Further down this newsletter, there is a link you can select in order to apply for this free or discounted meal rate. We encourage all families to do this, it not only helps you, but it also helps us qualify for additional funding to support our Title I programs, which leads to higher levels of student academic support.

Sincerely,

Corinne Johnsen

Principal, River Mill Elementary

johnsenc@estacada.k12.or.us

Drop Off and Pick Up Information!

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Weather Changes & Clothes

We have noticed the last week that the weather is beginning to change. Please make sure your child has layers of clothes and a coat or jacket with a hood and long sleeves. If they do not, they will need to remain under the covered area during recess time when it is raining.

If your child gets super wet at recess or has a bathroom accident, we do not have extra clothes for them. For all students, Pre-K to 5th grade, please have a spare outfit (including socks) in your child's backpack. This will help make them more comfortable while they are at school.

This Week's Schedule!

In order to help you all know what the week looks like, we will list it out clearly for you each week. REID days for are invited students and will change each week. Students are invited to REID days for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's to extend or challenge a student, and other times it might be to provide extra help on a particular skill. On those days, our doors open at 7:50 and dismissal is at 10:00am. If you have questions about this week's schedule, please let us know!

This Week:

Sept. 4th: No School, Labor Day
Sept. 5th: Regular School Day - First day for Pre-K & Kindergarteners
Sept. 6th: Regular School Day
Sept. 7th: Regular School Day
Sept. 8th: Regular School Day

Upcoming Events:

Sept. 11th: One School, One Book Begins - Wonder
Sept. 15th: REID Day, by invite only
Sept. 21st: Bingo Night
Sept. 22nd: REID Day, by invite only

One School, One Book

Soon, we will be starting our annual tradition called One School, One Book. This year, our school will be reading the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio which takes us through a heartwarming story about a character named Auggie who looks a little different than his peers, and how those around him begin to understand and appreciate him for who he is, despite his differences.

This year, we will not be purchasing books for families, but we will be reading and sending you a video of a section of the story on weeknights beginning September 11th. We want everyone to just enjoy this story as a family and as a school community. We hope this helps students to establish a routine of reading and enjoyment of books! If you want to explore checking the book out at your local library or purchase a copy yourself, we want you to have ample time to do so. More information will follow!

Lost & Found

Birthday Celebrations at School

If you wish to send snacks or gifts for your child’s birthday, the office will be happy to call your student out of class to see their surprise. To minimize classroom disruptions, our policy is to keep flowers, balloons, gifts, etc. in the office until the end of the day. When the student is released for the day, they can pick up their gift and take it home. Please contact your child’s teacher to make necessary arrangements for celebrations that can be scheduled at a time that is compatible with the day’s learning schedule. State law requires that snacks fit the healthy criteria for the Oregon Smart Snack law.

We are beginning to collect student belongings already the first week of school. Please make sure your child's name is written on as many of their layers of clothing and lunch boxes as possible. We know these items are costly and want to get them back to their rightful owners. If you recognize any of these, please let us know.

Meal Prices for the 2023-24 School Year

Free and Reduced Lunch form

By filling out this form, you may not only help yourself, but help our school receive additional funding. Even if you aren't sure you'd qualify, we encourage you to fill it out. Thank you!

My School Bucks is an online payment service that provides parents the ability to securely pay for meals, monitor student cafeteria purchases, and receive email notifications for low account balances. Please note: currently, a convenience fee of $2.75 will be applied for each transaction. All transactions are processed and applied to students' accounts nightly. To enroll, please follow the link below and have your student's ID number handy.

My School Bucks - Click Here