Welcome Back RSI Golden Hawks
2024-25 School Year
Welcome Golden Hawks to the 2024-2025 School Year
Golden Hawk Community,
Welcome back, Golden Hawks! We are absolutely thrilled to welcome both our new and former students to another exciting school year here at Riverside Intermediate. Our campus, nestled along the serene White River, offers not just a beautiful setting but a vibrant community of learners eager to embark on a journey of knowledge, skills, and personal growth. This year, we're expanding our commitment to outdoor learning with our resident goats, chickens, and bees, enriching our understanding of agriculture, ecology, and engineering—the three pillars of our STEM program. Just yesterday Mr. Mapes, Superintendent of HSE Schools, visited our outdoor campus in hopes to share further community connections and resources to help us ensure future guaranteed experiences for all of or RSI 5th and 6th grade students. The future is filled with potential and strong promises for our Hawks with the addition of the HSE Journey of a Student developed in partnership with our HSE community and educators. See below for links and details.
Our warm and welcoming staff are dedicated to meeting the individualized needs of every student, ensuring a supportive environment where curiosity thrives. We're also excited to share that our Maker Space has received a significant upgrade thanks to a generous grant from the City of Fishers, further enhancing our ability to innovate and create. Together, let's make this school year one of discovery, collaboration, and achievement. Welcome back to Riverside Intermediate—where every day brings new opportunities to learn and grow!
I ask all of you to read, watch, and review the materials in this communication and know that the RSI Staff are thrilled to have you join us for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year!
A few important items to remember:
- 5th Grade Classrooms: ALL 5th grade classrooms are on the upper level.
- Lockers: Lockers will be assigned by the homeroom teacher on the first day of school. Teachers will teach students how to open lockers. All adults in the building will be happy to assist anyone who needs help.
- Classes: Intermediate school is an extension of the elementary setting preparing students for junior high. Students will have two teachers, one STEM and one Humanities teacher. Students will have PE, Art, and Music every day for one week on a three week rotation.
- Recess: Riverside has one of the coolest and most modern playgrounds in HSE! Students will have recess for at least fifteen minutes daily.
- Outdoor Learning: There are many outdoor learning options at Riverside Intermediate. This includes goats, chickens, gardens, bees, trails, the river, and so much more. There is WIFI and outdoor seating.
- Innovation: Students will have the opportunity to delve deeply into robotics and coding.
- Club /Sports: RSI proudly offers Cross Country, 6th gr Basketball, Track, Student Council, Best Buddies, Robotics, Choir and more! Please read the weekly RSI newsletter (emailed every Friday) for callout information for these extracurricular activities throughout the school year.
Please plan on joining us at the RSI Open House on August 5th from 5-7PM. This is a true open house with no schedules. Please park in the front or back of the school and enter through any door. Once in the building, QR codes will be posted around the school to scan the tour map. This event is for exploring the school, locating classrooms, practice opening lockers, and getting the lay of the land. Please note this is NOT a formal meet the teacher event. Teachers will meet with parents only on August 13th. Further communication will be blasted out via ParentSquare with updates.
We are looking forward to seeing our students in early August!
Sincerely,
Dana Kaminski, Ph.D.
Principal RSI
Important Dates
August 1st: Immunization Clinic 2pm - 6pm (Riverside Junior High - see info below)
August 5th: Open House 5pm - 7pm
August 7th: First Day of School (9:15am - 4:00pm)
August 13th: Meet the Teacher (6th Grade 6:45pm - 5th Grade 5:30pm)
August 14th: Fall Picture Day
August 18th: RSI PTO/Indianapolis Indians event
September 25th: Picture Re-Take Day
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Immunization Clinic - Thursday, 8/1
During the Riverside Junior High Preview Day, (enter through door 5) which will take place on Thursday, 8/1 from 2p - 6p, RSI students have been invited to participate in the optional immunization clinic by bringing the vaccines to you. Please take advantage of this opportunity if your student needs immunizations. To participate in the clinic, simply register your student with the QR code or registration link listed below.
Online registration form here: https://patients.vaxcare.com/registration Enrollment Code IN65942
RSI Transition Information
Schedules and Teacher Homeroom Assignments - will be available in Skyward for parents and students in Skyward on Friday, 8/2 at 4:00pm. At that time feel free to login to your Skyward Family Access account and view schedules.
iPad Rental Distribution and Required Online forms - Please complete online forms in Skyward.
Supply Lists - Supply lists will be located on the RSI website. Students are not required to have supplies on the first day of school – Lockers will be assigned by the homeroom teacher on the first day of school.
Bus Transportation - Bus information will be available in Skyward on Friday, 8/2 at 4:00pm.
6th Grade Immunizations - Please fax 317-594-4329 or email vaccination records to rsiclinic@hse.k12.in.us. Requirements are one meningococcal (MCV4) vaccine and one Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) booster received after student's 11th birthday.
Riverside Info You Should Know
Our goal is to keep our parents/guardians informed of the events and policies at RSI. Please read the information below and call the school office with any questions. Thanks for being such a vital part of making Riverside Intermediate a special school.
Skyward allows parents to access students’ grades from teachers’ electronic grade books.
ParentSquare will be used as the primary communication tool between the HSE school district and students, parents, and staff for emergency situations (for example: school delays or closings). It will also be used for attendance and general information as well throughout the year to notify parents about important information, upcoming events, or milestones.
iPads are required for all students in the 5th and 6th grade to expand our HSE21 curriculum. Please visit our website https://rsi.hseschools.org/academics/tech-in-the-classroom
The Riverside Review is our weekly newsletter that is sent out via ParentSquare. It is also posted on our website at https://rsi.hseschools.org/our-school/news-and-events
It is full of important information and scheduled activities.
Our Calendar is on our website with the most up to date information. https://www.hsecalendars.org/public/genie/752/school/13/
School Attendance is extremely important. The school attendance line is 317-594-4328. Parents are requested to notify the school as soon as possible. See the student handbook for the detailed attendance policy.
The Tardy Bell rings at 9:15 am. If your student is going to be late to school or absent from school, please call our attendance line at 317-594-4328.
Change of Transportation/ Early Dismissal requires a note sent to school with your student. Be sure to include your student’s full name. Your student should give the note to their homeroom teacher first thing in the morning. This will advise the office of a change. The dismissal bell rings at 4:00 pm.
Arrival/Dismissal Traffic Flow Maps can be found on our website under Daily School Procedures.
All Cell Phones are to be off and secured in student lockers during the school day. Their use during the school day is forbidden. Cell phones will be confiscated if visible during the school day. All confiscated cell phones must be picked up by a parent.
To be Excused from Participation in PE, students MUST have a doctor’s note stating why he/she cannot participate and for how long the student should be excused. A parental note may be used for one day only.
Safe Visitor Background Checks MUST be on file with the school to volunteer or go on a field trip. Background checks are valid for 3 years.
Address Changes must be reported to the main office and require proof of residency. Refer to the HSE website for acceptable documents.
Golden Hawk of the Month is the character education program at RSI. Students will be recognized for displaying any of HSE’s nine positive character traits throughout the year by earning a poster and a prize!
The Counselors at RSI loop with the students. Therefore, your student will have the same counselor for 5th and 6th grade. Individual counseling, group counseling, classroom guidance, and character education are all services provided by the counselors at RSI.
Breakfast and Lunch pricing for this school year: breakfast meal $1.50, student lunch K-6 meal is $2.80. Checks may be made payable to RSI. Please include student ID number on the check. You may also use your debit or credit card to pay for lunch online through eFunds.
Free and Reduced Application is available with a parent Skyward login. For complete instructions, click here.
Canvas is a tool for teachers to use to distribute important information, submit assignments, and more. Students use the same credentials for Canvas as they use to log into the computers at school.
Student Handbook
All HSE Schools student handbooks (K-12) are now online for easier access. The 5/6 handbook is available via this link:https://rsi.hseschools.org/our-school/student-handbook
We encourage you to review it at your earliest convenience. Should you have any questions, please contact the RSI main office at 317-594-4320. Our staff is available to assist you. Have a great school year!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
YMCA Before Care
Using Skyward
Skyward allows parents to access grades, report cards, bus information, immunization records, lunch account/food service information, student fees, schedules, and the BACK TO SCHOOL FORMS 2024-2025. All students are required to have an iPad to expand our HSE21 curriculum. Please visit our HSE21 website for more information.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Canvas
The following instructions are how to create and pair accounts in Canvas. Your HSE students will be using Canvas throughout virtual and in-person instructions. If you have a child or children that are new to the district, please use the following instructions to link your child's Canvas account to your parent account. Please note that if you have already created a Parent Canvas account and linked your child(ren)'s account(s), you will not need to do this.
You will need your child's school email address and ID#. This information can be found in Skyward. Please click here to access Skyward. If the link is not working, you can go to the HSE homepage and click on the Canvas tab located at the top right of the screen.
Once you are logged in, you will select your child's name from the drop down menu under Family Access at the top of the page. Next, you will click on the Student Info tab from the column on the left. Your child's school email can be found next to the word School in the middle of the screen (just to the right of their school picture) and their school ID # is located under their picture (their school ID # is labeled as Other ID).
Steps:
- Please click here to access Canvas. If the link is not working, you can go to the HSE homepage and click on the Canvas tab located at the top right of the screen. You will click on the Students/Staff Portal rectangle to login with your child's information, using your child's full school email address as the username. Enter "hse" in front of their 6 digit other ID number for the password. You will now be logged in under their name.
- While on their Canvas page, click on Account and then Settings. Look to the right and click Pair with Observer. You will need to write down the code so you can use it to link your accounts.
- Click Account and Logout. You are now logged out of your child's account.
- If you have multiple students in the district, you will need to complete steps 1-3 for each of your children. You will need a pairing code for each student in an HSE school.
- Once you have a pairing code for each of your children, you will click here to access the home page of Canvas. If the link is not working, you can go to the HSE homepage and click on the Canvas tab located at the top right of the screen. You will click on the Parent Canvas Portal rectangle to create your profile. You will need your name, email, create a password, and one student pairing code. Click on Start Participating.
- Check your email now to finalize your Canvas sign-up.
- To add other children, go back to the HSE homepage, click Canvas tab, click Parent Portal, and login. Click on Account, click on Observing, and add your next child's pairing code.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
RSI PTO
PTO Board Members 2024-25
President - Christina Stenske
Vice President - Christine Gilchrist
Treasurer - Jenny Shoemaker
Secretary - Teresa Hunckler
Member at Large - Leslie Halcomb
Welcome to our PTO board members for the new school year! For any questions regarding PTO events, please email riversideintpto@gmail.com
Riverside Intermediate PTO Night at Victory Field!
Our first event is Wednesday, 8/18 at Victory Field. $4 of every ticket purchased will go back to RSI! Please click the button below for more information including several promotions and giveaways!
HSE COMMUNITY INSIDER
This webpage below is intended to spotlight school and community activities of interest to students, staff, parents and those residing within the boundaries of HSE Schools.
HSE Report it!
As you know, Hamilton Southeastern Schools has benefitted over the years from a “Text-a-Tip” service to provide anonymous information to the district. We wanted to let you know that we use “HSE Report It!”, a school safety mobile reporting app that allows students, staff and community members to provide anonymous information about concerns for their own safety or the safety of others. HSE Report It! replaces Text-A-Tip product, which is going out of service.
We believe that HSE Report it!, which can be downloaded via Google Play or the Apple App Store, provides enhanced reporting capabilities. It’s anonymous and reports are made exclusively through the mobile app. Plus, unlike SMS text reports, HSE Report it! will have no length limitations or the need to remember a short code. Reporters can attach photos, screenshots, videos, documents and/or audio recordings to their concerns and they can engage in a two-way dialogue with a real person.
Reports are monitored by HSE building and district administration and the Fishers Police school resource officers (SROs).
The HSE Report It! app will be an important resource for our community to submit anonymous tips when they wish to report concerns for their safety and the safety of others. Please encourage your family to download the app and be aware that this resource is now available to use when needed.
Contact information:
RIVERSIDE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
11014 Eller Road ♦ Fishers, IN ♦ 46038
317.594.4320 (phone)
317.594.4328 (attendance line)
317.594.4329 (fax)
Follow Us on Twitter: @RSIGoldenHawks
_________________________________________________________________________________________