Riverside Updates

Monday, 9/2- Labor Day/No School

Monday 9/16- CogAt Parent Referrals Due for Students in Grades 3-5

Friday, 9/20- Interim report cards emailed to parents

*All staff emails can be found on our website under the directory.

Riverside Elementary School Website

If you have a specific questions about assignments, grades, or

in-class concerns, please contact the classroom teacher.

Chocolate Bars went out last Friday!

We want to make sure everyone is aware that they are now $2. They are bigger as well with less in a box. Please reach out to our PTO if you have any questions and be sure to like our Riverside Elementary PTO Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/RiversideElementarySchoolPTO

This form is to be completed by any parent who wishes to refer a student for placement in the gifted and talented program. Please send the completed referral form and any standardized test scores to the Gifted and Talented Office or email to Heather Sheehan at hsheehan@horrycountyschools.net.

A copy of the form can be found here: https://www.horrycountyschools.net/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=464&dataid=77436&FileName=Parent%20Referral24-25.pdf

Breakfast and lunch will be provided at NO COST to families this year.

We will not be able to accept Door Dash or Uber Eats food deliveries. You may bring food to your child, but for safety reasons we cannot accept deliveries.

Tuesday, September 3

• Chicken Taco, Turkey and Cheese Sandwich, Pizza Lunchables, PB&J

Wednesday, September 4

• Cheese Sticks, Chicken Filet Sandwich, PB&J

Thursday, September 5

• Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Filet , PB&J

Friday, September 6

• Cheese Pizza, Grilled Cheese, PB&J
  

All students are allowed to bring water bottles to school, however water is the only drink allowed in the classroom unless prior authorization has been given. Drink spills can frequently lead to unwanted bugs, so we are requiring that students only bring water.

We love our RES parents, however our screening of parents is different this year. If you come to the school for ANY REASON during the day, you will have to present your ID and then go through a weapons detector while one of our security staff members (Officer Russ or Officer Jane) support you. To make this process easier, please only bring your ID and car keys. All items that you bring in are subject to search.

Parent volunteers, SIC/Title I Team Members, and PTO Members will all have to take part in walking through the weapons detectors upon entering the office.

Often times, family members listed in PowerSchool will join their students for lunch. While all students eat lunch in the cafeteria, we are growing in numbers and now have very limited space. Parents are being asked to wait until after Labor Day to eat lunch with students so that we can ensure there is enough space.

Parents are not allowed to walk their children to class. Teachers & staff will be at the entrances to receive students and direct and assist them getting to their class.

School begins promptly at 7:30 a.m. with students in their classrooms. Students who are not in the car rider line at 7:30 are marked tardy. In order for children to get to class, get settled and off to a good start each morning, we recommend they arrive here by 7:20 a.m. If your child eats breakfast at school, they need to arrive by 7:15 a.m.

While all students eat lunch in the cafeteria, we are growing and now have very limited space. Parents are being asked to wait until after Labor Day to eat lunch with students so that we can ensure there is enough space.

The school office is open from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Students should not be dropped off prior to 7 a.m. Please be sure a staff member is on duty outside before leaving your child.

Last week, we practiced both tornado and lock down drills. This week we will continue to practice our lockdown drills.

Safety is a top priority in our school district as well as Riverside Elementary. Over the course of each year, our students and staff practice various drills including fire, earthquake, tornado, and lockdown drills. These safety measures are a critical step in ensuring our students and staff can react quickly in case of an actual emergency.

Although we hope to never have to use these situations aside from practice and drills, it is important to know that our school will always err on the side of caution to protect our students and staff.

Drills that we practice throughout the year include:

Fire Drill- Fire drills are conducted monthly. Students practice evacuating the building quickly and safely. Each classroom has a designated evacuation location. Since we have a two story building, additional safety procedures are created for students or staff who need support going down stairs during a fire drill.

Tornado Drill- When a tornado warning is put in place for our school, students and staff are relocated to the interior of our first floor until the warning is lifted. This is practiced during a statewide drill in March, as well as throughout the year.

Earthquake Drill- The “Great Shakeout” drill is practiced every October. Students and staff practice these three steps: drop, cover, and hold on until the shaking stops.

Secure Drill- Secure is called when there is something potentially dangerous outside of the building. Students and staff are brought into the building and exterior doors remain locked.

Lockdown Drill- A Lockdown is called when there is something potentially dangerous inside of the building. Students and staff are trained to enter or remain in a room that can be locked, and maintain silence.

Reunification Drill- In the event of an emergency that does not allow us to dismiss normally, our staff practices where we would go to keep our students safe and how we would ensure that they were reunified with an approved adult. Please be sure that your child’s emergency contacts are updated in PowerSchool. Students can only be released to guardians and emergency contacts.

Randomized Wanding Drills- These drills will now be conducted monthly at the elementary school level. As students enter the building, they are randomly screened by an adult using a metal detector wand. Their bags will also be randomly searched. Very specific protocol is followed when doing the screening and our staff eagerly explains to the kids that this is just another way of keeping them safe while exposing them to something they will experience more frequently in the middle school environment.

Please have conversations with your children about bringing things to school that they should not have and the consequences that can come from those choices. We thank you for your continued support in working with us to ensure the safety of your children.

Horry County Schools (HCS) has added additional protocols and procedures for the 2024-2025 school year. We know it takes a team effort of our staff, students, and parents working together to provide the safest environment possible. One of the new safety protocols is the requirement that all students who choose to carry a backpack must use a clear backpack.

Students are required to have a clear backpack, per the HCS Clear Backpack Policy found at this LINK.

Book bags that are not clear will be taken upon arrival and parents will be contacted. The following consequences will take place as per HCS policy:

Consequences for Elementary

1st offense: Warning/Call to parent and backpack confiscated (Log Entries)

2nd offense: Warning/Call to parent and backpack confiscated (Review 360)

3rd offense: 1-2 days ISS

4th offense: 1 day OSS

5th offense: 3-5 days OSS (Explain that the next incident of this nature will result in a hearing.)

6th offense: Evidentiary Hearing

Our goal is for no one to receive a consequence due to backpacks, so if you are unable to get a clear backpack in time for the first day, please have your child bring their items in a grocery bag until you are able to secure a clear backpack.

All students will enter school each morning through a Weapons Detection Device, much like a standard metal detector. It will be a very simple process. Students will be able to keep their backpacks on to walk through the detector.

Per HCS policy, ALL VISITORS who enter the school will pass through a weapons detection system upon entry.

• If you are visiting RES, please bring only your ID and very necessary items to avoid delays with bag checks. Please avoid bringing bags, purses, etc.

  
  

Thank you for your patience as we begin these new HCS procedures to help create a safer environment for our young chiefs! Please check out the video about one of our weapons detection systems, the Open Gate, by clicking this link:

https://youtu.be/PtpW2BgTS3o?si=IHsEefVTrSUUK_zw

Students have the option to purchase additional meal components every day. Other items, such as packaged snacks, ice cream treats, 100% juices, and bottled water may also be available for purchase at ala carte prices. Ala carte items offered at all grade levels meet current USDA Smart Snacks regulations and are approved for sale in schools. Ala carte items may be purchased with cash at the time of purchase or by prepaying money on the student’s cafeteria lunch account. The charging of ala carte items is not permitted. Prepayments can be made with cash or check to your student’s school cafeteria or with a credit/debit card by setting up an account at www.myschoolbucks.com . For more information about the availability of a la carte items, please contact your student’s school cafeteria manager.

For the upcoming week, students will be allowed to purchase items in the cafeteria on Friday only if items have arrived. Please see the flyer below for items and cost.

Please visit the HCS website linked HERE for more information regarding attendance and tardy policies.

Excused Absences

· An absence is considered excused if a valid medical doctor's written note (with the date & time the student was seen) is provided within 3 school days after the absence. Online Medical visits with medical notes and/or screenshots that contain the student's name, date of birth, and results of the online visit (prescription, number of days out before the student's return to school, etc.)

· An absence for bereavement, due to a death in the student's immediate family, may be excused if an obituary or program of service verifying the death is provided to the attendance clerk within 3 school days after the student returns to school.

· An absence for a nationally recognized religious holiday of the student's faith may be excused if a request is made in writing to the principal and written approval is received prior to the absence.

A parent may request approval of an absence for a hardship, in writing, utilizing the Request for Approval form. This form may be obtained from the school's attendance office. The form must be completed and submitted prior to the absence (if the parent has prior knowledge), or within 3 days following the absence.

Students who have appointments after school and need to leave early should be signed out prior to 2 p.m. Remember that signing your child out early counts as an early dismissal for that day, unless you send in a doctor’s excuse. Students may not be signed out between 2:00—2:30 p.m. Students will not be dismissed from the front office, car riders should be picked up in the car line.

Transportation changes will only be accepted with a note signed by the parent or guardian. Notes can be sent in with your child or emailed to REStransportation@horrycountyschools.net. The email must come from the parent email on file. All changes must be made in writing prior to 1:30 p.m. Changes may not be honored after this tine.

***New car rider tags have been issued for the 24-25 school year. Only new car tags will be honored.***

Our morning drop off line flows smoothly! Please make sure that your child dropped off in time to be in the building by 7:30 in order to not be counted tardy!

Thank you families for making sure that your new car rider tag is displayed during pickup! Our pickup line begins at 2:35 pm and has been cleared typically by 2:55 pm. Thank you for being at school on time to pick up your children!

Car rider tags are required to pick up students in the car line. If you need extra tags, please stop by the front office with your ID.

For questions about specific bus stops or times, please contact the North Myrtle Beach Bus Office at (843) 399-8575.

Your child’s bus may arrive 10 minutes early or up to 10 minutes late as we get all of our routes timed out appropriately.

CD-Kindergarten parents must be at the bus stop to pick up children. Older siblings cannot be responsible for younger siblings in these grades. Please be sure that you have made arrangements so that your child knows who is picking them up at the bus stop in the afternoon. If an older child says that they do not feel comfortable getting off the bus without a parent at the stop, they will be returned to school.

The bus driver has responsibility for supervision of all students on his/her bus. He/she may stop the bus at any time that misbehavior or threatened misbehavior offers a hazard to safe driving. In addition to disciplining students according to the District’s Behavior Code procedures, upon the recommendation of the bus driver or supervisor(s) of transportation, the principal may suspend a student from riding the bus.

• On the first offense, not to include sex, drugs, weapons, or serious bodily injury, the student may be suspended from riding the bus only until his/her parents come to the school and have a conference with the principal.
• A second offense may result in a suspension for up to five school days.
• A third offense may result in a suspension for up to 10 school days.
• A fourth offense may result in a suspension for up to 15 school days.
• A fifth offense may result in a loss of bus riding privileges for the remainder of the school year. These guidelines may be adjusted based on the seriousness of the offense.

If you have not already, please be sure to complete the technology parent permission form. We cannot issue a device to your child without this form completed and signed. Ask your child's teacher if you are in need of a copy.

If you have an outstanding technology fee from last school year, this payment must be made before we can issue an iPad to your child this year.

Please be sure to log in to mypaymentsplus.com to pay the optional tech fee. This fee significantly decreases the cost if the iPad is broken/damaged.

The school continually monitors the implementation of the Title I plan and welcomes input from parents, school staff, and community members regarding its current and future Title I plans. If you would like to make comments on the plan, please contact the principal, Melissa Wolfe.

We would love to have your feedback. You may complete our Title I Survey electronically by clicking HERE. Paper copies will be sent out at the beginning of September.

Voting is not required this year for school improvement council since all members are within their term limits. SIC meetings will be announced and the minutes will be linked to our weekly electronic newsletters.

What is the School Improvement Council?

You might be asking what exactly an SIC is, or why they exist. Here's some contextual information to provide a deeper understanding.

School Improvement Councils were established under South Carolina law over 45 years ago to provide the member training, technical assistance, statuatory accountability, and other resources vital to the continued success of community-based School Improvement Councils in each of the state’s 1,100-plus K-12 public schools.

Whether you’re a parent, teacher or student elected to your local SIC, a community or business representative appointed to your Council, a school or district administrator, or a member of the public committed to quality public education in South Carolina, you can find information on this website through downloadable files and direct links to other sites that will help you get the facts you need to understand the vital roles you play in the life of our schools and the futures of our children.

The vision of the SC School Improvement Council is:

"To promote and support civic engagement for quality public education in South Carolina.”

The mission of the SC School Improvement Council is:

"To facilitate meaningful parent and community involvement in our state’s public schools by providing resources, tools and strategies to local School Improvement Councils and other stakeholder groups."

(from: https://www.sc-sic.org/quick-references)

At Riverside Elementary, our mission is to foster a community where everyone feels loved, respected, and encouraged in order to develop to their full potential!

Website: https://www.horrycountyschools.net/Riverside_Elementary_School
Location: 1283 Highway 57 South, Little River, SC, USA
Phone: (843) 399-8800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063689706722