The Weekly Roar

Hello River Bend Families!

We kicked off our Benchmark Unit 4 on Monday with some cool kids in all types of glasses as we began studying "Perspectives in Literature." Our teachers engaged in some meaningful professional development on Tuesday around reading and writing and our specialists got some time to collaborate.

Today...I have no words other than WOW! We held our traditional and very special Veterans Day assembly and celebration. It is something we haven't done in several years due to Covid and other factors. First and foremost, our students were amazing! The assembly was completely student-led and they knocked it out of the park. Thank you to Mrs. Mitulski and Dr. Schulte. Also, a very special shout out to Tom Gabel leading our Scouts who presented our flags and Cara McGuire and her Girl Scouts. They helped decorate, were greeters, and led the Pledge of Allegiance. We had a super crew of decorators last night: Lisa Gutshall, Jamie Gilliam, Sara Blackburn, and alumni Lily Gutshall. Thank you to Sam for the amazing Wall of Heroes and Suad and Svetlana for their help. Finally, thank you to our Veterans for their service to our country. Today definitely goes in my Top 10 of Proud Principal moments.

Next week, we open the Book Fair and hold Parent-Teacher Conferences. It will be a long week of early mornings or late nights for our teachers and staff.

Enjoy your weekend!

Each child as my own,

Jaime

Below you will find the link to sign up for a conference. I would also encourage you to sign up for a conference with our specialists. They will be around and often don't get much business. All adults who work with your child would love to meet and share any glows and grows they see in their learning spaces. The link closes on Sunday. After that you will need to directly contact your child's teacher if you would like to set up a conference or need to make a change in one you already have scheduled.

https://myconferencetime.com/riverbend

We are so excited to kick off our 100% survey!! This survey will help us gauge the current climate and culture of River Bend and help shape our character education for the future. We want to hear from every voice. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey.

River Bend Elementary - Character Survey 24-25

Allow us to add another layer of learning for our families regarding our new ELA resource, Benchmark Advance. By now you have seen how our whole building studies the same fiction or nonfiction theme during a 3 week unit. The essential questions at each grade level vertically align and build upon one another. This is going to prove to be beneficial as our students progress through their elementary years. They will move to the next grade level with more and more background knowledge.

Metacognitive strategies increase reading comprehension and vocabulary achievement.

The two metacognitive strategies we are focused on in Unit 4 are:

• Ask and Answer Questions About Characters and Events
• Create Mental Images of Characters and Events

Friday, November 22nd- Picture Retake Day

November 27th-29th- Thanksgiving Break

December 2nd-6th- K & 1st Grade Music Open House (communication coming from Mrs. Mitulski)

December 9th- PTO Meeting

December 11th- Early Release Day & Parkway Board of Education Meeting

December 13th- Winter Party Experience

To ensure each student a safe and rigorous learning environment where they feel a sense of belonging, and can grow and lead with a global lens of kindness, responsibility, integrity, and empathy.

Website: https://www.parkwayschools.net/riverbend
Location: 224 River Valley Drive, Chesterfield, MO, USA
Phone: (314)-415-6650
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiverBendParkway