The Riverwalk Roar

Happy Sunday, Pride!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week. We have a busy week ahead at Riverwalk Academy as our staff returns to prepare for the upcoming school year. While it’s going to be an extremely busy time for us, it’s a time that I always look forward to. Don’t get me wrong, I love our quiet summers, but there’s always a special excitement that comes with the return of our staff. This year is even more special for Riverwalk Academy as we begin our 10th year. How awesome is that? I’ll share some of my thoughts next Sunday about this incredible milestone.

Our students (K - 9th) return on August 1st, and this day will be here before we know it. To help prepare for this transition, I have some updates and reminders that I’d like to share with you. We've also created a back to school document to assist.

Meet the Teacher / Back to School Bash

We’ll host a drop-in for our K - 12th grade families on Tuesday, July 30th. Here’s a flyer for this event.

• Elementary Families: 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
• Middle/High School Families: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
• Food Trucks and games will be available until 7:30 pm

K - 5th Grade

Welcome Letters Welcome letters for K—5th grade were mailed home last Thursday, July 18th. If you do not receive a welcome letter by Friday, please contact Ms. Mabey to verify the address where they were mailed. She can also provide you with an electronic copy of your welcome letter and back-to-school packet.

Middle School

Students will receive a copy of their schedule during next Tuesday’s Meet the Teacher/Back to School Bash. If students are unable to attend, no worries, they’ll start the first day of school in their grade-level homeroom and receive their schedule then.

9th Grade

Be sure to stop by the Meet the Teacher/Back to School Bash to receive your free Class of 2028 shirt. You’ll also receive a copy of your schedule.

10th - 12th Grade

We hope to see you on July 30th at the Meet the Teacher/Back to School Bash. You’ll receive your free Class of 2027, Class of 2026, and Class of 2025 shirts. You’ll also receive a copy of your schedule.

You’ll also have an additional open house scheduled for August 13th at York Tech (more information to come).

Car Tags

For K - 9th families, car tags will be given out at the Meet the Teacher/Back to School Bash. Please make sure you have your ID with you to receive your car tags. If you can’t attend, we’ll distribute them during the first day at dismissal.

Back to School Information

We’ve created a webpage where we’ve housed all of your back-to-school information, ranging from supply lists to information about joining our outstanding PTO. The page can be found under the menu/parent information on our website, or you can visit it directly by clicking here: Back to School Information.

Specific Updates

Construction: If you haven’t been by the school over the past few weeks, you’ll be amazed to see the progress on the new building. We’re still on track to have the building finished in December. However, the construction does add a set of logistics for us to work around. For example, parking for the Meet the Teacher event. We’ll be sending out specific information next Sunday about parking options during the event on July 30th. We just ask that you be patient with us over the next few months as we all have to be flexible to work around the construction.

Dismissal: Due to the construction and for the safety of our students, we are having to modify our dismissal process. In the past, elementary families could start stacking whenever they liked (e.g., arriving at 12:00 pm to wait for dismissal). This year, elementary families will not be able to start stacking until 1:45 pm (middle/high at 2:40 pm) Monday through Thursday and 11:00 am / 12:10 pm on Fridays. This change should have minimal impact on our families.

Cell Phones: By now, you might have heard that a “no cell phone policy” has been written into SC Regulations (FY 2024-25 Appropriations Act and Proviso 1.103). There are some state regulations that charter schools are exempt from, and some that we are not. This is not a regulation that we’re exempt from since legislators have linked this requirement to school funding. We’ve provided this document outlining this policy, which primarily impacts our middle and high school students. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to your child’s administrator.

I believe that’s all for now. I hope you and your family enjoy this final full week of summer, and we look forward to seeing you all next Tuesday at our Meet the Teacher/Back to School Bash.

In Pride and Purpose,

Dr. Compton

Tuesday, July 30

• Meet the Teacher / Back to School Bash
• Elem: 3:30 pm 5:00 pm
• Middle/High: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
• Food Trucks/Games: until 7:30 pm

Thursday, August 1st

• First Day of Classes (K - 9th)

Tuesday, August 6th

• Spirit Night @ Empire Pizza in Newport

Tuesday, August 13th

• 10th - 12th Open House
• Senior Portraits

Monday August 19th

• First Day of Classes (10th - 12th)