Riverside Review

Dear RSI Parents and Family Members,

Happy New Year, and welcome back to the second semester of the 2024-2025 school year! We hope you had a restful and enjoyable winter break, and are ready to support our young Hawks as they conquer the 2nd half of what has been an exceptional school year.

The second semester brings new opportunities for learning, exploration, and success. Let’s continue to work together to ensure that our students feel supported, challenged, and empowered to reach their full potential. Our collective commitment to act as a true supportive school community will certainly benefit each of our students and their academic outcomes.

Thanks to our amazing PTO for an exceptional Hot Chocolate Bar for the RSI staff this morning. It was a huge hit and warmed everyone up on this brisk winter day!

A few key reminders:

• Thanks to all of you who are promoting safe footwear for PE, it is noticed and appreciated!
• Please review the detailed MLK Food Drive information below: We are currently looking at two empty food bins, so we need your help!
• Please take a look at the massive collection of clothing that was not claimed prior to break below. We really want them back home, as we do need to donate them soon.

I hope you can get out and do some sledding with your family this weekend. Stay safe and warm!

Dana Kaminski, Ph.D.

Riverside Intermediate Principal

ACES is a proactive program sponsored by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office. Its purpose is to promote good school attendance by enforcing the legal obligations of compulsory school attendance noted in Indiana Law. Students may be referred by HSE Schools to the Hamilton County Deputy Prosecutor for the City of Fishers for participation in the program for being truant from school or having unexcused absences. Students with absences without a doctor’s note that exceeds 10 days per school year are considered unexcused and may also result in a referral to the ACES program.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools is seeking public input on a Title IV Ed-Flex Waiver. To learn more about this waiver, how it will be used by the district, and to provide public comment please visit hseschools.org/publicnotices and click on IDOE Title IV Ed-Flex Waiver.

Consistent school attendance is essential for promoting student achievement. Research shows that regular attendance is linked to higher success rates in math and language arts, and students with lower chronic absence rates are more likely to excel.

Attendance Reminders:

1. Call-In Requirement: Parents/guardians must notify the school by 10:00 AM if a student will be absent or arriving late. A 24-hour voicemail is available for your convenience.

2. Excused Absences: A maximum of ten (10) absences per school year will be excused. Beyond this, absences require a doctor’s note to avoid being marked unexcused.

3. Half-Day Credit: Students must attend for at least 3 hours to be credited for a half day, which is necessary to participate in extracurricular activities.

Reward Opportunity: Students who maintain an attendance rate above 97% will soon be eligible for a special reward, so keep aiming for great attendance! Let’s work together to make this a successful year!

School Start: 9:15AM

School End: 4:00PM

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. Automated letters will be sent out when your student reaches 5, 8 and 10 absences whether the absences are excused or unexcused. 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. Our office does NOT use Dismissal Manager.

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.

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!

President - Christina Stenske

Vice President - Christine Gilchrist

Treasurer - Jenny Shoemaker

Secretary - Teresa Hunckler

Member at Large - Leslie Halcomb

Member at Large - Marissa Deckert

For any questions regarding PTO events, please email riversideintpto@gmail.com

We're back! Now that our winter break has concluded, we hope you are rejuvenated for the new year, eager to create cherished memories for our children, RSI leaders, and parents.

In January, we plan to relax and enjoy our first of the year Dine to Donate event at Blaze Pizza on 1/27/2025. Support this event and tell your friends, family, and neighbors. We are on track to meeting our goal of raising $1500.00 from our Dine to Donate events.

We have a number of events scheduled for February, including our first PTO meeting on 2/11/2025 and our amazing HSE Foundation Silent Auction basket. This year we had a donation from "Play it Again Sports," providing a kayak and paddles to bid. Note: The PTO participates in this annual event with the HSE Foundation—https://www.hsefoundation.org/—and this year, we are extremely proud of the donation that will represent our school. When bidding begins, we'll provide more details and see what other HSE district schools have contributed. The best part is that this donation did not originate from the funds we raised to support the children and RSI leaders.

Today, we celebrated the return to school with a hot chocolate bar filled with various goodies for our RSI leaders. Once again, WE appreciate your dedication and support for 2024, and we eagerly anticipate the creation of unforgettable memories during our remaining months together.

Please see the attached list if your student is in need of a tutor!

The Indiana Center for Prevention partners with Child Lures Prevention (https://childluresprevention.com/) to cover cornerstone topics of child safety. Due to the licensing agreement, we are unable to provide copies of the actual curriculum. Below is an overview of topics covered and contains key words and phrases contained in the slides and facilitator scripts. Videos and real-life cases in the news are used to reinforce key safety concepts. ICPYAS follows best practices when selecting videos and sharing case examples. We do not use worst-case examples or share explicit details of abuse. Sharing explicit details of abuse and worse-case examples can traumatize younger children which is counterproductive to educating and empowering them. Throughout lessons with younger children, we emphasize that this information is “just in case” and that most people are safe. When hearing worst-case examples, teens tend to dismiss the possibility of this happening within their community. When using examples - or real cases for teens - we highlight the resilience of the youth involved to empower youth to recognize, resist, and report inappropriate and abusive situations. Please use this link below for additional information.

RSI Families,

Riverside Intermediate is pleased to announce the return of the Snack Attack program for those students in need. This program, supported by the Fishers Youth Assistance Program, is designed to provide students a little extra nourishment for the weekend until they can receive a hot meal at school on Monday.

Here's how the program works. Your student will pick up a small sack of food to be taken home over the weekend. The sack is filled with individually wrapped snacks such as granola bars, fruit cups, pop tarts, peanut butter/crackers, Goldfish crackers, etc. The type of snacks will vary each week. Please let us know if your child has a peanut allergy as he/she will receive a special bag of peanut-free snacks.

There is no cost to you or the school. To be part of this free program, you must sign up your family online. https://forms.gle/qQ2GgbD32C66Dhfg7 or have questions, please contact FYAPFood@gmail.com

You can also reach out to Brenna Anton, 6th grade school counselor, if you have questions.

Your child’s class will be participating in the Creating Positive Relationships curriculum. Please review the curricula summary and place a check mark in the box to OPT-IN or OPT-OUT. If the form is not returned, your child will automatically be opted in. (Parents have the option to opt-out at any time during the school year, before lessons are taught.)

6th grade curriculum-Building Healthy Futures

During the month of January, students are taught what to expect as they progress through puberty: physical, emotional, social and mental changes. They learn about the reproductive system anatomy, the steps of physical affection, delaying gratification, and the importance of choosing friends that encourage good decision making. Students also learn how STIs are spread and any myths they may believe are dispelled. Students are shown how HIV effects the immune system. Students receive a booklet for note taking and they are encouraged to share each day’s lesson with their parent/guardians.

Parents have the right to review the material before lessons are taught at school.

More detailed information is available in a Parent Webinar at: cpr4teens.org/parents/webinar-info/

If you do not wish your child to participate in these lessons, please speak with the teacher before you exclude your child. These lessons provide great discussion starters for the parent/guardian and child about relationships. Please see attached form.

HSE Schools have collected broken/unwanted holiday lights for the past several years, and it has been very successful. This event has prevented over 7.5 tons of e-waste from entering landfills. Starting on November 25 and going until January 15, I am asking that each school collect unwanted/unusable holiday lights in a central location in your building (front office, media center, science classroom, environment/eco club). As your school’s collection bins fill, we will transport the material to a central location.

The RSI Lost and Found is overflowing with items, lots of sweatshirts, jackets, water bottles and lunch boxes.

Please encourage your student to check the lost and found – we are simply running out of room and will be donating items on the Tuesday after MLK day, Tuesday, January 21, 2025.

Sign Up Now - Early Bird Spring Sport Registration is Open!

Get ready for an action-packed spring! With 9 sports to choose from, there’s something for every skill level and interest. Early bird registration is now open at myathletics.com and runs through January 31st. Sign up for baseball, softball, soccer, boys and girls lacrosse, rugby, boys volleyball, pickleball and track & field. Explore detailed season information here and secure your spot today!

Spring Program Scholarships Available:
Interested in spring program scholarship opportunities with our leagues? Families who are on free or reduced lunch within the district can apply for one per season per child and must apply and be accepted during our open registration period. For spring sports these dates are January 1st – January 31st. Email info@myathletics.com

Help us create a safe and positive environment for participants, parents, guardians, coaches and referees. When you register with us in 2025, you will sign the following agreement. Just think of the difference we can make TOGETHER.

This newsletter will assist you with all questions regarding Food Service - please click below.

6:30am before school - click button below for enrollment instructions

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.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Click Account and Logout. You are now logged out of your child's account.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Check your email now to finalize your Canvas sign-up.
7. 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.

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.

Interested in finding out about things going on throughout our district - take a look at the Community Insider!

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 X: @RSIGoldenHawks