Timber Talks

We want to again extend our gratitude for you while amidst the unknown and uncertainty, you entrusted us to ensure the safety of your child when we found ourselves in a "secure" status. We appreciate your patience while we awaited direction and then worked to either reunite you with your child directly or guide them to the bus for their end of day departure. We also wish to thank our staff who directly interacted with our students while we were in this status, reassuring them and helping them proceed with our typical day to day interactions while remaining inside the building. We also thank the police officers who were so quick to respond and be present on our campus to support the safety of all. While these scenarios are not what we prefer to experience, we use it as an opportunity to prioritize what is really important--one another and our students. Thank you for your care and compassion amidst the situation.

Later that evening, we proceeded with our Kindergarten Connection as planned, as we welcomed the class of 2037. There is so much excitement that starts long before the first day of kindergarten. If you know of a family that is new to the area, or will have a kindergarten student, please help us out by guiding them to the district website to register. The number of teachers in our building directly relates to the number of students we have. We are able to hire and keep the very best teachers by knowing how many kids we will have the following year before this school year ends.

Lastly, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our scheduled Bingo Night on May 2nd. We look forward to welcoming our families to other events through the remainder of the year.

Have an exceptional weekend and we will see you all on Monday morning!

Our ABC countdown allows us to continue to make lasting memories as a school community. Please help your child participate. The days highlighted in blue are dress up days.

State testing is something that happens in grades 3-5. All classes will participate in English Language Arts and Math state tests. This allows our school system to get a pulse on how we are doing, overall. All students will participate in the testing unless their families choose to opt out. Opt out forms can be found further down this newsletter. Fifth grade also participates in Science testing, which happens on a less frequent basis than the other subjects.

In order to help your child be prepared for state testing, please assure them that it's simply another assessment like we do all the time and not to worry. They have worked hard all year and it's an opportunity to show off what they have learned. We encourage students to always get a good night's rest and have a full breakfast, so they can be ready for the day. Thank you for supporting your child to be at school on time, each day, ready to learn!

In order to help you all know what the week looks like, we will list it out clearly for you each week. REID days for are invited students and will change each week. Students are invited to REID days for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's to extend or challenge a student, and other times it might be to provide extra help on a particular skill. On those days, our doors open at 7:50 and dismissal is at 10:00am. If you have questions about this week's schedule, please let us know!

This Week:

• Apr. 29th: Regular School Day
  
• Apr. 30th: Regular School Day
• May 1st: Regular School Day
• May 2nd: Regular School Day
• May 3rd: REID Day, by invite only

Upcoming Events:

• May 10th - REID Day, by invite only

• May 13 - 17 - No school - May Break

• May 24 - REID Day, by invite only

• May 27 - No School, Memorial Day

• June 4 - Career Day

• June 7 - REID Day, by invite only

• June 11 - Field Day

• June 12 - Sports Challenge

• June 13 - 5th Grade Promotion & Final full day of school

• June 14 - REID Day, by invite only

• June 17 - Grade Day - No School

River Mill Elementary is excited to offer the fourth annual school-wide career fair. The

career fair is scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, June 4th from approximately

8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

We are looking for presenters who are eager to share their career paths with students.

As you know, one of our priorities at River Mill Elementary School is to equip every

student with the skills necessary to become competent, resourceful, and successful. In

order to support this goal we are requesting that our presenters share the following

information:

• How do you use reading, writing, and math skills (or other school subjects) on your job?

• How do you use technology in your career field?
• What type of education and training is needed for advancement into the career area?

• Describe your job duties.
• Describe a typical work day.
• What talents and skills are necessary for success in your career field?
• What personal traits are helpful in your career?

Each presenter will deliver 4-7 presentations for approximately 20 minutes each as they

rotate to different classrooms. If you are willing to present information about your career,

return the attached form to your child’s teacher or to the school counselor listed below:

Rhonda Harris, Pre-K -2nd Counselor, harrisr@estacada.k12.or.us, 503-630-6871 Ext. 2416

For more information please feel free to contact Rhonda Harris.

The Estacada School District has many career opportunities available. Please help spread the news, or if you are interested, let us know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Want to stay informed about what's happening at River Mill? Follow us on Facebook.

My School Bucks is an online payment service that provides parents the ability to securely pay for meals, monitor student cafeteria purchases, and receive email notifications for low account balances. Please note: currently, a convenience fee of $2.75 will be applied for each transaction. All transactions are processed and applied to students' accounts nightly. To enroll, please follow the link below and have your student's ID number handy.

Cell phones are permitted as long as they are turned off and out of sight during the school day. Students who wear a cell phone watch can wear the watch to tell time, but need to turn off text and call features during the school day. Students who disobey this rule will have their cell phone taken and returned at the end of the day on the first offense. For a second offense, the cell phone will be taken to the office for parent pick up. Cell phones that ring during class are the responsibility of the student. Additional offenses will result in further disciplinary action. Cell phones may be used for educational purposes with teacher permission only.

The weather is super unpredictable. Please make sure your child has layers of clothes and a coat or jacket with a hood and long sleeves. If they do not, they will need to remain under the covered area during recess time when it is raining.

If your child gets super wet at recess or has a bathroom accident, we do not have extra clothes for them. For all students, Pre-K to 5th grade, please have a spare outfit (including socks) in your child's backpack. This will help make them more comfortable while they are at school.

If you wish to send snacks or gifts for your child’s birthday, the office will be happy to call your student out of class to see their surprise. To minimize classroom disruptions, our policy is to keep flowers, balloons, gifts, etc. in the office until the end of the day. When the student is released for the day, they can pick up their gift and take it home. Please contact your child’s teacher to make necessary arrangements for celebrations that can be scheduled at a time that is compatible with the day’s learning schedule. State law requires that snacks fit the healthy criteria for the Oregon Smart Snack law.

Please remember that our doors open on Monday through Thursday at 7:20 and on Friday at 7:50. We do not have supervision until those times so please do not drop your child off sooner than that time.

When it comes to dismissal, it is imperative that you update pick up patrol. We have several after school clubs and we need plans to be accurate. In addition, we still use pick up patrol on Friday, REID days and we need plans changed in that system on that day as well. If you need any support with this, just let us know. If we have not heard from you, we use the student's default plan in Pick Up Patrol to know where to send them. Thank you for understanding.

Every Student. Every Day. Whatever It Takes!

Principal Corinne Johnsen

Go Timbers!

Email: johnsenc@estacada.k12.or.us
Website: www.rmes.estacada.k12.or.us
Location: 850 North Broadway Street, Estacada, OR, USA
Phone: 503-630-8517
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiverMillElem
Twitter: @RMTimbers