The Riverview Reader
Updates For The Week of September 11
Principal's Corner
Riverview Families,
Our first week of school was so great! Students and teachers went right to work building a strong sense of community and learning the routines that will help make everyone successful this school year. We know that students thrive when they know they are cared for, believed in, and when their learning environment is safe, calm, and predicable. That's why we incorporate a "go slow now in order to go fast later" mindset. We take time to intentionally build relationships with our learners. Additionally, we have extremely high expectations for our students and it is important that we take time at the beginning of the year to learn and practice those expected behaviors and habits of learning. We know Riverview students can do anything!
We also take time at the beginning of the year (and until the last day of school!) to lift up and practice our CARES values. CARES stands for Cooperation, Assertiveness, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-Control. We work with our students to help them understand how each of these values shows up in everything we do. If you spend time at Riverview, you will see CARES in the classroom, playground, lunchroom, and anywhere else learning is happening. Of course, young people fall short sometimes (who doesn't?) and when they do, we use our CARES language to help them learn a better way to engage with the people around them.
We are looking forward to our FUN RUN kickoff event this Friday. Our annual FUN RUN is one of the best events of the year and is our largest fundraiser for our school. The wonderful thing about the FUN RUN is that 100% of the money brought in goes directly to our PTP and is put right back into our school for the benefit of our students. We appreciate your child's participation in this event and any donations you, your family, friends, and neighbors may be able to make. Look for more information to be coming once we get closer to the kick off event. If we work together, we can accomplish anything!
Best wishes for a great week!
Shawn Peck
Principal
Important Upcoming Dates
- Tuesday, September 12 - First Fire Drill of the Year (see below for details)
- Wednesday, September 13 - Levy Information Session For Community Members 7:00-8:00 at North Trail Elementary School
- Friday, September 15 - Fun Run Kick Off
- Wednesday, September 20 - Levy Information Session For Community Members 7:00-8:00 at Boeckman Middle School
- Thursday, September 21 - MARK YOUR CALENDARS; Family Fun Night at RVES
- Thursday, September 28 - Picture Retake Day
- Friday, September 29 - Fun Run
- October 2-7 - Homecoming Week
First Days of School Bring Love, Joy, and the Steady Buzz of Learning to Riverview
The Fun Run is Back!
Riverview Elementary School will hold our annual Fun Run event on Friday, September 29. Our Fun Run is our largest fundraiser of the school year and we are proud of the fact that it also promotes positive character qualities, healthy habits, and teamwork - all while supporting our school!
Remember that 100% of money raised through the Fun Run goes right back into the school to support all the great things happening at RVES. In the past Fun Run donations have supported:
• Student iPad apps
• Classroom/Library Books
• Makerspace
• Playground
• Biz Town (5th Grade)
• African Drumming
• Dancing Sue
• Youth Teaching Youth (4th)
• Staff Celebrations
We will hold our Fun Run Kick Off event this week on Friday, September 15 and all students will be able to participate. Registration for the event is free and students who do will receive a Riverview CARES bracelet and T-Shirt. Details about how to donate and how to share the opportunity to support Riverview through email & social media will be shared soon. We hope that you will help us reach out goal of raising $40,000 to support students, teachers, and learning at RVES!
Join Our Next PTP Meeting on Tuesday, September 12 at 5:30
Our next meeting is Tuesday September 12, 5:30pm in the Multipurpose Room. The district calendar timing is incorrect. I apologize for that confusion. Please consider joining us to hear all about what we are doing to support our teachers and school.
Also, we hope everyone can uoin us on Sept. 21st from 5:30-8:00 at Riverview for Family Fun Night! There will be music, food trucks, bounce houses, face painting, balloon animals, a dunk tank and much more! All money earned will go right into supporting RVES students with the main goal of purchasing a 3-D printer for our media center. We are looking for volunteers to help in shifts the night of the event. Click here to sign up for a volunteer shift in an area that would be fun for you. We are hoping for as many parent helpers as possible to make this a successful event.
Connect with us: PresidentRVESptp@gmail.com
http://rvesptp.org/
Looking For Fun & Engaging After School Activities? Join a "Sparks Club"!
Looking for clubs after school? Playing with Food, Minecraft Club, Flag Football, and Brick Builders Rapid Racers are starting soon! Register your youth today through Community Education today at: https://bit.ly/CE192FallYouthRVES23 or call 651-460-3200.
In need of fee assistance to participate? Youth on free and reduced lunch or who have extenuating circumstances are eligible to apply for fee assistance. Apply here: http://bit.ly/192CEyouthfeeassistance.
Emergency Drills Set For This Week
We are also expected to conduct lockdown drills. Our first "drill" will not be done simultaneously throughout the school. Instead, each classroom will hold a discussion in an age appropriate manner about why these drills occur and how we need to respond when they do happen. We teach students to stop, look, and listen during emergency situations and to respond to directions from adults promptly. School-wide drills will be added throughout the year to practice the routines discussed at the beginning of the year.
Please feel free to contact principal, Shawn Peck with any questions or concerns you may have.
Please Help Us Meet Our Goals By Saying Good Bye's Outside In The Morning
1. To ensure everyone's safety. While we love seeing parents/guardians at school, we have a visitor check-in procedure set up in the main office to ensure that we know who is in the school at all times. For the safety of every person in our school, we do not allow visitors to just walk right into our school throughout the day and we want to stay consistent with this expectation in the morning as well.
2. To help our students develop a sense of independence. It takes courage for our learners to walk through the main doors by themselves and responsibility to get to where they are going independently. We want all our students to develop these skills and during morning routines is a great place to start. We know they can do it!
Make Sure Your Child is Reading At Least 20 Minutes Per Night
Reading at home is not only good for academic achievement, it is a great way to create a quiet & calm household, reduces stress & anxiety, support wellness & mental health, improve critical thinking, and promote empathetic thinking in your children. If you ever need books to support this 20 minute per night goal, please reach out to your child's teacher right away!
Referendum Election Set For Tuesday, November 7; Learn More in the Message From Superintendent, Jason Berg
Dear Farmington Area Public Schools Parents and Families:
At the school board meeting on August 18, the Farmington Area School Board made an important decision that will significantly impact our students and the future of our district. I wanted to directly share the details of this decision with you.
The board voted to schedule a referendum election for November 7, 2023. The decision to schedule the referendum came after months of consideration and discussion. After the need to make budget reductions totaling $4.2 million for the 2023-2024 school year along with facing a projected deficit of approximately $3.5 million for the 2024-2025 school year, it was important to offer district residents the opportunity to consider increasing funding for the district rather than facing additional reductions in the next few years. The proposal on the ballot will ask voters to:
- Revoke the district’s existing operating levy of $677 per pupil and replace it with a new levy in the following amounts per pupil for taxes payable in the years specified:
- $1,239.92 per pupil for taxes payable in 2024 which will provide $9 million ($5 million from previous levy and $4 million from new levy) per year for the first three years of the new levy ; and
- An additional $562.95 per pupil for taxes payable in 2027 which will provide an additional $4 million per year for the remaining seven years of the new levy.
If approved, the revenue from the new levy will help the district to:
- Maintain excellent learning opportunities, programs and services for district students.
- Offset a portion of the costs associated with new literacy and learner support initiatives required by the state.
- Stabilize funding.
The district is choosing to bring the ballot question to the community at this time because of the following factors that will significantly reduce the tax impact on local property owners:
- Expiring debt - As a result of the district paying off two building bonds previously approved by voters, local property owners will see a reduction in property taxes of about $553 annually or $46 per month (on a home valued at $350,000). Specifically,
- In the 2024-2025 school year, the first building bond will be paid off, reducing the district’s overall debt and resulting in a decrease in local property taxes. For a home valued at $350,000, taxes will be reduced by about $134 annually or about $11 per month.
- Similarly, the second building bond will be paid off in the 2027-2028 school year, which will cause another drop in property taxes for residents. For a home valued at $350,000, taxes will be further reduced by about $419 annually or about $35 per month.
- In the 2024-2025 school year, the first building bond will be paid off, reducing the district’s overall debt and resulting in a decrease in local property taxes. For a home valued at $350,000, taxes will be reduced by about $134 annually or about $11 per month.
- Fiscal Stewardship - If the operating levy is approved in November, the school board will proactively act to allow taxpayers to experience the savings of the debt being paid off. To accomplish this, the district will only levy $9 million of the new operating levy for the first three years (i.e., 2024-2025, 2025-2026, and 2026-2027) and then levy the entire amount, about $13 million, for the remaining seven years.
Because of this action, school property taxes for district residents with a home valued at $350,000 will increase by about $13.25 per month for the first four years and then be reduced by $10.50 for the remaining six years of the levy. Thanks to strong financial planning from the district, we are taking advantage of these upcoming changes to our tax base and finding ways to maximize the impact on our learners and schools while reducing the tax burden on our community.
If the operating levy is not approved, the district likely will need to make additional budget reductions for the 2024-2025 school year and beyond. Budget adjustments would include discontinuing educational programs and reducing learning opportunities for students. As noted above, the district is currently projecting a budget deficit of about $3.5 million for 2024-2025.
Throughout the next several weeks, we will share additional information about the referendum question. You can also go to our website for more information or email referendum@farmington.k12.mn.us with any questions.
With the start of the school year in a little over two weeks, we are excited to welcome learners, parents and families back to our schools. We look forward to seeing you.
Sincerely,
Jason Berg
Superintendent
Learning Apps Now Available Through Self Service on District Issued Student iPads
Opt-In to Text Messages For Emergency Notifications
In addition to emails and phone calls, you can opt to receive emergency notifications in the form of text messages from ISD 192. ISD 192 will utilize the SchoolMessenger system to deliver text messages straight to your mobile phone with important information about school closings and safety alerts.*
You can participate in this free service* just by sending a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our school’s short code number, 67587. You can also opt out of these messages at any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”. SchoolMessenger is compliant with the Student Privacy PledgeTM so you can rest assured that your information is safe and will never be given or sold to anyone.
*Terms and Conditions: Message frequency varies. Standard message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel. Mobile carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. See schoolmessenger.com/tm for more info.
Join Us For a Free Viewing of "LIKE" and the Activities on Monday, September 18
On Monday September 18, 2023 ISD 192 will be hosting a free viewing of LIKE: A Documentary About the Impact of Social Media on our Lives. We invite you to be part of this educational opportunity in our community. During this evening, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with various resources, hear from a panel of experts, and view the documentary together. We encourage early learning and elementary parents or guardians to attend along with secondary students, parents, or guardians. See the flyer below for more details.
Stay Connected To Riverview
Email: speck@farmington.k12.mn.us
Website: https://rves.farmington.k12.mn.us/
Location: 4100 208th Street West, Farmington, MN 55024, USA
Phone: 651-460-1600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rve192