6-8 BIOGRAPHY FAIR

Middle school students are hard at work learning about important historical figures, and beginning to plan out their research papers, oral presentations, and visual displays. 6th graders are deepening their knowledge of ancient history, 7th graders of American history, and 8th graders of world issues (and international reformers).

Parents, in order to support students at home, please expect they should be working on the project almost nightly, review the history/social studies sections of the lesson plan docs below for specific details and resource links, and be in touch with teachers if you have questions about your child's process, progress, or expectations. Note: Hanna has taken charge of planning the 7th graders Biography Fair work, while substitutes facilitate class time.

Students will present their learning on Friday, October 23 in the barn, and we hope many Riverside friends will come to support and celebrate them.

• 9:00 am: 7th graders present Notable Americans
• 10:00 am: 6th graders present Ancient Historical Figures
• 11:15 am: 8th graders present Modern Global Reformers

6-8 DANCE BY STUDENT COUNCIL

Student Council will host the first middle school dance of the year on Friday, Octobber 23. We will have a Halloween theme so we encourage you to wear a costume. Come join us for some music, refreshments and fun. The dance starts at 7:00 pm and make sure you arrange for pick up at 9:00 pm. We want to try to have the whole middle school there.

FOURTH GRADERS JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER

Sometimes the most important lessons start when children see a need and decide they want to do something about it. In the spirit of our theme this year, to do hard things together, our fourth graders want to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, to support children and families dealing with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. They have two exciting events planned.

• Karaoke Party Sunday, October 25, 4:00-7:00 pm: come together for music, food, laughter, and fun! Donations will be accepted throughout the event. Come ready to sing and bring some snacks to share.
• St. Jude Math-a-thon throughout the month of November for K-5th graders: Students will ask family members and friends to support their efforts. Sponsors can choose to make a flat donation or pledge an amount for each math problem or page completed. St. Jude provides the math workbooks, allowing every student to participate at the level that is right for them. As students work through their math problems, they’ll be putting their skills to good use while raising money to help children receiving care at St. Jude. Stay tuned to the Monday Memo for more information on the Math-a-thon in the next few weeks.

We believe in helping our students grow into compassionate, capable people who recognize that they can make a difference in the lives of others. We are proud of these fourth graders for turning their concern for others into action and we’re excited to see this supportive community stand behind them. Together we can help them understand that even small acts of kindness and generosity can add up to something extraordinary.

PK-8 FAMILY CONFERENCES

There will be an early dismissal at 12:30 on October 28 and 29 for Family Conferences. We hope each family can login to the sign up links below to schedule your conference ASAP. Please note that PK-5th grade conferences are meant to be conversations just for adults and are different lengths depending on the specific teacher's plans and prefernces. 6-8th grade students, however, are encouraged to join their conferences, which meet as one group around the library table for 15 minutes.

• Preschool Conference Sign Up Link
• Kindergarten Conference Sign Up Link
• 1st Grade Conference Sign Up Link
• 2nd Grade Conference Sign Up Link
• 3rd Grade Conference Sign Up Link
• 4th Grade Conference Sign Up Link
• 5th Grade Conference Sign Up Link
• 6-8th Grade Conference Sign Up Link



The Preschool Afterschool and K-8 Extended Day programs will be running from dismissal time at 12:30 until 4:15 for PreK and 5:00 for K-8. If your child will be attending on either of those days, even if they regularly attend, please email McKenna or fill out this form for Sean. It's really important that we be able to plan staffing, snacks, and activities carefully for these longer, more popular afternoons.

HALLOWEEN AT RIVERSIDE - OCTOBER 30

DURING SCHOOL

To celebrate during the school day, students are welcome to wear costumes to school, and we will have our traditional costume parade in morning assembly and giant-pumpkin hunt with our buddies.

Note that we expect reasonable amounts of candy to be shared among class groups, and for this to likely continue into Monday-Tuesday of next week. We ask that students be kind and fair with any candy they bring to school.

We hope that students will consider how costumes might be distracting to others during the school day, and plan accordingly. Too much bloody makeup might scare or offend someone else, making light of a cultural group might cause misunderstanding, and accessories that distract from classroom learning might need to be removed. We also recognize and understand that not all families celebrate halloween, and will strive to make sure those students are supported and apporpriately included. during these festivities.

EVENING OCTOBER FESTIVAL

Join us for one of Riverside’s favorite traditions, our annual October Festival including a haunted experience, community cookout & outdoor games for all ages!

• 5:30 PM outdoor games begin, cookout with burgers, hot dogs & side dishes
• 6:15 PM Mild Haunted House and Haunted Trail experiences, games continue
• 6:35 PM Scarier, Darker, Louder Haunted House and Hautned Trail Experiences, games continue
• 7:00 PM voting for the Jack o lantern competition 

We need more help! If you can lend a hand with these events, please sign up here.



AFTER HALLOWEEN

If you have more candy at your house after the holiday than you want, Caroline will be collecting it for Treats for Troops.