Dear Parents and Community Members,
This newsletter is focused on how we the Riverdale Community actually live our motto: “Teaching students to be thoughtful in their education, about each other, and for their community.”
On Monday and Tuesday of this week 20 members of our community representing teachers, parents, staff, and administrators worked together to create the Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP communicates to educators, students, their families, and community members, the process of measuring and achieving improvements in Riverdale’s performance. The state requires that each district have a CIP because outcomes show that when a district has a plan for continuous improvement and requires clearly defined roles and responsibilities, student achievement increases. Our goal is that 100% of our students are learning and growing, preparing for their futures.
Parents, teachers, staff, and administrators are also volunteering to serve on many other committees including the Facilities Committee, the Literacy Plan, the HB3681 Study Group, and the School Improvement Councils. It is the talent, commitment, and fortitude of our parents, teachers, and staff that truly make Riverdale a wonderful district.
Another example of the Riverdale Community making a significant contribution to the broader community is embodied in The India Service Trip, one of the numerous ways our students are involved in volunteering. This worthwhile tradition began in 2005 when Daisy Kuchinad (parent) created the opportunity for our high school students to have a cultural experience with a service focus. That year 12 students and four adults traveled to India to begin a noteworthy collaboration with Hope Charities, a nonprofit providing medical and other care to some of the poorest citizens of India. Since 2005, our students have traveled three times to India. This Friday 12 High School seniors will leave on Riverdale’s fourth mission of hope. Joining them are their teacher, Laurie LePore, and parent, Ron Borkan. During these few short years our students have raised $125,000 for the charity and have completed the following:
- Funded the community clinic serving over 1,000 people since 2005
- Constructed a community well for water
- Constructed a community room for the Women’s Empowerment Training Center
- Provided books for a community library
- Provided stove building training to reduce use of materials and improve air quality
- Built a home for a family of need
- Carry medical and other desperately needed supplies on every trip
- Teach English language lessons
- Provide activities for the young students
The trip occurs in two phases. The students travel through northern India including Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur for the first five days. This allows them to get over jet lag and to acclimate to the diverse culture, sights and sounds of India. They then travel to the clinic located in a very rural SE India and located three hours from the nearest city or airport. The students are fully immersed in the community for two weeks where “they are treated like Rock Stars!” states Laurie Lepore. It is not hard to fathom their elevated station when you realize that the clinic, the well, the Women’s Center, medical supplies and library would not exist if our students had not taken an interest in creating a long term relationship with this village six years ago. Not only are the lives of the children and families of one village in India forever changed, but also the very lives of our own students and certainly their outlook shifts in profound ways by this experience.
Our students will also spend time in local schools and with the hopes to forge new relationships that may grow into a sister school connecting our entire school community with India. Technology makes the possibilities endless.
These are just two examples of the generosity of our Riverdale Community members. During this national holiday focused on thanksgiving, we wish you and your families a peaceful, reflective time with friends and family. We are so very fortunate to be part of Riverdale and want to thank you for all you do for our students, for each other and for the community.
With gratitude,
Dr. Brook MacNamara, Superintendent
Service at the Grade School
The following email landed in my in-box the other day:
Mr. Patterson,
We found out how much money we raised in the "trick or treat" for UNICEF, and would like to thank the parents, students, and teachers. Could you please attach this in your next newsletter?
"Thank you Parents, Students, and Teachers for your support of UNICEF! Because of your help, we have raised over $965. This will go directly to the kids who need it the most! Thanks - Riverdale Leadership Class 2011."
Thanks Again!
Leadership Class 2011
Watching the evolution of our student governance at Riverdale Grade School over the past several years has been a true joy. Over that period we moved toward a self-selecting system that encourages students to give to their community, through a commitment to service work and planning events for their peers. I am so appreciative of the efforts of Sara Brounstein and Lori Peterson in developing leadership students who feel truly enabled to impact the wider community as well as our own.
Service learning opportunities provided a narrative thread for the opening trimester of the 2011-2012 school year. Derek and Will started us off on a positive note when they relaunched the "Soles for Souls" drive at the Ice Cream Social. Leadership students, along with Megan G. from RHS, put together the remarkably effective UNICEF drive. They end the trimester with a canned food drive to support the Portland Food Bank! With children this thoughtful and conscientious, it is not hard to recall how much we have to be thankful for!
Grade School Highlights
It would be hard to believe we're at the terminus of the first trimester once again if we hadn't been so busy. I'll list some of the highlights of a truly lovely Autumn trimester in chronological order:
Two seventh graders, Derek and Will, kicked off the year in service learning by requesting to host a "Soles for Souls" drive during the (reinvigorated and better than ever) PTC Ice Cream Social! The organization encourages the redistribution of new and gently used athletic shoes to people in need, usually in disaster zones.The RGS/RHS collaborative called "Cadet Teaching" kicked off -- this program has been an absolutely fantastic addition to our program. Cadet Teaching is an elective at the High School for those students that have an interest in the field of education.
Just three weeks into the young school year the 5th graders spent a week on the mountain, exploring the Ape Caves and hiking the various geological features of Mt. St. Helens on their field study.
7th graders visited the Tree-to-Tree ropes course for a day of bonding, personal challenge, and team-building.
Another PTC event that reemerged this year was the Carnival. I got soaked, but it was an absolute joy to see the community come together like that.
The PTC Speaker Series continued to grow in popularity with incredibly informative sessions from author and anti-bullying advocate Trudy Ludwig and technology addiction expert (and Riverdale parent) Donnie Wright.
The Riverdale High School choir performed with the "Riverdale Singers" in a joint assembly.
Dozens of our talented band and choir students will perform at the 6-8 Fall Music Concert.
Another wildly successful set of Open Houses. Thanks parent volunteers!
Service at the High School (contributors to the article: Jennie H, Jennifer M, Mark W, and Kaitlyn K)
In the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, I would like to share with you the “giving” of service contributions the Riverdale High School student body has demonstrated as a kick off for this year; just a few are described below:
This has been an exciting term in Ms. Cassell’s Food for Thought Class. Each week has had a different theme, starting with basic salads and stocks, to protein week, baking week and next up, Thanksgiving week. To kick off protein week students had a visit from Lisa Weller, a food scientist who talked about career options that combine loves of food and sciences – specifically microbiology and chemistry.
They have also been watching several films in class about the cooking industry. One film, called Pressure Cooker was about high school students on the East coast competing in a cooking competition for scholarships, and documented their preparatory class. Students watched another film about local farmers in the Pacific Northwest and how the farming industry is slowly becoming more local. The most recent film watched was Forks Over Knives, which explored research suggesting that eating too much meat can cause cancer. Ironically, the students ended the week by making 3 dishes: homemade vegetarian burgers, steak with a butter sauce, and Tuscan Chicken Under a Brick.
At the beginning of October the class went on a field trip downtown and visited Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts. They were taken on a tour of their facilities and shown the different levels of their courses, then were taken downstairs where they had lunch at the student-run restaurant. Students also had the opportunity to wander a local farmers market in the park blocks. There, each of them split into groups to search for ingredients for their 50-Mile-Meal project, where they had to find and create recipes using in-season foods that were locally grown.
Tying all this together will be the Food for Thought Final Project, Thursday, November 17th – “Thanksgiving Insanity”. Our students will be utilizing all of the skills to prepare a Thanksgiving Dinner for 60 people to be served at New Avenues for Youth, an agency that serves homeless teenagers.
The final in this class is a high-stakes situation in which students problem-solve, cook, and serve others. Cooking as a way to say thank you….very important. Dinner is roasted turkey, bread stuffing with sage, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, green beans with caramelized shallots, white bean veggie patties (vegetarian alternative), gravy from the pan drippings, apple crumble pie and pumpkin pie. All from scratch (the only shortcut was the pie-crust).
The Riverdale High School National Honor Society (NHS) inducted 28 new students this year. The NHS students have been together for just over two weeks and have already accomplished so much. This year, NHS conducted a canned food drive on Halloween, collecting over 1000lbs of food for the Oregon Food Bank. The students helped at Harrison Park Elementary School during their Harvest Festival. Our students helped children press apple cider, and ran several carnival games. Our relationship with Harrison Park is through the SUN program, and will continue throughout the year. This is our fourth year working with them, and there are usually five events per year. We will also be working on several projects through Portland Impact and Hands-on Portland throughout the year. Both of these organizations publish needs for help with many projects, and we sign up to help them.
The Blood Drive exceeded our goal of 30 donations and ended up with 33 donations. This year two wonderful parents, Amber Hinsvark and Barbara Lynn, were able to set up and organize the Blood Drive supporting the student’s vision. They were a huge help in making sure everything ran smoothly and that the students achieved their donation goal. The team in the blood bus was wonderful, as always. The team from the Red Cross was helpful and efficient. We are glad to have had the opportunity to work with such a great group again.
Community Service Club has started this year! Community Service Club sets up opportunities for students to sign up and volunteer for a variety of opportunities in our community. We currently have a volunteering opportunity December 3rd for 20 students to work at the Oregon Food Bank, and another on December 4th to volunteer at Potluck in the Park.
Green Club has been meeting every week discussing sustainability goals for our school and our community. We have successfully started composting in our Maverick Room and in our kitchen. Also, community service club and green club have teamed up to collect any plastic bags that people have lying around their house and donate them to Potluck in the Park where people who can use them have the option to take them. By doing this we are keeping the plastic bags out of our landfill longer.
Donors Resource is nonprofit organization that is run by a group of Riverdale High School Students. Students are learning how to work in a business environment. They all have jobs, such as marketing, web development, social media, program coordinator, and so on. Students have successfully redesigned the DonorsResource.org website as well changed the logo and made a video that demonstrates all of their hard work. In over just one year, they have grown as students and interns and have learned to take responsibility in our community and their personal lives.
Service at Riverdale is more than community service or volunteerism; it links education to service and service to learning. At the High School we have a 90-hour service graduation requirement; last year our senior class of 58 students performed over 11,000 hours of community service averaging 189 hours -- far exceeding the graduation requirement.
International Students RHS
Riverdale is committed to educating future global citizens through opportunities beyond textbooks and movies. International education exchange fosters mutual understanding between people around the world. Our International Students are here to experience attending a local high school. This is an opportunity for these students to expand their English language skills and understanding of American culture while sharing their native culture with the our students and community.
This year we have seven students at the High School staying with host families in our community. We have five long term (12 month stay) students and two short term (11 weeks) students.
Xinfei (Fenny) is attending Riverdale as a senior from Shanghai, China. This is her second year in the United States. Last year, she attended Aloha High School (2000 students). What Fenny enjoys most is participating in class, sharing ideas aloud and not being afraid of wrong answers. Fenny enjoys the small size of Riverdale – it feels like a family to her.
“One thing I remembered so well is that on orientation day, Claire S was the one that showed the new students around. Before I introduced myself, she already knew my name. I was impressed. I'm so thankful to be a member of this family.
My favorite class at Riverdale High School is Advanced Calculus. I am also participating in club activities: Chess Club, National Honor Society and Science Olympiad. I’m planning on joining the snowboard team in the Spring.
Lucas is a junior from Madrid, Spain. He played on the varsity soccer team this fall. His favorite sport is Basketball and he will be playing this winter. He is also a member of the non-profit youth leadership project through Donors Resource. Lucas is eager to learn about the United States and feels his experience with Donors Resource is a great way to learn by helping others.
Ryan, is a junior from Bangkok, Thailand. He aspires to do something for the community and for the world at large. Ryan has immersed himself at Riverdale, playing Varsity Soccer, working at the Canteen, National Honor Society and much more. The most challenging experience while he has been a student here is the Junior Chemistry project. "Even though I spent 100 hours on the project, it feels like it was worth it. Looking back on the project, I learned an incredible amount."
Nico – Nico will be joining Riverdale High School as a freshman after the Thanksgiving break. Nico is from Burgthann, a small village just outside Nürnberg in Southern Bavaria. He is an avid soccer player and snowboarder. He is looking forward to experiencing life at an American high school, improving his English and finding out if the snowboarding here in Oregon is better than it is at home.
Nico is currently in 9th grade at Leibniz-Gymnasium in Altdorf. His major subjects there are mathematics and science. He is also studying both English and French. Leibniz-Gymnasium is a high school with an emphasis on math, science and modern languages.
Diego and Jennifer are both short term stays from Guatemala (11 weeks). They are both enjoying the Food for Thought class where they will be preparing "Thanksgiving Insanity" a Thanksgiving feast for 60 people prepared by Riverdale students to be served at New Avenues for Youth, an agency that serves homeless teenagers. 
 |
| Olivia (center) |
Olivia is a Riverdale High School junior who is studying in Japan. Olivia won the AFS-Japan (Merit) Scholarship to attend high school in Japan. Olivia will be returning to Riverdale in February. In her own words:
"I’m living in Odaware, which is Kanagawa prefecture. Basically I go to school everyday like a normal Japanese high school student, and take the same classes as the rest of my classmates. However, I usually do a class or two a day when I study Japanese either by myself or with a teacher. I also take calligraphy on Wednesdays, which isn’t with my usual classmates. The food is really amazing. I love Japanese curry and sukiyaki. I also really enjoy softball and tea ceremony at school. Even though everything is going great. I miss my family and friends! I also miss sleeping late sometimes. The latest I’ve slept since I have been here is 8, and I think I have only done that two or three times."
ATHLETICS
HIGH SCHOOL MAVERICKS
The Riverdale Cross Country team just
completed its second year of competition under first year head coach Michael
Johnson. This season the roster rose to 17 members (11 boys and 6
girls), and competed in 11 meets during the fall season. On the boys side, the
focus was on dropping times for runners who were unfamiliar with the sport and
to become competitive. The season saw runners consistently improving their
times, some by as much as 4 minutes. The strongest meet of the season was the
Northwest League Meet where all five scoring members of the varsity team
finished the race under 20 minutes, meaning each mile was under 6:30. The
future looks bright for the boys team as they will lose only two members of
the seven-person varsity.
Boys Soccer – The Riverdale Boys
Soccer program finished the 2011 school year with a 3-7-3 overall record, and
just missed advancing to the district playoffs with a 1-3-2 league record this
season. This year’s Maverick squad
had its series of ups and downs as the Mavericks defeated long-time rival
Portland Christian for the first time, and played several teams very strong but
fell short of making district playoffs for the first time in several years. With well over forty athletes in the
program, the future looks strong under head coach Tendu Sherpa as he looks to
develop the highest number of athletes the program has seen in school history. Good job this season and continue all
of your hard work!
Girls Soccer - The Lady Mavericks finished the
Special District #1
with a league record of 0-6-2. As
a result the Lady Mavericks had to travel to nearby Westlake Park in Lake
Oswego for a re-match against league foe Westside Christian Eagles, a team the
Mavericks had just tied several days before. However, it would not prove to be the Lady Mavericks night
as the season came to an end with a tough loss to the Eagles. Great job ladies on all your hard work
this season and we look forward to seeing all that you can accomplish next soccer
season.
Volleyball – The Riverdale volleyball
program continues to go through a series of tough growing pains under head
coach Craig Woods. A program that
was down to just one squad a year ago with declining numbers has been
re-energized in the 2011 season.
This year the volleyball program has nearly doubled their numbers from
2010 and has brought back a JV schedule as well. Although 2011 saw the varsity program go winless for the
season, the strong youthful numbers bodes well for the Mavericks and their
volleyball future as they look to build upon their growth from this season next
year. Continue to work hard and
develop as we look forward to seeing what you can accomplish.
GRADE SCHOOL FALCONS
Riverdale Falcons Girls Soccer – Lady
Falcons take Metro Christian League Title in stunning fashion! After finishing the regular season in
second place, the Falcon’s soundly defeated OES in a home semi-final match to
qualify for the League Championship game. The Championship was a re-match with then undefeated Kingsway,
who had beaten the Falcons twice earlier that year. In this amazing contest that lasted not
only regulation time, but two overtime periods the score remained deadlocked
until the Falcons won the MCL Championship on penalty kicks. With the victory, the Lady Falcons
finished the season with an overall record of 7-3 and won the Metro Christian
League Championship! Congratulations to the Falcons and coaches Leslie Charuhas
and Denise Gooding on such an amazing season, we are all proud of you!
Riverdale Falcons Boys Division 1
Soccer – The Boys Division One soccer program finished the season tied for
first place with OES under head coach Gavin Morton. The Falcons ended the regular season with an overall mark of
7-2 and went into the playoffs as the number two seed based upon season
tie-breakers. In the home
Semi-final match the Falcons battled back from a four goal deficit to force
overtime before suffering a heartbreaking loss to Catlin Gabel in dramatic
fashion on penalty kicks. It was a
tremendous season of success for the Division One Falcons in the Metro
Christian League and we look forward to seeing what the program can do next
season.
Riverdale Falcons Volleyball - The
Lady Falcons had a great season this year finishing the season with a 3-5
overall record and 6th place in the Metro Christian League!!! Coach Sara
Brounstein added that this group of girls supported and respected each other
both off and on the court. They constantly blew me away with their level of
sportsmanship and basic respect for the game. Many team and personal goals were
met this year along with creating long lasting friendships!! I can't wait to
see where they go. Congratulations
girls on a wonderful season and we can’t wait to see what you do next year!
PTC - Grade School
The Grade School PTC has been very busy this Fall. The New Family Lemonade and Back-To-School Coffee in the courtyard kicked the year off to a great start. The ever-favorite Ice Cream Social returned with kids smiling from ear to ear. Through the guidance of Minnie Cooper we have new family connectors for each grade and strive to make all our families feel comfortable walking through the doors those first few weeks.
We had our first “Jazz Under the Stars” fundraiser for the Foundation on the quad. Families enjoyed picnicking under the stars to the cool tunes of Tim Bryson and the Swingline Cubs. It was a great evening. The annual Ladies’ Stag included a great hike along the Willamette River during the day and a lovely evening of food and friends at the home of the Sanaees.
A fantastic new fundraising tradition was started in October: The Fall Carnival! This event could not have been more fun for our kids! Despite the misty afternoon, hundreds attended the festive fair bringing home gold fish, cakes (cake walk) and of course taking their own stab at dunking our very own Mr. Patterson! A huge thanks to Vawn McCollum, Heather Bogaty, and their team of incredible volunteers.
The RGS Lunch Program is serving more kids than ever a healthy, hot lunch. Thanks to Mary Krummel and Allison Kehoe we are able to offer this great program; and thanks to the more than 25 volunteers each week who diligently serve them! Community School continues to offer interesting extra-curricular classes after school thanks to Holly Kelly’s lead. Look for the new winter class schedule soon!
Nicole K. Grayson
Under the guidance of Shelby Quintos and her array of classroom parents, the Art Literacy program is going strong! Stop by the Lake Oswego Library Children’s section to see RGS student art on display!
Our second year of our Speakers Series opened with Trudy Ludwig. The author came to talk to both our students and parent population about emotional bullying. Donny Wright, a Portland counselor and RGS parent, spoke to the parents about technology addictions and navigating the world of screens with young, developing minds. Stay tuned for our Winter Series.
The RGS Lunch Program is serving more kids than ever a healthy, hot lunch. Thanks to Mary Krummel and Allison Kehoe we are able to offer this great program; and thanks to the more than 25 volunteers each week who diligently serve them! Community School continues to offer interesting extra-curricular classes after school thanks to Holly Kelly’s lead. Look for the new winter class schedule soon!
We are looking forward to our annual Book Fair opening on December 5th. This puts needed books into our library, as well as our children’s hands. If you have time, stop by the first week of December at the GS Library and do some holiday shopping!
We will also be offering our first ever “Movie Night” on December 11th, 4:00pm in the RGS Commons.
There is a lot more going on in the halls of the school than I can properly describe in this letter. Everyone volunteering their time and resources to our kids is exceedingly appreciated and we want to thank them for all of their time and commitment. We make a huge difference in the quality of our children’s learning experience at Riverdale. If you’re not already involved and would like to participate with us, please let us know. We’d love to get you connected!
We have an amazing year ahead and look forward to the many events coming up: Be sure to mark your calendars for the second annual Ping Pong Tournament on January 29th from 11-4pm and you don’t want to miss our Winter Auction on March 3rd, 2012. It’s going to be an incredible event!!
With warm regards,
Nicole K. Grayson
RGS PTC President
PTC High School Highlights
Here are a few of the High School PTC highlights so far this year:
This year, the Booster Club instituted a new program that recognizes athletes of the week in each sport. The students are nominated by their coaches; recognized in class during the week; and photos are posted on the bulletin boards at school.
Many thanks to all the parents who donated to the eBay auction. Look for the online auction to start November 18th and be ready to bid! All proceeds will go towards updating technology at the High School.
I also want to acknowledge and thank all the parents who helped, organized, donated and/or supported the teacher dinner during conferences, the successful blood drive and the High School open house. We are all here to support the kids and staff; your help is essential and appreciated.
Upcoming events:
- During the month of December there will be a Pashmina shawl fundraiser for the Senior class to raise funds for the incoming Senior t-shirt gift. More details will follow in the Parent Pack weekly on-line newsletter.
- Mark your calendars for our biggest fundraiser of the year: the PTC Auction will be March 3, 2012. Details are still being worked out. If you’d like to help in any way, please contact me at blsreid@gmail.com.
Thanks for a successful start to the year and best wishes for the holidays,
Barb Reid
High School PTC President
Foundation News
Check your mailboxes! The Riverdale Foundation is sending out information about the 2011-12 Annual Campaign. It’s time for all of us to consider what amount we can each contribute to the campaign that raises money to cover the School District’s operating shortfall for next year.
This year’s campaign goal amount is $1 million and as always we are looking for 100% participation from school families and broad participation from neighborhood residents, staff, and alumni.
Please remember, the Annual Campaign is totally separate from PTC and Booster fundraisers and it is not provided for in tuition payments or transfer arrangements. Please make a gift to the 2011-2012 Annual Campaign a priority in your family’s budget. Your students will benefit and our schools will remain exceptional.
Thanks to the generous donations made by many of you last year, the Foundation is able to disburse $724,000 to the School District to cover operations this year. We look forward to your continued support and hope that you will encourage your extended family members, friends, neighbors and employers to support Riverdale Schools with a financial gift. No gift is too large or too small!
