Monday, October 26, 2009
Fall Festival and Red Ribbon Week
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
It's Been a Long Time!!!!!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Look What We've Accomplished in 14 days!
- First day of school
- Back-to-School Night
- Schedule changes for recess, lunch, and Grab and Go
- High Heat/Smoke From Fires (no recesses as a result!)
- Student Council officers installed
- School Site Council organized
- First ELAC Meeting
- RSP and Speech Classes Began
- Library open and serving students
We held a staff meeting last Wednesday and teachers spent time analyzing language arts and math data from the last three years. Looking closely at our trends, we set new goals for this year. We expect all of our subgroups to attain a minimum increase of 15% proficiency over last year's results. All teachers have identified their students by name and by need so that they can differentiate instruction for students who are experiencing achievement gaps as well as those needing to be challenged. At Rivera, every student counts!
We are looking forward to our first HOWL Awards Assembly on Monday, September 14. Our first Book Fair also begins next week. We have an awesome PTA this year and they have great plans for our school. They are launching a Capri Sun recycle campaign next week so please remind your children to put their empty Capri Sun pouches in the recycle container. Our first PTA meeting is next Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. in the Rivera Library and I encourage you to attend. The meetings run approximately one hour. You will learn a lot about the exciting plans our PTA has for our school.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Welcome to the 2009-10 School Year
The kids are back and all is well at Rivera! After many hours of preparation of interactive classrooms, analyzing data and preparing rigorous standards-based lessons, the staff at Rivera has kicked off the new year with a bang! I was able to visit each class both Monday and Tuesday and here's what I saw: teachers enthusiastically teaching students and setting goals with them, students highly engaged in learning, and a genuine sense of happiness on the part of the teachers and the students.
We began our year with some celebrations. Although the data released by the California Department of Education are only preliminary estimations, we are fairly confident that Rivera met our Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for all subgroups and showed gains in closing the gap between the subgroups. In addition, the preliminary information reflects that we raised our Academic Performance Index (API ). As is the case with most celebrations, we quickly realized that we continue to have work to do to increase the achievement level for each student at Rivera. So our work has begun again and the staff at Rivera are prepared for the challenge that the new year brings.
Mrs. Setzler, SDC teacher, received new "wiggle chairs" that were donated by a parent. They come from VS Furniture in Germany. They have been researched using body heat imaging to show increased oxygen to the brain and thus increased attention while learning! They're really cool! Kids can wiggle from side to side, front to back, and swivel. I could use one in my office!
Please plan to attend our Back to School Night this Thursday, August 27, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. You will have the opportunity to meet your child's teacher and listen to them present information regarding their goals for the school year. Their first presentation will be from 6:15-6:45. They will repeat the presentation from 7:00-7:30. This will allow parents who have more than one child at Rivera to attend more than one presentation.
Our PTA will begin our evening at 5:45 with a general meeting. Our outstanding PTA board has arranged for the following community members to be at our Back-to-School Night to share information about the services available to our Rivera families: Rivera PTA; RUSD Nutrition Services; Altura Credit Union; Orange Terrace Community Center; Orange Terrace Library; The Little Gym of Riverside; My Learning Studio; Boy Scouts; Girl Scouts; and the Woodcrest Pacers 4H Club. Each of these groups will have a table set up in the quad beginning at 5:45. You will have the opportunity to visit the various tables before and after the class presentations.
Friday, July 17, 2009
ELD Academy for 4th-6th Grade English Learners Ends ~ and Summer Vacation Begins!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Congratulations to Rivera's Students for Completing the ELD Academy!
Next week we will hold the ELD Academy for our 4th-6th grade English Learners. Stay tuned!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
July 9 Update
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Freida and Char at the Pearson Math Training
Friday, June 19, 2009
A Busy First Week of Summer Break
- Our second and third grade teams spent a half day of collaborative planning for the upcoming year. Other grade level teams have scheduled their collaborative planning sessions throughout the summer.
- Mrs. Coe and I participated in a Summer Planning Committee that was comprised of teachers, principals, and district staff. The committee was led by Judi Paredes, Assistant Superintendent, Renee Hill, Director of Elementary Education and Educational Accountability, Janie Rhoades, Director of Program Improvement, and RUSD support staff Christy Ekman, Ellen Parker, Dawn Smith and Patti DeRobles. Outcomes from this planning committee will be shared with principals and teachers prior to the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.
- Many teachers are attending RUSD Standards-Based Planning training that is being offered in July and August.
- We are holding an academy at Rivera for our English Learners during the weeks of July 6-17.
Please be assured that the Rivera Staff is continually working to improve the service we provide to our students, parents, and community at large.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
enVision author visits Rivera
My Inaugural Blog
Exciting things are happening this summer, beginning with the introduction of our new blog!
Many of our teachers are meeting to attend trainings, meet in grade level teams to plan for the upcoming year, and generally preparing for an awesome 2009-2010 school year. As a lifelong learner, I am also attending trainings to refine my skills as an administrator, and to help our teachers refine their instructional practices. We do all of this on behalf of our students, who deserve the finest instructional program available.
Please check this blog often for the most current updates and happenings at Rivera. Once the year begins, my goal is to provide updates 2 to 3 times per week. Please give me feedback on how you like this site and the type of information you would like to see.
Have a fabulous and restful summer!
Char Gebeau
Principal, Rivera Elementary