Timber Talks

Thank you for your support and participation with our One School, One Book event. It has been great engaging our students in a shared conversation about the book each day. This will continue for the next few weeks as we read through Wonder together.

This year, in order to engage with our families more, we are planning to hold special nights for targeted grade levels. The first one we will be holding this week! Kindergarten families, this is for you. On Tuesday, September 19th, we would love for you to join us from 5:00-6:00 to go over some details about how we operate and provide time for some questions and answers. Please see the link below to get your HomeTown Tickets for this event. Children are welcomed!

All families, If you have not yet, don't forget to get your HomeTown Tickets for our Bingo Night which is coming up fast! We are excited for the fun we will have together on Thursday, September 21st at 6:00pm! More details can be found below.

Now that we have settled into our routines and procedures at school, we are diving into the work! We are here to help your child grow socially, emotionally, and academically. Teachers have worked hard to understand each child's strengths and areas of growth. Now that this information is available, our instructional routines will really help your child achieve! You might even hear your child tell you about some goal setting they are doing as a class, and also for themselves. We encourage you to ask your child specific questions about their goals for this year!

Finally, we ask that you support your child to develop the nightly routine of reading (to you, with you, or silently) for at least 20 minutes each night. You will be surprised at the confidence this simple routine will create.

Sincerely,

Corinne Johnsen

Principal, River Mill Elementary

johnsenc@estacada.k12.or.us

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:

• Sept. 18th: Regular School Day
• Sept. 19th: Regular School Day - Kindergarten Family Night, 5:00pm
• Sept. 20th: Regular School Day
• Sept. 21st: Regular School Day - Bingo Night, 6:00pm
• Sept. 22nd: REID Day, by invitation only!

Upcoming Events:

• Sept. 26th: 1st & 2nd Grade Family Night
• Sept. 29th: REID Day, by invite only
• Oct. 3rd: 3rd, 4th, & 5th Grade Family Night
• Oct. 4th: Picture Day!
• Oct. 5th: Annual Jog-a-Thon!
• Oct. 6th: No School, Inservice Day
• Oct. 26th: Harvest Festival, 5:00pm - 8:00pm

We will be continuing our annual tradition called One School, One Book. This year, our school will be reading the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio which takes us through a heartwarming story about a character named Auggie who looks a little different than his peers, and how those around him begin to understand and appreciate him for who he is, despite his differences.

This year, we will not be purchasing books for families, but we will be reading and sending you a video of a section of the story on weeknights. We want everyone to just enjoy this story as a family and as a school community. We hope this helps students to establish a routine of reading and enjoyment of books! If you want to explore checking the book out at your local library or purchase a copy yourself, we highly encourage you to do so.

All Smiles Community Oral Health will be providing free dental screenings, sealants, and fluoride at your child’s school in the week of October 30th. Healthy teeth are important to your child’s overall health. A dental screening is a quick look inside your child’s mouth to check the overall health of their teeth. Dental sealants are protective coatings put on the back teeth to prevent cavities and fluoride is a vitamin that is brushed on the teeth to make teeth stronger and prevent cavities. Click below to sign the permission form for your child online.

We are beginning to collect student belongings already the first week of school. Please make sure your child's name is written on as many of their layers of clothing and lunch boxes as possible. We know these items are costly and want to get them back to their rightful owners. If you recognize any of these, please let us know.

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.

We have noticed the last week that the weather is beginning to change. 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.

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