Timber Talks

As we approach the holiday season and start our Winter break, we want to take a moment to thank you for your continued support and partnership in making our school a place of learning, growth, and community.

Winter break is a special time to pause, reflect, and enjoy meaningful moments with loved ones. We hope your days are filled with warmth, laughter, and cherished memories with your children. Please remind your students to stay safe during their time off and to take a well-deserved break from their hard work. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in January, refreshed and ready for an exciting new chapter of learning for 2026. Wishing you and your family a joyful and restful winter break!

Thank you for your continued support,

Lindsey Fullenwider, Principal
Trevor Syring, Vice Principal
RMEOffice@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 are for invited students and will change each month. 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 10:00 am. If you have questions about this week's schedule, please let us know!

This Week:

• Jan. 5th: Regular School Day
• Jan. 6th: Regular School Day
• Jan. 7th: Regular School Day
• Jan. 8th: Regular School Day
• Jan. 9th: REID Day 8:00 am - 10:00 am

Upcoming Events:

• Jan. 19th: No School/Holiday
• Jan. 29th: Family/Ttile Night
• Jan. 30th: No School/Holiday
• Feb. 11th: Kinder/5th Grade Family Breakfast
• Feb. 11th: 4th/5th Grade Music Concert

Mrs. Norvald’s Kindergarten class celebrated their fantastic attendance on Thursday, showing up on time and staying for a full day of learning, in a very fun and memorable way! As a reward for their commitment and responsibility, students earned the chance to throw water balloons at Mr. Syring, much to everyone’s delight. 😄

This joyful celebration highlighted how even our youngest learners can build strong habits that support learning and success. We are so proud of our kindergarteners for their hard work and teamwork, and we appreciate Mr. Syring for being such a great sport in helping make this celebration one they’ll never forget!

To foster a shared understanding of our school rules and how they are consistently enforced, we will be highlighting key aspects of our expectations, including how we try to first teach and support students in making positive behavior choices and how we approach discipline at River Mill. You can also find student behavior and discipline policies in our Parent/Student Handbook. If you have any questions or concerns about our school rules, student behavior, or discipline policies, please don’t hesitate to contact Lindsey Fullenwider or Trevor Syring. We value our partnership and collaboration with families and appreciate your support in creating a positive school environment!

What are River Mill's school rules?

We believe all students can learn and thrive in a nurturing, safe environment. In order to promote and maintain a positive school setting, children are taught the responsibilities of self-discipline. Self-regulated, appropriate behavior is necessary to:

1. Provide a safe and orderly learning environment,

2. Help students cooperate with others,

3. Help students develop self-control, and

4. Help students learn to respect the rights and property of others.

River Mill’s school-wide rules apply to all who work, visit, or volunteer here, and they support the responsibilities listed above. Our school rules are:

1. Be Safe

2. Be Responsible

3. Be Respectful

4. Be Kind

During morning drop-off, we’ve noticed several cars letting students out before reaching the crosswalk area. Please remember that students should only exit their cars when your vehicle is stopped either just in front of or just behind the crosswalk. These areas are clearly marked with a line indicating where to stop.

This procedure ensures that our staff stationed at the crosswalk can see all students and help them cross safely. When students exit cars a few vehicles back, it becomes difficult for staff to see them while directing traffic, which creates a potential safety risk.

Thank you for your attention to this and for helping us keep all of our students safe during arrival each morning!

On Fridays, we have REID Days! During this time (8:00–10:00 am), teachers invite students for small group intervention and extension instruction.

This is a unique opportunity for students to:

• Receive extra support in a small group if they are not yet meeting proficiency.
• Be challenged with enrichment activities if they are already working above proficiency.

These two hours of focused, small-group instruction make a big difference in helping students grow and reach grade-level standards.

Please help support your child’s learning by ensuring they attend when invited. It’s an important advantage that truly benefits their success!!!

We have already noticed a drop in student attendance, and we want to take a moment to stress how important it is for students to be at school—on time—every day. Consistent attendance builds strong learning habits, helps students keep up with important instruction, and supports both their academic and social growth. Thank you for partnering with us to make sure your child is present and ready to learn each day!

Research shows that when students miss just one day of school each month, it can add up to weeks of lost learning over the course of a year, which makes a significant impact. Regular attendance is one of the strongest predictors of student achievement, as it ensures children don’t miss key lessons, group activities, and opportunities to practice new skills with their peers.

We know mornings can be busy, and sometimes life throws curveballs, but your efforts to get your child to school on time each day make a big difference. Thank you for partnering with us to build strong routines and support your child’s success—we are here to help every step of the way!

To ensure the safety of all our students, we ask that all families use the PickUp Patrol app to inform us of their child's daily transportation plans. Please make sure you have set up your child's plans for the first day of school and for the rest of the school year. This is an essential step for the first day of school. You can update these plans at any time! Registration emails were sent earlier this week.

If you need any help or support, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're here and happy to assist!

At River Mill Elementary, we are committed to ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed. Through our Title I program, we work together with teachers, parents, and students to provide the support and resources needed to help every student thrive in reading and beyond. We recognize the importance of forming a strong partnership with families and community members in order to positively impact the students in our school. We value input from parents, guardians, and community members in decision making. Please review the attached document to view our process for engaging families as partners in the educational process.

Great news! This year, ALL students will receive free breakfast and lunch — and that includes meals on REID days too!

Link to the Nutrition Services Webpage

Since 2000, Todos Juntos has been a leading non-profit in Clackamas County, bringing the capacity and expertise needed to improve outcomes for rural communities. They have developed after-school programs that provide leadership development and pro-social opportunities for historically underserved populations, and have expanded their reach to offer community-based, comprehensive, and integrated programs in four Clackamas County communities.

Todos Juntos is proud to make a positive difference in the lives of many families — and we are proud to partner with them here at River Mill!

Please take a moment to check out their Early Learning Newsletter — it’s filled with helpful information and great resources for families! Just click the green link below to view it.

Oregon law (ORS 329.479) permits parents/guardians and adult students* to annually opt out of Oregon’s statewide summative tests in English Language Arts (ELA) and/or Mathematics by submitting this form to the school the student attends. The school shall provide any student who is excused from a statewide ELA or mathematics test with supervised study time while other students are testing. To opt-out of OSAS statewide summative tests in English Language Arts (ELA) and/or Mathematics, please complete the form, provided in the button below. This form must be completed by the parent/guardian.

Visit Oregon’s Starting Smarter webpage (https://or.startingsmarter.org) to learn more about what your child should know and be able to do in English Language Arts and Math, to view sample test questions, and to read more about your child’s test results. Contact your child’s teacher or school principal with questions.