Timber Talks

We need your voice to help us both celebrate what is going well at River Mill and identify areas we need to give more attention. We cannot do that if we only hear from a small number of families.

Our students are very eager to shove pie in the faces of Mr. C., Mr. Syring, and Mrs. Johnsen!

Today is the FINAL day to complete this survey for us! We have received 241 out of our goal of 285 surveys so far. We can achieve this!

This week we will be hosting a national conference in collaboration with Studer Education. Many classes will have visitors come to observe the class incorporating Continuous Improvement strategies into their every day routines. It is an honor to welcome our guests and we are excited to celebrate our students and staff involved. Our guests will stay in a group and be clearly identified so we can consistently ensure the safety of our schools. This is the second year hosting Destination High Performance (DHP) and we are honored so many want to come visit our Estacada Schools so they can go back to their districts and implement the strategies learned.

Surveys:

We want to take a moment to thank the 241 families who have filled out a Parent/Caregiver Satisfaction survey. You have helped provide us with invaluable information to help make informed decisions about what may need adjusted to better serve our school community. So many of you thanked our staff members for their efforts and contributions to our team and we are excited to share those compliments with them as they are well deserved.

State testing is something that happens in grades 3-5. All classes will participate in English Language Arts and Math state tests. This allows our school system to get a pulse on how we are doing, overall. All students will participate in the testing unless their families choose to opt out. Opt out forms can be found further down this newsletter. Fifth grade also participates in Science testing, which happens on a less frequent basis than the other subjects.

In order to help your child be prepared for state testing, please assure them that it's simply another assessment like we do all the time and not to worry. They have worked hard all year and it's an opportunity to show off what they have learned. We encourage students to always get a good night's rest and have a full breakfast, so they can be ready for the day. Thank you for supporting your child to be at school on time, each day, ready to learn!

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:

• Apr. 15th: Regular School Day
  
• Apr. 16th: Regular School Day
• Apr. 17th: Regular School Day
• Apr. 18th: Regular School Day
• Apr. 19th: REID Day, by invite only

Upcoming Events:

• April 25th - Kinder Connection (for incoming Kindergarten students)
• April 26th - No School

• May 2nd - Bingo Night

• May 3rd - REID Day, by invite only

• May 10th - REID Day, by invite only

• May 13 - 17 - No school - May Break

• May 24 - REID Day, by invite only

• May 27 - No School, Memorial Day

• June 4 - Career Day

• June 7 - REID Day, by invite only

• June 11 - Field Day

• June 12 - Sports Challenge

• June 13 - 5th Grade Promotion & Final full day of school

• June 14 - REID Day, by invite only

• June 17 - Grade Day - No School

Our Kids Kreations fundraiser and memento information went home in your child's folder today. Check it out! If interested in making a purchase in time for Mother's Day, please place your order before April 14th. You can also order online at the link below. All orders will be shipped directly to you.

River Mill Elementary is excited to offer the fourth annual school-wide career fair. The

career fair is scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, June 4th from approximately

8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

We are looking for presenters who are eager to share their career paths with students.

As you know, one of our priorities at River Mill Elementary School is to equip every

student with the skills necessary to become competent, resourceful, and successful. In

order to support this goal we are requesting that our presenters share the following

information:

• How do you use reading, writing, and math skills (or other school subjects) on your job?

• How do you use technology in your career field?
• What type of education and training is needed for advancement into the career area?

• Describe your job duties.
• Describe a typical work day.
• What talents and skills are necessary for success in your career field?
• What personal traits are helpful in your career?

Each presenter will deliver 4-7 presentations for approximately 20 minutes each as they

rotate to different classrooms. If you are willing to present information about your career,

return the attached form to your child’s teacher or to the school counselor listed below:

Rhonda Harris, Pre-K -2nd Counselor, harrisr@estacada.k12.or.us, 503-630-6871 Ext. 2416

For more information please feel free to contact Rhonda Harris.

The Estacada School District has many career opportunities available. Please help spread the news, or if you are interested, let us know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Want to stay informed about what's happening at River Mill? Follow us on Facebook.

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.

Cell phones are permitted as long as they are turned off and out of sight during the school day. Students who wear a cell phone watch can wear the watch to tell time, but need to turn off text and call features during the school day. Students who disobey this rule will have their cell phone taken and returned at the end of the day on the first offense. For a second offense, the cell phone will be taken to the office for parent pick up. Cell phones that ring during class are the responsibility of the student. Additional offenses will result in further disciplinary action. Cell phones may be used for educational purposes with teacher permission only.

The weather is super unpredictable. 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.

Please remember that our doors open on Monday through Thursday at 7:20 and on Friday at 7:50. We do not have supervision until those times so please do not drop your child off sooner than that time.

When it comes to dismissal, it is imperative that you update pick up patrol. We have several after school clubs and we need plans to be accurate. In addition, we still use pick up patrol on Friday, REID days and we need plans changed in that system on that day as well. If you need any support with this, just let us know. If we have not heard from you, we use the student's default plan in Pick Up Patrol to know where to send them. Thank you for understanding.

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