Welcome Class of 2039

We are so excited to welcome you to River Mill! Kindergarten is a monumental year in your student's life and the life of your family. Our hope is to make this transition as stress-free as possible. If at any time you have a question, please feel free to contact River Mill and we will do our best to get you the answers you need. You can contact us directly through the email at the bottom of this message.

In order to make sure we set your student up for success, we start the year with gradual entry. Your students will attend one half day Monday, August 31st - Thursday, September 3rd from 7:35 - 11:45 with a small group of students. Please see below for a breakdown of which day your child should attend. If this day does not work for your family, please make sure to contact the school as soon as possible. In order to keep our numbers even, we may not be able to accommodate all requests. Please complete the Soft Start Transportation Google Form Below, before August 25th.

Your child will have an opportunity to show what they know and what they might need to have a successful school year. Teachers will be looking for peer relationships (both positive and providing opportunity for growth) as well as academic strengths and needs.

In the afternoon on Thursday, September 3rd, an email will be sent to let you know which classroom teacher your child will have for the year!

Starting on Tuesday, September 8th, ALL students will attend all day, 7:45-2:35, in their assigned kindergarten classrooms. This week, school will be Tuesday-Friday because of the Monday holiday. The following weeks it will be Monday-Thursday.

Drop Off and Pick Up

During the soft start week, we will have our outside kindergarten doors open (near the playground) for you to drop off your students. Staff will be outside to assist you in doing so. Teachers will be ready to greet your child at 7:30 am. You will pick up your student from the same location at the end of their day (11:45). After the soft start, we ask that you say goodbye to your student at the front of the building and allow them to walk to class with peers and school staff. You will continue to pick your child up at the assigned teachers' outside door.

If your child will be taking the bus, we will have staff on site ready to get them to where they need to be. Please note that kindergarten students will not be allowed off the bus at the end of their day unless an adult listed as an emergency contact in PowerSchool is at the stop. We take the safety of our students very seriously and will not release a student to an adult, regardless of relationship unless approved and entered in PowerSchool by the parent/guardian. If you have any questions about this, please contact the office ASAP.

Please use PickUp Patrol to let us know how your child will be getting home from school starting the week of September 8th and the rest of the year. Knowing your end of day plan helps our teachers make sure your students are where they need to be and the transition is smooth. This information is also used to build our bus routes and make sure we can provide accurate information about when your child can be expected at their stop. Thank you for your help in getting us this information as soon as possible. More information on PickUp Patrol is included below.

We Cannot Wait!

We look forward to meeting you and our newest Rangers very soon! Our Open House will be on August 27th from 5:30-7:00.

Have a great rest of your summer and do not hesitate to reach out with any further questions!

Lindsey Fullenwider, Principal

Trevor Syring, Vice Principal

RMEOfiice@estacada.k12.or.us

Please make note of your child's assigned soft start day,

based on the first letter of their last name.

To help keep our students safe, we need your help! During Kindergarten Soft Start Week (August 31st–Sept. 3rd), we must know exactly how your child will get to and from school each day. Please complete the Google Form below, BEFORE AUGUST 25th, to inform us of your child's transportation for the first week -- our soft start week. Thank you for your support!

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!

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

We invite all of our students and families to our Open House on Thursday, August 27th, 2026. The event will take place inside our school and classrooms, where you will have the opportunity to meet the Kindergarten teachers, see classrooms and hallways, and have any initial questions answered. Thank you, we look forward to seeing you there!

At the end of the video, Mr. Syring explains how the first week of Kindergarten, Soft Start,

Drop off and Pickup will be a little bit different!