OWL NEWS
Owl Families,
We hope you are enjoying a restful and joy-filled Thanksgiving Break with your families. As we enter this season of gratitude, we want to take a moment to express our deepest appreciation for all of our wonderful Riverside families. Thank you for your constant support, your partnership, and for trusting us each day with the education of your child. We are truly so lucky to serve this incredible community.
With just three weeks left until Winter Break, we are looking forward to a strong and exciting December—starting with our upcoming music concerts! We can’t wait to celebrate our students’ talents with you.
We are also thrilled to highlight our Owl Supporter Family for the month of November. Each month, we recognize a family who goes above and beyond for our school community. This month, we are proud to celebrate the Comley Family. Their nominator shared: “the Comley family are so supportive. Through their kind words on Dojo to their classroom donations of supplies, they truly embody an AMAZING Owl family. We are certainly blessed to have them at Riverside.”
With much love and respect,
Heather Kama-Starr and Kyle Cohen
12/2 - PTC Meeting at 6PM in the Cafeteria
12/4 - Music Concert for PK - 2nd Grade
12/5 - Kindergarten PD [No School Kindergarten]
12/8 - Cleveland Clinic Mobile Van
12/9 - Music Concert for 3rd - 5th Grade
12/11 - Music Concert for 6th - 8th Grade
12/11 - Holiday Shop Begins
12/12 - Pre-K PD [No School Pre-K]
12/15 - 12/17 - Mobile Dentist
12/17 - Family First Night [Jersey Mike's]
12/22 - Winter Break Begins
It is hard to believe that we are halfway through November already! This is a reminder about our winter concerts coming up in just a few short weeks. Thursday, December 4th will be PreK-2nd grade, Tuesday, December 9th will be 3rd-5th grade, and Thursday, December 11th will be 6th-8th grade. All concerts will begin promptly at 6:00p in the gymnasium, and all students need to be at the school at 5:30p. Each child is required to be in attendance at their concert. This information was sent home in a letter the first week of school, posted on every teacher’s Class Dojo page, sent out in the Riverside newsletter at the beginning of the year, and is also on the Class Dojo calendar. The dress code will be as follows:
- Nice blue, white, or black clothes. No logos, holes, sweatpants, hoodies, or crocs.
The students have all been working very hard on their songs, and we are all excited to share them with the Riverside community! Please reach out to me directly via Class Dojo with any questions that you have. Thank you so much for your continued support of the growing music program here at Riverside.
At Riverside, we believe that strong attendance is one of the most important factors in a child’s academic, social, and emotional success. As we continue our partnership with families, we want to share a few important reminders about attendance expectations in the state of Ohio—and how small amounts of missed time can add up quickly.
Did you know…
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In Ohio, attendance is tracked by hours, not just days. This means that tardies and early pickups count toward a student’s total hours missed.
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A student is considered “chronically absent” when they miss 10% or more of the school year—this includes full days, partial days, tardies, and early dismissals.
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Missing just 10 minutes a day adds up to nearly 30 hours of lost instructional time over a school year.
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Research shows that students who miss just two days a month are more likely to fall behind academically and feel less connected socially.
We know that illnesses and unavoidable appointments happen, and we appreciate the effort our families make to get scholars to school on time each day. Helping your child arrive on time and stay for the full school day ensures they don’t miss key instruction, hands-on learning, and community time with their classmates.
Thank you for continuing to make school attendance a top priority—every hour truly matters! Let’s keep showing up, Owls! 🦉✨
With the weather getting colder we want to remind all families that our goal is to get outside for recess everyday, even when it's cold. Please make sure that your PreK-8th graders come prepared to go outside for approximately 20 minutes each day of the week. Thanks!
What's Inside:
-School Choice Fair
-Gift Express Family Fun Day
-Coats for Kids
-Diaper Distribution
-Holiday Party
-Five Weeks of Giving - winter essentials
-Snap benefit Changes
The Cleveland Clinic Van is coming back to Riverside on Monday, 12/8/2025. Additionally, the Mobile Dentist is coming on 12/15, 12/16, and 12/17. Sign up below!
Thank you for a successful Red Robin Family First night. We raised just under $200 for Riverside! Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our next Family First Night on December 17, 2025 at Jersey Mike’s. It’s a great opportunity to enjoy a delicious meal while supporting our school. We look forward to seeing you there!
Our next PTC meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at 6:00 PM in the Riverside cafeteria. We hope you’ll join us to connect, collaborate, and continue strengthening our Riverside community!
The Holiday Shop will be open on 12/11-12/17... we will need help running the shop like we did for the Book Fair. Please be on the lookout for a sign up genius posted by Mrs. Davis from the PTC in the first week of December.
Recently, there has been an increase of families not following our Arrival and Dismissal procedures. It is essential that we all follow the established guidelines. Doing so will keep everyone safe and set a positive example for our scholars.
As a reminder:
- Please DO NOT block any of our neighbors' driveways at any point during Arrival or Dismissal.
- Please follow all parking/traffic laws.
- Please DO NOT cut across from Glencliffe Rd. to Montrose Ave.
- Please be kind to each other, the neighbors, and our educators.
- Please DO NOT park in the parking lot during dismissal.
All of our Arrival and Dismissal procedures can be found below.
- Please call the office (216-838-6700) if your child will not be at school.
- Scholars are tardy after 9:35AM.
- Scholars will not be released early from school without the office receiving communication and consent from a family member by 3:30PM. We also ask that scholars are not picked up between 3:00PM - 4:05PM. This is to support our preparations for dismissal.
In partnership with our families and communities, Riverside will develop responsible scholars, who think critically and creatively while becoming lifelong learners who make positive contributions to our diverse society. Riverside is committed to providing student-centered, inclusion-based educational practices that seamlessly incorporate technology, the arts, health, and fitness.
Riverside, we overcome, we evolve, we grow - today, tomorrow, and always!