Excerpts from The Edge

There is music in the air and artwork displayed every where this month!!!  Rivers Edge is celebrating Music in Our Schools Month and Youth Art Month with lots of events.

This past  Thursday evening, our second grade students entertained us in many ways!  First, they performed a musical entitled, Lemonade, in which Mother Goose helped all the fairy tale characters learn to make lemonade when life gives you lemons!  Many of the characters you know and love were there — Chicken Little, The 3 Little Pigs, Rapunzel, Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss Muffet and the Spider, and many more!  The characters were all having trouble, but Mother Goose helped them see that it would all work out!  The students sang several songs as each class went on stage to be highlighted while singing.  The performance was outstanding and the students were adorable!!  A special “Thank You” to Mrs. Adelstein for all the work she put into this program!!!

After the musical, the students were able to walk their parents around the halls of our school to see some of the artwork they had put together so far this school year!  Each student had a piece of artwork hung (that was over 120 pieces in all) and they were superbly displayed by our art teacher, Mrs. Pennington!  The students and families were beaming with pride as they saw their artwork being shown!  A special “Thank You” to Mrs. Pennington for her leadership in organizing this amazing Art Show!

The students and community at Rivers Edge just finished participating in a community service project for Reach Out and Read Virginia.  Hundreds of books were collected from our students to donate to this project where physicians in Virginia give the gently used or new books to children as they come in for their physicals/check-ups.  The students at Rivers Edge have already participated in over 804 hours of Community Service this school year.  These hours include our efforts in supporting the Henrico Education Foundations Challenge for School Supplies and the Henrico Christmas Mother — “Move Your Feet So Others Can Eat” collection of canned goods.  The Eagles at Rivers Edge know how to reach out and help others!!

REES SCA members with books donated to Reach Out and Read Virginia

Students in Mrs. Boyer's 4th grade class use balance balls as chairs

Several of our fourth grade classrooms are allowing families to send in balance/exercise balls for the students to use as chairs.  Research shows that having the students sit on balls helps students focus and increase their performance in the classroom.  The balls provide cross-lateral movement as the students’ bodies makes small adjustments to stay balanced on the balls.  These small movements engage both sides of the brain, which makes their memories work better and helps them to stay focused.  The balls seem to eliminate fidgeting in chairs and other restlessness that students often demonstrate.  Students seem more tuned in to learning!

This afternoon we welcomed 687 students and their families into the school for our annual Open House!  It was so much fun to see how tall the students had gotten over the summer and to say “Hello” to all the families!  The REES teachers did an incredible job of getting their classroom decorated and ready for the students in record time.  (They usually have 3 1/2 days to decorate.  With the late start for teachers due to the hurricane, this year they only got 1 1/2 days!!!)  We learned that most of our families did not lose power during the hurricane, and some of our families are still without power.

The students and families had broad smiles and much excitement for the start of a new school year.  The teachers were thrilled to meet their class and give the students an opportunity to see the classroom.

Our PTA had many tables at our “Info Fair.”  Families had the chance to join the PTA, see the Spirit Wear items being sold, purchase Yearbooks, put money into lunch accounts, and buy agenda books.

We are excited to start this new school year as we focus on what it takes to be a High 5 Hero!

Looking forward to meeting with our newest families Wednesday, August 24, 2011 from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. for the New Family Orientation.  New families and students will hear an overview of school procedures and get a tour of the school.  This event is only for families new to Rivers Edge for the 2011-2012 school year and KG families/students who were not able to attend the KG Orientation in May.

Today was incredible!!  Our gymnasium was filled with over 140 Science Fair projects that our students (K-5) had prepared.  The students followed the Scientific Method, explaining their purpose, hypothesis, materials needed, procedures, results (with pictures and charts), and conclusion.  Our guest judges (parents, teachers, student teachers, Deep Run High School tutors, and Dr. Michelle McQueen-Williams – Director of Elementary Education) spent two hours assessing the projects.  Students and teachers were able to check out all the projects throughout the school day.  Everyone returned to school this evening so parents could view all the projects.  Each student who participated in the Science Fair was recognized with a ribbon.  1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies were awarded to students, as well as in the category of Most Creative.  Thank you to all the staff and parent volunteers that made this day and evening such a success!

REES is very excited to have just received 8 additional promethean boards!  We now have boards in each grade level and in the library.  We are especially excited that each classroom in our second grade has a board.  With the addition of the new boards, we now have a total of 15 boards!  I have been so impressed with the teachers who have just received their boards as they have jumped right in and are utilizing their promethean boards with gusto!

Thursday I was in Mrs. Dussault’s fifth grade classroom.  She was preparing her students for a Children’s Engineering Design Challenge to build a model of an atom.  Mrs. Dussault used the promethean board to actively engage the students in a review of matter and molecules.  Working in groups, students had to choose an atom in which to make a model, using the provided materials.  The students were excited about the task and used 21st Century Skills (research, collaboration, communication, creativity, and innovation) to complete the task.  The students will finish their models next week!  I can’t wait to get back into the room to see the final products!

What an exciting announcement –Rivers Edge has once again been awarded with the Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence for 2011!!!!  To qualify for this honor, schools and school systems must meet all state and federal achievement benchmarks for at least two consecutive years and achieve applicable excellence goals for elementary reading, enrollment in Algebra I by eighth grade, enrollment in college-level courses, high school graduation, attainment of advanced diplomas, increased attainment of career and industry certification, and participation in the Virginia Preschool Initiative.  Schools and school divisions also earn bonus points for other performance measures, including the Governor’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Scorecard.

This year, we are thrilled to be one of only 10 schools (that includes all elementary, middle, and high schools) in Henrico County earning this grand honor!  This Award speaks highly of all of the hard work, dedication, and high expectations from the staff, achievement by our students, and the tremendous support and focus on excellence from our families.  Thank you to the entire Rivers Edge family for once again earning this outstanding award!

Usually on Fridays I get to do one of my favorite things, and today was no exception — reading one-on-one with first graders!  Each week, I read with a first grader from each of our first grade classrooms.  (It is usually the student who is the “Star of the Week.”)  The student either brings a book they want to read to me or they read a story from their reading book.  I absolutely love hearing the students read, spending quality time with them, and learning more about each student.  It also gives me the opportunity to check on the student’s reading skills so I can be supportive to the student’s needs.

The student and I find a quiet place in the school to sit down together – usually a small room that is not being used at the moment.  Then the students read me the story!  I am always impressed at how prepared they are with their stories and with their strong reading skills!   After the student reads the story, I have several awards to share with them for doing such an amazing job.  They get a pencil that says, “I Read to the Principal!”  They get a sticker that they can wear or put someplace special that says, “I Read to the Principal!”  And they also get a beautiful certificate that says, “I Read to the Principal!”  The students seem delighted to get those treats at the end of our time together.  My delight comes from making a stronger, more individualized connection with the student and having the opportunity to observe first hand where they are in their reading skills and know them better as a learner!

One other advantage is learning more about the students.  Earlier this week I was able to be with Kristina.  She and I spent time talking about all the languages that she speaks.  She can speak English, Japanese, and Chinese.  It was amazing to hear her tell of her visits to Japan, and I especially enjoyed listening to her share the Japanese language with me.  She counted from 1 to 10 in Japanese and helped me remember how to say “thank you” in Japanese.  Kristina was very fluent in all the languages and a strong student in our school!

A shout out to Mrs. Roberts, our School Librarian.  As I was in and out of the library today, she was involved in some incredible lessons that infused technology to enhance the students’ learning.  There was great excitement while working with Mrs. Boyer’s fourth  grade class, as she tried a new technique.  Instead of just having the “flip chart” (the page with all the interactive links) on the promethean board for everyone to see, yet only one person at a time can manipulate, she placed the flip chart in each student’s folder on our server so each student had the flip chart showing on their laptop and could manipulate the information at the same time!  During her second grade lesson with Mrs. Orellana’s classroom, the students were researching animals.  The students came up with three questions about their animal and then used sites on the portaportal to find the answers.  The engagement of the students in each of these lessons was incredible.  The lessons strongly promoted research, communication, collaboration, information fluency, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and innovation!

Even though we started our school day with a 2-hour delay due to icy roads, there was no delay in learning today at The Edge!!  One of my first stops this morning was in Mr. Friedman’s 5th grade class.  He is a master at planning and designing  lessons and projects for  his students that are authentic learning experiences incorporating contemporary tools and resources.  This particular project, which is full of 21st Century Skills, is especially motivating for students during these days leading up to the Super Bowl.

The students are working with a partner for this project.  They are creating a poster, which displays data for three professional football teams.  All students are gathering information about the Pittsburg Steelers and the Washington Redskins.  Each partnership is able to pick a third  team of their choice as well.  The poster also includes a chart that shows the points scored for each team, a chart that shows the teams’ wins and losses, a triple point graph showing the points each team scored in each game, and a paragraph that summarizes each team’s season.

Today Mr. Friedman had his students have a class meeting to discuss and analyze the data they had gathered about the Washington Redskins.  I wish you could have been there to hear these very mature fifth graders share the information and then add their opinion as to why they felt the Redskins season ended with so many losses.  Mr. Friedman has taught the students to respond to each other by commenting on what the person that spoke before them said.  For example, when Connie shared her response, she started by saying, “I disagree with Leanna, but I respect her ideas.”  And then Connie went on to share her opinion on the topic.  The most profound comment for me came from Ellie and Jens.  During their discussion of the Redskins season and how the team might have been affected by the losses, they shared this sentence from their paragraph:  “Unfortunately in sports, there can’t be any winning team without the losing team.”  Mr. Friedman connected this comment to two of the class’s favorite quotes.  The first one, from Vince Lombardi, is, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”  The other one, from Frederick Douglass, is, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

Next, I had the opportunity to visit with Miss Atkins’s 5th graders while Mrs. Adelstein, our music teacher, came into their classroom for a music lesson.  Why would the music teacher come into the classroom to teach instead of staying in the music room?  Because the wireless Internet connection is in the classroom!  Each student had a laptop and headphones for this lesson.  Mrs. Adelstein infused the visuals and sounds of the instruments and the instrument families found on a website to motivate and engage the students in identifying the instruments by sight and sound.  The students were able to hear the sound of each instrument in the orchestra, discover if the instrument is the highest, middle, or lowest sound in its family, find out the size of the instrument, learn how the instrument is played, and other interesting facts as well.  Mrs. Adelstein was commenting about how in the past, this lesson was not the most exciting for students as she would lecture through the information with visuals.  Using the technology to provide the same information and involve the students in their own discovery of the instruments had the students completely engaged, motivated, and excited about learning!  Mrs. Adelstein was also very excited to use the promethean board that was just installed in Miss Atkins’s room.  She wants one now!