Wednesday, March 1 

Riverdale Grade School News

Important Attendance Info

Please make sure to communicate well in advance any attendance-related matters for this Thursday and Friday, March 2 & 3. Our front office staff will be out at a training and there will be limited staff covering the phones and door. It may take longer to pick your student up from school early or to get inside the building. Please email your plans to rgsattendance@riverdale.k12.or.us so that we can be prepared. Thank you.

Save the Date

Special Friends Day

Riverdale Grade School’s annual “Special Friends Day” will take place on Friday, April 28 from 8:55-10:15 a.m. for grades 3-4 and from 1:15-2:30 p.m. for grades K-2.

Students would love to show you their classroom, meet their teachers, their friends and what they’re learning. There will be coffee and tea for you when you arrive along with some surprise guests. You will then have a chance to hear from Principal McDonald and a representative from the Riverdale School Foundation to learn more about what makes Riverdale such a wonderful school. After that, students will meet you in their classroom and show you around!

Honor Band Students

Congratulations to following students for being accepted in to the Oregon Music Educators Association District 14 Middle School Honor Band:

• Gemma D. (7th Grade, Flute)
• Ian K. (8th Grade, Trombone)
• Benjamin M. (8th Grade, Baritone Saxophone)

These students will represent RGS in the middle school honor band composed of top middle school musicians from the surrounding communities. They will get the chance to work under Jaimie Hall, Director of Bands at Straub Middle School and Artist Associate - Trumpet at Willamette University. Come support them as they perform a free concert at McMinnville High School on April 15th at 3 p.m.

Join Us on March 14

Please join us at Riverdale High School for an Event with Award-Winning Author Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai.

We would like to invite community members to join us at Riverdale High School from 2-3 p.m. on March 14 for an author visit with Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai. She will be reading from her new book, Dust Child, ahead of her event at Powell’s Books later that evening.

Students in grades 7th-12th will be attending the assembly and have been reading Quế Mai’s work in their language arts classes. 

Here is more information from Quế Mai:

Born and raised in Việt Nam, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is the author of the international bestseller The Mountains Sing, runner-up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the 2020 BookBrowse Best Debut Award, the 2021 International Book Awards, the 2021 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, and the 2020 Lannan Literary Award Fellowship for Fiction. She has published twelve books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in Vietnamese and English and has received some of the top literary prizes in Việt Nam. Her writing has been translated into twenty languages and has appeared in major publications, including the New York Times. She has a PhD in creative writing from Lancaster University. She is an advocate for the rights of disadvantaged groups in Việt Nam and has founded several scholarship programs, and she was named by Forbes Vietnam as one of twenty inspiring women of 2021. Dust Child is her second novel. For more information, visit: www.nguyenphanquemai.com.

- Abby Rotwein (she/her), Director of Equity & Inclusion

Last Call

Kids Heart Challenge 

Hey RGS students and families! So far we have raised just under half of our school goal ($9,105). That has unlocked giving our 1st teacher, Mr. Anderson, a pie to the face! Remember, for every $5,000 dollars we raise, we get to pie a teacher. Due to last week's sudden snow days, we have extended the fundraising date to March 10. So continue to send in any donations! 

REMINDER

2023 Oregon Girls Sports Leadership Summit

The annual Oregon Girls Sports Leadership Summit will take place on Saturday, April 8th 2023 from 9am - 3pm at OES.

The OGSLS was designed to give female student-athletes with an interest in leadership the same emphasis on instruction, encouragement, and practice that we give athletes before asking them to compete. Asking student-athletes to be leaders without preparing them for the responsibility is unfair. Often, much is expected of our leaders but seldom do we intentionally teach them the necessary skills in order for them to succeed. This amazing opportunity is recommended for all female student-athletes in grades 8-12 and is sure to be an exciting, jam-packed event! 

TIME CHANGE

Spring Sports Night

Tuesday, March 7 from 7-8:30 p.m. at RHS Gym

All grade school and high school spring sports athletes and their families are strongly encouraged to attend. Each sport will hold their own parent/caregiver meeting to go over the season and answer any questions. Athletic Director Mr. Duman will also review athletic policies and procedures for the season. We hope to see you there!

Important Dates

• Friday, March 3 - 7th/8th Grade Winter Formal
• Tuesday, March 7 - Spring Sports Night from 7-8:30 p.m. at RHS
• Thursday, March 16 - 1st & 2nd Grade Music Performance from 6-7 p.m. in the RGS gym 
• March 27-31 - Spring Break
• Monday, April 3 - RGS Spring Sports begin