Hello Everyone, 

I hope that you all enjoyed our break and that your New Year has been good. For most educators, there is a distinct rhythm to the school year. For me, I find this time of year to be productive and enjoyable. Personally, after living in the semi-arid plains of Montana for 40 years, the rain in the Pacific Northwest is still a novel thing to me, but I really enjoy it. A winter of (mostly) rain and above freezing temperatures is certainly better than the sub-zero temperatures I’m used to this time of year. We’ll see if my enthusiasm for the rain maintains itself over the years!

With the US and Oregon seeing major increases in COVID transmission due to the Omicron variant, we would appreciate you helping us be as vigilant as possible.  Please keep your student home if they are exhibiting signs of sickness, and please help us by emphasizing to your student the importance of proper masking. The better we adhere to masking and proper hand hygiene, the more likely we are to prevent a serious outbreak associated with Riverdale High School.  

If your student is impacted by COVID or other issues and is absent, please encourage regular contact with their teachers. We have many supports available for students that are absent, and the most important thing is to be in contact with teachers. When students return, asking teachers to meet before, during or after school for help in missed instruction and utilizing our homework help available in the library after school are great ways to get caught up and back on track. Best wishes!

Sincerely, 

Bart K. Hawkins, RHS Principal

he/him

RHS Parent/Caregiver-Teacher Conferences will be held virtually on Thursday, Jan. 20 from 8:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. and Friday, Jan. 21 from 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. via Google Meet.

You will have the opportunity to sign up for a roughly 7-minute meeting with each of your student’s teachers. Meetings will take place via Google Meet or via telephone in the event of technical issues.

Please contact Grace Thompson at gthompson@riverdale.k12.or.us with the following info to sign up for meeting times:

 

 

Teachers will be emailing out Meet links to parents on Wednesday, Jan. 19 via Synergy. Please log on to each teacher’s Meet at your scheduled meeting time.

Please contact Grace Thompson with any additional questions or login assistance on conference dates.

 

This month, the team from Jory Mental Health, along with our School Counselor, will be facilitating training for students during the advisory period to increase our community’s understanding and support of students' mental and emotional health. S.O.S (Signs of Suicide) is an evidence-based curriculum that has demonstrated an improvement in students’ knowledge and adaptive attitudes about suicide risk and depression.

Designed for grades 6-12, SOS teaches students how to identify signs of depression and suicide in themselves and their peers, while providing materials that train school professionals, parents, and communities to recognize at-risk students and take appropriate action.

After the training, students will complete a screening questionnaire that will be reviewed that same day by the mental health team. Any student who shares that they are experiencing suicidal thinking will be provided with individualized support and follow up by one of the providers or school counselors that same day. Parents/caregivers will be alerted if their student is in need of additional support or safety planning. Students who report levels of depression or anxiety, but without suicide risk factors will also be followed up with the week of the training.

Students will also receive a list of community support resources, along with information on supports available at school. If your family would like more information on available support or the S.O.S. curriculum, please contact Simone Nagle at simone@jorymhc.com.

 

 

 

Given the latest health advisory for schools from ODE/OHA, Riverdale High School is postponing our in-person Information Night scheduled for Jan. 26. We plan to hold an in-person event on Feb. 23 from 6-7:30 p.m.

Due to omicron spread, ODE/OHA recommended that schools should hold events (parent/family conferences, fundraisers, etc.) online, rather than in-person. If events are held in-person, make every effort to hold the events under covered areas outside, ensure all participants wear masks, and maintain a physical distance of at least 6 feet between individuals from different households. Because of these restrictions, we’ve decided to postpone in the hopes of welcoming you in person. 

This ODE/OHA advisory is through the end of January, and if it should change or be extended through the end of February, this event may be held virtually instead. We will communicate any changes to the event as soon as possible. 

 

If you have not yet registered, please complete the form using the blue button below. We look forward to seeing you in February!