Covid-19

8/5/2020

Today we sent out our Note Home email with our Health and Safety Plan outlining our response to the Covid-19 virus and how it will affect the 2020-2021 school year. Please check you email for this plan and the forms that need to be returned to the office. Additional copies are at the school. Electronic forms available in the Family Portal.

Current Impacts for RCS Families:

Resources for COVID-19:

Previous Updates

5/7/2020

On Monday, May 18th, we invite students to drop off their text books, and any other RCS owned materials, to their classroom. Each stu-dent has been given a time slot. (Please refer to the schedule and procedures provided.) We are happy to accommodate you curbside, if you would rather not have your child enter the building. Please communicate this to your child’s teacher.

Please check your email for a notice of any out-standing books that need to be returned to the RCS Library. If you do not get an email, your child does not have any books to return.

4/23/2020

Dear School Family,

Today, Minnesota Governor Walz called for Minnesota schools to continue with distance learning through the end of the school year. While this news certainly doesn’t surprise us, it does deeply sadden. We so long to be together.

Your teachers were already preparing for this, as they ready to send out packets tomorrow. We will be handing out packets from 3-6pm tomorrow, Friday, April 24th. As we did the first time, please remain in your vehicle and we will bring your materials to you.

News from the Book Fair: For those students who completed a book report, your book will be mailed to your home.

I can hardly wait to see some RCS faces tomorrow. For Spirit Week, it’s Funny Face Friday. Take a funny picture and post it to the Spriit Week wall in the LMS, and then bring that funny face to the school to pick up your materials. See you between 3-6pm.

You are dearly loved!
Cindy Waind

3/27/20:

As we embark on a journey none of us could have foreseen in August when we began this year, we count it a privilege to serve you and serve alongside you. As a classroom teacher, I always longed for and loved parent engagement in the process of education. Here we are taking that to an exceptional degree!

Below we have some detailed plans in place to ensure your child continues to receive the best education during this time Governor Walz has mandated schools to be closed, until May 5^th with his most recent executive order. We want to do everything we can to keep all of our families safe.

School starts again on Monday, March 30th. As teachers will be communicating with you, we don’t expect your child’s school schedule to duplicate what it was on-campus at Riverside. Teachers will be using a mix of our present curriculum, teaching videos, Abeka streaming, Zoom meetings, google classroom, online resources and personal check-ins to meet the needs of their students. If you are seeking even more enrichment for your child, we have an e-learning tab on our website with numerous links to explore and enjoy.

With your child’s learning packet, you are receiving instructions for using our Learning Management System (LMS), also found in the Family Portal. In the LMS you will find your child’s assignments, morning announcements, as well as a question for the day. We are using this question to take attendance, something we are required to do, and will count on you to facilitate that for your child, for those in the younger grades. This is also a place that we invite you to share any prayer requests. If you should encounter difficulty in using the LMS, please contact the office for assistance. Our office hours will be 9-3, or other times, by appointment.

As stated above, teachers of students in grades 3-8 may be using Abeka streaming to enhance their classes. To log in for this service use the following steps: abeka.com, account, log in, user/pw (same as the LMS), dashboard, video streaming, enter subject and lesson.

All this being said, your child will need a device to take full advantage of the lessons provided by our teachers. Please contact the office if this is a need for your family.

We are anticipating an exchange of work on April 17th. More to come on that in the future. We will continue to take our Easter break as scheduled.

This is a historic time, that you and your child(ren) will remember for years to come. While we grieve our normalcy (we love your kids!), this is also an opportunity for great adventure. It’s our deep desire to maintain community during this time of isolation. To that end, we will be continuing with chapel every Wednesday, and look for your electronic notehome on Thursdays. Know that you are blanketed in prayers.

Counting it a privilege to serve the RCS family,

Cindy Waind

3/25/20:

Today, during the process of planning and gathering materials for distribution to our Riverside families, Governor Walz called for a 2 week, shelter-in-place for the state of Minnesota, starting at midnight Friday, March 27th. He’s asked us to prepare for distance learning through May 4th. The teachers are shifting gears to extend the days for which they have materials ready for student learning. Materials will be available for you to pick up on Friday, March 27th, from 1:00 pm-6:00 pm. Please drive up to the front of the school, Door 1, share the name and grade of your student/s, and we will retrieve the bag/envelope containing your child’s materials. (We are also sending home any snow gear left at school.)

With these materials you will find instructions for how to use Riverside’s learning management system (lms). It is where teachers will be posting assignments, along with other materials. There will be some general guidelines for how much time your child should be spending on learning tasks generated from RCS. We will start by just learning processes, especially with our younger students, and move into more rigor as we become more comfortable with the digital resources we will be using. This learning curve will be quick and fairly independent for most middle school students and require more supervision and parent involvement in primary grades. We want Grace to abound. Please give it to teachers as they learn new platforms of communication, and we happily extend it to you as we work together to grow students in every way.

If you are a healthcare worker, or considered essential personnel, and are in need of child care, please contact the school. In the event that you do not have a device to facilitate your child’s learning (desktop or laptop computer, ipad or tablet) let us know and we will try to meet that need.

Lastly, I promised to send you a link for chapel. It went out on facebook this am, but here it is to you by email tonight. Sorry for the delay. Thanks to Miss Donna and her crew of two!

https://youtu.be/YwTXATKx1dI

Keeping our eyes on Jesus,

Cindy Waind

3/24/20:

Hello school families,
I want you to know that your teachers are working hard to be ready to start distance learning next week, should that be required. This will include a mix of online resources and packet materials that we will distribute to families. While we are still working on the framework for all that’s needed, I didn’t want to wait to make you aware of a program that may benefit your family, if your internet access is not what you would like it to be. Attached you will find a letter from Midco, detailing a program they are providing, free of charge, for families needing help in this area.
Miss Donna and her crew (very small crew-keeping social distance) have been busy recording chapel today. I will be sending you a quick email tomorrow containing the link to participate, and a more detailed email on Friday with our plans for next week and the steps we would like you to take to be prepared. Hug your kids from me!
God’s rich love to you all,
Cindy Waind

3/17/20:

At the end of the school day today (1:45 dismissal because of parent teacher conferences) your children may be bringing home some of their text books, in preparation for their education to continue should our closure extend beyond March 27th. Next week, while our teachers work and plan, we ask that students continue to read and practice math facts. We will communicate next steps with you near the end of next week, or sooner, as information becomes available. It’s our plan to resume educating students on March 30th, either back at school, or using alternative learning options at home. I apologize for the inconvenience this causes. Please know that it’s not a path we would choose, however, we know that God is sovereign and when we cooperate with His plan for us, we can expect “good” as the outcome.
If you are a healthcare provider, or a first-responder, and do not have childcare for next week, please call the school and we can discuss options to assist you.
In Him,
Cindy Waind

3/15/20:

The safety and health of our students and families is of utmost importance to us. We are also aware that this will be challenging for families to navigate. What we know is that God is sovereign and this is not a surprise to Him. We are seeking His direction and walking in trust and not fear.
Riverside will be following Governor Walz’s call to discontinue school starting Wednesday, March 18th, through Friday, March 27th. Our board has decided to complete this school week as scheduled for PreK 3- grade 8. Monday will be a normal day of school. Tuesday will be as scheduled, with early release at 1:45 and parent/teacher conferences taking place starting at 2:00pm. Wednesday through Friday is our scheduled break. Next week, March 23-27, will be spent with teachers preparing for distance learning, as per the governor’s request. We anticipate further closing after that day, but will have to wait to see what transpires between now and then. This is uncharted water, but I promise to keep you informed as decisions are made here.
In Christ,
Cindy Waind

Teaching and equipping tomorrow's christian Leaders

Current Impacts for RCS Families:

Resources for COVID-19:

Previous Updates

About

Admission

Academics

Support Us

Parents

Newsletter

Cindy Waind

Principal