August 29, 2012 - Important Back-to-School Information

Greetings Families:

I am writing to provide updates regarding back to school.

Staffing Update 

Our new Special Education teacher is Mrs. Jill Huntington.  She comes to us from Beaverton School District and will be teaching elective classes as well.  Our Humanities teacher, Ms. Laura Pridmore-Brown (PB), comes to us via Clackamas High School and brings with her the ability to provide PSU credits through the PSU Challenge Program.  Ms. Heidi Welnick is serving as our Music teacher.  She is new to the Portland area. A highlight of her experience is the building (from scratch) the music program at Grand Canyon University.  I am pleased to provide your children the opportunity to work with such strong teachers.

Registrar Update

Unfortunately, we were unable to make our timeline in order to mail student schedules prior to the start of school.  The new student information system is going to be welcome, however, the transition is taking more time than anticipated.  Mrs. Teeter is proficient and student schedules will be complete for the first day of school.

We do understand that there will be need for students to make schedule changes and Mrs. Teeter is prepared for that.  Especially when you read further!

Curricular Opportunity Update

As mentioned above, Ms. Pridmore-Brown is positioned to provide a college credit course.  Below is the course description, benefits and how to access this new class offered this trimester.  Please contact Ms. Teeter immediately if your student would like to take advantage of this opportunity.  We need a full class in order to offer this course this trimester.   

Through the Challenge Program, a cooperative program between Portland State University and your school district, you have the opportunity to enroll in a first-year PSU course before you begin full-time college study.  By completing a Challenge course, you can earn PSU credits while you are still in high school.  Your teacher, Laura Pridmore-Brown, has an Adjunct Instructor appointment from the History Department at PSU and will teach your PSU course on the Riverdale High School campus. Currently, the following course is being offered through the Challenge Program at PSU: The History of Western Civilization:History 102 (Renaissance through the Enlightenment).

What is the tuition cost for this Challenge Program course?

Qualified students (PSU requires a 3.0 GPA) who wish to enroll in Challenge courses pay a reasonable Program Fee.  The fee is reviewed annually.  For the 2012-2013 year, students will pay $226 for History 102, a 4 credit class. If a student were to take this same class on the PSU campus, the cost would be $734.

Who can register to take this class through the PSU Challenge Program?

Course offerings are normally restricted to qualified high school seniors.  However, students in their junior year are sometimes permitted to enroll in Challenge Program PSU courses with approval from the University faculty coordinator and the Challenge Program administrator.

When I register for a course, what is my official status at PSU?

When you enroll through Challenge at the University, you are a part-time Portland State University student. You will have the privileges of any other part-time student: you may get a PSU ID card; you will be eligible for a computer account; you will have full access to the Library, including access to all the databases subscribed to by the University.

When you complete your Challenge Program course, you are entitled to an official Portland State University transcript.

Drama Club update

New this fall is an extra curricular activity, the dramatic production of All in the Timing. Students should look out for information right away regarding auditions.

Principals message

NOTICE: It was brought to our attention that the district calendar states the first day of school is 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.  This is not true.  School is 9:00 a.m. to 3:50 p.m.  Our apologizes for any confusion.

Students, I am anxious and excited to have you back in our halls!  We have a great year ahead of us.

August 21, 2012

Staffing News:

Ms. Horgan, our music teacher, has taken a one-year leave of absence and is planning to start afresh for the 2013-14 school year.  We wish Ms. Horgan the best as she explores, takes time for professional growth and rests.  Our search for the Music teacher is not concluded.

Our Special Education Department has a new teacher and case manager, Jill Huntington.  Ms. Huntington comes to us from Beaverton School District.  I am thrilled to bring Ms. Huntington on board, she is highly skilled, an exceptional colleague, enthusiastic and creative.  Ms. Huntington is a joy to work with and is anxious to meet our students. 

Additionally, Ms. Cassell has resigned her post at Riverdale High School.  We support and celebrate her adventure.  Currently we are reviewing applications for our Humanities position opening.  Following is a heartfelt message for you from Ms. Cassell.

Dear Riverdale Families:

My five years at Riverdale have been the most fun and professionally satisfying of my life. The students, parents and colleagues at the high school have made it an absolute pleasure to go to work every day. Despite this, an opportunity has come my way that I feel I must accept. I will be working at Madison High School as Instructional Specialist. This change is important for my professional growth and development as an educator, but I have truly loved working with Riverdale students. I know that I am leaving a wonderful job with great students and families. I will miss the Riverdale community, probably painfully, and in fact, I already do. The timing of this change is awkward and I will do my best to help create a smooth transition, including handing over curriculum and working with my replacement. Thank you to students and parents for your support and the joy it has been to work with you.

Sincerely,

Santha

Site Council Recruitment

Site Council is a committee based on 21st Century Schools Councils (OAR 329.704) requirement.  The school council is responsible to assist in the development of professional growth of the schools staff; improvement of the school’s instructional program; and, coordination of plans to implement the programs. In more direct terms, the Site Council works to develop, monitor and revise our School Improvement Plan.  The Site Council is comprised of parents, students, classified staff, administration and teachers.

At Riverdale High School we meet once a month at 4:00 for 1.5 hours.  If you are interested in being considered for service on the Site Council please contact your principal, Paula Robinson.

Writing 121 Benefits

An important note about Writing 121, your student can acquire a PCC college credit after completing the class.  For a small fee college credit will be earned and applied to high school transcript.  This is important for first year of college scheduling because the more college credit a student has the higher they will be in the college registration process.  There is a trick, students must maintain a college transcript and remember to submit official transcripts upon registration to their college of choice.  This is true of AP test/credits as well.

Lunch Program Access

Students may submit money ahead of time or purchase lunch with cash.  If you desire to place money in a student account mail checks to: Express Catering PO Box 20954 Keizer, Oregon 97303 or turn checks in to the high school office.  For menu information go to: xpresscatering.com (lunch menu will be available the first of September)

If you have any questions you can email us at: xpresscatering@gmail.com or call us at

503 487 3510

From the Registrar:

STUDENT SCHEDULES

RHS Student Schedules are in the final stages of completion and evaluation.  Hopefully students will receive their schedules in the mail prior to the beginning of school.

We along with other schools in the state are transitioning from ESIS to a new student information system.  I have input schedules prior to this transition. However, we are experiencing glitches in the system during the rollover.  That said we are doing our best.  If you do not receive a schedule in the mail, your student will have one greeting them on the first day of school.  Our apologizes!

STUDENT REGISTRATION/PAPERWORK/FEES

All student registration forms, signature pages, general paperwork and school fees are to be submitted to the office by August 24th.  Every student in the school must have a new registration form on file in the office each year for parent contact and emergency purposes.

Thank you.

Mrs. Teeter

Registrar/Admin. Assist