May 8, 2018
Dear Riverton Families,
Happy Spring! Thank you for your support during the
current budget process, and for advocating on behalf of the students at
Riverton School. The next City Council meeting is May 14 where there will be a
public hearing on the school budget before the council vote.
Art Gala
Riverton Elementary School will
be hosting its Second Annual Art Gala
and Silent Auction on Thursday, May 17, to raise funds to create a natural
playscape for children of all abilities to enjoy. The event will take
place from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at Riverton School and is open to students, families
and community members.
Available for viewing at the Art
Gala will be more than 400 pieces of student artwork. Communal works of art
created by each classroom will be auctioned off in the Silent Auction, as will
items such as baskets of books, art from local artists, home goods and
gift certificates to local businesses. Donations have been provided by Bayside
Bowl, The Escape Room, Portland Museum of Art, The Seadogs and local
restaurants including Bruno’s, Amato’s, The Treehouse Restaurant, Black Cat
Cafe and Rosemont Market, and many more local businesses. There will be live
music, light snacks, and refreshments.
Riverton currently has one
playground for about 450 students. It was built 13 years ago and is designed
for children age 7-12. It has just one handicapped swing and children using
wheelchairs find the playground difficult to navigate.
Plans call for building the new
playscape on an open hill in the front of the school, near classrooms for the
school’s youngest children in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade.
The playscape would also be near classrooms for students in the school’s Bridge
program, which serves students from around Portland with disabilities that impact
their ability to access a typical playground. Since Riverton is a community
center as well as a school the playscape can be used up to 15 hours a day, all
year round by all of Portland’s families.
The new
playscape will be more accessible for students with disabilities as well as
developmentally appropriate. Plans are in the works for breaking ground
this summer for the first phase of the new playscape which will include an
observation platform among the trees at the top of the hill, and a sand
river with a boat. There also will be new plantings, rock climbs and
benches. Our playground committee
was just awarded a $5,000 grant from Lowe’s to use toward our new natural
playscape. Thank you to Jen Seed for taking the lead on applying for these
funds.
The school also has set up
a GoFundMe page to assist with fundraising for the project, which has a $50,000
goal. The link to that page is: https://www.gofundme.com/38s2xvmk
As you
may have already heard, Portland Education Foundation received a $50,000 grant from The Stephen
& Tabitha King Foundation. Riverton will be getting over $7, 000 of the grant money to buy books for our library and
classrooms. The grant is intended to support books that honor and celebrate
culture to help students learn about students from different backgrounds.
Upcoming Dates
Monday, May 8: 5th Grade Concert, cafeteria, 9:00
Wednesday, May 9: Early Release
Thursday, May 10: 2nd Grade Concert,
cafeteria, 9:00
Thursday, May 10: District Volunteer
Appreciation, EECS, 4:00
Friday, May 11: 2nd Grade to
Scarborough Marsh
Tuesday, May 15: 4th Grade Concert, cafeteria
9:00
Wednesday, May 16: Early Release
Thursday, May 17: 3rd Grade Concert, cafeteria,
9:00
Thursday, May 17: 4th Grade to Old Fort
Western
Thursday, May 17:Riverton Art Gala
& Silent Auction, 6:00-7:30
Tuesday, May 22: 4th & 5th Grade
PSO Youth Concert, 9:30
Wednesday, May 23: Early Release
Thursday, May 24: 5th Grade to Fort
Williams
Thursday, May 24: PTO meeting, Media
Center, 5:30
Monday, May 28: MEMORIAL DAY, No
School!!
Wednesday, May 30: Early Release:
Thursday, May 31: Kindergarten
Information Night, 5:45
Friday, June 1: C-Port Essay
Presentations,9:00
Friday, June 1: 5th grade
step up 10:45
Friday June 1: Garden Celebration, 3:00-5:00
Thursday, June 7:
Portland Elementary Track Meet, Fitzpatrick Stadium
Cordially,
Ann Hanna
Principal
