October 10, 2018
Dear Parents and Guardians,
The Portland Public Schools is currently doing
an Enrollment and Facility Study to evaluate the most effective and efficient
use of Portland’s school buildings. Last
May, the Board of Education adopted a resolution to study all aspects of the
district’s enrollment and capacity to identify potential cost-saving efficiencies
in the overall cost of education. The need for the study became apparent
during the FY 2019 budget process. Changes in the state school funding formula
and increased valuation for the city of Portland means that the Portland Public
Schools will most likely face a reduction in state funding for the foreseeable
future. An Enrollment
and Facility Study Commission has been formed to review the
district's current and projected enrollment and programming against existing
facility use. The Commission includes board members, city
councilors, district staff, and community members who will work together to identify
and recommend possible efficiencies to the Board of Education by early 2019. Davis
Demographics, a company with a history of working with the Portland Public
Schools on similar projects, will assist in the study. To look for
efficiencies, the study will include a review of demographics, facilities, enrollment,
costs, programming, and transportation. Important decisions about our schools,
our school boundaries and our investments may result from this analysis.
A Community Survey is one of the tools that will
be used to gather input from the public. To complete the survey, please go to
or click on this link:
In addition, the Committee will also be holding
neighborhood forums about the study to gather input from the public during the
month of October. Riverton’s Community Forum meeting will be October 25,
5:30-6:30 in the Media Center. We hope
to see you there!
Safety First!
Keeping our students safe is our number one
priority, especially during morning drop off and afternoon pickup. Our
drop-off/pick-up is in the LOWER parking area, which is the large lot near the
Community Center/Pool entrance. Students should not be dropped
off in the morning before 8:05, and
must be picked up by 2:50, unless
attending Rec, Learning Works or other afterschool programs.
Dropping off your children in the morning should be
a quick, kiss-and-go. Please do not park
along the drop off area. If parents need to come into the building, please
pull into a parking space to allow for safety and a smoother traffic pattern
for others. Also, please DO NOT drop off students in the bus loop or the smaller
parking area near the bus loop. The bus loop is only for
busses and the smaller parking lot is for visitors. Finally, please be sure to
obey all the speed limits on and surrounding the school grounds, especially
when traveling through the parking lot. Thank you for your help in keeping all
students safe at Riverton School!
Bully Prevention
Did you know
that October is National Bullying Prevention Month? At Riverton School we are
focused on creating a bully-free environment where everyone feels safe and
empowered to teach and to learn. We reinforce this message by teaching students
to use the PBIS bully prevention program called Stop, Walk and Talk technique
to address bullying behaviors. It helps students know how to stand up to
behavior they feel is offensive or not wanted, and empowers students to be
self-advocates. The Stop, Walk and Talk strategy consists of three simple and
progressive steps: indicating through words and gestures to stop, walking away
if the problem continues, and finally talking to an adult if the problem is
still not resolved. The overall impact
of this bully prevention program is to decrease bullying issues at school in
order to create a more positive school climate.
For specific details about the program please see the resource on the
link:
https://www.pbis.org/common/cms/files/pbisresources/bullyprevention_ES.pdf
On Wednesday,
October 24, Riverton School will be participating in Unity Day 2018. This is a
day the Riverton School community will come together and send one large ORANGE message of support,
hope and unity to show that we are together against bullying and united for
kindness, acceptance and inclusion. We
invite all students, family members and staff to wear the color orange that day
to show that we care about making Riverton a bully free school. Riverton
students will be taking a pledge to stand up against bullying by speaking up,
reaching out and being a friend.
Pumpkin Fest!
Bringing
children and parents together at school is one of the goals of Riverton’s PTO. Pumpkin
Fest is a great Riverton tradition that helps us to meet this goal. Be sure to
mark your calendar for our PTO Pumpkin Fest, which is Saturday, October 27 here
at Riverton School.
Upcoming dates:
Spirit Day is
October 12. Wear your Riverton colors with pride!
The October PTO
meeting is October 18, 5:30 in the Media Center. Please come and find out what
you can do to help support Riverton School!
Picture Day is
Friday, October 19! SMILE!
Community Forum
is October 25, 5:30-6:30
Happy Fall!
Cordially,
Mrs. Ann Hanna,
Principal
