January 2016 - Riverside Community School District

Oakland, IA 51560
Postal Patron
PO Box 428
Striving to Provide the
Highest Quality Education
for the Communities of
PERMIT #4
US POSTAGE PAID
Carson, Macedonia, and
Non-Profit
Oakland.
Riverside
Riverside Community
School Mission
Statement
The mission of the Riverside
Community School District is
to prepare students to meet
the challenges of the future as
responsible citizens in a global
society.
January, 2016
Volume 22, Issue 6
Welcome Back!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Photo by A. Henry
Tami Skank photo
School/Community
Winter Music Programs
Results of the Food Drive
Sports
Movies
* Dr. James Sutton, Superintendent
712-484-2212 Central Office
*Mr. Jamie Meek, Pre-K-6 Principal
712-484-2212 Intermediate School
712-482-6296
Elementary School
* Mr. David Gute Jr.-Sr. HS Principal
712-482-6465
Jr.-Sr. High School
* Don Graham
Transportation
712-482-6215
Bus Garage
Progress in Ag Shop
Riverside website is
www.riversideschools.org
Classes resume January 5, 2016
JH Girls Basketball Starts Monday, January 11, 2016 @ Intermediate School
JH Wrestling Starts Thursday, January 21, 2016 @ Red Oak
The Riverside Community School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, national origin, sexual
orientation, gender identity, marital status, socioeconomic status, or disability in its educational programs and activities and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, socioeconomic status or disability in its employment practices, or as otherwise prohibited by statute or regulation. For more information or concerns
regarding educational programs or activities, employment practices or information regarding the grievance procedure, contact Dr. James
Sutton, Equity Coordinator, Riverside Community School District, 330 Pleasant Street, PO Box 218, Carson, IA 51525, 712-484-2212.
DON’T FORGET TO JOIN THE RIVERSIDE BOOSTER CLUBS
Single Membership $15
Couple Membership $25
Above: The Intermediate School decorate for the holidays with different themed trees. The top picture is the
“Para Tree” while Nebraska and Iowa trees are seen in
the picture immediately above. (Tami Skank)
Right: The week of December 14-18 was WIC Cancer
Awareness week. Riverside Basketball Cheerleaders
show their participation. Left to right: Jordan Hayes,
Hailey Moore, Brittney Haubrich, Shyennah Knoke, Lexi
Biggerstaff, and Lydia Wede.
Page 2
Gold Membership $50
Toy Drive (Jana Hensley)
Thank you to the following for their generous donations:
Keast Chevrolet and The Buck Snort
teamed up this year to host a toy drive for
local children. As you can see from the
photo, the response from the community
was amazing! Our generous community
members literally filled a truck! More than
60 children in the Riverside School District will receive toys for Christmas this
year as a result of the toy drive. A big
thank you to Bud Johansen from the Buck
Snort, Craig Wiggins, Walt Keast, Debbie
Keast and Tom Williams at Keast Chevrolet for their collaboration and assistance.
Thank you to all who donated to the toy
drive!
Carson United Methodist Church
Photo by J Hensley
Holiday Donation Program (Chip Stanczak & Jana Hensley)
We at Riverside are extremely fortunate to have businesses, organizations, churches, and people in our
communities to assist those in need for the holiday
season. Many thanks to all of you who made this
year’s holiday donations possible. You truly make a
difference! Merry Christmas to all!
Oakland United Methodist Church
Carson Presbyterian/Sharon Church
Riverside Jr High Student Council
Riverside Exploring Teaching Class
Riverside Wrestling Club
Never Better Fitness
OSI
Alegent Health Clinic - Oakland
Tammy Board & Steve Wollman
Jennifer Housman & Rick Osweiler
Lisa & Steve Feigenbutz
Shayley Smith
Cindy Suhr
Kim Blay
Niki & Kevin Ford
Sherrie & Jeff Martens
Sayla & Jordan Pierce
A Big Thank You to McKenna Sick for always volunteering every
morning to hang our flags, and thank you to Justin St. Andrew and
Jonathan Alff for helping her out on this cold morning.
McKenna has also been teaching other students the proper flag
folding. (Photo and article by Tami Skank)
Student Writings (Ruth Hardy)
ENG 105 students wrote cause effect essays on the topic of homelessness. The following is
an essay that deals with homelessness as it pertains to America’s veterans. The essay was
written by Emma Grobe.
Homelessness is a very big problem all across the globe. Over 1 billion people are
considered homeless in the world and over 3 million people in the United States alone are
homeless. Of this 3 million, almost 2.5 million children are homeless which leaves .5 million
for a population of other groups. One of these groups is Veterans. 50,000 homeless people in
America are Veterans, which is 8.6% of total homelessness in America. Along with the current homeless veterans, currently there are also 1.4 million Veterans that are at a high risk
for homelessness due to poverty, are living in standard and/or overcrowded housing or lack
support networks.
These people put their lives on the line and worked to the best of their strength and
ability, just so citizens could wake up every morning and go about their average day in our
country. Without these brave and caring people had risked everything for strangers they may
have never met or even interacted with, America may not be considered the “land of the free
and home of the brave.”
Many of these people are being affected by trauma from war, like Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder or PTSD, or are suffering from a current mental illness, which makes being
homeless that much more difficult to handle day to day. About 9% of homeless veterans are
aged between 18 and 30, and 41% are between 31 and 50. Nearly half of the current homeless
veterans had served in the Vietnam War and during the Vietnam era.
So, if veterans are very much appreciated by Americans, why are so many homeless? This is a question many citizens have had. Some major factors are due to a lack of affordable housing, livable income, and even access to affordable or any kind of healthcare.
Along with these highly important factors, many veterans suffer PTSD and many other mental illnesses, like mentioned before. These illnesses have a strong impact on a person and are
a high contribution to many veterans lacking friends, family, and a support system. Along
with the negative impacts, many of these soldiers either cannot afford to further their education and/or lack the credentials to get into a collegiate level of education to help themselves
earn a higher ranked profession.
Though it may seem these veterans seem alone in this difficult lifestyle, they are
not. The VA, or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, work to help these struggling soldiers.
The VA has many health care programs to close to 150,000 veterans and gives support to
almost 112,000 others. To add to these impressive numbers of help, there are 40,000 others
that receive other compensations or benefits. The VA has been working since 1987 to give
Veterans the support and benefits they need by pairing with community services to help expand the range of helpfulness to more and more veterans in need. Since pairing with a plethora of public services, they have given over 15,000 residential rehabilitative and transitional
beds along with 30,000 beds permanently to more veterans throughout America. Since the
year 2005, the VA has helped reduce homelessness in veterans by 70% in the United States.
Along with providing housing, they have also helped provide them with meals, health care,
substance abuse care and aftercare, counseling for mental health and help to personal development along with mock interviews for jobs and training assistance.
Most veterans get the most help from non-profit organizations called “veterans
helping veterans”. This group takes in troubled veterans into their housing and helps to encourage them to strive and overcome their substance abuse. Living with other soldiers that
have overcome their difficulties motivates the other troubled veterans to get better and improve themselves, not only for personal gain, but to help the families they may have.
In our country of America, we are known as the “Land of the Free and Home of the
Brave”, but how can we be the home of the brave if the brave citizens that fought for this
right are not free to live a successful life as they deserve?
Source: National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
http://nchv.org/index.php/news/media/background_and_statistics/
Page 3
Results from the Annual Food Drive (Holly Hinkhouse)
Hadley, Ana, Austin
Items
Cash
Elem
949
169
Intermediate
1009
171
Jr/Sr High
1672
735
Businesses
62
6535
TOTAL
3692
7610
The annual Riverside Food Drive was held November 11-20 and was organized by the Riverside High School Student Council. It began in October by sending
letters to over 100 local businesses and asking them to become Gold, Silver, or Bronze Sponsors of the Food Drive. Once the Food Drive got into full swing, the
Student Council members called each local business reminding them to consider a tax-deductible donation to the local Riverside Food Pantry.
The Student Council also kicked off the Food Drive with an assembly at each school. For the Jr/Sr High School, Pastor Brody Tubaugh of the Carson & Mt. Hope
United Methodist Churches spoke of the importance of donating food to local families in need of some extra help. He helps to organize the local food pantry and
knows just how vital it is to the community. A few Student Council members performed a humorous skit for the assemblies at the Elementary and Intermediate
Schools. The skit encouraged students to be a SOUP-er Hero to those in need. Things like cans of soup might not have traditional superpowers but we all need
food to use our talents and be the best versions of ourselves!
In true Riverside Pride, food donation piles began to grow at each school! Money was also donated by students who got to wear hats for a day, teachers who
chose to wear jeans all week, and High School students who won items from a Silent Auction. On the cold morning of November 20, a few Student Council
members helped to load all of the food at each school and then unload it into the Riverside Food Pantry located at the Oakland Christian Church. The shelves of
the Food Pantry went from completely barren to overflowing. This annual Food Drive is the primary source of food for the Riverside Food Pantry and the monetary donations help to keep it stocked with perishable items throughout the year.
Once all of the donations were counted, the schools collected nearly 3,700 items and $7,610. This sets a new record of monetary donations and it is in large part
due to the generosity of Riverside area businesses. Community endeavors such as this Food Drive really do showcase our Riverside Pride.
Platinum Donor ($1500)
Silver Donors ($100)
Bronze Donors ($50)
Macedonia Implement
Bentley East
The Painted Camel
Ryan’s Auto Service
TS Bank
Gold Donors ($200+)
Mertes Welding
Applegate & Company
Arbor Bank Employees
Farm Service Cooperative
Pioneer Brand Products
Arbor Bank
Cathey Grosvenor
Blimpie
Anonymous
Oakland Insurance Agency
Mary Stempel
Larry Hackett Construction
Oakland P.E.O.
Smokin’ Joes Body Shop
Hotze Tree Service
Robert & Gayle Strickland
Williams Insurance Agency
Great Western Bank
D’Angelo Tax & Accounting
Riverside Lanes
Tinik, Inc.
The Back Forty
Riverside Auto Wash
The Buck Snort
J.P. Lumber
Rolling Hills Bank
Rieken Vieth Funeral Home
Wax Lawn ‘n Scapes
The Finish Line Car Wash
Dairy Queen
Keast Chevrolet
SHE Couture
Hildebrand Feed & Seed
Dr. Charles & Carm Pigneri
Farm Bureau Federation
Holly Hinkhouse
Lindsey
White
Pierce Pump
Hummel Insurance
Silent Auction Items
Food Transport
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Test Date
Registration Date
(Late Fee Required)
February 6, 2016
January 8, 2016
January 9-15, 2016
April 9, 2016
March 4, 2016
March 5-18, 2016
June 11, 2016
May 6, 2016
May 7-20, 2016
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7th Grade Visits Elementary (Liz Graves)
The 7th grade Language Arts students did a writing unit about writing from different perspectives. We started the unit by reading the children’s book Diary of
a Spider by Doreen Cronin. The students then picked animal, researched facts about the animal, and then wrote a diary from their animal’s perspective. The
students then made their diary into a Google Presentation and added pictures and transitions. These diaries were shared with their peers, and we also made a
trip to the elementary and shared them with the elementary students. (photos submitted by Liz Graves)
Education Class
(Lisa Putnam)
The Introduction to Education class adopted a local family
for Christmas to help make their holiday a little brighter.
The students sponsored an ugly Christmas sweater and hat
day at school to raise money and also donated their own
money to purchase gifts. This has become a holiday tradition in the Introduction to Education class, and the students are always happy to help others, especially during
the holiday season.
Left: McKenzie Moore and Skye Young wrap up the presents the Intro. to Education class purchased.
A big “Thank You” to the Intro. to Education Class.
(photo submitted by Lisa Putnam)
Elementary School Happenings
Elementary and Intermediate Schools (Jamie
Meek, Principal)
Kindergarten Students Visit Oakland Manor (Rachel Pickle)
Before Christmas break, Riverside kindergarten students visited the Oakland Manor to sing Christmas
carols and show the residents how to sing the days of the week and months of the year. The students
also were excited to make and deliver their Christmas cards to the residents. Thank you to Oakland
Manor for letting us come and visit!
Hopefully you are enjoying the last few days with your
family before the craziness starts again.
We have made it! We are half-way through the school
year and are headed toward the finish line.
As we begin the new semester we have one of our reading checkpoints for the school year. In mid-January we
all Pre-K - 6 students will be taking the FAST reading
assessment and the Reading assessment. In these assessments students’ fluency, comprehension, phonics,
and other reading indicators are tested and we collect
data to see how our students compare to other students in their grade across Iowa. Teachers then look at
that data, along with other data from their classroom,
and for some of our struggling students start some intensive instruction. For some students there is intensive small group or individual instruction and for some
it is the teacher monitoring them more closely to make
sure they are still growing in their reading skills. When
you get a chance to talk to your child’s teacher do not
hesitate to ask how your child scored on these reading
assessments.
Don’t forget that the best way to stay up to date on
your child’s grades and progress in school is to talk to
your child’s teacher(s) directly, via email or phone calls.
For 4th-6th grade students you can see grades as they
are entered into our system via the JMC Parent Access
portal at, https://riversideschools.onlinejmc.com/, click
on the Parent icon, enter your username and password
and you can see grades. The more staff and families
that are on the same page, the more successful a student will be.
Elementary Students took time out to build snowman!
Santa Claus is coming... to school! (Cami Larison)
December 11, Santa Claus came to school to visit
with RCC and Mrs. Henderson's preschool. Each child
got a chance to sit on Santa's lap, tell him what they
wanted for Christmas, and receive a gift and candy
cane.
(Photo by Kari Rose)
Classes Resume Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Riverside Elementary Winter Concert (Mrs. Kramer)
Riverside elementary students performed their annual winter program December 1 under the direction
of Bonnie Kramer. The theme was "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" so students were invited to wear
pajamas. The program began with a piano prelude by local students of Rachel Pickle and Amanda Brandon. The preschool sang three songs, including the popular "Mittens and Gloves."
Kindergarten and first followed that theme with "Snowpants" and "My Hat and Gloves." Second and
third grades joined the fun with "Rules for Christmas." The familiar Christmas poem was then read by
third grade speakers with appropriate songs interspersed throughout.
All songs had fun movement and several third graders had singing solos. It was a fun evening and a great
kick off to the holiday season! Pictures were supplied by Leslie Amdor and Julie Ravlin.
Olivia Lund
Photo submitted by Julie Ravlin
Photo submitted
by Julie Ravlin
Lo-
Scenes from the Elementary Winter Program held on December 1, 2015 (Photos by Leslie Amdor)
Junior High Girls Basketball
Junior High School Wrestling
Right: Riverside Wrestling Cheerleaders at a recent match.
Left to Right: Jasmyn Carter,
Brooke Faxon, Sydney Swope, Jami
Carter, Riley Raney, Hayley Haines
Go Dawgs!
The high school is quickly depleting its Kleenex supply If you would like to help out, we thank you in advance.
Hunter Hodges
Tatem Bluml
Classes Resume on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 for Riverside Students
Events at Riverside Intermediate School
Students at Riverside Intermediate School have been busy. Some helped make the luminaries for the Carson Christmas. The winter music
program was held on December 14. There was also time for decorating trees. We thank Tami Skank and Amanda Brandon for getting the
pictures we feature on these two pages.
Getting the luminaries ready
for the Carson Christmas.
Above: 5th Grade Class
Tree
Right: ISU Tree for
Cyclone Fans
Page 10