OH WHAT FUN! THE HOLIDAY SING IS NEAR!

Friday, December 19

Let's Jingle the Bells and Deck the Halls at the front of the school immediately after dismissal on Friday,December 19!  Holiday Sing is a time for Riverside School families to gather outdoors and sing festive songs to ring in the holiday season, led by our music teacher, Ms. Punchatz!

Students are encouraged to show their holiday spirit by wearing their favorite holiday colors to school on Friday, December 19th.  

HOLIDAY BATTERY RECYCLING

The holiday season means lots of new toys and gadgets! As you swap out old batteries for new ones, please keep this quick recycling reminder in mind:

• WHAT: Safely recycle old, expired, or used single-use batteries
• WHEN: Anytime, especially after the gift-giving season when battery consumption is high!
• WHERE: Drop them in Riverside's battery collection bin at the entrance of the school or take them to the Holly Hill Recycling Recovery Center.  

HELP US FILL OPEN PTA ROLES!

The Riverside School PTA is looking for volunteers for this year!  Volunteering is a great way to engage with the school and community. If any of these roles sound interesting, please email riversideschoolpta@gmail.com to learn more!

• Arts Field Day Co-Chair – Coordinate an afternoon "Arts Field Day" to be held on May 20, 2026 offering hands-on workshops in crafts, drama, dance, visual arts, writing and music to students in Grades 3-5.
• Communications Team – Maintain and update content on RIVPTA.org.
• Publicity Chair – Coordinate with local press around PTA events. 
• Safety Duty - Assist children as they exit their vehicles in the front driveway during morning drop-off (8.30am - 8.45am daily) Sign-up Here 

 SUPPORT THE RIVERSIDE PTA BY JOINING TODAY!

 INTERESTED IN THE EARLY MORNING PROGRAM?

Sign-up Now!

The Early Morning Program (EMP) at Riverside School is a before school enrichment program that provides a fun, familiar place for Riverside students before the start of the school day and is staffed by a Riverside teacher.

The program runs every Monday through Friday from 7:15-8:30am, and students could be dropped off at any point during that timeframe. Visit the Early Morning Program page for more details.

THE NEW GPS REPORT CARD

Follow-up Note (session held on October 21, 2025)

On Tuesday, October 21, 2025, Principal Martín and Assistant Principal Collette provided parents with an overview of the new GPS Elementary School Report Cards. You can find the explanation for making the changes in this GPS District Video.

Although details are still being finalized, rather than assessing students' skills on a scale of 1-5, teachers will now assess students' skills as either ES (Emerging Skill), DS (Developing Skill) or SS (Secure Skill). 

The skills being assessed remain the same as in prior years for the applicable grade level, as they are tied to the CT Common Core standards. 

Please note that the first marking period will end at the end of November.