Dear Riverview Families,
We hope you continue to stay peaceful, safe, and well. Ernest Hemingway was quoted as saying, “courage is grace under pressure.” This is particularly applicable in 2020, as we have all experienced a heavy dose of pressure this year. We thank you and our school staff for continuing to show grace under pressure in managing the ever-changing demands of work, school, and family during this roller coaster ride of a year. We are extremely appreciative.
Below are a few important updates:
Parent Survey Results / 2nd 9 Weeks Planning – Let’s start here, as we know that this is a topic on everyone’s mind. First of all, we thank all parents for completing the back to school survey. At this point, all families have either completed the survey and/or have been contacted by our staff to elicit a response. We have now received 100% of the responses and we are thankful for that. These numbers have been crucial to our planning efforts. Overall, approximately 75% of all families have chosen a hybrid learning option and 25% percent of all families have chosen to continue with a virtual option for the 2nd 9 weeks that begin Nov. 4. For the past week, staff and administrators have met on numerous occasions to offer ideas, plan collaboratively, and analyze options. The goal, as always, is to provide a solution that balances safety with the in-person learning needs of students and families. As promised, we will be recommending a plan that will be supported by both the administration and the staff for the School Board to consider at the Board Study Session Meeting this Monday, October 12th at 7pm. Please note that the plan will not be voted on this Monday, but presented, deliberated, and discussed. If pushed forward, the Board will then vote on the 2nd 9 weeks plan at the next official School Board Voting Meeting set to occur on October 19th at 7pm. You are welcome to join the Board’s Study Session via zoom this Monday, but if you cannot attend, we will send out a communication early next week outlining the proposed plan. Lastly, we want to extend our appreciation to the Junior-Senior High School families in Verona that have offered to drive their children to and from school each day, as this provides us with additional safety and opens up greater options at the Jr-Sr High School.
New Crowd Limitation Guidelines – As many of you have heard, the Governor was successful in his appeal to the 3rd District Courts in procuring a stay order on the 25 indoor/250 outdoor gathering limits. Shortly after, both he and Health Secretary Levine issued NEW guidelines on safe gathering limits. Therefore, starting this Friday, October 9th, venues that hold between 0-2000 people (that’s us) can allow 20% capacity at indoor events and 25% capacity at outdoor events. As our venues are quite small, this doesn’t give us much more flexibility, but we are happy to report that these guidelines will allow us to issue additional tickets to members of student athletes and performers. Coaches will provide additional information to families regarding tickets. Please note, however, that to continue to allow spectators to safely attend, ALL attendees (indoor or outdoor) MUST wear a mask and stay 6ft away from all non-family members AT ALL TIMES. Failure to do so may result in a ban of attending future events. Unfortunately, this is a non-negotiable. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Homecoming Parade – Tonight, there will be short parade from 10th Street Elementary School down to Riverside stadium. The event at the stadium itself is limited to only Senior athletes, band members, and the Homecoming Court along with their families. However, if anyone wants to watch the short parade, please line Pennsylvania avenue at around 6:30pm and watch the athletes, homecoming court, firetrucks, and emergency response vehicles as they proceed down to the stadium. Onlookers MUST wear masks at all times and maintain 6 ft. of physical distance from all non-family members. We thank you in advance for your participation and cooperation. The link in yellow below will allow you to watch the event from the comfort of your own homes:
Senior Night/Homecoming Live-Stream - October 8th, 2020
Flu Shots – With the added hardship of the health crisis this year, the CDC and Health Officials are recommending that ALL people 6 months of age or older receive a flu shot. Doing so will protect you and your family and help with the Covid-19 pandemic this winter. Therefore, we encourage both you and your children to receive your flu shots this year. Now is a good time to discuss this with your primary care physician. We thank you for your cooperation.
Have a peaceful week, and Go Raiders!
Sincerely,
The Riverview Administration