FROM THE HART NEWSLETTER
 SEPTEMBER 2007

Thanks to all of our River Bend parents and guardians who helped make our August 20th Open House a great success.  We hope that Open House was an informative and enjoyable evening for you and we ask that you stay in contact with your child’s teacher throughout the year.  Thank you for your continued support of River Bend Elementary.

We will dismiss school at 12:00 pm on for our second Early Release Day on September 27.  Please mark your calendars with this date.  Teachers and teacher assistants will be involved in staff development activities on Early Release Days.  The Raleigh Parks and Recreation Program will be available at our school on these days to supervise students for a reasonable fee.  You will need to make arrangements well in advance of each Early Release date.  You may register your child for the program by calling 831-6165.  March 6, 2008 and April 17, 2008 are our two remaining Early Release Days this year.

Wake County Public School System requires that all school volunteers register prior to performing services in schools.  Parents who were approved during the previous year must reapply for clearance each year.  Parents may not accompany students on field trips or volunteer in the classroom until they have been approved.  Parents may visit the River Bend Elementary School Media Center between the hours of 8:45-9:15 AM and 3:45-4:15 PM to complete their volunteer registration. 

The photographer will be on campus Tuesday, September 11, to take school pictures for all students on Tracks 3 and 4.  Please dress your child in appropriate colors in order to get a good quality picture. 

Please be reminded to sign in at the office if you visit the school during the day.  You will also need to get a visitor’s badge and wear it during the time you are in the school.  All visitors to the school should enter the building through the front doors of the main office.  We appreciate everyone’s help in providing a safe atmosphere for all of the students and staff members at River Bend Elementary.

Report Cards for 1st-5th grade students on Track 1 will be sent home on Friday, September 7, 2007.  Report Cards for 1st-5th grade students on Track 2, 3 and 4 will be sent home on Friday, September 28, 2007. 

Please send a note with your child if he/she has a change in transportation home from school.  Students often forget how they are to go home when there is a change.  If we do not receive a note indicating you wish your child to ride a different mode of transportation, we will have no other choice but to send them home via their usual transportation that you identified at the beginning of the school year.  Please help your child to be safe at his/her bus stop by reminding him/her to wait off of the street for the bus to arrive and come to a complete stop before attempting to board the bus.  As a reminder, to help ease overcrowding and to transport students home safely, students may only ride the bus that they are assigned to by the WCPSS Transportation Department.
 
We will send home River Bend’s overall 2006-2007 End-of-Grade Tests school results and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results related to the federal No Child Left Behind legislation as soon as they are certified by the state.  We are pleased with our students’ academic progress during our first year and continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that our curriculum is aligned.

Proof that Kindergarten students have received all required immunizations or have an upcoming appointment scheduled to receive the immunizations must be submitted for all Kindergarten students on all tracks by Monday, September 10.  Students who have not submitted proof that they have received all required immunizations or do not have an appointment scheduled to do so will not be able to attend school until the appropriate documentation is submitted.

Teachers are beginning to schedule their first formal parent/teacher conferences for the 2007-2008 school year.  Please make sure that you attend this very important conference so that you and your child’s teacher can work in a partnership to help your child to be successful this year.

We are excited about the development and construction of our new school building and the surrounding community.  We look forward to moving to our new campus in 2008 and will continue to provide you with construction updates as we receive them from WCPSS.  For more information about the new community that River Bend Elementary will be a part of, please visit www.5401North.com or pick up a brochure in our office. 

We encourage all parents to join the River Bend PTA and to support your school and our students by volunteering to work on a PTA committee.  Membership in the PTA is $5.00.

The River Bend Elementary PTA’s Cookie Dough sale fundraiser for students on Tracks 2, 3 and 4 will run from September 17-28.  As outlined on each teacher’s student supply list, all students in grades 1-5 should purchase River Bend planners for their homework and school calendars.  Planners cost $5.00 each and are available each morning from 8:45-9:15 AM in the main office.

SEPTEMBER CALENDAR

September 7                             Track 1 Report Cards
September 10                           Title 1 Dinner (for families served in Title 1 program only) 5:30 p.m. Cafeteria
September 11                           School Pictures Tracks 3 and 4
September 27                           Early Release Day (Dismissal at 12:00 p.m.)
September 28                           Tracks 2, 3 and 4 Report Cards