BY
LACEY REES - FOR THE SIERRA STAR
PHOTOS BY LACEY REES
Picnic tables grace a student-designed patio at Rivergold. Students
from a landscaping class also installed the planters
PHOTOS
BY LACEY REES
Lynn Reimer, new eighth-grade teacher at Rivergold Elementary School,
arranges labeled plastic storage boxes in her classroom in preparation
for the first day of classes.
Two years ago
Rivergold Elementary began adding seventh and eighth grades to its
K-6 configuration, so many of its new programs have been geared
to its older students, said Principal Bob Rose.
It graduated its first eighth-grade class this past spring. The
school lost one sixth-grade teacher, who moved, and hired two new
instructors.
Lynn Reimer will be the new eighth-grade math-and-science core block
teacher. Kathy Costin, a veteran teacher from Coarsegold School,
will come in for a new kindergarten/first-grade position. Rivergold
has had two years in a row of large kindergarten classes. Total
school enrollment is 570, up a dozen or so from last year.
The school, in its Soar to Success program, offers 20 electives
to the sixth- seventh- and eighth-graders, such as Spanish, French,
cooking and landscaping design. The electives, of which students
can take two each quarter, fall under four strands; academic, technology,
life skills and performing art and music.
This year begins a new program with GATE [Gifted and Talented Education]
funds. Technology and problem-solving classes for the high-achieving
children are offered in the afternoon involving, for example, writing
and exploratory science with the use of computers for organizing
data.
Starting this year is WATCH DOGS [Dads of Great Students], a program
to allow dads who have full-time jobs to get involved in the school.
“We felt we were getting a lot of volunteerism from the community,
and I wanted to target dads to give them a vehicle,” Rose said.
Rivergold also sponsors Community of Readers, where parents, grandparents
and other volunteers, with two to three hours of training, help
with classroom reading.
Each volunteer is hooked up with one or two specific students to
help one-on-one on a regular basis.
The program welcomes all new volunteers. If interested in joining
Community of Read, contact Teresa Davis at Rivergold School.
Physical
additions
The school has added a brand new outside basketball court for upper
grades and a baseball field.
The upper athletic field has been completely redone. The old field
had grass growing over granite and decomposed granite, said Ron
Mendez, head of grounds and maintenance, making the surface very
hard. Rock was even visible in places
A machine was brought in to pulverize the rock to which was added
four inches of top soil. After the sprinklers were relocated, the
field was leveled by a road grader and then hydroseeded.
The field is encircled by a 300-meter track which will contain a
layer of moisture-absorbing material. The school found it necessary
to install a security gate on the road leading to the bus-loading
area to prevent private cars from driving, many too fast, into the
area.
The students will enjoy this year the fruits of the landscaping
elective class held last year. A patio with handmade stepping stones,
three planters, steps, a drip system and outdoor tables was a project
completed for the school.
Classes were posted yesterday afternoon, Aug. 19. Today (Aug. 20,
is the orientation for all new kindergartners.
Thursday, Aug., is Back to School night at 6:30 beginning in the
multipurpose room. A dinner, sponsored by the Parent-Teacher Association
takes place at 5.