
Riverwalk Roar
Your Source All-Things Riverwalk Academy
1/2/22
Pride,
Welcome to 2022! As I was ringing in the new year Friday night with my family, I was thinking about the writer and poet Bamigboye Olurotimi who said, "In order to be successful in the new year, stay focused, develop a positive attitude and be passionate with your dreams."
Like many, I'm looking for the "fresh start" that a new year brings. I don't think anything magical really happens at the stroke of midnight between December 31st and January 1st, but there's something refreshing about "a new year."
Since nothing "magical" happens at midnight, taking advantage of the "fresh start" requires us to do a few things. Like Olurotimi said, we need to develop a positive attitude and be passionate with our dreams.
I'm a big fan of author Jon Gordon. As a school, we've read Energy Bus and as many of you have noticed, Ms. Carr's lessons tie into the principles of the Energy Bus. Two of the ten rules (principles) are:
Rule 2. Desire, Vision and Focus move your bus in the right direction.
Rule 3. Fuel your Ride with Positive Energy.
These two principles align perfectly with what Olurotimi said is needed to start a new year. To help you get a jumpstart, here's two videos to help you with the two principles: be passionate about your dreams and staying positive.
Pride, I hope each of you has a wonderful start to the new year and that whatever goals you've set for yourself in this new year, you achieve them by defining your why and by staying positive.
In Strength and Blessings,
~Dr. Compton
Photo of the Week
This week's photo is of the wall in our conference room that has been transformed by the wordle that you all helped create for us.
COVID-Related
We're asking that our families assist us in managing everyone's status by using this form when your child shows symptoms, tests positive, is a close contact, or is a household close contact. The data shared with us is kept confidential. After completing this form, you'll receive an email or phone call from Nurse Donna to discuss your child's specific isolation/quarantining plan.
Linked here is Riverwalk Academy's COVID Dashboard. This COVID dashboard is updated by 3:00 pm each school day. This dashboard can also be found on our website.
We've received a few questions about our dashboard, so I wanted to provide an explanation for everyone. Click here for an explanation of our COVID data.
School Lunches
Riverwalk Academy is a "bring your own lunch" school where students are encouraged to bring their own lunches. We do offer a fee-based lunch program that is not income-contingent. Our fee-based lunch program is provided by Golden Corral. For more information about this option, please click here.
Pride, if you haven't done so, please take a moment to check out our new and improved website. From the main page, you have immediate access to the latest news, and up to date calendar.
Senior Profile
Elementary Guidance with Mrs. Carr
Happy New Year!!!
I hope everyone has had a fun restful break. My family and I didn’t go anywhere, but just being at home with my children and my dogs is fun and restful for me. I also thought a lot about this next year. Everyone talks about being hopeful, more positive, losing weight, resolutions, and all the changes they want to make in the coming year. I had actually already started all of these things at the beginning of this school year, so changing from 2021 to 2022, only leads to more of the same. Staying on my bus, driving my bus, asking people to join me on my bus and building a better Riverwalk while enjoying the ride - The Energy Bus! People, it is real - if you are positive, the people around you will change or you will realize they aren’t the people you want around you at all and you will move on. Our staff is also working on the Energy Bus rules (the big people have 10) and our next rule is Don’t Waste Your Energy on those who don’t get on your Bus. This doesn’t mean that we exclude people, it doesn’t mean we are rude to those that don’t want to be on the bus - it just means that we keep being positive, driving our bus, knowing where we are going, and their negative energy doesn’t change anything we do or say. Most of the time, this actually helps those that are negative change - don’t you want to be happy like the happy people you see, don’t you want to be successful, don’t you want to enjoy your ride through life. If we see positive every day, we just can’t stay negative.
Our students’ rule for the month of January is No Bullies Allowed. We will talk about how to be a friend, how to respond/react when someone says/does something that hurts us, what bullying is and how to report it. I will also help them understand that if we are positive , it changes the bullies, it helps them find the positives so they can fix the negative that is causing them to be the bully. Most bullies just need someone to help them understand their feelings - someone to be their friend.
Enjoy your last day off tomorrow. I will be so excited to see everyone Tuesday morning.
Hugs,
Mrs. Carr
Dress Code Reminders
Although the responsibility for the dress and appearance of students rests with each student and his/her parent/legal guardian, students are expected to show pride in themselves and Riverwalk Academy by having their dress and appearance in accordance with good acceptable standards. The school administration discourages extreme styles of dress and grooming.
Students will dress in appropriate attire. Students are expected to dress in clothing that abides the school’s dress code policy. Logos or clothing that promotes alcohol, drugs, tobacco, racism, hate, gang affiliation, nudity, violence or profanity is not allowed. No clothing or accessories are allowed to disrupt the educational process. The administration reserves the right to determine what is appropriate for school.
Dress code violations will be handled with dignity, discretion and respect toward all students by Riverwalk Academy staff members.
Students will follow these guidelines during the traditional school day. Riverwalk Academy administration reserves the right to permit exceptions to the policy for school-sanctioned events.
In the interests of health, safety, cleanliness, decency, and decorum, students will follow these guidelines.
Grades K through Five
Shoes must be worn at all times for safety reasons. Shoes with cleats may not be worn.
Logos or clothing that promotes alcohol, drugs, tobacco, racism, hate, gang affiliation, nudity, violence or profanity is not allowed. No clothing or accessories are allowed to disrupt the educational process. The administration reserves the right to determine what is appropriate for school.
Students may wear shorts, dresses, skirts, etc. which are of appropriate length. Tops must be long enough that they can be tucked into pants or shorts. Basketball jerseys must be worn with an appropriate garment (i.e. tee shirt). No headwear (hats, caps, hoods, etc.) or sunglasses may be worn in the building.
The following items are considered inappropriate for school:
Flip flops
Tops with straps that are less than 3-fingers wide of the student
Pants or jeans with holes, tears or tattered to the extent that skin or undergarments are visible above the mid-thigh
Visible undergarments
Violations will result in the following:
First and Subsequent Offenses: phone call to parent
Middle/High Guidance with Ms. Menges
Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope you all had a fabulous break. It was nice to have a few weeks off and get some rest. My husband and I visited Asheville, NC and The Great Smokey Mountain National Park! It was fun seeing the beauty of the mountains and lots of wildlife. We also had some time to think of some goals that we have for this new year. It was a nice time of reflection. I always encourage our students to make goals for themselves. I love helping them visualize where they want to be or what they want to accomplish, then helping them along their journey to get there. Let’s make this year great lions. I believe in all of you and love watching you all become better versions of yourselves each day. I don’t have many updates for this coming week but here’s a couple things to consider.
Things to know:
- 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students, I’m still completing make up IGP meetings and will hopefully start 9th grade meetings soon!
- All middle/high students, from here on out, if anyone wants to drop, add, or change any courses, they will need to complete a drop/add form (these can be found in my office or at the York Tech Office). Once the form is completed, it will need to be turned into me for review.
- I cannot wait to see you all Tuesday!
Love,
Mrs. Menges
Dress Code Reminders
Although the responsibility for the dress and appearance of students rests with each student and his/her parent/legal guardian, students are expected to show pride in themselves and Riverwalk Academy by having their dress and appearance in accordance with good acceptable standards. The school administration discourages extreme styles of dress and grooming.
Students will dress in appropriate attire. Students are expected to dress in clothing that abides the school’s dress code policy. Logos or clothing that promotes alcohol, drugs, tobacco, racism, hate, gang affiliation, nudity, violence or profanity is not allowed. No clothing or accessories are allowed to disrupt the educational process. The administration reserves the right to determine what is appropriate for school.
Dress code violations will be handled with dignity, discretion and respect toward all students by Riverwalk Academy staff members.
Students will follow these guidelines during the traditional school day. Riverwalk Academy administration reserves the right to permit exceptions to the policy for school-sanctioned events.
In the interests of health, safety, cleanliness, decency, and decorum, students will follow these guidelines.
Grades Six through Twelve
Proper shoes must be worn at all times for safety reasons. Shoes with cleats may not be worn outside of sanctioned athletic events.
Logos or clothing that promotes alcohol, drugs, tobacco, racism, hate, gang affiliation, violence, nudity, or profanity is not allowed. No clothing or accessories are allowed to disrupt the educational process. The administration reserves the right to determine what is appropriate for the school.
Students may wear shorts, dresses, skirts, etc. whose length is no shorter than the mid-thigh. Tops must be
long enough that they can be tucked into pants or shorts. No headwear (hats, caps, hoods, etc.) or sunglasses may be worn in the building by students upon arrival and until dismissal.
The following items are not appropriate for school:
Undergarments that is are visible
Pants or jeans with holes, tears or tattered to the extent that skin or undergarments are visible above the mid-thigh
See-through garments showing skin or undergarments above the mid-thigh are not allowed
Tops with straps that are less than 3-fingers wide of the student
If there is a disagreement between students and/or parents/legal guardians and the staff regarding the appropriateness of clothing, administration will use discretion to make the decision. Disciplinary action regarding the enforcement of this policy is listed below.
Violations will result in the following:
If violation can be resolved in a timely manner, student will remain/return to class without further disciplinary action
Following 3 unresolved offenses/violations, all subsequent violations will require parent conference and detention
In all offense levels, if the article of clothing promotes extreme offenses such as acts of violence, profanity, nudity, hate-filled language, or other conditions presenting a potential disruption to the learning environment, then the student may be sent to ISS until suitable clothing is brought to the school.
Cell Phones and Headphone Reminders
The cell phone and headphone expectations can be found here. Below are some excerpts:
Middle School Students:
Cell phones, smartwatches, and headphones may be brought to school and used before or after school to
communicate with parents. They must be turned off and stored out of sight during the school day from 8:00 am
until 3:00 pm (12:30 pm on Fridays).
- 1st violation: warning and confiscation of the device until the end of the day
- 2nd violation: lunch detention and confiscation of the device until the end of the day
- 3rd & 4th violation: one day of ISS and confiscation of the device until the end of the day
- 5th violation and beyond: one day of ISS for each offense and a plan for future device use at school involving a parent conference.
High School Students:
The following are the appropriate times that electronic devices may be used:
- Prior to 8:00 am and/or after 3:00 pm
- For instructional purposes during class time when specifically permitted by the teacher
- During the student’s assigned lunch period while in the outside lunch locations or inside location, when permitted by the teacher.
- Cellphones are not permitted in the hallways or bathrooms.
*Violation and refusal to give school employees the electronic device will result in additional punishment of no less than one day of in-school suspension.
Enjoy Your Winter Break
Week Ahead
Monday: 1/3/22
- Teacher Workday - No School
Tuesday: 1/4/22
- Beginning Band, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm (Johnston)
- Cheer Practice: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm (Kunde)
Wednesday: 1/5/22
- Advanced Band, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm (Johnston)
Thursday: 1/6/22
- Beginning Band, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm (Johnston)
- Cheer Practice: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm (Kunde)
- Basketball (away) @ Great Falls High School 5:00 pm
Friday: 1/7/22
- BPA Meeting: 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (Girard)
- Basketball (home) vs Governor's School for Science & Mathematics @ Northside Recreation Center 6:00 pm
Connect with Us
The Mission of Riverwalk Academy is to lead students to achieve through authentic project-based learning experiences with the knowledge and inquiry skills they need to succeed in life, college, and their future careers.
Email: info@riverwalkacademu.com
Website: https://www.riverwalkacademy.com/
Location: 5750 Mount Gallant Road, Rock Hill, SC, USA
Phone: (803) -327-8400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riverwalkacademy
Twitter: @riverwalklions