Calendar and News
Riverstone Blog
Calendar & Upcoming Events
Updates & Announcements
Press Archive
|
March 1st, 2012
Thank you to all those who supported our students by attending the Senior Recital this week. We have incredibly talented students in our Senior Class and Wednesday evening was a chance to see them at their best. With original solo and group compositions and performances on guitar, trumpet and piano, the audience were treated to a varied and joyful expression of what makes our students unique and wonderful, culminating in a large group performance by “The Kodak Moment” in a collaborative composition which rocked our socks off. It is an amazing achievement that these students continue to create and perform in the midst of all their IB preparations and college counseling. Thank you Riverstone Seniors! And thank you to Music teacher, Alison Steven, for inspiring our students!
March 1st, 2012
Our IB Diploma Programme Theater Arts students performed The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket at the Fulton Street Theater on Tuesday night. Renee Knappenberger, their teacher, wrote in the program, “I chose this play because I love the character of Daniel, believing in himself and his abilities, against the advice of every other person in his life. I think that there is a lot of Daniel in most Riverstone students. They know, in their hearts, that they have the ability to succeed against all odds. That is why I continue to teach at Riverstone and that is why I continue to believe that I can too…”
We couldn’t agree more!
Special thanks to Tony DeAngelis, a Riverstone parent, for joining our cast as Mr. Rice!
February 28th, 2012
Riverstone’s Middle School Contemporary Band, Choir, and Classical Ensemble performed this afternoon at the Fulton Street Theater for classmates and parents. Wow! Great job everyone! Thanks to Mr. Brown, Mrs. DeLaney, and Ms. Steven for guiding our students to these great performances!
Contact Kari Boazman at kboazman@riverstoneschool.org if you are interested in joining one of the groups.
February 23rd, 2012
Special thanks to Kristo J., Class of 2012, for writing this entry!
One o’clock pm, Super Bowl Sunday. Most people would probably be getting ready for the festivities of the evening. Our two small groups of Riverstone students, however, were already seven thousand feet up, silently climbing higher, each admiring the immaculate blanket around us, and steaming only slightly. Every once in a while, someone would point out a historical slide path, or some surface hoar, but for the most part we were looking up, and getting giddier as we approached the summit.
We had studied the season’s snow history and avalanche conditions, and were pretty confident in the snow pack, so as we crested the mountain 30 minutes outside Stanley, we were already preparing to descend. Stripping skins, putting down some calories, locking heels, and adding layers, it was only a few minutes and we were itching to hit it. For me personally, the first few turns were shaky… I wasn’t used to squeezing so much out of a run but after trekking for two hours to get there, I wanted to take my time. Soon I got the hang of it and settled in to a rhythm of luxuriously soft turns. On the way out we were all smiles, and already planning our next trip into the backcountry, each of us confident that with each other we could safely navigate the slopes in avalanche terrain.
That’s what Super Bowl Sunday is, Riverstone Outdoor Program style.
February 22nd, 2012
Our Seniors headed out on Tuesday for their Senior Trip. Here’s some of what Ben Brock, Outdoor Education Director, shared with parents beforehand:
“The Senior Trip takes place in February instead of May, when the rest of the spring trips occur, because IB exams and study sessions are concentrated in the last two months of school. Going on a trip in February will give seniors a good break in the middle of the very long third quarter, and, when they return, seniors will have plenty of time for final preparations for the IB exams.
This year there are two trip options:
The Coyote Yurt Trip consists of a 6-mile hike with 1,800 ft of elevation gain. A snowmobile will provide transportation assistance for the 3-mile approach prior to the beginning of the climb. Ben Brock and Lisa Armstrong lead this trip.
The Boulder Yurt Trip is a shorter 1.5-mile hike over relatively flat terrain. Josh Udesen and Gretchen Arguedas lead this trip. Students should check with Josh if they have any interest in Nordic skiing opportunities available at the Boulder Yurt.
On both trips, students will have the chance to participate in a variety of skiing or snowboarding excursions, snowshoe hikes, snow cave constructions, and avalanche transceiver workshops.”
The following pictures are from the Coyote Yurt Trip group just prior to departure from the school. Ben is super excited by the wonderful anonymous donation of 15 new avalanche transceivers!
February 16th, 2012
Jamal Joseph, poet, activist, educator, and author of Panther Baby, spoke with Grade 8 and Grade 10 students on Wednesday about his newly released book. Here are some comments from our students after Jamal’s visit.
Grade 10 student, “The Panther Baby talk was really interesting to listen to. I’ve lived my whole life in Boise, Idaho and have never really been around much discrimination besides what I’ve read in textbooks. It was really awesome to listen to Jamal because it gave me a perspective to what life must be like growing up and being thought of as ‘less’ than everyone else.”
Grade 10 student, “I enjoyed listening to Jamal Joseph due to several different reasons. He was an impressive and enchanting storyteller. He started off by reciting a poem that he had created that had to do with love, truth and creativity and I was hooked immediately.”
Grade 10 student, “His talk about how, with persistence and determination, people can achieve their goals inspired me to something of my own.”
Grade 10 student, “If I could say one thing to Mr. Joseph, it would simply be, ‘thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do for minorities across the U.S.’”
Grade 10 student, “If we know something is not right we have to take action and change it.”
Grade 8 student, “Change isn’t going to happen without any action. You have to work for change.”
Grade 8 student, “I got many things from this, but the most important to me was when he said, ‘You can serve the time or let time serve you.’”
Teacher Andy Johnson, “The best way to realize yourself as a human being is to find connections with other people. The best way to realize this connection is through service” and his exhortation for us to be a “standard bearer for positive talk.”
Thanks to Bruce and Laure DeLaney and Rediscovered Books for sponsoring this visit!
February 15th, 2012
The move from Elementary School to Middle School can be a daunting proposition. Last week, to help with that transition, our Grade 5 students spent the morning getting a sense of what to expect in Middle School next year. After learning about the international exchanges and languages offered, older students shared information about the Outdoor Education trips and then guided the younger students through water filtering, stove lighting, and tent set up exercises. To make it even more fun, the students had to use orientation skills to navigate from station to station, a skill that our Middle School students learn in PE. The morning was wrapped up with a messy but fun science experiment on the effects of ingredients on elasticity of silly putty.
From the feedback from the kids, they had a great time and are looking forward to Middle School next year!
February 13th, 2012
Last Friday, the Grade 2 classes wrapped up their Unit of Inquiry, “How We Express Ourselves,” by performing Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Our Elementary and Middle School students enjoyed the morning show, with families and friends joining us for the evening performance.
According to Trevor Lindsay, Grade 2 teacher, the production was truly a collaboration between students and the community. “Our two classes collaborated on everything having to do with the play. We also worked with students from the middle and high school. High school art students helped us create and paint the background scenery. Middle school students met with our classes and then created original mood music to play as a soundtrack between scenes. We also made props and costumes in art with Mr. Jay, learned a contemporary song with Shakespeare-themed words in music class with Mrs. Summerville, wrote poems and made a program on the computers with Mr. Hamilton, and designed our own stories and plays using the iPads with Mr. Miller.
As with all our units, we encouraged parents and experts from the community to make presentations to the classes. This year, we had author and parent Tony Doerr talk with us about expressing ourselves through creative writing. Idaho Shakespeare Festival actor DA Smith shared insights about Shakespeare and helped us refine our acting skills. Tony and Caren DeAngelis, parents and former actors, guided our students through improv activities and helped the students to become more expressive in their acting.”
Although the pictures can’t capture the essence of live performance, you can still get a sense of the magic that we all felt watching these amazing students! Thanks to everyone who assisted the students and special thanks to Trevor Lindsay and Pete Burton, our Grade 2 teachers, for guiding our kids through this wonderful process.
February 9th, 2012
As part of the preparation for their upcoming performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Grade 2 students were recently treated to advice from a true Shakespearean actor, David Anthony (DA) Smith, an actor with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival (ISF). DA will be performing in his 12th season with the ISF this summer! He talked with the children about Shakespeare himself and about his various works. DA was very impressed with how much the kids already knew about Shakespeare!
The kids also performed a few scenes for DA to watch and critique. He gave them some great tips that they could use to improve their performances, such as, ” What word is found in the middle of REHEARSAL?” HEAR Half of acting is hearing/listening and reacting to your fellow actors. The highlight of the visit might have been when DA showed the kids his custom made rapier, a.k.a a sword to us common folk. The kids thought it was too cool!
Thanks DA! We look forward to seeing you as the Prince in Romeo & Juliet, as well as your major performance in A Winter’s Tale this summer.
To learn more about the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, visit their website.
February 9th, 2012
The Grade 8 class held a Supply Drive for El Hogorcito Orphanage in Costa Rica last week. They received a great amount of clothing and materials for the children, thanks to the generosity of Riverstone parents. The clothing, art supplies, and toys were sorted in class in preparation for the Spring Break trip to Costa Rica. During their trip, our students will spend time with the children of El Hogorcito Orphanage. We will share pictures of their experience when they return!
/*
|
