• • • Scholarship: Sixth grade social studies teacher, Mrs. Mennucci, would like to recognize one of her students...David C.... for embracing distance learning. David has developed into a true scholar during this difficult time. Mrs. Mennucci said, "Before distance learning started, David was challenged by his teachers to demonstrate what we knew he could do. David has triumphed in social studies this quarter. Since starting distance learning, David has not only completed his social studies work; he has turned it in before the due dates. David's writing is insightful and well done. I am so proud of him. Keep up the great effort, David!

    • Mrs. Wallace would like to recognize Noah N. She reports that Noah has been a rock star since virtual learning has started. He's kept up with his work every week and is trying his best with each assignment. I'm very proud of him and all that he's been doing under these extreme learning conditions.

• • • Scholarship: Seventh grade math teacher Mrs. Kelley took the time this week to nominate two of her students: Jamayre and Jade. Mrs. Kelley comments, “Jamayre has been a math rockstar throughout this distance learning experience. He joins my Google Meets frequently to check in and see examples. He has submitted every assignment and the amount of effort he is putting into his assignments is very impressive. Jamayre is blossoming in this environment, and he is setting an excellent example for his peers.” Additionally, Mrs. Kelley reports that, “Jade has been doing a wonderful job reaching out during distance learning. Her assignments are always on time and done with care, and whenever she is struggling with a question or concept, she has not hesitated to reach out through Google Classroom, email, or during check-in on Google Meets. She is working very hard and trying to get the most out of distance learning and she is excelling. I am very impressed with her dedication to her education.” Both students’ success have a few things in common: They actively engage in classes each day, They complete and submit all of their work. They reach out to their teacher when help is needed. They communicate often through Google Classroom and email. Effort, Effort, Effort. As a result, it is no surprise that Jamayre and Jade both have straight A’s for the 4th quarter. Keep up the good work and way to finish strong!

Leadership: Thank you to all of our teachers for their relentless passion, flexibility, innovation and dedication to all of our RMS students. Teachers have all stepped up and have adapted amazingly to virtual learning. They are consistently putting forth a tremendous amount of time and effort to make sure that lessons are fun, meaningful and engaging for all their students. I challenge and encourage all students this week to find some time and thank all of your teachers. BE CREATIVE and let them know that you appreciate how much they care about you! Thank you to 6th grade math teacher, Mrs. D’Arezzo for her help in setting up a virtual talk with professional soccer player, Scott Caldwell, midfielder for the New England Revolution. Check out the video to learn about Scott’s success and his advice to our Viking students and athletes!

ELL teacher, Ms. Sunday would like to recognize one of her students, Lucas. Ms. Sunday writes, “Lucas has done an amazing job adjusting to virtual learning. He completes all of his work each day and advocates for himself. He has really risen to the occasion and we are all very proud of his hard work.” As a result of his efforts, Lucas will achieve Second Honors for the third quarter!

Last Friday was a Professional Development Day for teachers and staff. We would like to thank the following teachers for organizing and leading training sessions for their colleagues. Each session highlighted a different program or tool that teachers could incorporate into their virtual classes to help foster more creativity and participation with their students.

• Ms. Kenahan and Mrs. Humphrey led a session about EDPUZZLE and WIZER.ME.

• Mr. Kirkutis trained staff on how to integrate FLIPGRID into their classes.

• Mrs. Tarantelli demonstrated how LEGENDS OF LEARNING makes learning more interactive.

• Mrs. McCarthy gave a tutorial about SCREENCASTIFY to her colleagues.

• Ms. Chamberland provided updates and instructions for when GOOGLE HANGOUTS MEET.

Kudos to our librarian, Mrs. Ash for her leadership during distance learning. Mrs. Ash created VikingVision (VTV)... a news program in which students record announcements, updates and hot topics that are happening at Riverside Middle School. Mrs. Ash and her team of students broadcast these video segments to staff and students throughout the week. Furthermore, this week is Reading Week and Mrs. Ash organized a virtual Reading Week for RMS. Check out VTV, the morning announcements and your Google grade-level classroom for fun themes and events happening each day. Show your spirit and share what you are reading!

Creativity is not Cancelled at RMS! As we navigate through our new endeavor of distance learning together, there is some fantastic teaching and learning going on at RMS. For Scholarship this week, we would like to highlight art teacher, Ms. Gustafson, and three of her 8th grade students who have all interacted with an online drawing site. Featured below is actor Danny DeVito by Anika, President Obama by Sarah and singer Gerard Way by Emma. Keep up the great effort and keep showing your creativity!

The snowman says it all! We are extremely lucky to have Alyssa Chamberland and Jennifer Graham as our instructional coaches at RMS! We would like to thank them for stepping up and offering their time and expertise over the past few weeks. Their leadership, however, actually began long before distance learning started as they prepared staff and students with many of the tools and strategies that they are now utilizing online! Ms. Chamberland and Mrs. Graham have each put in countless hours of organizing and seem to be available 24-7 to reach out to anyone who has a question or is in need of some tech support. They have been a godsend and thank you for each stepping up!