Hello PRIDE!! 

Thank you all for an amazing week!!  We had 9th grade and High School student awards on Wednesday evening, it was awesome seeing so many of our students recognized for their hard work, perseverance and dedication. Thursday evening, the Riverwalk Academy band presented their Spring Concert with special guests Ms. Teague and Ms. Hillary Yost. It was an outstanding performance and many students were honored for their achievements at the spring Solo and Ensemble event. 

This week is Teacher Appreciation week. Attached are flyers that outline daily activities your students can participate in. Please make sure to let our teachers know just how much they are appreciated and how amazing they are!! 

We will start state testing very soon. The dates for testing are listed below. Please make sure that your student is well rested and ready to do their best. While we do not view students as a test score, we do want to have the most accurate representation of your student’s learning and growth.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month!

Having a serious conversation about mental health with a young person can be challenging, to say the least. How do you start the conversation? What should you bring up? How much is too much information? Should it even be discussed? The Mental Health First Aid curricula says national studies estimate that 22.2 percent of youth in the United States will have a mental health challenge that significantly impacts their life. This makes it likely that an adult will interact with an adolescent who is experiencing a mental health challenge. Adults who interact with young people need access to information and resources about how to have conversations with kids and answer the tough questions.

Youth Mental Health First Aid can help. Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help  adolescents (age 12-18) who are experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge or are in crisis. YMHFA is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. To learn more, download the Mental Health First Aid for Youth information sheet.

8th/9th grade families:

• • Attendance Recovery - Students enrolled in high school courses may not exceed more than 6 absences per class per semester, whether excused or unexcused. This is South Carolina state law. Absences in excess of 6 per class per semester (or 12 for a year-long course) must be made up or he/she WILL NOT gain credit for the course whether academically they passed or not. If your child needs to make up seat time, you should have received an email from Ms. Teague. (If you're unsure, feel free to each out!) Students may earn seat time by staying after school (3:30 - 5:00) on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Please inform Ms. Teague, in advance, when your child will stay so that we have an attendance recovery teacher present. 

    • • Tuition for attendance recovery is charged at a rate of $20 per class period. Payments must be made online in the school store. NO refunds will be given if a student fails to show up or is late for a make-up session.

      • 1 Class Period = 45 minutes ($20); 2 Class Periods = 1.5 hours ($40), and so on. 

      • Attendance recovery sessions are held Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:30-5:00 in Mrs. Carr's room. 

      • If a student attends the full time (3:30 - 5:00), they make up 2 class periods of seat time. If a student needs to make up 1 class period, they only need to stay from 3:30 - 4:15.

      • During attendance recovery, students are expected to complete class assignments, reading, or EOC preparation activities.

      • Credit is given for the course once attendance recovery is complete and payment has been received. 

  • IGP Meetings: If you have not yet scheduled an IGP meeting for you and your child, please make sure to sign up for a time as we are required by the state complete these. 

• ALL 6th - 9th Grade Families:

  • We will have a “Glow Dance” for 6th - 9th grade students towards the end of the year. More information will be sent over the coming weeks. This is a PRIDE event, so please reinforce at home the expectations of our PRIDE tenets, what these mean to our students, and how they can display them at school. Our goal is to have 100% student participation in the spirit activities related to PRIDE, and that takes everyone working together. Most importantly, we want our students to assist in building a positive climate and classroom community. Note: Students who have more than one major office referral during a nine week period will not be allowed to participate. 

• 2024-2025 School Calendars are now available! 

  • K - 9th Grade Calendar

  • 10 - 12th Grade Calendar

• Check PowerSchool on a weekly basis to monitor for missing work, assignments that require completion, or corrections that need to be made. When students are absent, they are responsible for completing missed assignments. Students enrolled in high school credit courses are required to maintain a passing grade and complete the required amount of seat time. For more information, please refer to South Carolina's high school attendance policy below.

• Review our school counselor newsletter to learn about what's going on this month for your child's grade level! And, check out or college/career resources, too!

As always, thank you for trusting us with your student(s). Please feel free to reach out at any time if you have any questions or concerns.

Warmly,

Christy Dempsey

Susanne Teague