[Davenport, IA] - May 11, 2012 - America's Incredible Pizza Company announced the "Be There or Be Square Classic Car Show and Sock Hop Event" will be hosted on Saturday, June 23rd from 5-9pm.

Quad Cities?mark your calendars and dust off your 50's attire as Incredible Pizza Company turns back time! The event will feature the best of the 50s such as a classic car show, contests for sock hop King and Queen, best Fonzie, best 50s attire, a dance competition, not to mention their 50s diner and star-lite drive-in theater! Rob Bowers, Managing Partner of Davenport's Incredible Pizza Company said, "We are very anxious to be hosting this event in the Quad Cities! What excites me most is this isn't just an event for adults it is one everyone can enjoy, no matter the age. From the music, movies, trivia, contests, food, down to the game-room for the kids. From ages 1 to 100 we've got something for you!"

The only cost associated with this event is for the buffet, or games in the game-room?both are optional.  There is no cost for participating in the event.

About America's Incredible Pizza Company:  America's Incredible Pizza Company is a '50s-themed Family Entertainment Center with existing locations in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana, Iowa, Utah, Tennessee, and Mexico. The all-indoor, smoke-free and alcohol-free facilities feature large, freshly-made pizza, pasta, salad, soup and dessert buffets, plus attractions that include go-kart racing, Route 66 mini golf, mini-bowling (most locations), bumper cars, and 100+ video and redemption games. The company is headquartered in Springfield, MO.

On the Web:http://www.incrediblepizza.com/

Bids are being accepted for the estimated $500,000 demolition of Lincoln School. The city council in a majority vote spent $53,000 in taxpayer funds to purchase the National Landmark building, in the hopes someone or some corporation would take it off its hands and rehabilitate it. Meanwhile, it sat there for five years without even minimum maintenance.

Prudent use of taxpayer funds?

We are growing!

 

We are very excited to announce some new additions for the 2012-13 school year.  I am especially excited to announce that in the fall Rivermont will be adding additional Early and Lower School classes!

 

PreSchool - In addition to our existing PreSchool and Junior Kindergarten class, we are adding another PreSchool class that will include a 2 year old program!

 

Kindergarten - We are also adding a second Kindergarten classroom! Erin DeSplinter will join Cindy Corrigan as Kindergarten teacher this fall.  Erin is a current Rivermont parent and has teaching experience at independent schools in both Illinois and Virginia. She graduated Cum Laude from St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. Erin will make an excellent addition to our staff and we are thrilled that she will be joining us next year.

 

Fourth Grade - Plans are in the works to also add a second Fourth grade classroom!  This class is bursting at the seams and we look forward to being able to accept more new students in this grade.

 

We are all excited by the possibilities of this growth.  There will be some rearranging of classrooms as we accommodate our new students and new teachers.

 

Thanks to support from Fund-A-Need and the Parents' Council we will continue to expand our experiential and electronic learning.  During Labor Day week the Upper School will travel once again to Camp Manito-wish in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin for an outdoor leadership experience while the Middle School will travel to Kampsville, Illinois to learn about archaeology first hand.  In addition, we hope to announce a trip for our fourth and fifth graders.  More on that as plans solidify.

 

Technology never sleeps and we will continue to enhance our capabilities.  Over the summer the bandwidth available to the campus will double and interactive devices will be upgraded.  Plans are also in the works to launch a new website over the summer.  We are pleased that as we move into the second year of our iPad Pilot Program more textbooks are available digitally.  This should lighten some backpacks!

 

As this year quickly comes to a close work is well underway to prepare for the new school year.  Keep your eyes on the calendar because there are many special events to wrap up this year.  You won't want to miss them.  One in particular is the Senior Project Presentations.  After many requests to make these presentations accessible to more families we have scheduled them for Wednesday, May 30 at 5:30 PM in the Auditorium.  Consider coming to campus and hearing about the exciting projects the Class of 2012 undertook as they conclude their Rivermont Experience.  Our 125th Commencement exercises will begin at 10:00 AM, Friday, June 1.

 

Intellect, Character, and Creativity!

 

Rick St. Laurent

Headmaster

 

P.S.  Could we have had any better day for Lunch on the Lawn?  The weather was great!

 

KUDOS!   Great News! Fourth Grader Dwira Nandini has been selected as a finalist for this week's "Artist of the Week" award for the 4th-6th age group. The finalist who receives the most online votes between now and Saturday May 12 will be selected as our "Artist of the Week." To view the finalists and cast your vote, simply click on the link below. Voting is limited to one vote per computer per day for each age group!   http://www.artsonia.com/aotw/vote/0/18639247   The "Artist of the Week" will be featured on the Artsonia homepage and will receive a commemorative plaque from Artsonia. In addition, Blick Art Materials has generously donated $100 gift certificates to the winning teachers and $50 to the winning artists.   **********************************************   Freshman Michal Porubcin  won the finals in the #3 singles match at the MAC meet and he and his partner Forrest Campbell won the playoffs to get third in #1 doubles last weekend.

Zoo for the day?!?!   Would any LS student like to bring a toy or stuffed animal to school? For our final spring service project, LS Student Council would like to Adopt-an-Animal from the Niabi Zoo. Our donations would help an animal receive nutritious snacks and toys that help them exercise and PLAY! In order to raise money, we need you to donate at least 50¢ to bring your stuffed animal/toy to school and introduce them on stage during morning meeting on Tuesday, May 15th. We hope you will participate and make Rivermont a Zoo for the Day!   Middle and Upper School students are welcome to participate for a $1.00 donation.  (age inflation)

Rivermont's first All School Art Exhibition featured over 500 works of student art.  The gym was transformed into a gallery or as one student called it, "The Art Museum."  Thanks to all our Rivermont artists and special thanks to Rivermont art teacher Colleen McCarty for all the creativity! Watch the calendar for next year's exhibit!

Rivermont Bus Service Update   Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, Rivermont will no longer be able to provide morning and afternoon bus route service. Extremely low utilization and high costs have caused us to suspend this service. In order to alleviate some of the inconvenience this creates, we will be extending our morning hours. Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, Early Supervision for K-12 will start at 7:00AM. This allows parents time to drop their student(s) off and still get to work in a timely manner.     Early Supervision Extended Hours! Rivermont would like to announce that we are extending our Early Supervision hours. Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, Early Supervision for K-12 will start at 7:00AM. Early Supervision will run until 7:45AM at which time students will be allowed to go to their respective buildings. Middle and Upper School students can proceed to the Mansion Reading Room and Lower School students will proceed to the Media Center/Library. Light breakfast items will be available for purchase for during the Early Supervision hours.     PLEASE NOTE, THERE ARE NO CHANGES TO BUS SERVICE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR.

CYPRESS - May 11, 2012. A champion for safe, clean and accessible rivers, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon gave the keynote address today at a dedication ceremony for the Section 8 Boardwalk at the Cache River State Natural Area. The boardwalk was closed following damage from a 2008 flood.

A group of junior high school students, known as the Wetland Warriors, at Creal Springs School used $15,000 of the $20,000 they received last year from the Disney Planet Challenge, a nationwide science competition, to help rebuild the boardwalk. Additional funding for the project came from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Friends of the Cache River Wetlands and the Southern Illinois Audubon Society.

"I applaud the Creal Springs School students' commitment to protection and restoration of the Cache River Wetlands and to the many others who assisted in this collaborative project," said Simon. "This boardwalk makes it possible for Illinois citizens young and old to enjoy some of our state's wonderful natural resources."

Simon issued a proclamation last year that declared July 12 to be Creal Springs School Day. Simon presented the proclamation to the Wetland Warriors at a meeting of the Mississippi River Coordinating Council, which she chairs. The council was established in 2010 and promotes the environmental and economic health of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

The boardwalk is located in the Section 8 Woods Nature Preserve which is a floodplain forest that features large bald cypress and provides a safe haven for a variety of birds, frogs and swamp fish. The boardwalk, located at the junction of IL Rt. 37 and the Cache River, extends from a parking area into the forested swamp.

The Creal Springs students won the Disney Planet Challenge for their projects in the Cache River Basin including transplanting vegetation, performing trail maintenance, determining water quality through sample collection, assembling educational materials for teachers and creating a website about their research.

Since winning the science competition the students have received the 2011 Illinois Audubon Society's Youth Conservationist Award and their teacher, Fran Wachter, was awarded a 2011 Exxon Mobil Outstanding Illinois Teachers of Science award by the Illinois Science Teachers Association. The students are using the remaining money from the Disney Planet Challenge to build a wildlife viewing blind and purchase radio transmitters for species research.

Simon was joined at the dedication by IDNR Director Marc Miller, Friends of the Cache River Watershed board member Charlie Proctor, and members of the Wetland Warriors. The ceremony was hosted by Friends of the Cache River Watershed.

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