Hearing Our Students' Stories

One of the things that I hope we can accomplish through social media is to give our students at Riverside Elementary a voice in telling our story. To accomplish this, prior to Thanksgiving, I asked our fifth grade teachers to select a couple of students that I could work with and we found times that I could work with them that didn't cause any of the students to miss out on any new learnings in their classrooms. We started to work through the writing process (brainstorming, drafting, editing, revising, drafting, and publishing) with a topic that I provided. Posted today are the finished products. So please enjoy what a small selection of our fifth grade students had to say when asked, what are you thankful for in regards to going to school at Riverside Elementary (I had planned to have this published by Thanksgiving, but plans don't always come to fruition; sorry).

Alyssa Clarke
I'm thankful for going to Riverside Elementary School for many reasons. We get to go on field trips, have pep rallies, watch good plays, and do the Walk-a-thon. The teachers help the students and are nice to us. I'm also thankful for going to this school because we get to do fund raisers that help us to buy things for our school like iPads for the teachers and our Promethean Boards. I'm really thankful for this school because the kids are respectful and caring to everyone; also, they help us when we need to be helped.

Matt Colbert

At Riverside Elementary I am thankful for our cooks and their good food.  Also, I am thankful for teachers, students, and friends who are respectful, responsible, and caring.  I am thankful for people that respect me and don’t say mean things, but instead say nice things.  I am thankful for our fun specials’ teachers: Mr. J, Ms. Feldman, Mrs. Burns, Ms. DeLacy, and Mrs. Pat; they are cool because they are nice and caring. Lastly, I am thankful for all the teachers and my principal.

Jocelyn Day
Thanksgiving isn't just about eating meals and getting together, it's also about thinking about what you're thankful for. I am thankful for being at this school every day because I get to see all these fun and nice teachers that help us with problems at recess, and do things to make learning fun. All the students at Riverside Elementary get a good education. The teachers are great because they let us have fun through learning programs and online things that help us learn. Our specials teachers do a great job at making sure we are good at what we do in our specials, and preparing us for our futures. Also, our students are respectful, responsible, and caring, which is the Huskie Way.

Grant Prybil

I am thankful to go to Riverside Elementary. Our good cooks make awesome food, and they have a good selection of food, too. We have people that teach us the best possible things that we need for our future. Our kids are very good at helping the teachers out,too. This school has money because we do all the fundraisers that allow the teachers to have iPads , Promethean Boards, good white boards, and other stuff for our classrooms. All of the specials teachers are very nice, too; they help us out with a lot of stuff.

Mr. Ewald

Riverside Elementary School is a great place! There are many things at this school that make me thankful. Number one among these things is the students; they are the best. I am, also, thankful for the willingness of our staff and students to work hard towards learning. I admire the staff for how eager they are to try new things.  As a result of the iPads and everything else that we are provided with for our staff, students, and school, our Elementary Support Organization (ESO) deserves recognition of our thanks. Furthermore, it should be known that the exceptional involvement and support that we receive from all of our parents and families that contributes toward our students' education causes a great sense of gratitude amongst us.

It is my hope to continue to work with various small groups of students throughout the school year so that our kids - our best storytellers in our school - have a platform where they can share.