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Latest News
- A Memorable Year at Rivendell Preschool!August 13, 2024 - 8:55 am
- Summer in the City @ Rivendell SchoolJune 26, 2024 - 4:24 pm
- Rivendell’s Own Katy Hill Featured in NY Family’s Ultimate Guide to SchoolsMay 13, 2024 - 4:24 pm
- We’re featured in New York Loves Kids’ Comprehensive Guide for Families!May 13, 2024 - 3:41 pm
- New York Family’s Ultimate Guide to Schools 2024 is Out and We Made the List!May 13, 2024 - 3:38 pm
A Memorable Year at Rivendell Preschool!
/in NewsAnother memorable ‘Summer in City’ at Rivendell School concluded last Friday after the last sprinkler day was enthusiastically enjoyed by all. Built on the continuity of familiar spaces, teachers and old friends, summer school at Rivendell is the just right combination of well-known and new experiences. Children who will return in September have had the advantage of getting to know other Rivendell teachers, new friends and, in some cases, a different classroom, all while exploring ocean creatures, insects, creative and challenging classroom work, growing vegetables in the backyard with Brigitte, making ice pops and sandwiches, singing with Adam and extending the experience of joyful community throughout the summer with their teachers.
The school year was a very memorable one, too. Teachers and children, along with SEITS and related service providers, worked together to create an inclusively powerful early childhood experience for the benefit of all. The children learned about themselves, about how to think and care about others and the environment, gained competencies across developmental domains and celebrated strengths and goals together, truly the Rivendell School mission in action!
As always, parents made powerful contributions to our successful year, too. They visited to share birthdays, brought family celebrations to life in our classrooms, volunteered to coordinate the CHIPS snack bag project, organized family gatherings at school, in the park and at the carousel, thanked teachers for their dedication, held the annual cheese tasting event to benefit the SEIT program and produced yet another successful auction to benefit the Scholarship Fund. Rivendell would not be Rivendell without their spirit and partnership.
We’re poised to welcome many families back for another Rivendell year in September. We’ll miss those families who will be moving on and trust they’ll keep in touch! They will always be part of the Rivendell family!
With warm summer wishes,
Katy
Summer in the City @ Rivendell School
/in NewsAnother amazing season of Summer in the City @ Rivendell School is already underway! Just take a look at these beautiful photos of children relishing in the sprinklers and water play on the roof or engaged in indoor work and play in our beautiful, air-conditioned classrooms.
Rivendell’s Own Katy Hill Featured in NY Family’s Ultimate Guide to Schools
/in NewsWe’re featured in New York Loves Kids’ Comprehensive Guide for Families!
/in NewsNew York Family’s Ultimate Guide to Schools 2024 is Out and We Made the List!
/in NewsLessons From the Growing Connections Garden:
/in NewsReflecting on our Growing Connections this past school year, I want to share what is behind “gardening” here at Rivendell. First, our school community is lucky to have a garden and a greenhouse in our urban setting. It is a place full of wonderment that sparks questions, surprises, and appreciation for beauty in our environment.
It is a place of growing together. As our children go through physical and emotional changes during their school years, we can relate many of their feelings to lessons in the garden. Children need new clothes as they might get too tight as they grow. When plants grow, they need to get transplanted into bigger pots, as the roots need more space. When children move on to a bigger school, we connect that with our butterflies. We release them in the garden when it is time for them to move on.
Our garden is also a place of inclusion. Everyone can come to the greenhouse when they are ready. Transitions can be tricky for some children; the trip there may be overwhelming. I work closely with classroom teachers and SEITs so every child can be successful in Growing Connections. Groups are small, and there are few distractions in the greenhouse. It is also wheelchair accessible. As children learn about what a plant needs to grow, such as soil, water, and sun for light and warmth, they learn about caring for the plants and what that means. We talk about fairness. Every seed and plant can grow into something beautiful if we treat them with care equally. We count while we water. After the children reach number three, they move to the next plant to share the water among all the plants.
Most importantly, the garden brings our Rivendell community together. Every classroom participates in collecting food scraps and adding them to the food compost tumbler. This year, the school effort is evident as we are rewarded with beautiful and nutritious soil. Next spring, the children will use it to fill many pots, plant seeds, and produce another beautiful garden.
Brigitte Yohe
Growing Connections Teacher
📚📚We’re excited to announce that next week is Rivendell’s Book Fair!📚📚📚
/in NewsThe Book Fair is a wonderful way for Rivendell families and friends to fulfill teachers’ wish lists of books to add to the classrooms. This year, Rivendell has partnered with Cobble Hill-based bookstore Books are Magic, and the Book Fair will take place entirely online from Monday, March 14th to Friday, March 18th. Books are Magic has created a special website for Rivendell with all of the teachers’ requested books. Families and friends are invited to shop using the code “RIVENDELL20” – feel free to not only shop for books for the classroom, but for yourself as well. As an added bonus, 20% of all proceeds purchased with the special code during the Book Fair week will be donated to Rivendell!
The Details:
When: Monday, March 14 – Friday, March 18
Where: Books are Magic (https://booksaremagic.net/young-readers/rivendell-school-fair)
How: Use the code “RIVENDELL20” at checkout when you shop!