Happy end of September! It really does not seem that nearly six weeks have come and gone since our Meet The Teacher day just before school started. But we'll turn the calendar page to October in a few days -- and the cooler days and nights and the changing leaves have brought a new fall season to our days!
It was fantastic to see so many of our students and their families come to last Thursday's Title 1 Science Night. We counted over 100 Rangers -- and about a dozen former Rangers -- who came to make ice cream, build and race cars, read with flashlights under the stars, create necklaces and mix up snack mix ... and a whole variety of other fun games and activities. I'd like to thank our Curriculum Director of Science, Mrs. Tammy Stone, and a dozen or so James Madison University students who came to volunteer with our science activities. I would also like to thank our Rock-Star South River Reading Team -- Mrs. Lingenfelter, Mrs. Lovesky, Mrs. Saylor & Mrs. Swartz -- for all of the time they gave to plan and prepare for this wonderful night for our students and their families.
RCPS CHILD FIND INFORMATION SESSIONS FOR 2025-2026 --
If you have concerns about your child's development and wish to speak with someone in the RCPS school division about your questions or concerns, you are invited to attend one of a series of Child Find Information Sessions that Rockingham County Public Schools is hosting throughout this school year. Please see the attached flyer that you can click on at the top of this bulletin. You can speak to a special education teacher and learn more about the Child Find process, as well as getting personalized guidance on your options for next steps. This service is open to Rockingham County residents who have children Age 2 & Above. As you can see, South River will host this opportunity next March, but residents of Rockingham County do not have to wait to attend their own home school Child Find meeting -- but they are welcome and encouraged to attend any of the meetings scheduled on this flyer!
SALVATION ARMY ANGEL TREE CHRISTMAS PROGRAM APPLICATIONS DUE NEXT WEEK
The application window for the Salvation Army Angel Tree Christmas program is coming quickly -- and interested parents and guardians only have next week (September 29 - October 3) to apply on behalf of their children. This Angel Tree program is for any Harrisonburg or Rockingham County child who is 12 or younger. Please see the attached flyer that you can click on at the top of this bulletin.
SRES P.T.O. MEETING THIS THURSDAY @ 6:30 PM -- The next South River PTO meeting will take place this Thursday evening, October 2 at 6:30 PM in the SRES Library. All SRES parents are invited and welcome to attend. Planning for the upcoming PTO Fall Festival will be a big focus of this coming meeting!
SOUTH RIVER CHERRYDALE FUNDRAISER OPENS FRIDAY: Our school's annual Cherrydale fundraiser opens this Friday and will continue until October 23. If you need to restock Otis Spunkmeier Cookie Dough and other season favorite items for the upcoming holidays, then we invite you to shop to support this fundraiser. Funds that we receive from our fall fundraisers will be used to replenish recess and recreational sports equipment for our classes to enjoy -- as well as school beautification projects. One change from last year -- Cherrydale purchases are now exclusively online sales, with no forms to fill out and turn in to South River with check or cash payments.
Here is a preview message from Cherrydale --
South River Elementary School Fundraiser Starts in 5 Days so get Pre-registered.
Our big fundraiser starts in a few days! Our goal is to raise $5,000.00 to support our students and school beautification.
Here is the link where parents can pre-register their student(s) ahead of Friday's start:
https://www.shopfund.com/parentregister
Make sure you use Group Code: XYHTF
SRES P.T.O. MEMBERSHIP -- The PTO is open to all SRES parents, and our PTO officers invite everyone to be a part of helping to make all the magic happen that they do to support our Rangers! If you have not already joined our PTO for this year, here is the link for membership:
SRES PTO MEMBERSHIP FORM - 2025-2026
Good afternoon, South River Parents --
We enjoyed another burst of summer last week -- and also the most rain that we have gotten in nearly two months! As autumn officially begins tomorrow, we look forward to our fall activities, whether school, sports, dance, gymnastics or other festive fall memories. I hope that you families have enjoyed a great and relaxing weekend before we gear up for our last full week of school in September!
Our Kindergarten students had a great day on Friday for their visit to the JMU Arboretum, and as you scroll through the weeks ahead, you will see that other grades will be taking their fall field trips in the next month. These are great learning opportunities for our students to see, experience and learn about many local features of the area we are blessed to live in -- with many memories that will stick with them for a long time. I'm sure that most of you can retell with very clear details some of the most favorite field trips that you experienced as a child.
SOUTH RIVER TITLE 1 SCIENCE NIGHT THIS THURSDAY: South River Families are welcome to join us this Thursday, September 25 for our Title 1 Science Night. Families will meet in the Gymnasium at 6:00 PM for a brief introduction to this year at South River and our Title 1 Program -- followed by an assortment of activities and stations that highlight many facets of science and exploration. Activities will involve estimation, comparison, prediction -- and lots of hand-on experiences and experiments that will be amazing for our Rangers to experience. We hope to see you at South River on Thursday evening -- a cool family event to come to for those curious about science and its many facets.
'BLESSINGS IN A BAG' WEEKEND FOOD BAGS -- Parents who have already submitted the form that went home for "Blessings In A Bag" have already seen their children bring home the Blessings Food Bags that have been prepared for South River by the Massanutten Presbyterian Church. If you wish to enroll your child but have not submitted this form to sign up your child in this weekend food bag outreach, please send the completed form into our South River office team. Please call our office if you need to have another form sent home with your child for you to fill out. We appreciate the generosity and blessings from the Massanutten Presbyterian Church that benefit our Rangers students with weekend food blessings.
RCPS CHILD FIND INFORMATION SESSIONS FOR 2025-2026 --
If you have concerns about your child's development and wish to speak with someone in the RCPS school division about your questions or concerns, you are invited to attend one of a series of Child Find Information Sessions that Rockingham County Public Schools is hosting throughout this school year. Please see the attached flyer that you can click on at the top of this bulletin. You can speak to a special education teacher and learn more about the Child Find process, as well as getting personalized guidance on your options for next steps. This service is open to Rockingham County residents who have children Age 2 & Above. The first Child Find discussion opportunity will take place this coming Friday, September 26 at River Bend Elementary School in Elkton between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM. As you can see, South River will host this opportunity next March, but residents of Rockingham County do not have to wait to attend their own home school Child Find meeting -- but they are welcome and encouraged to attend any of the meetings scheduled on this flyer!
SALVATION ARMY ANGEL TREE CHRISTMAS PROGRAM APPLICATIONS DUE NEXT WEEK
The application window for the Salvation Army Angel Tree Christmas program is coming quickly -- and interested parents and guardians only have next week (September 29 - October 3) to apply on behalf of their children. This Angel Tree program is for any Harrisonburg or Rockingham County child who is 12 or younger. Please see the attached flyer that you can click on at the top of this bulletin
SRES P.T.O. MEMBERSHIP -- The PTO is open to all SRES parents, and our PTO officers invite everyone to be a part of helping to make all the magic happen that they do to support our Rangers!
SRES SCHOOL PICTURES NEXT WEEK -- Here's a reminder that our SRES School Pictures from Queen City Photography will be taken next Thursday, October 2 throughout the day!
Have a wonderful week ahead!
May every day be meaningful!
Kenny A. Boyers
Principal
South River Elementary School
We will do our part to build confidence
and character and happiness of heart.
SOUTH RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Good evening, Ranger Families --
Here are a few added notes for the coming week that were not included in Sunday's parent email.
Smile Virginia Dentist Visit To South River (November & May)
Please note last week we sent home the Smile Virginia information (formerly known as the Mobile Dentist). If you wish to enroll your child in this free dental program, please complete the paperwork and send it in to Nurse Bonnie as soon as possible! When your child gets in-school dental care it is at no cost to you! For students who qualify, this is a very easy and convenient way to get your dental cleanings met. South River will currently host the Smile Virginia dentist on November 11 and May 11 during this school year.
TITLE 1 SCIENCE NIGHT @ SOUTH RIVER ON SEPTEMBER 25
We look forward to seeing our Ranger students and families come out to see some really cool science next Thursday -- September 25 -- from 6:00 - 7:30 PM.
SAVE THE DATE -- P.T.O. FALL FESTIVAL -- OCTOBER 23
We also look forward to our fabulous South River PTO Fall Festival at the end of our first 9-weeks. Thursday, October 23 -- SAVE THE DATE!! More details to come later!
South River Fall Book Fair in October
The SRES Fall Book Fair will be Monday, October 27 - Friday, October 31 and it will be open to families during the Conference Day on November 3 as the last day. Mrs. Harter will have the library open 8 am - 4 pm on October 27 - 31 and 11 am - 6:30 pm on Monday, November 3.
Added SRES Fundraiser That Simply Requires Parents and Friends To Enroll & Invite Others
Tomorrow your child is bringing home a Book Buddy Lanyard letting you know about a safe and easy way for our school to raise funds for essential tools our students and teachers need to succeed.
Other schools in Rockingham County are enrolled in the SchoolStore fundraiser, and the added funds help to acquire resources that can benefit students programs and materials in their schools. This year our fundraising goal is to enhance our playground and campus mulch that has been depleted over the past year or so, recreational and sports materials for recess -- and other items that can benefit students learning and projects in their classrooms.
The SchoolStore Program is 100% online so there is NO face-to-face selling, handling of money, or delivering products. Your participation will take less than 12 minutes, and there are exciting prizes to make it fun for the students.
Here is all you need to do to participate:
1. Go to https://www.schoolstore.net/sid.t?0000194371 to sign up.
2. Send form emails inviting family, friends and co-workers to support your child.
3. Return the Book Buddy Lanyard with the Student Prize Code to school for your child to get their fun participation prize.
Be sure to ask your child for the Book Buddy Lanyard tomorrow night. Your participation will make a difference for our school and teachers!
Kenny Boyers
