Roadrunner News

Riviera Elementary School
Together we fly!

Week of
March 11, 2010

SAVE THE DATE(S)!!!!
Fix Up and Clean Up Riviera Elementary
May 1st and/or May 2nd
Show your school spirit by coming out to help fix up and clean up Riviera. Help make our school a beautiful and safe place to learn. More detail coming!

Mark your calendars for Monte Carlo Night on Saturday, April 17th at the Torrance Marriott.

2010 Relay for Life Torrance
April 24 & 25 at South High
Please join friends and classmates in this 24hour event to fight cancer.
Join Team Riviera Elementary at www.relayforlife.org/torranceca
Any question? Contact: Shannon Pereira (310) 375-4811 s.cpereira@verizon.net

Friday, March 12th - Bike Rodeo
Riviera Elementary School will be participating in a citywide bicycle safety program on Friday, March 12th from 1:00-3:00. A written bike safety test will be given and then there will be a series of six skill tests:
 Balancing at a slow speed
 Straight line riding
 Weaving
 Circling
 U-turn in a narrow lane
 Stop on the spot
A total score will then be determined, and every participant will receive a certificate. The top finishers will go to the Citywide finals!
We urge your sons and daughters to participate in this worthwhile event.
We need many parent volunteers to help out on Friday, March 12, any time from 1-3 so if you can spare two hours, please contact us. You’ll have fun, we promise!
Permission slips and detailed instructions will be coming home with your child!
If you have any questions, please feel free to call Teresa Ryan,
310-480-1043 or tmryan@sbcglobal.net or Andrea Gomez at
714-277-8908 or andrea_rojas74@hotmail.com.
Thank you, Teresa Ryan and Andrea Gomez, Bike Rodeo Co-Chairs
A PTA Sponsored Event!

FUN RUN
Thanks to all our Roadrunners and volunteers who participated in the 2010 Fun Run. It was a lot of fun! Please turn in your Green Fun Run Envelopes by Friday to automatically be entered into the Fun Run Raffle. Winners will be announced at Assembly on Monday, March 22nd.

PTA SURVEY COMING SOON!
We value your feedback!

Get your very own DVD of the fabulous Riviera Talent Show! The DVD comes in a fancy DVD bookshelf case and includes a photo CD! SUBMIT YOUR ORDER FORM AND CHECK FOR $25 BY MARCH 19 to receive by Spring Break (April 2). See a preview and photos at Riviera.tusd.org. Envelopes available in the office.

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GEORGE MANNON, Ed. D.
March 5, 2010
Dear Community Member,
At Monday night’s Board meeting, the TUSD Board of Education, with tremendous frustration, approved $27.6 million in reductions and one-time balance transfers over the next two budgetary years. Grappling with an economic crisis that has crippled school districts all over California, the TUSD Board has characterized these cuts as draconian. The Board was forced to cut another 185 positions, on top of the 258 that have already been cut over the past two years. The 185 positions being cut in this round include, 121 K-12 teachers, four high school counselors, one adult education teacher, nineteen full-time para educators, one elementary assistant principal, 0.4 site clerical staff, and 38.6 central administration personnel. Of the 38.6 central administration staff, six are
administrators, 1.6 are supervisory/confidential staff, one program specialist, nine classified clerical positions, six maintenance/operations staff, ten classified custodians, and five classified campus security personnel.
In addition to personnel cuts, TUSD has made significant reductions in programs and services that are essential to manage a successful school district. In the past two years the District was forced to cut summer school, except for students who needed assistance with the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). The District also significantly reduced funding for all Tier 3 programs, while some were completely eliminated. Additionally, some of the impacted programs include Deferred Maintenance, GATE, Instructional Materials, and the Arts and Music Block Grant program. In this round of reductions, TUSD will be forced to reduce coaching stipends, will allow juniors and seniors to take fewer classes if they are on track for graduation, is offering early retirement, and eliminating our
Child Welfare and Attendance department. Furthermore, District administrators are still in union negotiations regarding five mandatory furlough days in each of the next two budgetary years for ALL employees. The negative impacts of these reductions and cuts will be adversely felt by our 25,000 students in their crowded classrooms and by the drastically fewer programs available. Many of the services and resources our parents and employees have come to expect from our District will no longer be available. In this economic crisis everyone loses, especially our students.
As I have said many times, it is no longer acceptable for our state representatives to say they are ‘friends of education’ if they are not willing to fight to preserve our funding in Sacramento. It is no longer acceptable for the Governor to claim he is ‘protecting’ education when his budget proposals are unrealistic and impractical. It is no longer acceptable for the Governor and state legislators to play their political games while our students and employees suffer.
Parents, teachers, employees, and our community must continue to make phone calls, write letters, and send emails to our representatives in Sacramento reminding them of their responsibility to protect the future of our students. We must demand that they represent our interests and present viable budget solutions.
I am impressed with the dedication and tenacity of our students, parents, educators, employee groups, and community members and leaders, who came out on March 4th and collectively took a stand to protect education funding. I will continue to provide budget updates to our stakeholders as we move forward in the budget process.

Direct Donation
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and secure.
It's a great way to support all of our programs through the PTA.
Start today with a single donation.
Click here to set up monthly recurring donations.
Thanks for your support!

Online Shopping Supports Riviera

Every purchase you make online will earn a contribution for our school.
To get started, click on the picture and browse at the online shops you like.
No usernames, passwords, registration or membership needed.
New stores and deals added regularly.

Community Partners

Direct Donation

It’s fast, easy, secure and best of all, 100% of your donation goes directly to the PTA.

Direct Donation is the main source of funds for all of the PTA sponsored programs and supplies for the classroom.
Every donation in any amount helps all of our children.

Single Donation click here.
Monthly Support click here.

Your receipt will be emailed to you. Thank you for your support!

Community Partners

Let the money continue to roll in to Riviera Elementary every time you shop for groceries!
If your grocery club cards are registered as a Community Partner Card then Riviera gets a percentage of the money you spend at those stores. This does not affect any points you collect personally on your credit cards or any special deals the grocery stores have.
If your shopping receipts from Ralphs, Vons, or Albertsons do not show a "thank you for donating money to Riviera" then you need to register those cards on-line now (Go to Ralphs, Albertsons or Von's through eScrip) so Riviera can receive a share next time you shop. It is a very efficient fund raising method for our school. .
ID numbers for some partners are as follows:
Ralphs Grocery group ID 84574
eScrip (Vons Macys etc) ID 6558215
Albertsons group ID 49000119935
if you don't know your card number you can call:
Ralphs 800-660-9003,
Vons 877-723-3929 press 0, Albertsons 877-9327948.