A Sneak Peek at Daily Routines: Mini School Events Invite Parents and Caregivers Into the Rivers Experience

Middle School families gathered on the evening of Thursday, September 24, and Upper School parents and caregivers attended the event on Saturday, September 26. Together, these events showcased the dedicated educators and community leaders who strive to bring out the excellence in every student.

The Middle School evening kicked off as parents and caregivers collected folders containing student schedules, a campus map, peer mentoring information, a waiver for the October Hale Reservation trip, and key dates for the school year. 

In his opening remarks, Head of Middle School John Bower P’31 captured the spirit of the Rivers community and its faculty, saying, “One of the things that I found to be consistently true in almost two decades of working with Middle School students is that when you put remarkable adults in front of them, remarkable things tend to happen.”

With that sentiment setting the tone, parents and caregivers set off to follow an abbreviated version of their child’s daily schedule. They began in advisory to double-check schedule locations before moving on to performing arts and remaining academic blocks. During the humanities double-block break, there were opportunities to reconnect in the Allen common area, peruse extracurricular and club options, and learn details from Middle School humanities teacher Eitan Tye and Grade 7 dean and French teacher Julia Auster-Hogan ’06 about upcoming Middle School trips to Puerto Rico and Quebec City. (Some family members also used the time to sift through and reclaim lost-and-found treasures.) Later in the evening, families with students in the Conservatory Program wrapped up the night with a specialized session.

The Middle School gathering was intended to provide a glimpse into classroom life, the curriculum, and the year ahead. Parents and caregivers gained firsthand experience with Rivers’ small class sizes, relational faculty, and the interdisciplinary, thematic approach to teaching and learning. Middle School students engage in complex projects from multiple perspectives. Some examples of this include Grade 6 students’ study of water across history, science, and literature, and Grade 7 students’ presentation of personal stories from memory to an audience at Story Night and their research on climate solutions at Sustainability Night. Finally, in Grade 8, students deliver a speech to the entire Middle School community and present projects to the broader Rivers community at Grade 8 Portfolio Night. In addition to the general Middle School curriculum, students have access to programs such as HIVE—a math program for advanced challenges and a multitude of experiential learning opportunities. Middle School students face a challenging, meaningful, and purpose-driven curriculum designed to prepare them for the Upper School and beyond.

 

Upper School parents turned out for their Mini School program despite an impending nor’easter. Opening the morning presentation, Head of School Ryan S. Dahlem expressed deep gratitude to families for their trust and partnership during such a transformational period of their children’s lives. He then introduced Head of Upper School Colleen Kyle. Dahlem described Kyle, who joined the Rivers community this fall, as a fan and champion of both faculty and students, already embedded in the school community. “She is teaching a powerful Grade 12 English elective on ethical leadership and connects daily with students across campus,” Dahlem said. 

Taking the stage, Kyle drew on insights from author Angela Duckworth regarding what truly helps students succeed. “Instead of commanding ourselves to work harder, we should seek mentors, peers, physical spaces, and cultures that inspire us to work harder,” she shared, highlighting how Rivers creates an optimal environment for student learning and growth through a uniquely collaborative faculty culture—one that models and fosters collaboration for students so that they, too, learn to collaborate in their learning. “Together, they go farther,” Kyle said. “This is both excellence and humility.”

Parents and caregivers were given an overview of the hands-on learning taking place across the Upper School—from marine biology students wading into Nonesuch Pond to find and measure fish, to robotics students programming robots to avoid crashing into a wall. In the Visual Arts Department’s foundation course, students are crafting slab-based clay sculptures inspired by current events, and Spanish I students are playing bingo to practice their number skills. 

Meanwhile, English students have wrestled with John Rawls’ theory of justice, and several Grade 12 students have already delivered senior speeches, ranging from how an architect grandfather passed down a love of art and beautiful spaces, to rumination on the meaning of the word sonder. “You should ask your students what it means,” said Kyle. “And while you’re at it, you should ask them what ‘aura farming’ means. This generation is very creative with language.”

The vibrant academic environment is bolstered by the school’s newly updated schedule, which expands learning opportunities outside the classroom and reduces scheduling conflicts for off-campus learning. As Upper School ceramics teacher Tim Clark noted, the schedule allows for immersive experiences—such as an upcoming art trip to the Pucker Gallery in Boston, where students will have experiential exposure to original ceramic works.

Before parents began their classroom visits, Kyle closed her presentation by reading Seamus Heaney’s poem “Scaffolding,” reminding families that building structural support around children—fostering agile thinking, creative problem-solving, deep learning, and providing support when needed—helps students create their own paths to lives of impact and purpose.

It was a fitting reminder that the support built by teachers and parents is essential and creates a strong foundation for the future. Following the welcome, parents headed off to their students’ advisory to begin classroom visits and experience the academic day firsthand.