In Chloe Yang’s Mandarin IV class, students are forming new intergenerational friendships right here at Rivers through a partnership with a local organization serving Chinese senior citizens. Guests from Rainbow ADHC in Needham have visited campus several times this semester. In class, Rivers students are each paired with one or more of the Mandarin-speaking senior citizens, giving students invaluable conversation practice with native speakers, as well as an opportunity to learn from elders about their life experiences.

At an all-school assembly just before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, members of the Black Student Union (BSU) at Rivers led programming to honor King’s legacy. During the assembly, the community heard from BSU leaders and from history faculty member Arturo Bagley, who delivered the keynote address.