RK Update

Short Version -
River Kids are cool. They've done a lot. There will be some meetings this week.
Medium Version -
River Kids are doing some amazing things. They are really beginning to pile up a long list of accomplishments for the year. They should be proud of what they've done and who they are becoming as the River Kids organization evolves.
This Week's Meetings:
Tuesday -
- Mural Group - 3:45-5pm - Art Room
- NEW GROUP - Earth Day Planning - 3:45-4:30 - Claire's Room (Anyone who wants to help plan the activities for our Earth Day booth on April 20 may join this group)
Wednesday -
- Mentoring Group - 3:45-5pm - Library Conference Room
- H2O Rap Group - 3:45-4:45 - PA Room
Thursday -
- Benefit Dinner Planning Group - 3:45-5pm - Library Conference Room
Friday -
- H2O Rap Group - 3:45-4:45 - PA Room
Long Version:
The mentoring group led activities during the Friday meeting last week. They shared some of the activities they have done or will be doing with the Neighborhood Houses girls. The RK coordinators were proud and amazed by the courage it took to lead peers, the creativity it took to adapt activities to the needs of the group, and the persistence it took to work out the
inevitable kinks in any well-intended lesson plan. :) If nothing else, these brave girls might have gained a little appreciation for the teachers and group leaders who brave the elements every day. However, I think many RK members really appreciated the activities and the work the girls put into leading them. The "River Sisters" will continue their project in the coming weeks.
Carson Emery and Sam Bell will be meeting with Rick Erwin, Director of the City Museum, this Wednesday to share their final plan for Herbie, Jr. Soon after, River Kids will be invited to come help make the vision into reality. Professional artists will be helping along the way, but we hope many families will make an effort to join in the fun. We'll keep you posted.
The new t-shirt design was sent to a graphic artist over at Lipic Recognition last week along with an order for the benefit dinner posters, flyers, and tickets. The new t-shirt boasts an all-new back. Thanks to the t-shirt design group for all their work! Can't wait to see the final
product...won't be long!
We are also in the midst of ordering new RK merchandise, including dry bags, water bottles, and static cling stickers...we'll be out in the halls selling merchandise and tickets to the benefit right after Spring Break. We'll use the proceeds to fund the benefit and raise the goal of $5000 for Land for Learning.
Speaking of L4L, Curt Carter, one of the founders of L4L, came to New City this past Saturday and brought with him his guitar, a ton of energy and a studio engineer with 20+ years of experience. 12 River Kids spent two hours rehearsing and more than three hours recording their two originals and several covers for their brand-new River Kids CD. We'll be releasing the CD at the benefit dinner...it'll race to the top of the RK charts soon after I'm sure. It will undoubtedly be the most popular River Kids album to date. Any suggestions for a title?
Speeches for the Benefit - On Friday, I challenged all the kids to consider being a speaker at our benefit. Many kids put their name on the list as interested...we'll have to choose a few kids from the group to handle this important responsibility. So, we asked each kid who's interested to write a draft speech in specific areas. I'll send another email about this so you
can forward the info to kids.
Earth Day - There is a new group meeting on Tuesdays to plan our Earth Day booth. We have two booths this year side by side. This should make it easier for us to reach the crowd with our activities. We'll have kids sign up to work shifts in the weeks just before Earth Day.
H2O Rap - this Wednesday and Friday will be the first real rehearsals for those kids interested in this performance opportunity. Any River Kid interested in this activity should attend. There will be 4 performances of this 7 minute show on Earth Day as well as some follow-up performances at NCS and the Water Symposium.
Mural Group - getting close to having permits!!! Can't wait to paint! Rain Harvesting - Look around the garden pavilion after spring break for the new Rain Barrels with the RK logo on the side! Thanks, RK Rain Harvesting Group!
RK River Trip - ALL 50 River Kids are invited to hit the river with Land for Learning on May 3-4. We'll get all the details to you a little closer to the event, but this is a kid-only camping and canoeing trip along the Meremac River that begins early Saturday and ends in the evening on Sunday. NOTE: This is the same weekend as the NCS auction, so lucky you, child care
is on us. :)
Ben