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Student Life

Growing together.

Riverview School seeks to integrate academic and social development in students’ living environment to encourage living and learning together.

The following are some of the skills that Riverview students learn in the dorms:

  • Self-care

  • Room and dorm care and laundry

  • Budgeting and money management (“needs vs. wants”)

  • Leisure-time planning

  • Establishing and maintaining friendships

  • Health and wellness through nutrition, fitness and recreation opportunities

  • Self-advocacy and social skills

  • Meal planning and preparation (GROW students have one assigned cooking night a week with staff support)

  • Scheduling evening homework and/or quiet time

  • Time management and organization (agendas, charts, lists)

  • Executive function skills

  • Community safety practices

*While the routine and structure ensure that these important skills are taught and reinforced, GROW students play a very active role in designing and planning their individual schedules.

Dorm life

Friends & Fellowship

Riverview’s dormitories are more than a place to sleep and study. They are among the most important classrooms on campus. Because living and learning are fully integrated at Riverview, the residential program is designed as thoughtfully and thoroughly as the academic program.

From social skills and communication to cleaning, laundry and cooking, the lessons that students learn in the dorms last a lifetime. The student-to-faculty ratio in the dorms is 8 to 1, which allows for personalized attention. Residential Supervisors oversee assigned dorms, and Residential Instructors and Residential Instructors with Overnights stay in the dorms with students.

Dorms for students 17–22 in our GROW program are located both on campus and off campus. GROW students prepare breakfast and dinners in their dormitories and are actively involved in food inventory, grocery shopping, meal preparation and clean-up on a weekly basis.

Arts

Drama

Riverview students find new ways to express themselves, develop their imaginations, think, act, and gain confidence and poise through participation in the school’s robust drama and music programs. All students may join the chorus and participate in drama productions, which reflect the collaboration between Riverview’s visual and performing arts programs.

Music

Music is part of the everyday curriculum at Riverview. Students are given the opportunity to study music history, sing, and learn how to play a variety of musical instruments. Other music-based activities include: DJ (Audio/Visual) Tech Training; Band; M.A.D (Music, Acting, Dance); Sing A-longs; Creative Song Writing; Drum Line; Acapella: and Chorus which has over 90 participants each year.

Visual Arts

Riverview students begin with the fundamentals of art, where they learn about proportion, perspective and color. They work with the face, figure and geometric forms to create self-portraits. This exercise helps them to focus on who they are to themselves, and to the world around them. Many students also enjoy learning about and incorporating the latest technologies like Photoshop into their artwork to broaden creative options.

Activities and athletics

Actitivies

All Middle & High School students participate in a comprehensive after-school activity program, which builds their skills while enhancing their sense of community and belonging. Additionally, weekend programming includes trips to local Cape Cod and New England attractions. Activities provide students with typical teenage experiences such as student government, clubs and the prom.

GROW students select and plan for their own social activities, which take place both on and off campus. They have many options and decisions to make regarding evening and weekend socializing. Typical college-age experiences, such as going out to dinner, to the movies, to the mall, or attending sporting events and performances, keep GROW students socially active.

Athletics

The philosophy of “personal best” is embodied in all aspects of Riverview’s physical education, sports and fitness programs, which consist of modified and adaptive instruction.

In the Middle & High School, Riverview’s physical education program emphasizes the skills necessary for participation in a variety of individual recreational sports and traditional team sports, and helps students to stretch beyond their comfort zones. Skills such as sportsmanship and teamwork are reinforced.

The athletics program at Riverview School is completely inclusive. Any Middle & High student who wishes to participate in soccer, basketball, softball, swimming, tennis, cross country, or track and field, and maintains a commitment to the sport, will be placed on a team.

Riverview has joined the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) and become a Special Olympics Unified Champion School for both basketball and track and field. Now Riverview’s athletic accomplishments will be officially recognized!

Health, nutrition and fitness are important as well. Students learn about the benefits of healthy eating and staying active. They have use of Riverview’s state-of-the-art Wellness Center, staffed by a certified fitness instructor.

Wellness

Riverview’s Wellness Program focuses on the benefits of keeping active, healthy eating and being mindful. We are committed to embracing wellness as a community, and to ensuring that our students are developing and internalizing habits that will guide them to independently make healthy choices throughout their lifetimes.

Physical Activity

The expansion of our wellness programming has led to many exciting innovations. Community wide wellness challenges, boot camp classes, more recreational activities, fitness orientations and personal training! In addition, all students have access to the state-of-the-art Cohen Center, staffed by certified fitness instructors.

Nutrition at Riverview

Healthy Eating

Riverview makes every effort to provide a variety of nutritious food within our community. We offer well-balanced meals for students through our dining services as well as through cooking instruction that takes place in the academic and residential setting. The school incorporates healthy eating concepts and learning opportunities throughout the students’ day. Students are educated around nutritious food choices and advised on appropriate portion sizes to balance daily consumption through meals and snacks.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique. In addition to daily meditation each morning, yoga classes are offered to both staff and students and faculty teaches mindfulness as an important coping skill.

Riverview: Building a culture of Wellness
Health Care

Health Care Center

The Health Care Center (HCC) is located on the main campus and is staffed seven days per week/ 24 hours per day by a team of nurses, medical assistants, and EMTs. Skilled nursing staff assess and treat minor ailments and injuries. The six-bed HCC provides students a place to rest if they are ill. Overnight medical staff are available for emergencies or to care for students requiring overnight care in the Health Care Center for medical reasons. In the event of an emergency, Riverview is centrally located and accessible to several area hospitals and urgent care facilities.

To see a list of frequently asked questions regarding our Health Care services please click on the following link: Health Care Center FAQ

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