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Dear #RPSStrong Family,
Tonight's updates:
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| Decision Day Announcements – Class of 2023, please keep sharing your Decision Day news with us at outreach@rvaschools.net. Thank you!
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| Young Writers Award Recipients – Please join me in congratulating Zyonna Scott and Qassie Powell, fourth grade students at Miles Jones ES, who won the 18th Annual Young Writers Program award. We're SO proud of you!
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| New Teacher Bright Spot – Tonight, we're highlighting Chloe Grant, English teacher at Binford MS. "Ms. Grant is a shining light at Binford. She is always willing to lean in to support wherever needed. Her classroom is a welcoming environment for students. She created a space for students to feel safe and welcomes students who need support after school with extra help. Ms. Grant is a Binford All Star!" ~ Principal Melissa Rickey
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| 2023-24 Preschool & Kindergarten Enrollment Events – Join us tomorrow, May 4, from 12 - 4 pm at the Sacred Heart Center, for our next preschool and kindergarten enrollment event. RPS staff will be on hand to provide enrollment assistance and answer questions. For more information, please email enrollrps@rvaschools.net. All children enrolled while at the event will be entered into a raffle to win a bike!
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| George Wythe High School Renaming Public Hearing – The second renaming public hearing for George Wythe HS will be held Wednesday, May 17, at 6 pm in the Wythe auditorium. The George Wythe Renaming Committee has narrowed the community's recommendations to the following 5 names:
- Capitol City High School of the Arts
- Culture High School of the Arts
- Gateway High School of the Arts
- Heritage High School of the Arts
- South Richmond High School of the Arts
During the public hearing, community members can share feedback on their preferred names with the School Renaming Committee. For more information on the renaming process, please visit our website.
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| ¿Qué Pasa? Festival – Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Stop by the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's annual ¿Qué Pasa? Festival this Saturday, May 6, from 12 - 8 pm on Brown’s Island. This festival showcases the diversity and beauty of Hispanic and Latin American cultures while also highlighting local businesses, artisans, food vendors, and entertainers. While you're there, be sure to check out the children's area featuring educational installations with arts and crafts activities. This event is free and open to the public. Check out the promo video below!
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| Summer Basketball Camp – Registration is now open for the CarMax Summer Basketball Camp. This free camp will be offered in two sessions: July 10 - 13 (ages 8 to 11) and August 1 - 4 (ages 12 to 14). Space is likely to fill up quickly so register today!
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| With great appreciation,
Jason
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- Much appreciation and many thanks to Nellie Alayon and Marilyn Burton, Cardinal Elementary School's administrative professionals! Thank you both for all you do behind the scenes and for your engagement with staff, students, and families!
- A huge shout-out to all the interpreters at J.B. Fisher Elementary School - Frances Martin, Gail Hadley-Goggin, Joy Richardson, and Donna Zimmerman – today is Interpreter Appreciation Day. We could not have done it without these amazing interpreters at Fisher. You are loved so much here at Fisher. Thanks for being here for me and for the students! Flamingo Pride!
- A huge shout-out to Tammy Sellars and Amanda Dailey for their amazing work with my students at J.B. Fisher Elementary School. This year is the first year for a pilot program where students are given jobs to do in the library such as sorting, scanning, and collecting books from classrooms. My students proudly wear their work ID badges and are excited about working every day. This has been an amazing experience for them! Thanks for your support and for believing in my students! Can't wait to keep up this exciting experience with my students.
- At Amelia Street School, we appreciate the dedicated teachers who lovingly teach each student every day. We have a team of professionals who are invested in the school culture and climate, and are change makers for our scholars everyday. Thank you to Frankie Conklin, Shannon Brady, Tina Radford, Erica Essigman, Tayeon Alexander, Pamela Markie, Ethel Velasquez, Kimberly Hardy, Christine Dewitt, and Carl Craig for sharing your talents with us daily.
- Shout-out to all of the hard working interpreters in Richmond Public Schools.
- I would like to shout-out Mrs. Walker at PHSSA! She is so supportive for whatever our students and colleagues need to be successful. She gets pulled in many directions but always remains student-focused with a positive attitude. I know my students have learned and grown so much this year from working with her!
- During my time at J.L. Francis, Nurse Parris was always such a light. She is one of the kindest people you could ever meet. She’s also a rockstar nurse and takes care of each and every one of those students as though they are her own children. I’ve never seen anyone work harder than Nurse Parris, especially during contact tracing, going above and beyond to make sure everyone was informed. It was an absolute privilege to have worked alongside such an awesome boss lady! She deserves all the love and recognition and then some.
- We have had an unbelievable chain of events over the past several months but none could have been more devastating than last Thursday afternoon. I need to stop and thank God that our children made it through their surgeries and are on the road to recovery! Secondly, there are some unsung heroes in our midst and I must show them some love. Nurse LaTaja Goode is nothing short of amazing and her quick response and understanding what to do in this critical incident was remarkable! Our lead Care and Safety Associate Tonya Dixon, along with officer Michael Brown's immediate response to this situation, allowed us to lockdown our building, deploy a critical response team and get students to safety without fail. We are extremely lucky to have these individuals on our team. Lastly, I need to give all of our central office personnel, school resource officers, Communities in Schools, Shirlna Rhoades (family liaison) and countless others for their unwavering support in the face of tragedy and uncertainty. Our GWHS family are indebted to each of you and our school community stakeholders for all of the phone calls, emails and communication surrounding this event and supporting our efforts. Thank you!
- Nyeem Washington of Huguenot High School has been officially named the 4th fastest in the State of Virginia for the 400 and 200 meter run in Track and Field! Way to go, Nyeem!
- Thank you to Ms. Carolyn Donaldson and Tiffany Dillard from our Transportation Department. Ms. Dillard alerted Ms. Donaldson of an incident with a student who was in distress. Our principal, Mr. Gilstrap, and school social worker, Ms. Whitney Wilson, were able to comfort and provide much needed support to both parent and student. Our school bus drivers are the first line of support to our students before they arrive in our buildings, and they can help set the tone for the day. Thank you to all our school bus drivers. Your job is not an easy one, but you are very much appreciated.
- I would like to shout-out all of the teachers at Redd Elementary School for your support and encouragement throughout the year. I have learned so much this year in transitioning to elementary school after years teaching at the middle school level. I am grateful to have the opportunity to observe so many wonderful teachers in action every day.
- Shout-out to Ms. Darby at Linwood Holton ES. Her support of our kindergartener has been exceptional. She meets her students where they are to ensure each student is getting what they need. Thank you, Ms. Darby!
- May is Better Hearing and Speech Month, so here is a very special shout-out to all of the amazing speech-language pathologists in RPS! I am so honored to work alongside you and so happy to celebrate this amazing profession!
- Ms. Ward supported the Minds In Motion rehearsal and performance that Cary Elementary 4th grade students participated in on Friday. She supported students from 1 pm - 8:45 pm on Friday at the Dominion Energy Center with a huge amount of knowledge, professionalism, and kindness. The Cary ES staff is so thankful and grateful for all of her time and help. Mr. Cottingham, Ms. Smith, and Ms. Black also dedicated hours of hard work, creative thinking, responsive instruction, and collaboration while supervising students during rehearsal and their performance. Cary sends out a huge thank you to these teachers, substitute teachers, and instructional assistants for all their support!
- Congratulations to Ca'Miyah King of Huguenot High School for placing 1st in the Metro Business League contest! Ca'Miyah has her very own crochet business. For winning 1st place, she received a check for $600 from MBL and an iPad. Ca'Miyah is ranked 3rd in Huguenot's Class of 2023. She is enrolled in the Dual Enrollment program and has received a full four-year scholarship to Spelman College in Atlanta, GA!
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| - Many thanks to the staff and student ambassadors at MLK for an awesome STEAM in the City learning event! Special thanks to Jasmine Williams, Melodee Haskins, Principal Dabney, AP Couther, the whole elective team, the Book Bus (aka Judy D!), and members of Curriculum and Instruction. It takes a Village to put on a STEAM event! Special thanks to our community partners for volunteering at stations: Truist RVA, Dominion Energy, Fit4kids, Lobs & Lessons, Misti Mueller, and the HPE/VCU students for the extra engaging hands!
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- Kamara Ross has been accepted into the University of Arts in Philadelphia! Kamara had to audition and compose several musical pieces before the university considered her for admission. Kamara plays the saxophone, the piano, and is a member of the Huguenot Choral Ensemble, led by Ms. Kane and Mr. Miles. Congratulations!
- I would like to thank Ms. Reed, Ms. Tyree, Ms. W. Wilson, Mr. McKnight, Mrs. Broas Juarez, Mr. Sanchezconcha, and HHS Administration for a successful spirit week thus far. Thank you to all of HHS staff who have participated as well – we need your positive energy! In addition, our Freshmen Captains did a fantastic job kicking off spirit week for SOL season. Thank you to the best class ever, Class of 2026, and their leaders who worked very hard to make this day successful: Rachel Bryan, Ky'Vonte Weatherless, Precious Clarke, Lakhi Henson, and Libni Betancourt.
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| Teacher Job Fairs – We're hiring! If you or someone you know is interested in joining the RPS team, sign up for our Virtual Teacher Hiring Event happening May 17 - 18. To register, just scan the QR code below with your phone's camera, and to apply for a position, just visit our website.
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| 2023 Summer Programs – We're beginning to hire for our summer programs. See the flyer below for details and apply today!
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Important Links – Last updated on April 14, 2023.
RPS Links
Crisis Support Links
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