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Dear #RPSStrong Family,
To all who celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, I wish you Eid Mubarak! May this special day bring you peace, happiness, and prosperity.
Tonight's updates:
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| John Marshall HS – Yesterday, we had the pleasure of honoring Coach Ty White from John Marshall HS, who received the 2023 Naismith High School Coach of the Year award! Also joining the celebration were members of the Tucker Family – direct descendants of the first enslaved Africans forcibly taken to Virginia in 1619. The Tuckers announced that they will be taking the entire JM Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball Teams to Angola this summer to learn about the family’s history and about modern Angola! Absolutely incredible. Make sure to check out NBC12's coverage of this moving event!
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| Best Communities for Music Education – I'm thrilled to share that for the second year in a row RPS has been recognized as one of the best communities for music education! The NAMM Foundation award recognizes the outstanding efforts of school communities who are making music part of a well-rounded education for every child. Way to go, Christie-Jo Adams, and all of our music teachers!
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| RVA Men Teach – Check out this video recap of our RVA Men Teach Conference. Big shout-out to Rodney Robinson for making space to celebrate and support Black, Latino, and Asian male teachers in RPS!
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| YAVA Awards – Tomorrow, April 22, the Richmond Public Library (Main Branch) will host the Young Adult Virginia Author awards. This year's theme is Retro Video Games. Stop by to meet the nominated authors and hear firsthand about their books!
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| With great appreciation,
Jason
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- A big thank you and congratulations to Ms. Shepherd at Cardinal Elementary. We had our book fair this week. Her love of reading is contagious and was evident in the amount of traffic and excitement shown by our students! Thank you so much for all that you do as our media specialist. And congratulations again on such a successful and well-run book fair this week!
- Lots of hugs go out to Chanae McLaughlin for organizing our College Day at Mary Scott Preschool. The students and staff had a blast parading around our campus.
- I wanted to shout-out the mental health team at Oak Grove: Briana Branch, Lauren Freeze, Bridget Faison, Tierra Jenkins, Zach and Rosy from ChildSavers, and Bridget Brown from CIS who work tirelessly every day to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their students, families, and staff. It is really a thing of beauty to see how they work and I am appreciative of their dedication.
- I want to recognize Joseph Jenkins Funeral Home for donating tickets to the Flying Squirrels HBCU Community Night! Our Mary Scott Preschool families had an awesome time! Thank you!
- I want to send a huge shout-out of praise to Ms. Tianiece Boswell at Linwood Holton who was such a huge source of support for one of my students this week who just was having a bad day. She stepped right in and provided direct love and support that I could not provide on my own. Thank you so much, Ms. Boswell, you are a real treasure in our Holton family in all that you do and say!
- Shout-out to some of the most hardworking individuals in Richmond Public Schools: Monique Yates, Damion Coleman, and Sam Banks of Technology Services! Thank you for always being willing to do what it takes to ensure our students have the access they need. Your dedication does not go unnoticed.
- Thank you to Obama Elementary, Ginter Park, Holton, and Overby-Shepherd for hosting our Rising Stars for our annual Kindergarten Transition Day. We appreciate the love shown to our preschoolers as we experienced what to expect in kindergarten next year. We look forward to partnering with you again in the future. Our Mary Scott Preschool family appreciates you.
- I would like to send a shout-out to Mrs. Nunez at Albert Hill MS. She is a dedicated and awesome teacher who goes above and beyond every day so that her students are successful. She maintains high expectations for her students and creates a warm and welcoming class environment.
- I would like to give a shout-out to Mr. Hambright, Mr. Straus, Ms. Patterson, Ms. Pittman, Mr. Oberman, Ms. Moore, and Ms. Patterson for participating in the Richmond Teacher Residency Program's site visit to River City Middle school this week. They offered great insights and suggestions to the potential RTR resident about the RTR program and RPS. Also, a big thanks to Principal Murphy-Braxton for allowing the site visit! River City MS staff and students were welcoming and made the visit a big success.
- I'd like to shout-out the amazing CIS coordinators at T.C. Boushall Middle School, Ms. Bono and Ms. Martin! They go above and beyond every day for our entire school community, but last night they hit it out of the park! They hosted a Spring Wellness Festival, which was a huge success! There were bouncy houses, food and drink, music, and representation from multiple community partners, all targeted to meet the needs of our families! We are so grateful for all of their hard work, and so lucky to have them on our team! Thank you, Ms. Bono and Ms. Martin, we love you!
- I'd like to honor Ms. Winston and Ms. Holoman, assistant principals at G.H. Reid Elementary School. We are grateful for their consistent and reliable leadership and support. They are prompt and accessible and they make a difference! Thank you for being who you are! We appreciate you!
- After an unfortunate accident on the playground, I picked my daughter up from J.B. Fisher to take her to urgent care. She cried hard on the way there but through her sobs she said, "Mama, please make sure to write a shout-out to Mr. Samuels and Nurse Lafoon. They helped me so much. I love them. And nurses don't get enough shout-outs." To Mr. Samules and Nurse Lafoon, thank you from the bottom of my heart for comforting my daughter until I could get there. You really show our kids so much love and we are forever appreciative – even when injured and heading to urgent care!
- Special shout-out to Damone Harris, Dennis Lampley, Travis Hagood, Tyrone Carter, Larry "LT" Taylor and Don Felton for easily lifting the necessary components to ensure each move is done correctly and with care. Thank you guys...go Property Management!!!
- Much much thanks to David Vinson, Patrick Ambrose, Travis Payne, Mike Mayo, and Sam Banks for being helpful with any and every last-minute request given with such class and positivity. Thank you guys...go Tech Services!!!
- Extra shout out to the newest Facilities team member, Jonathan Uzzle, for being efficient with any last-minute ask. Thank you, Jon...go, Facility Services!!
- Super duper thanks to the entire Finance department for collectively working to the finish line today....without your support and organization, none of this would've been possible. Thank you, Finance!!!
- Shout-out to Mrs. Long and Mrs. K. Brown and all the Mary Scott staff who participated in College Day!
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- Thank you to Studio Two Three and SIMs Metal for sponsoring the students at Oak Grove Bellemeade to screen print t-shirts today in celebration of Earth Day! The students had a blast with this activity!
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| - I would like to shout-out a parent volunteer, Mr. Robin Nollen, for starting a Lego Robotics afterschool club at Westover Hills Elementary School. This is such a wonderful opportunity for the kids to learn about programming and mechanical engineering. Each student group produced a rover that was both creative and unique. The children are having an absolute blast and so very excited after each club meeting. They have been so joyful in sharing the news about the club! Thank you also to the additional parent volunteers that stepped up to help guide the club: Mr. Benjamin Hardy, Mrs. Hardy, and Mr. Will Chapman. And a shout-out to Ms. Barker, our school librarian, who has donated her time and the library space for this endeavor!
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| 2023-24 Preschool & Kindergarten Enrollment Event – Preschool and kindergarten enrollment is underway! Join us at the Communities at Southwood from 12 - 4 pm on Friday, April 28, to begin the process. RPS staff will be on hand to provide 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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| Early Commitment Bonuses – We're now offering bonuses of up to $12,000 for new hires who sign their commitment letters by Monday, May 1. If you know of a great teacher who might like to join the RPS team, please tell them to apply now!
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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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