| Wednesday, April 19, 2023
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Dear #RPSStrong Family,
Tonight's updates:
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| Fiber Network Groundbreaking – I'm thrilled to share that this morning we broke ground with our partner WANRack on a new state-of-the-art fiber network that will connect all of our schools! Enormous gratitude to 4th District School Board Representative Jonathan Young, Mayor Levar Stoney, City Council President Michael Jones, 3rd District City Council Member Ann-Frances Lambert, Delegate Besty Carr, Senator Ghazala Hashmi, Maryn Campbell, Outreach Director for Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, Richmond City Council of PTAs Representative Tisha Erby, and WANRack CEO Rob Oyler for joining us.
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| We Love You Here – Every day counts when it comes to attendance, and the RPS East End Community Hub takes that very seriously. Check out the video below to hear more from Senior Community Hub Coordinator Mike Liggans, Dropout Prevention Specialist Doron Battle, and Family Liaison Marquis Davis.
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| Homebuyer Workshop – Interested in learning more about becoming a homeowner? Join Richmond Rooted from 11 am - 1 pm this Saturday, April 22, at the Sarah Garland Jones Center for the Homebuyer Brunch & Learn! This casual class is the perfect opportunity to hear from local industry professionals and talk through your questions and concerns about buying a home. Brunch will be provided to all registered attendees. Please email Richmond Rooted with questions.
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| With great appreciation,
Jason
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- Thanks to the Mary Scott Preschool staff who participated in our first annual From Trash to Treasure parent workshop! It was a great success because of the teachers and parents working together!
- Are you ready to run a mini-10K? Shout out to Coach Cantu and Ms. Fowler, part of the Encore Team at Fairfield Court, who are our coaches with the Running Club! After a full day of our Career Fair, they had 61 scholars stay after school to run! Their commitment to our students is evident as each Eagle proudly walked down the hall ready to run! Can’t wait until the race on April 22nd!
- Huge shout-out to the Reading/Literacy Committee at Oak Grove Bellemeade Elementary School who planned all the exciting events to celebrate literacy in March! Thanks to the reading team: Ms. McCray, Ms. Rudebusch, and Dr. Hooks. Our CIS team is always willing and ready to support our staff and students to promote literacy: Ms.Valenza and Ms. Brown! Thanks for all the support, ideas, and promotion to make reading fun. The character parade was so much fun. You are the best colleagues ever, and this OGBES librarian is extremely grateful.
- I'd like to give a shout-out to the Career Day Committee at Fairfield Court Elementary School, Ms. Blevins, Sgt. Gore, Ms. Edwards, Mr. Kerns, and Ms. Goode, as well as our administrators, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Henderson, and Ms. Morrison. Our team members worked together to afford our students a memorable and educational event that included many of our community partners. Thank you to Mayor Stoney for engaging our students in thought-provoking conversation and inspiring them to be great.
- I would like to shout-out our fantastic leader, Judy Deichman! Not only has she taken the reigns in so many areas, she continually puts literacy first. From managing textbooks, meeting monthly with the district librarians, securing new vendors with discounted resources, managing our book orders, providing PD, and running, driving, and supplying the Lit Limo, Judy does it all and more! This shoutout is for the hardest working library instructional specialist I've had the pleasure to work with. Happy Librarian Appreciation Month, Judy!
- I want to shout-out Ms. Ziegler at Blackwell Elementary for providing this new teacher amazing resources and tips! I appreciate you so much!
- I would like to give a huge shout-out to the staff at Summerhill Preschool. I had the honor of volunteering for the Egg Hunt and you could feel the love for the kids and the teamwork amongst the teachers and staff to make this a successful event. It was successful and fun.
- A big shoutout and thank you to Ms. Simms for handling the front door for the safety of the kids. Also shoutout to the goose that joined the egg hunt to look. Lol!
- I would like to publicly thank Ms. Goode from Ginter Park for her support and assistance during my time of absence. I'm so grateful for the love that she displays for us all at GPES and for all the time she gives. Thanks again, Ms. Goode, for being the blessing to me that you have been.
- Shout-out to all students, parents, family members, volunteers, and staff at RPS for being amazing! Not everyone gets recognized and should! Together we make our district the best!
- I would like to give a huge shout-out to the dance teacher, Ms. Perez, at John Marshall High School. She continually goes above and beyond to include our students at RCEEA in her dance class as well as school performances with their general education peers. It means so much to our students who struggle with social interactions to be welcomed and embraced into a class with their peers. Not only are our students welcomed into her class but they are encouraged to participate in John Marshall’s dance performances. Some even are honored with solo performances!! Thank you, Ms. Perez!! You are the best!!
- A huge shout-out to VCU nursing student Karina Aponte for giving a great presentation to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students at Henry Marsh Elementary School about the importance of good hygiene. She kept the students engaged and interested! We are so thankful she took the time to prepare this talk for our students, they really enjoyed it. Thank you.
- It is National Volunteer Week and thank you to all of the RPS volunteers who make our schools and community wonderful places to teach, learn, and grow!
- Dr. Kelly is a wonderful STC and SIL at Patrick Henry. She makes the process easy for teachers and students and makes sure we are always informed.
- A big shout-out and thank you to the Southampton Elementary School PTA for providing treats for the student performers at our Spring Concert! Thank you for all of your support!
- Shout-out to the amazing 3rd grade team at Cardinal Elementary. They have gone the extra mile all year to make sure their students have the tools they need for success. Thank you for your dedication and willingness to put in the hard work with a smile!
- Kudos to our dynamic school counseling duo of Bridget Faison and Tierra Jenkins who have put so much effort into our College and Career Week (not just a day) at Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School! The variety of speakers and guests has been wonderful and our students have been exposed to so many new and exciting fields this week. Thank you, ladies, for knocking it out of the park this week – you are such a blessing to the OGBES community!
- Extending a heartfelt shout-out to our amazing language justice coordinator, Luis Martinez, for his phenomenal support for RPS Newcomer Nation! Luis does a fabulous job empowering teachers and staff to communicate with our Newcomers and their parents. He is our walking super hero, demolishing language barriers, and valuing the voices of our RPS family!
- A huge shout-out to the amazing students in the intensive supports class and their partners from Lucille M. Brown Middle School for their participation at last week's Big Feet Meet. Also, a big thank you to Ms. Burchette, Mr. Brown, Mr. White, Ms. Morrison, Mr. Rennalls, and Mr. Smith for their encouragement and support.
- A huge shout-out to the cafeteria staff at Lucille M. Brown Middle School for their hard work and their kindness.
- Today, Ginter Park celebrated the caregivers, parents, friends, family members, and those who stand in the gap to support our scholars. GP scholars and families enjoyed this special and quality time with loved ones by creating lasting memories coupled with muffins, juice, arts and crafts. Many thanks to Krystle Cook, CIS coordinator, Shari Flowers, speaker, and the Ginter Park Residents Association for making this event a success. We celebrated with 102 caregivers!
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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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| 2023-24 Preschool & Kindergarten Enrollment – Preschool and kindergarten enrollment is underway! We offer preschool for eligible 3 and 4-year olds, and kindergarten for all 5-year-olds living in Richmond. If your student is currently enrolled at an RPS preschool, they will still need to register for kindergarten. For more information, please email enrollrps@rvaschools.net.
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Important Links – Last updated on April 14, 2023.
RPS Links
Crisis Support Links
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