| Dear #RPSStrong Family,
Tonight's updates:
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School Board Meeting – The School Board will hold an in-person meeting tonight at 6 pm at City Hall (17th Floor Board Room). You can watch the livestream of the meeting in English or Spanish. Hope to see you there!
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Teacher Appreciation Week – Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Enormous gratitude to our amazing teachers who go above and beyond to #TeachWithLove every day. RPS community, please help us spread the love for our teachers by sending your shout-outs to shoutouts@rvaschools.net.
All week long, we'll be highlighting our extraordinary educators. Today, we're shining the spotlight on first-year teacher Tyler Logan from Henry L. Marsh III ES. "I would not want to be anywhere else in the world. I feel supported here with my administration and teammates. Every day, my students teach me how to be an effective advocate for them and for my future students." According to Principal Cornelius Smith: "Ms. Logan is passionate about her students and their learning. She is always reflecting on the instruction she provides, trying to improve daily. She goes the extra mile to ensure that she is giving her scholars her best. She has a positive attitude that makes working with her a pleasure.”
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RPS Teachers ROCK – To celebrate our teachers, we've relaunched the RPS Teachers ROCK campaign in the RPS Love Store! All proceeds will go to instructional supplies for RPS teachers and instructional assistants.
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Teacher Appreciation Week Specials – We're not the only ones celebrating teachers this week! Sugar Shack will be giving teachers and nurses a free donut and 12 oz. coffee all week long. Just show your ID and enjoy. Planet Fitness is offering all nurses and teachers a complimentary 1-week PF Black Card® pass for use at any of their six Richmond locations. Amenities include HydroMassage beds, massage chairs, guest privileges, and more! To take advantage of this offer, visit the location nearest you and present a valid ID. The pass must be redeemed by May 12. From now through May 12, teachers and school staff can get 20% off all orders at Buffalo Wild Wings. Valid on dine-in, call-in, and walk-in orders! Be sure to visit our website for additional discounts and specials.
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With great appreciation,
Jason
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Shout-Outs – Please help us continue to inspire and uplift the RPS community by submitting shout-outs to shoutouts@rvaschools.net. Entries can be submitted in Spanish or English!
- I would love to send a shout-out to Mrs. Lawson at Broad Rock. Mrs. Lawson, thank you so much for all of your hard work and support. Not only does she go above and beyond, but she advocates for the kids on her caseload and also supports her parents and what’s best for their students when writing IEPs. Happy Teacher Appreciation week, Mrs. Lawson!
- Shout-out to some of the best special education teachers in RPS: Ms. Johnson, Ms. Evans, Ms. Mason, and Ms. Watson at Lucille Brown Middle School! These ladies always go above and beyond and I appreciate them so much!
- Thanks to everyone from Franklin who helped put together the 8th grade sneaker ball! Cpt C. Corey took the lead organizing the event, Maj D. Corey was our incredible DJ, and Sgt Gilliam served as our security personnel. Cpt Portmess, Cpt Bryant, Cpt York, Dr. Smith, Cpt White, Cpt Clarke, and Cpt Elie were all present as chaperones and helped to set up and take everything down after the dance ended. We'd also like to shout-out two parents – Betsy Hart who hooked us up to use the Robinson Theater as our venue, and Ashley Smith for picking up and delivering all of the pizza for the kids!
- Sending a heartfelt shout-out to Ms. Beekman at J.B. Fisher on an amazing spring concert for the kindergartners and first graders! The kids sounded and looked amazing! My daughter loves music and singing and she has learned so much from Ms. Beekman. In addition, I was blown away by the orchestra students under the direction of Mr. Thomas and my jaw dropped when the band students marched into playing Seven Nation Army while being directed by Ms. Fleming. The arts are thriving at Fisher!
- Huguenot HS's Coach Crosby deserves so many different shout-outs! He is a one-man coach and makes it happen for his team as if there were actually more coaches. He models good character and sportsmanship at all times. He is cool, calm and collected and the kids feed off this vibe. They can be down 20 points and he still smiles, and gives the team encouragement and positive feedback. He has allowed the beginning players to feel comfortable learning the sport while building their skills and confidence. He has led the team to respect each other and the teams they play. He is doing a great job! Ms. Sanchez is awesome, too, by being at every game and helping to manage all the ins and outs. Thank you!
- Huge shout-out to the RPS Exceptional Education leadership: Dr. Volley, Mrs. White, Ms. Smith, Ms. Gordon, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Cartwriting, and Mrs. Stevens. From the bottom of my heart, I want to take this time out to thank each one of you! I know that I can reach out to you with questions and receive support and answers. This year has been extremely challenging with huge learning curves, but RVA met every challenge, and I learned a bunch with support from each of you! Have the best day on purpose and relax this weekend – we all deserve it!
- Shout-out to the school lunch heroes of Dogwood Middle School: Raven Bryant, Tonia Terry, Jacobi Miller, and Wendy Anderson. You ladies truly are my heroes!
- Shout-out to Mrs. Lindsay at Mary Munford ES. I was taking my son to school and asked if he was excited for the upcoming summer break. He said he was sad because he won’t get to be in Mrs. Lindsay’s class anymore. Homework, word study and spelling tests have been challenging but he has learned so much this year with her help. I have enjoyed seeing so much growth, especially in his reading and writing. Thank you, Mrs. Lindsay!
- I would like to give a huge shout-out to one of Miles J. Jones' reading tutors, Dr. Daniel Lawrence, a retired medical doctor. Dr. Lawrence works daily with a small group of students on reading skills as well as building their confidence. Students are always eager to work with Dr. Lawrence. Students that once hated to pick up a book are now reading paragraphs and discussing what they read with a peer. We love having Dr. Daniel Lawrence at the marvelous Miles J. Jones Elementary School. Way to go, Dr. Lawrence!
- Shout-out to Mr. Frank at the Richmond Technical Center and Ms. Special and Ms. Moseley at John Marshall!
- Sending a huge shout-out to LIEP team members Hannah Batdorf, Jenny Harlow, Morgan Walls, and Lily Mirjahangiri for staffing the RPS LIEP table at this weekend’s Qué Pasa Festival! Thank you for giving up your Saturday to be a positive presence in our community! You are so appreciated!
- Thank You, Ms. V. Foster, for the daily support in my classroom. I share my week with you, Ms. Avent, Ms. Johnson, and Mr. Anderson. As I say often, which I do not take credit for: "Teamwork makes the dream work!" I will not be celebrated without including all of you.
- I would like to send a special shout-out to Church Hill resident Ms. Trish Bernal, for her $1,000 donation to the Franklin Military Academy Class of 2024. We sincerely appreciate you and the Church Hill Association as true community partners. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of our students!
- Shout-out to Rodney Robinson and his esteemed team for an awesome Staff Appreciation Day! The rain did not stop the show! Thank you to the team for such an engaging and interactive appreciation day. This was the first but I can tell that it will not be the last!
- Shout-out to Crystal Potee, interim principal at Thomas Jefferson! Thank you for pouring into your teachers! You always show your appreciation, not just during this specific week, but every day! Thank you for all that you do! Continue to shine!
- Last week, Dancing Classrooms held their Spring competitions. Miles Jones Elementary's small but mighty group of students, led by Giselle Becoat, Calvin Coleman, and Nassir Baptist Carrington, proudly led their team to a 1st place victory! Broad Rock Elementary took 2nd place, and Henry Marsh and Woodville tied for 3rd. Congrats to our schools and wonderful dancing students!
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| - Shout-out to art teacher Natalie Patino-Wright from MLK. Natalie attended UR's Joan Oates Institute with Partners in the Arts and developed a plan to bring artist Chris Visions to her students at MLK. Inspired by Mr. Visions' animation artistry in "Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse," students explored character development as they created their own "spidersonas.'' This meaningful learning experience included taking a field trip to the site of the 2022 Street Art Festival and meeting up with another local artist, Silly Genius. Amazing work, Natalie!
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| - Shout-out to the following individuals for helping to make our staff appreciation event a success: Jodi Granger and Ashley Bland did a phenomenal job organizing and pulling together all of the vendors, volunteers, and logistics. Special thanks to Shannon Hodges, Angela Delaney, and Christal Mark of the Teacher and Leader Pathways team for setting up and greeting all the employees. Thanks to Stefanie Ramsey and Kendra Glass for helping set up the gym. Lastly, Kim Jones did an outstanding job of painting faces for the children. They were full of smiles.
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Reminders from Previous RPS Directs
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| RPS Poster Campaign – Looking for a cool end-of-year gift for an RPS teacher or graduate? We've got you covered! We've turned our school map t-shirts into 24" x 36" posters and they look amazing! Pick one up at the RPS Love Store today.
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| Three Ways to Pre-K – We're thrilled to offer preschool for eligible 3 and 4-year olds living in Richmond, along with three convenient ways to apply. Don't delay – spaces fill up quickly, and we don't want your child to miss out on this valuable opportunity! To begin your child's preschool registration, just visit our website.
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| #TeachWithLove at RPS – We're thrilled to offer signing bonuses of up to $7,000 for new hires starting in the fall! If you or someone you know is interested in joining the RPS team, please take a moment to visit our website to browse open positions. For more information, please email talentoffice@rvaschools.net.
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