| Happy Friday! Tonight's updates:
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| East End Family Engagement – The warmer weather brings more opportunities for the RPS Family Engagement team to be out and about in the community. They took full advantage this week by holding pop-up events to share information about SOL testing, our Family Engagement Survey, and other key topics at Fairfield Court ES, Henry Marsh ES, and Whitcomb Court. Keep an eye out for the RPS team in your neighborhood!
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| Little Feet Meet! – Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School held its first Little Feet Meet this week. This is a Special Olympics event in which students with developmental/intellectual disabilities and their general education peers participate together in track and field events and other outdoor activities. Events like this help create a socially inclusive school climate, and they're tons of fun! Special thanks to the Thomas Jefferson HS Marching Band for pumping up the athletes and spectators. See more of the fun here!
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| Richmond Book Festival – Cary ES is hosting their First Annual Richmond Book Festival this Saturday, May 21, from 10 am - 3 pm. This fun and educational program will feature storytime with local authors, panel discussions, STEM activities, a moon bounce, food trucks, live music, and, of course, BOOKS. It's free and open to the public so swing on by!
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| Better Speech and Hearing Month – May is Better Speech and Hearing Month, and RPS audiologists are using this opportunity to raise awareness of communication disorders. All students, families, and staff are encouraged to have their hearing tested – and take action if they have any hearing loss. Please join me in honoring our audiologists for the impact they have on our students!
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| Family Engagement Survey – Have you taken the Annual Family Engagement Survey yet? Please help us strengthen our collaboration by letting us know what we're doing well and what we can improve. Thank you in advance for providing your invaluable feedback!
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| With great appreciation,
Jason
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- Shout out to Angelique Bland at Miles Jones Elementary! Ms. Bland has shown so much love and care to our son through the years, and she is a major reason for the gains he's made. She's always available to talk with parents and to troubleshoot during difficult situations. We love you, Ms. Bland!
- Nurse Jeanne Yeager at Thomas Jefferson High School is an unsung hero of the school! This has been a really difficult and trying year, and she is knowledgeable, caring, and efficient.
- Shout out to the English Department at Thomas Jefferson High School! Jeanne Callahan, Jackie Hopkins, Alex Beard, Vivianlee Taylor, Kristen Reinbold, Landon Walker, and Matthew Kitchen! You are all the best department I've ever worked with, and I love you all to pieces! You're brilliant and organized, and your students love you (how could they not??)! Our school is better because of you!
- Shout out to Chloe Grant, new 7th grade English teacher at Binford Middle School! Ms. Grant has gone above and beyond all year, both in her residency at Thomas Jefferson and now in her permanent position at Binford. She is a genius who cares deeply for her students and who is a warrior for justice. How lucky her students are to have someone like her in their corner!
- I want to shout out the amazing teachers, administrators and PTA for last night's first annual ChimboChella. It was so much fun seeing all the kids and the interactive art stations, snacks and smoothies from the PTA. The food truck was awesome, too! Our kindergartener had so much fun and we look forward to this for many more years to come. A job well done, Jaguar family!!
- I would like to shout out our JROTC program at Huguenot High School. They are second to none and the best of the best! Col. Stinnie, SGM Branch and SSG Teresa Rosier are dedicated to our students and academic excellence. SSG Rosier was recently awarded the CTE Golden Apple Award and surprised with flowers and a luncheon by her colleagues and cadets. So well deserved for her never ending commitment and efforts on behalf of our students. Her response: " I get my awards and rewards through the love that is shown to me by my cadets and other students that I have grown to know and cherish."
- Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary would like to give a huge shout out to everyone who assisted in making our 1st Little Feet Meet a major success today! Big thanks to Pam Mines from Special Olympics VA and Torrie Lashley from RPS for putting together such an outstanding event. We'd also like to thank Christal Jordan for her collaboration & organization to make this special day happen. Our school loved having the Thomas Jefferson High School band on-site for a performance and to help with the activities – thank you to all the Vikings who participated today. We'd also like to say thanks to the Richmond City Sheriff's Department and Virginia State Police Color Guard who participated in the opening ceremony. Special thanks to the following OGBES staff who went the extra mile in preparing for the event: Dr. Otey, Ms. Dungee, Ms. Resnick, Ms. Gallo, Ms. Davis, Dr. Hooks, Ms. McCray, and Ms. Rudebusch. Congratulations to all of our student participants and leaders who helped promote the inclusion of all children at today's event. We are so proud of each of you!
- A huge shout out to Tonya Epps (Blackwell), Josue Morales-Ortiz (Broad Rock), Susan Wood (Francis), Marquita Jones (Holton), Angelique Bland (Miles Jones), Debra Carlotti (Munford), Zina Harper (Oak Grove), Patricia Williams (Overby Sheppard), and Natasha Thomas (Southampton). All of them are extraordinary ICCs for their schools and work endlessly to support their special education teachers to provide excellent instruction and special education services. This job can be challenging at times but these fine educators exemplify how to serve our community with love!
- I would love to shout out to Ms. Burchette one of our PE teachers here at Lucille Brown. We did a Glow Review review day in my math class, and Ms. Burchette came Wednesday and Thursday to help students out with their math review while enjoying the activities set out for the students. My 6th graders truly enjoyed these past two days partaking in Glow Jenga, Glow Basketball, Glow Corn Hole, Glow Connect 4, Glow Spoons, Glow Tic-Tac-Toe, and Glow Bowling while working on math problems.
- Shout out to my amazing teammates at OGBES: Kisha Christian, Damia Brown-Kidd, and Shabaa Bell. They have been holding it down for the 3rd Grade Team! We totally appreciate you all, and thank you for all that you do.
- Shout-out to Jasmine Mckay at Lucille Brown! Ms. Mckay's talent to connect with scholars is amazing! She continues to engage scholars in mathematics, all while providing scholars with the necessary strategies to be successful. Way to go, Mckay! Hoot Hoot!
- Shout-out to Ms. Shiflett, Ms. Brown, Ms. Rudd, Mr. Gail, Ms. Braxton, Ms. Mayo, and Ms. Blanche-Tanner at RVA for their contributions to the RVA families, scholars, teachers, and staff! Keep up the great work! Hoot Hoot!
- Shout-out to Katina Harris. She continues to advocate for equity for all of RPS. Ms. Harris shows love and grace as she continues to advocate! Ms. Harris, thank you! Hoot Hoot!
- Shout-out to RVA staff that helped execute Circle of Friends at RVA. This group is all about inclusion and our scholars love it! Way to go! Hoot Hoot!!
- Crystal Potee at Thomas Jefferson High School is a force! She wears so many hats in our building, and she shows love and care to our students and staff. I don't know what we would do without her!
- I want to send out a shout out to Jennifer Cooper and Shona Parham at Miles Jones Elementary. These women have a very difficult job in the low incidence classroom, and they give our babies so much attention, rigor, and love. Even when my child has been acting out and struggling, they treat him with love and respect, and they communicate with all of the stakeholders to make sure he is set up for success.
- Shout out to Ms. Braden Shepler at JB Fisher! Ms. Shepler is fun and caring, and works hard to meet the needs of a diverse group of third graders during a really tough year. She is compassionate and organized and loving, and we are so fortunate that she is our daughter's teacher this year.
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| reRVA Scavenger Hunt – All are invited to the reRVA Mural Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, May 21, to explore Richmond's amazing murals, meet and mingle with the community, and support RPS. Check out the flyer below for more details. Hope you can make it!
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| SOLs Are Here – SOL testing began this week in high schools and will begin next week for middle and elementary schools. Check out the tips below to ensure you and your students are prepared and have a positive testing experience!
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| George Wythe Reimagined – We're still seeking community input about the Passion4Learning theme – arts or STEM – at the new George Wythe. Attend an upcoming community meeting to share your thoughts!
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| RVA Men Teach HBCU Residency – I'm thrilled to share that our very own RVA Men Teach is partnering with Virginia State University and Virginia Union University to launch an HBCU Teacher Residency program! Black and Latino male residents will serve as long-term substitute teachers in RPS next year while taking courses at VSU and VUU to complete a master's in elementary or special education FREE OF CHARGE.
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| RPS Preschool and Kindergarten Enrollment – RPS preschool and kindergarten enrollment is happening now! Enroll your 3 and 4-year-olds in our free, high-quality preschool program, and your 5-year-olds in kindergarten. Please also remember, if your student is currently in RPS preschool, they will still need to enroll for RPS kindergarten.
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| Important Links – Last updated on April 12, 2022.
RPS Links
COVID-19 Links
Crisis Support Links
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