| Dear #RPSStrong Family,
Happy Friday! Tonight's updates:
| |
|
Financial Literacy Workshop – Everyone is encouraged to attend the "Smart Finance, Bright Futures" financial literacy workshop tomorrow, March 23, from 10 am - 12 pm at Armstrong HS. Come out to learn more about saving, investing, budgeting, and more!
| |
|
School Immunizations – RPS Health Services will hold the last round of school-based immunization clinics on Tuesday, March 26, from 10 am - 12 pm at Richmond Community HS. If you would like for your child to be vaccinated, please return the completed consent form to your school nurse in English or Spanish. These immunizations are mandated by Virginia law so please make sure to take care of them ASAP.
| |
|
Opportunities for Students – The RPS Opportunities Hub is a one-stop shop where students can browse scholarships, internships, summer programs, and a variety of other opportunities. If you would like to share an opportunity with our students, please email opportunity@rvaschools.net. Information is updated regularly so make sure to browse the hub frequently!
| |
|
Arts in Our Schools Spotlight – John Marshall HS senior D’vonte Carlyle finds joy in expressing himself through dance. "Dance allows you to move around and not just sit in a chair. It allows you to kick off your shoes and just have fun!" D'vonte believes everyone should participate in dance because it encourages freedom of expression and most importantly, it's fun! He personally finds solace and happiness in dance. "Dancing makes me feel very happy and I am free to be me."
| |
|
With great appreciation,
Jason
| |
|
|
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!
- Shout-out to Ms. Brooke McCann & Ms. Dava Allen Miller for working hard to ensure quality professional development credits for staff members at Woodville Elementary. Thank you for making the teaching profession a little bit easier.
- The Richmond Career Education and Employment Academy staff and students would like to congratulate Mrs. Monica Murray on receiving/winning the R.E.B Award. Thank you for all of the continued support you, your staff, and students share with us daily. Two prides inside of JMHS.
- Shout-out to Mrs. Kane, Huguenot High School chorus teacher, and the Huguenot Falcon Notes Chorus for an overall superior rating at the VMEA District I Assessment at St. Christopher's. Also, shout-out to Mr. Miles, the band director at Huguenot High School and the members of the Huguenot High School Concert Band on receiving an overall rating of excellent at VMEA/VBODA District Assessment earlier this month. Our fine arts program is growing and blossoming at Huguenot High School!
- I would like to shout-out my wonderful assistant principal, Mrs. Penn, at Bellevue! Mrs. Penn is a tireless worker who is there for all of our Bellevue students and staff. I appreciate all that she does for the betterment of Bellevue. Thank you so much, Mrs Penn.
- Shout-out, once again, to our librarian extraordinaire, Mrs. Noble, for a wonderful book walk for Creepy Crayons. The kids love when Mrs. Noble reads the story in the library and enjoyed it even more reading it with parents and loved ones outside on a beautiful spring day. Mrs. Noble, with funding from ReidGoodman Attorneys and Counsel at Law, was able to purchase books in English and Spanish for the families attending the book walk. Thank you, Mrs. Noble, for all you do to keep Swansboro students and families reading and smiling.
- Ricky Reese Jr. does so much for the Chimborazo community! His impact can be felt across a variety of areas including: attendance, food, clothes and supply donations, school events, managing students on his caseload, connecting families to resources, faith partners, and other volunteers. He is the total package and we absolutely love him in the East End!
- Shout-out to Rahmah Johnson, school counselor at Thomas Jefferson and RPS National Board Professional Teaching Standards candidate support leader, who helped several RPS teachers attend the Virginia National Board Teaching Summit last weekend.
- As we close out this week, I want to take a heartfelt moment to extend my deepest gratitude and appreciation to each and every CIS site coordinator. Your unwavering dedication, boundless passion, and tireless commitment to supporting students and families in our community is nothing short of extraordinary. Every day, you exemplify the spirit of compassion and resilience, serving as beacons of hope. Your hard work, ingenuity, and relentless efforts don’t just make a difference, they create lasting impacts in the lives of those you touch. Beyond the confines of our organization and the walls of your respective school sites, your influence ripples through our community and can be seen in the smiles of your students. Keep shining bright, CIS of Richmond, and know that you are seen and appreciated!
- River City Middle teachers Mr. Strauss, Ms. Snow, Ms. Vivirito, Ms. Newsome, Mr. Evangelista, and Literacy Coach Ms. Finney deserve a giant shout out for their support and participation in our March Madness reading challenge! They all have found time and energy to encourage our Red Tail readers to go above and beyond in this building-wide reading competition. So far, their students have logged over 36 extra hours of reading this month...literacy soars at River City!
- I'd love to highlight Frankie-Lynn Conklin, Arianna Trickey, and Amelia Street students for coordinating a hands-on science life cycle project at Amelia Street School. Students have been studying the life cycle of chickens and our classroom eggs hatched last night. Ms. Trickey supported us with setting up a live stream that allowed us to see, in real time, the moment the first egg hatched. What's even more remarkable, Ms. Trickey has been sharing the live stream with other elementary schools that she works with and they have been collaborating on the lessons and learning of this project. I am impressed by Ms. Trickey and Ms. Conklin's willingness to share this project across the district and to include learners outside of the Amelia Street building. Thank you, ladies, and happy birthday chicks.
- Shout-out to my colleague on the fine arts team, Mrs. Easter at Linwood Holton! She is such an inspiring educator! She always comes up with the most interesting ideas for projects and guides her students into creating gorgeous, meaningful artwork!
- I would like to shout-out our morning and evening kiss and drop-off team at Backwell Preschool. Ms. B. Taylor worked it out last Friday evening when Maury Street was closed due to paving. The great teamwork kept our parents, staff and students happy and on time. Thanks for all that you do to keep our school together.
- We are so excited for our students in advanced physical education at Richmond Community and Richmond High School for the Arts, who started lifeguarding class this week in partnership with SwimRVA! Thank you to our awesome PE teachers, Jason Magruder & Kirk Chalmers, for embracing this career initiative, and our partners at SwimRVA, Debbie, Aponi and Adam, for getting our students in a place for success! Keep swimming, RPS!
| |
- Congratulations to Jacob Sanford and Elizabeth Allums, music and art teachers at Oak Grove- Bellmeade Elementary, for planning an Arts in Our Schools Month celebration for the school community! We are so lucky to have them as fine arts teachers in the district and thank them for sharing their love and passion for the arts everyday with their students. It is contagious!
| |
| Reminders from Previous RPS Directs
| |
| 2024-25 Preschool & Kindergarten Enrollment – Preschool and kindergarten enrollment is now open! We're thrilled to offer preschool for eligible 3 and 4-year olds, and kindergarten for all 5-year-olds living in Richmond. Please note: 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.
| |
| Lit Limo – Our newest Lit Limo is, well, LIT! It has built-in bookshelves, power outlets for computers, A/C and heat, and a wheelchair lift so every RPS student can come onboard and browse for free books. This is all part of our effort to not only develop expert readers, but also joyful ones. The new Lit Limo will hit the road Monday, April 8!
| |
| #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.
| |
|
Tutor Recruitment – Are you a retired teacher, college student/recent grad, or community member interested in supporting the academic success of our students? We're currently accepting applications for academic tutors to support our high-intensity tutoring program. If you or someone you know is interested in joining the RPS team, just visit our website to apply or scan the QR code below with your phone's camera. This work is going to take #AllofUs!
| |
| RPS Links
Crisis Support Links
Health and Wellness Links
| |
|
|
|
