| Thursday, February 22, 2024
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| Dear #RPSStrong Family,
Tonight's updates:
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| School Board Recognition – Enormous gratitude to the River City MS 8th Grade Dance Ensemble – under the direction of Ms. Bruno – for gracing us with their first public performance at Tuesday night's Board meeting. In honor of Black History Month, the ensemble performed “Stand Up" by Cynthia Erivo. It was beautiful, moving, and deeply inspiring. We couldn't be prouder!
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| BHM Spotlight – CIS site coordinators Ashley Johnson from Fairfield Court ES and Alyssa Roussey from Armstrong HS created the AHS/FCES Big Brother Little Brother program, which pairs upperclassmen from Armstrong with fifth graders from Fairfield Court. Although everyone was a bit shy at the start of the first meeting, conversation and laughter soon filled the room. Board games followed, as did a friendly game of basketball, allowing the students to see each other in a different light. In short, relationships started to bloom!
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| Frances W. McClenney – In recognition of Black History Month, Raven Brown with NBC 12 recently paid a visit to Frances W. McClenney ES where she met with the daughters of the school's namesake, Jacqueline and Madeline McClenney. Check out the coverage below!
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| Atlas Residency – ART 180 is currently accepting applications from current 9th-11th graders to participate in the 2024 Summer Residency. Ten students will be selected for the summer-long art experience, working alongside peers from across the city and two immensely talented teaching artists. Participants will receive a $1,350 stipend, art supplies, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand their portfolio. Don't delay – the deadline to apply is March 15!
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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!
- A big shout-out to Dr. Otey, assistant principal at Miles Jones ES, for stepping in to help with my class today when a break was needed! Without hesitation, and with a smile, she sacrificed her time to assist when needed! You are appreciated, Dr. Otey!
- Thank you so much, Dr. Williams, for coming to help out at Southampton Elementary as our substitute assistant principal. We appreciate all you're doing to help our students. Thank you, Mrs. Crews, for being there for us! You've been working hard showing our Southampton pride! You're always at work early and you stay late. We appreciate what you do!
- I just want to call out the dedication of both Andrea Bryant and Aaron Bryant to Lucille Brown and all of RPS. They're so committed to their colleagues, our children, and our community. We are so lucky to have them serving in our schools.
- Shout-out to Fairfield Court Elementary's SAST and Encore team for cultivating this month's parent engagement event – Imagination Station: A Black History Vibe – a space where children were able to use their creativity & imagination by producing self-portraits inspired by Kehinde Wiley's "Rumors of War'' statue, polaroid scrapbooking, black history story time, and music provided by our students.
- Huge shout-out to the following teachers at Lucille Brown MS: Mrs. Bryant, thank you for all you do for our students including taking on extra responsibilities including helping students during your planning time! I appreciate your dedication to our school! Mr. Bryant, thank you for working so hard in the math department! Your enthusiasm for your job is infectious and it inspires me every day! Mr. Stahl, thank you for your leadership of the Ex team! You are always available to assist with supplies, resources, or even a vent session or two. You truly lead by example! Mr. Anderson, thank you for all you do for our students! You take so many extra students by covering classes all of the time to help ensure the safety of the hallway! Thank you so much! Ms. Wilson, you did such a great job with your Romeo and Juliet lesson! It was great to see students who are typically shy, participating and interacting with the text in such a meaningful way! Ms. Mcleod, thank you for all of your help with Chromebook and charger distribution! My project in class right now could not have happened without you!
- Shout-out to Mary Scott Preschool for celebrating BHM with our wax museum, and special shout-out to Ms. Koger, Principal Hicks, Ms. Foster, and Mrs. Holsinger. Your creativity shines starry bright!
- I just wanted to give a quick shout-out to the Huguenot HS robotics team! Keep up the great work, students!
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- Last night, we had our orientation session for the Spanish for Educators course and we had 74 RPS educators in attendance, in-person and virtually! Congratulations to Victoria Gochez, Luis Martinez, Bernadette Cruse, and Issac Riddle for leading this initiative!
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| Reminders from Previous RPS Directs
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| RPS Shines – This May, we're hosting our Third Annual RPS Shines, a special evening to recognize and honor our life-changing teachers, principals, and support staff. You can help us celebrate these amazing individuals in two ways: 1) by nominating RPS educators and staff for our division wide awards – Lucille Brown Impact Award, Rodney A. Robinson Equity Award, and the 2024 Principal of the Year Award; and 2) by supporting RPS Shines with a donation to the Richmond Public Schools Education Foundation. The window to submit nominations closes on Friday, March 1. Thank you!
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| RPS Love Store – Have you had a chance to check out our Black History Month designs in the RPS Love Store? All proceeds support the Richmond Black History Museum!
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| Advocate for RHSA – On Wednesday, March 6, RPS will be requesting a waiver from the city Zoning Board to install light poles on the athletic grounds of the new Richmond High School for the Arts. If you can, please come out to support the RHSA community. For more information, visit our website or scan the QR code below with your phone's camera. Thanks in advance for your support!
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| 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!
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| RPS Links
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Health and Wellness Links
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