| Dear #RPSStrong Family,
This week's updates:
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School Board Meeting – The School Board will hold an in-person meeting tonight at 6 pm in 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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Ultimate Backpack Supply Drive – We know that the back-to-school season is an exciting, but often expensive, time for many families. To help ease the financial burden, CoStar, Virginia Commonwealth University, and many other local businesses are organizing the 7th Annual Ultimate Backpack Supply Drive on Thursday, August 8, at the Convention Center. If you or your organization would like to donate new school supplies, please contact nguyenth6@alumni.vcu.edu or nbailey2@rvaschools.net by Wednesday, August 7. Thank you!
Please note that backpacks will not be distributed at this event. They'll be handed out to students at school. Please look for information from your student's principal for details about when the distribution will happen.
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Celebrating SummerFest – A huge thank you to the hundreds of families, students, RPS staff, and community partners who made this weekend’s SummerFest a success! A special shout-out goes to the Northside Coalition for Children for sponsoring the Citywide Back 2 School Rally as part of SummerFest. The pictures below say it all!
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If you weren’t able to join us, remember that we are just two weeks away from the start of the school year. If you haven’t had a chance to enroll your student, please reach out to enrollrps@rvaschools.net this week to do so! Parents of our recent preschool graduates, remember that you must enroll in kindergarten, even if you attended an RPS preschool last year.
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Welcome! – I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Danielle Greene-Bell, our new Chief Engagement Officer, back to the RPS family. A native Richmonder, third-generation educator, and former teacher at Boushall Middle School, Dr. Greene-Bell recently earned her Ph.D. from Stanford University. She looks forward to partnering with the RPS family once again, and I can’t wait for you to meet her!
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National Night Out – Every year, National Night Out aims to strengthen relationships between communities and first responders. Neighborhoods all across Richmond will be hosting block parties, cookouts, and youth activities tomorrow, August 6. You can get more information here!
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Help us get first-day ready – Come on out to the Richmond Technical Center this Friday, August 9, to help teachers and staff prepare classrooms and beautify school grounds. Your help means that our teachers can focus on critical tasks before the first day. Thank you in advance!
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Opportunity for retired educators – Former RPS teachers: Do you miss teaching Richmond history, or leading field trips? If so, the Valentine Museum has an opportunity for you. They're seeking retired teachers to join their ranks as museum educators. Apply now!
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Start the year strong – We're partnering with the Children's Hospital of Richmond and the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts to provide school entrance physicals on Thursday, August 15, at Henry Marsh ES from 4 - 6:30 pm. Please note: This clinic is only for K-5 students, and all appointment slots have been filled. Walkups will be accepted based on availability. Please be advised that the entire process, from check-in to completion, may take longer than usual due to demand. Thank you for your patience!
For a complete list of vaccination and physical clinics in our area, please visit the Virginia Department of Health website or call (804) 205-3501. If you have a primary-care provider, we recommend that you reach out to them to schedule your child's physical, as space is limited at the clinics. We appreciate everyone taking care of this important step ahead of the first day of school!
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Raise your voice! – Every year, we aim to improve how we serve our students and families. To do that, we need your guidance on what we're doing well and what we can do better. Parents, please take a few moments to complete our family survey for each child enrolled in RPS, and encourage your students to complete the student survey as well. We have extended the deadline to Friday, August 9. Thank you!
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With great appreciation,
Jason
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| - Shout-out to Mrs. Angenia Taylor at OGBES. She is always on the spot with answering the phones and helping out.
- I would like to give a shout-out to Ms. Marsha Hightower-Hopkins who is crushing it at Fairfield Elementary School. She is starting the year out strong with big plans to support her teachers even better than before and increase academic success for students with disabilities!
- This shout-out goes to Ms. Frazier Jones at Woodville Elementary who has hit the ground running, seeking to identify and meet the needs of staff and students!
- I am shouting out the admin team at Woodville Elementary, Dr. Allen-Miller and Ms. Morrison. These two women are creating an environment of support that is proactive, collaborative, supportive, and intentional. Woodville is going to have an amazing year!
- A huge RPS shout-out to Ms. Carter at Woodville Elementary for knowing all of her students so well, knowing where to find everything, knowing what they need and how to get it to them. Ms. Carter is truly a gift and we are so grateful for her!
- I would like to give a shout-out to the first grade team at Woodville Elementary, Ms. Sheffield and Ms. Bowers. These two ladies are creating an environment of compassionate support for their students where they truly seek first to understand and then to be understood. I know they will do amazing things together and their students are so lucky to have them!
- This shout-out is for Ms. Bell at Fairfield Court Elementary. Ms. Bell is patient, kind, poised, knowledgeable, intentional, proactive, and a gift to her students and school community. Thank you, Ms. Bell, for all you do to support our students! Your class is going to have the best year because of you!
- Shout out to Jonathan S. Goode, our friendly supervisor of Nutrition Services, who is always on the go, from school to school, lending a hand to food service employees to make sure students are well fed. You can catch him in the kitchen cooking up delicious meals or out in the community, like at the Summer Sunshine Harvest event. Jonathan is known as the busiest guy in RPS Nutrition, but he always makes time to help others.
- The Facility Services department would like to shout-out and thank Mr. Robert "Robbie" Trayer for 40 years of dedicated service to the RPS family of students, staff and community. He is reliable, dedicated and most of all, knowledgeable about all things structural. We enjoy his camaraderie and look forward to his expertise for many years to come. Robbie Trayer, thank you for 40 years of service!
- I would like to give a huge shout-out to the culinary teachers at Richmond Technical Center. Chef Sean Monts and Chef Lashawn Winston-Mayo were successful in their American Culinary Federation process, and now we have an ACF accredited program. Chef Monts also won the culinary knife skills competition at this year's VATFACS conference. Great job, team!
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| Reminders from Previous RPS Directs
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| Summer Meals – Our summer meals program has ended, but please note the additional meal options available below.
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- City of Richmond Parks and Rec meal sites are open for breakfast from 9 - 10 am, and for lunch from 12 - 1 pm, Monday through Friday, until August 9. Just enter your zip code on the Summer Meals for Kids site finder to find a location near you.
- The Salvation Army (5327 Orcutt Lane) will provide free community dinners this summer. Join them every Wednesday, from 6 - 8 pm, until August 28. All are invited to attend.
- Feed More is also operating a summer meals program. To find a location near you, view their schedule online, or contact the Hunger Hotline at (804) 521-2500 x631 for emergency food assistance.
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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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