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| Dear #RPSStrong Family,
Happy Friday! I hope you all get a chance to enjoy the sunshine this weekend!
Open Enrollment and Specialty School Results – If you applied, you should have received an email today with your results. If you received a seat offer, please remember that the deadline to accept is Friday, March 19, at 11:59 pm. Please don't wait until the very last minute, as we will not be able to make any exceptions to this deadline. Thank you in advance! If you have any questions, please email us at enrollrps@rvaschools.net.
Mayor’s Youth Academy – RPS high school students, if you're interested in learning more about how government works and earning some money at the same time, check out the Mayor's Youth Academy summer program (flyer below).
Black History Month – Woodville Elementary's annual Black History Living Museum celebrates key figures in African-American history through student presentations and monologues. This year, the theme was "Catalyst of Change". At around minute 9:30, one of the students does a presentation about our very own School Board Chair, Mrs. Cheryl Burke!
Women's History Month – Thank you to Dr. Harrison-Jones Fears, the first woman, and first African-American woman, to serve as a superintendent in Virginia, for visiting with our students at John B. Cary Elementary School this week in celebration of Women’s History Month! Make sure to watch this story about the visit by Olivia Jaquith of WRIC.
Donors Choose Opportunity – Starting Tuesday, March 16, at 7 am, donations to book projects will be doubled while funds last. Community members can support these and other crowd-funding projects anytime by visiting www.donorschoose.org/rps.
Policy Pathways – Jazz Miles, 10th grader at Open High School and intern with Policy Pathways, recently interviewed Mr. Ross Losapio, Recruitment Coordinator at the VCU Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, about college admissions and getting started in the field of public policy. Nice job, Jazz!
Finally, keep sending me pictures of your student readers so I can feature them in my RPS Direct this month. On the left are Bryson, preschooler at Summerhill Preschool, and Araya, 7th grader at Binford Middle School; on the right is Mitzi, 1st grader at Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary School!
With great appreciation,
Jason
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- I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know what a wonderful job the Black History Month Committee, staff, students and parents did today in organizing the Virtual BHM Living Museum at Woodville ES. As an honoree, I was blown away by the professionalism of the program, the preparedness of the students, and the celebratory tone throughout. The BHM committee consisted of Kiesha King, Samantha John, Ashley Allen and Ridgely Carter-Minter. I have attended this event previously (in-person) and they didn't miss a bit with pivoting to this virtual space. I hope that this will be an option for future events. This program should serve as a model for schools across the division.
- When it comes to teamwork, the Miles Jones staff continues to go above and beyond. When times are challenging, they meet the mark. When a teammate is dealing with illness or other issues, they lift one another up and jump in to support. Thank you for making my job so rewarding on a daily basis because I am a part of the team! Stay amazing.
- Shout out to our Summer Hill, Miles Jones and Broad Rock Preschool teaching teams for working so well with their students and their families! These little students had tremendous growth in learning! We are so proud of them.
- I want to thank all the volunteers that help to keep the Teacher Store open and safely available each month to the RPS staff!! Wanda Payne, organizer extraordinaire, and shopping night assistants, Judith Deichman, Cassandra Bell and intern Rose Pearlswig!
- I would like to shoutout Mrs. Jeanette Wilkins not only because it is her birthday today but also because she is an awesome asset to the classroom. She cares about our little ones and it shows. I would also like to give a shoutout to Mrs. Miller. She and Mrs. Jeanette make teaching fun. Shoutout to Ms. Karen Ward and Ms. Jessica Ward, as they both give 100% and we appreciate them both. I would also like to shoutout Linsi Hayes for thinking about her co-workers and arranging a self-care event for us. It was awesome and just what I needed!!!! I would also like to shoutout Jodi Moore for sharing her computer skills and knowledge so freely with so many.
- Shout out to our BHLM Committee for an amazing job with our BHLM: Mrs. Allen-Miller, Ms. John, Mrs. Carter-Minter, and Ms. King. These ladies had a vision and they truly brought it to life! This event truly added to my proud principal moments. #WoodvilleStrong #TheWoodvilleWay
- Diette Banks – she's our amazing sysop and registrar. In the virtual space, she's registering students, answering phones, keeping up with payroll, and the list goes on and on. I just want her to know that her hard work is appreciated.
- Woodville Students – they are thriving in the virtual space and I want them to know how proud we are of their hard work. This couldn't be a reality if it weren't for the awesome parents and guardians for learning the virtual space right along with their babies! Lastly, a huge shout out to the WES faculty and staff...Every day our teachers log on early and stay late ensuring that the same quality education they would provide in the brick and mortar is happening in the virtual space! Thank you for going the extra mile for our students! We are making the impossible.....possible.
- I want to acknowledge MLK's school social worker, Mr. Shepsu! Mr. Shepsu is a beacon to our students, staff, and community. He is a wealth of knowledge and really has a deeper passion for our young people, especially our males. Mr. Shepsu is instrumental in carrying out RPS's vision of Leading with Love, Teaching with Love, and most importantly, Serving With Love! You are appreciated, Mr. Shepsu.
- Thank you to Mrs. Mullins, Mr. O, and Mrs. Paulshell for their dedication to our students in highlighting and encouraging them to continue to let their light shine at MLK! You guys are the real MVPs!
- I want to extend a special thanks to all of MLK's and Henderson's STEM Academy teachers!!! The behind-the-scenes work you all are doing to ensure that our scholars have meaningful and aligned PBL experiences is incredible. Not to mention the 21st Century skills you are equipping our students with daily to develop into lifelong learners. You all are making great investments that will yield mass returns in the lives of our scholars. We appreciate you and thank you for your diligence and commitment.
- I would like to recognize Ms. Anderson, Dr. Brodnax, Ms. Dunlap, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Robinson, Ms. Shaw, and all who assisted in the planning, preparing, and distributing of math materials. After hours of preparation and 7 hours of caravanning through our neighborhood with snacks and prizes, our team ensured that the majority of our students received what they need to be successful! #IamKing
- I can always count on Mr. Glasper and Mrs. Menjivar at MLK!!! I want to shout out both of them for leading the STEM Team meeting with an engaging and educational SLO writing clinic. You are appreciated!
- I would like to shout out MLK's awesome CIS site coordinators, Ms. DePriest and Ms. Korb! The two of them go above and beyond in assisting our students. Ms. DePriest recently secured donations for books written by African American authors to be gifted to our scholars for their participation in our Black History Month "Express Yourself" Contest. Also, Ms. DePriest and Ms. Korb are always communicating and collaborating for opportunities to create positive change within our scholars. You are appreciated, Ms. Depriest and Ms. Korb!
- I want to recognize Ms. Barbara Smith, CTE & Adult Education Director, for her unwavering support to the schools as we prepared for the CTE audits last week. She was determined that we would be successful by providing numerous review meetings and always being available. We could not have done it without her. Thank You.
- I want to give a shout out to Mr. Patrick Wells, the math coach at Brown. He stepped up and helped to administer an assessment today. If at any time I need something from him he has always been able to help me out! I want to let him know it is appreciated.
- I also want to give a shout out to Ms. Vargo. She jumped right in there to help tutor my students. I love it and appreciate her and so do the students. Way to go, Vargo!
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| RPS Voices – In celebration of Arts in Schools Month, Courtney Vollmer, theater teacher at Albert Hill Middle School, shares her love for the arts and tells us a little about why they're an integral part of her life. Thank you for sharing your voice with us, Ms. Vollmer!
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| Tutoring – Just a quick reminder that we're offering FREE virtual tutoring in reading and math for students in grades K-8. Click here for additional information.
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| Calendar Conversations – We're holding four town halls next week to share information about the proposed calendar for next year, gather feedback, and answer any questions you may have. Please see below for dates and times. To register, click here.
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| The Mayor’s Youth Academy – RPS high school students, check out this great opportunity!
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Facilitated Learning Centers – As a reminder, there are still seats available at the "facilitated learning centers" serving RPS students. See below for details.
- Peter Paul Development Center is running a facilitated learning center at MLK MS for 2nd-8th grade RPS students. The full-day option goes from 9 am until 6 pm, and is completely free for low-income families. To learn more, click here.
- The YMCA is is running facilitated learning centers at Miles Jones ES, Holton ES, and Huguenot HS for K-8th grade RPS students. The full-day option goes from 7:30 am until 6 pm, and is completely free for low-income families. To learn more, click here.
- There are also many other facilitated learning centers not housed in RPS schools across the city. To learn more, click here.
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RPS Love Store – Show your RPS Love and help us raise money for RPS families in need and local racial justice non-profits by ordering something today from the RPS Love Store!
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| Crisis Support – Please reach out if you need help.
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Important Links – I'll note in orange when there have been additions/updates so you you won't miss anything.
#ReopenWithLove Links
Local, State, and National Public Health Links
Local, State, and National Public Education Links
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