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| Dear #RPSStrong Family,
Today’s RPS Voices are from Ms. Wiederkehr’s 1st grade class at J.B. Fisher Elementary School. To keep her students engaged during the closure, Ms. Wiederkehr has been posting fun scavenger hunts in Class Dojo, holding Zoom classes twice a week, Facetiming with her students, and more. Please watch this video – I guarantee it'll put a huge smile on your face!
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| Today's Updates:
BIG Donations – As I shared yesterday during our first RPSLive!, we recently received $845,000 in donations to help pay for Chromebooks and hotspots. (See below for the whole list.) On behalf of RPS, I want to extend my deepest appreciation to all of the donors – and especially Sherie Armstrong, President and CEO of the Community Foundation; Kelly Chopus, President and CEO of the Robins Foundation; and Council President Cynthia Newbille – for making this possible. We have a few more contributions in the works so I'm confident we'll hit our goal of $1 million by the end of May. A huge THANK YOU to the incredible philanthropic community here in Richmond. We are blessed to have your support!
- Arts and Letters Creative ($10,000)
- Community Foundation - COVID-19 Fund ($150,000)
- Community Foundation - Dominion Energy ($150,000)
- Community Foundation - Plant Charitable Fund ($5,000)
- Community Foundation - R.E.B. Foundation ($100,000)
- Community Foundation - WonderFund ($100,000)
- Community Foundation - WonderFund Match ($150,000 total, $80,000 so far)
- Community Foundation - WTR Fund ($5,000)
- Genworth ($20,000)
- Individual Community Donations ($20,000)
- Mary Morton Parson's Foundation ($75,000)
- Richmond Flying Squirrels ($5,000)
- Robins Foundation ($125,000)
RPS Live! – Thank you to everyone (more than 100 people!) who joined our first ever RPS Live! – our new virtual community meeting, which we're holding every Wednesday at 7 pm on Facebook. And thanks for rolling with the unexpected cameo by my 8-year-old! If you didn't get a chance to join us, feel free to watch it here.
Computers and Hotspots for Elementary Students – Our distribution continues next Tuesday. If you missed one of the days this week, you can go to any of the schools listed below on the designated dates.
- Tuesday, May 12: Barack Obama, Linwood Holton, Patrick Henry, Swansboro, Woodville
- Wednesday, May 13: Bellevue, GH Reid, JL Francis, Miles Jones, ESH Greene
- Thursday, May 14: Ginter Park, Overby-Sheppard, Mary Munford, Southampton
- Amelia Street students may go to a school on any date.
Tech Support – If you're having a tech issue with your Chromebook, hotspot, or the RPS@Home platform, please email us at helpdesk@rvaschools.net. For issues that require hands-on support, please visit one of our mobile tech centers listed below.
- Boushall Middle School, Mondays, 4pm - 6pm
- MLK Middle School, Wednesdays, 11am - 2pm
- Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School, Fridays, 7am - 9am
With great appreciation,
Jason
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Shout-outs! – Please keep sending them to me at jkamras@rvaschools.net! And keep sending the teacher appreciation videos to outreach@rvaschools.net. Today's featured video comes to us from Coleman, a Munford ES student in Mrs. Katz’s class.
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- I would like to give a huge shout-out to Michelle Gillikin. She has truly done an amazing job leading the K-2 ELA RPS@Home team. She is encouraging, motivating, and most importantly, kind. Michelle is always readily available to share her knowledge and to guide us in the right direction. Michelle is truly an inspiration and consistently leads with love! Thank you for all you do for RPS!
- I would like to give a shout-out to Kevin Comly, Sara Samson, Allison Garrett, Chanel Graves, Cynthia Gant, Tammie Dockery, Pamela Ellison, Phylis Lupini, and all of the case managers at ETMS!!! This team has been working hard and supporting the exceptional education students at ETMS!! Also, HUGE SHOUT-OUT to Mrs. Murphy-Braxton for supporting the ICC at ETMS.
- Go, Holton Hustle Team! Shout out to the front office staff. Thank you all so much for organizing a packet for each staff member. Also thanks for your time and making sure everyone was using safety procedures. Dr. Hurt, Ms. Jefferson, Mrs Hull, Mrs. Schoolfield and Nurse People. Together We Got This.
- I would like to thank Dr. Ramsey for going to each Valedictorian's and Salutatorian's home to take their pictures and do a small interview of them.
- A huge thank you to the extended core teachers at John Marshall High School – Mr. Z. Cooke, Coach Cherry, Coach Diggs, Ms. Field, Ms. Flippen, Coach Gillus, Ms. Pérez-Obregon, Mr. Reynolds, and Coach White – for continuing to support and encourage their students and fellow teachers during this time!! Y’all are the best!! There is no other team I would want to be a part of! Happy teacher appreciation week!
- I volunteered with meal distribution today, and I wanted to give a shoutout to Bus #12. Our driver, Tyrone, was amazing, as were Ms. Beverly and Star! They made sure things ran smoothly and have clearly established a great rapport with the community.
- As an RPS teacher, it has been so comforting to know that our students and families are able to get a meal each day. I cannot thank the Family Engagement Team enough for their hard work in making sure our students are still taken care of! It was a pleasure working on bus 12 today. Thank you for all you do each day!
- Boushall Middle School is "Stepping into Reading"! Shout out to Mrs. Joi Thomas (Boushall Teacher), who connected with a local store for a donation of shoes, and Mrs. Callahan (Boushall Food Distribution Cafeteria Manager), who donated several shoes she found on sale! These were given out with books during Boushall's food distribution. It was a huge hit!
- I am a special education teacher at Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School. First I would like to shout out Ms. Tomeka Liggons. She is our ICC here and she supports us tremendously. She has scheduled meetings and helped write IEPs. Ms. Garrett is my first year co-teacher here at ETMS. Even during the lock-down, she has reached out to students via video. Mrs. Murphy-Braxton has been a tremendous leader. She is interested in our well being as well as that of our students. She is keeping us together as a family.
- I wanted to shout out Ms. Parks with Fairfield Court Elementary School. She is the case manager for my child and has gone out of her way to make sure we are informed, have everything we need, and still feel connected. She has made sure we have all learning materials and even brought us food from the food site when we couldn't get there. We truly love her!!!
- I would like to give a shout-out to the staff at Westover Hills Elementary School. Thank you to Mrs. El Koubi for planning and organizing our Chromebook distribution. Mrs. El Koubi worked hard to plan for the safety of her staff, students, and families during this difficult time. The staff did an amazing job of pulling together to distribute over 300 Chromebooks and over 100 hotspots. They spent time answering parents’ questions, explaining Google Classroom, and showing parents how to access the RPS@Home lessons. Thanks for all you do! All of you are appreciated and loved!
- Thanks to Joselyn Verdi and all her hard work to help support schools during distribution. She has gone above and beyond making sure our families got what they needed when we distributed technology. We appreciate you so much!
- This is a shout out for Ms. Primus, first grade teacher at Faitfield Court Elementary. Thank you for supporting my child during the time you had him in your classroom. Thank you for your high expectations of him and helping him through his challenging moments. Thank you, FCES family. You soar like eagles!!
- I just wanted to shout-out the kindergarten team at Oak Grove! As a first year teacher, I could not be more grateful for the amazing group of women I had the pleasure of working with and learning from this school year. They are the most caring, kind, supportive, and welcoming people I have ever met. I would not be where I am without each of them! Love you, gals!!!
- A huge shoutout to the Broad Rock team that was able to get over 400 students and families served (in less than 5 hours). It was truly a labor of love! Principal Green, Assistant Principal Petrey, and Assistant Principal Williams hosted all the volunteers with such great hospitality. A special shoutout to the teachers and administrators who served at their buildings yesterday and came out to assist at Broad Rock today: Principal Daniela Jacobs, Heather Lackey, Maranda Miller, and Mary Henderson. They are truly what makes RPS great!
- My shoutout goes to Dr. Teresa Anderson, Principal at Blackwell, for her tireless efforts to our students, their parents and her staff. Dr. Anderson is always hands-on, always boosting morale, providing support when needed for our students and parents during this pandemic. You are an awesome principal!!
- [I'm a tutor] and earlier this week, I sent a note of appreciation to Ms. Joynes and Ms. Mankus in “my” third grade class at Carver. They invited me to sit in on their Zoom virtual classroom this morning, so I could greet the children and see how they are doing. Given the trying circumstances (new Chromebooks, etc.), what I witnessed was remarkable. In one tightly constructed teaching hour, the two teachers completed lessons on several math problems as well as a grammar lesson on contractions. The children were engaged and challenged, and they were given assignments for the next virtual class session on Friday. I was also invited to attend the virtual session every Wednesday, being of assistance as needed and appropriate. This morning, at the conclusion of the meeting, the children and I sang “Frere Jacques” together. I had taught them the song in English, French, and German earlier this school year. They remembered and sang forth with gusto!
- I would like to give a shout out to the amazing staff and Parks & Rec volunteers at Fisher who worked to get Chromebooks and hotspots into the hands and homes of many families today. The process was very well organized and executed. You could hear the delight in the voices of staff members as they greeted the students and families who have been away from them for several weeks. Many "We love you and we miss you" sentiments could be heard throughout the day. Way to go, Fisher!
- Mrs. Sta Ana, kindergarten teacher at Barack Obama Elementary, has been such an AMAZING help during this time of adjusting to a new normal. She has CONSISTENTLY provided work assignments for her students, while also creating YouTube videos for the kids to watch and enhance their learning. My son, Kaleb, misses her and all his friends SO much! Thank you, Mrs. Sta Ana, for helping to keep our children engaged and learning!
- I am so proud of our third grade team. Joynes & Mankus conduct zoom meetings in reading & math every M-W-F. Check out the Kiawnis volunteer, Bob Rogers, who joined them. He volunteers weekly at Carver. We love our Carver Community.
- The Gator Days (Happy Days!!) Drive-In Diner served our fabulous staff lunch on yesterday. Teachers drove up, placed their order, and the administration and a few volunteers whipped up hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, floats, and a special grilled cheese from Chef/Principal Jones. The teachers were also able to stop by Mone's dessert truck for a sweet treat. Teachers sat in their cars and enjoyed a nice meal and good conversation from 6 ft away.
- I would like to shout out Melanie Brown, Tayeon Alexander, Christine Crawford and Mike Raynor from Thirteen Acres and Amelia Street for helping REAL school distribute Chromebooks at Henderson MS. Awesome teamwork!
- Congratulations to Mrs. Renesha Parks, our new Director of Exceptional Education! What a well-deserved recognition of her exceptional leadership as Interim Director these past few months. All of us in the department are so proud of her and thrilled to have her at the helm!
- I would like to give a shout-out to Principal Anderson and her team at Blackwell Elementary School for assisting a Thomas Jefferson student in receiving a chromebook. I thank her for her patience and diligence. I would like to thank Judith Beasley (an ESL Teacher) for transporting an ESL family to a chromebook distribution site.
- Additionally, I'd like to shout-out the administration at Broad Rock Elementary School, Mrs. Green, Mrs. Petrey, and Mrs. Williams, for hosting a terrific virtual scavenger hunt for our teachers today. It was some of the most fun I've had since we left school! I'd also like to shout out the extraordinary teachers at Broad Rock. They are talented, dedicated, and their love for our students is immeasurable. I'm so grateful to work with such an incredible group of people.
- I would like to give a shout out to Ms. S. Williams, a member of the administrative office team at Fairfield Court. She has been a true gem all year long, but especially as of late. She has helped move heaven and earth to support our families and the administration at FCES. I would also like to give a huge shout out to Ms. Suzie Blevins, our CIS worker. She has joined our team in doing weekly curbside visits, food deliveries, calls and emails to ensure our families are supported and loved. Huge shout out to Ms. Jennifer Frerichs, our music teacher. She posts weekly music lessons on class dojo and does virtual check-ins with students! Many thanks to our crew chief, Ms. Tina Collins, and Mr. Sam Moore, our custodian. They have been fantastic. Ms. Charlise Wilson has done weekly check-ins with students and demo video lessons with entire families. You are a rock star! Ms. Shannon Washington from Woodville Elementary and Mr. Antione London from Henderson Middle have been true thought partners with Dr. Sermons at Fairfield Court. Their support and collaboration are commendable! Thanks a million!
- Thank you to Principal Waller and Vice-Principals V. Claytor and Dr. P. Aldridge, as well as the administrative team, for taking the time to show their appreciation to the staff at Boushall Middle by having a "drive-through" staff meeting. It was a wonderful way to safely interact with our peers and boost each other's spirits. There was music to inspire us and kind words were shared by all! To top it off, there was a delicious boxed lunch and some amazing treats! What a lovely surprise! You guys are the BEST and I appreciate the efforts made to keep us uplifted during these incredibly trying times!
- I want to thank Ms. Evans for being the best reading teacher ever!
- I am the parent of a 5th grader at Broad Rock. I want to give props to the principal, Mrs. Green, and the staff, as they have been awesome to work with during this crisis. Yesterday during the pick up for Chromebooks, everyone was happy to see the students and parents. I also want to add that the process went smoothly. Lastly, I want to give a big thank you to Ms. Rachel Sard, my son's math teacher, as she has made sure to keep us informed and has offered assistance if we need help. Go, Rams!!
- I'd like to give a shout out to Judy Deichman, the Instructional Specialist for Library Media Services! She is working nonstop on making sure that our students are engaged with all things pertaining to literacy! She is collaborating with the Richmond Public Library for summer reading! She single-handedly had a bus donated to RPS so that we can send out the "Lit Limo" this summer to pass out free books to all of our students! And she is a tireless advocate for making sure that our students have access to the library so that reading becomes a life-long passion! I can't thank her enough!
- I'd like to recognize Ashley Bland for her leadership on the Chromebook rollout. She has been working around the clock, making sure that our school sites have everything that they need to ensure a smooth process. She shows up at a site before 8:00 in the morning and doesn't leave until the site looks better than how she found it! Many people might not realize what a huge effort it has been to make sure that all of our students have access to the technology that they need to learn during this stay-at-home order, and how hard she works to make sure that all of the i's are dotted and all of the t's crossed! If your student has a Chromebook and/or a hotspot right now, you just might have Ms. Bland to thank for it! I really appreciate her patience and dedication to Richmond Public Schools!
- Thanks to Jonathan Mitchum and Alida Smith, RTC Administrators, for sending handwritten notes to each of us for Teacher Appreciation Week. This was a beautiful gesture. What a way to make us feel appreciated!
- In recognition of Teacher Appreciation week, a big Shout Out and Thank You to all the Teachers and Instructional Staff at Swansboro Elementary for all that you do for our students, their families, and the community. #W.H.A.T.! We Have Amazing Teachers! at Swansboro Elementary School!
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Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4-8) – One more chance to participate in our Virtual Spirit Week! Here are a couple of posts that made us smile :).
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In recognition of Teacher Appreciation Week, the Mayor’s Teacher Advisory Council (MTAC) created a series of videos featuring conversations with elected officials and public education leaders throughout Richmond. I had the honor of participating by chatting with RPS teacher (and Ellen Show guest!), Mr. Robert Dunham. Thank you, Mr. Dunham, for giving me the opportunity to celebrate our teachers this way!
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Important Links – I'll note in orange when there have been additions/updates so you you won't miss anything.
Local, State, and National Public Health Links
Local, State, and National Public Education Links
RPS COVID-19 Quick-Links
FAQs
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