Messages from Dr. Kasmarick
Our extended winter continues, but the weekend is looking up, thank goodness! Surely, many of you had put boots and snow gear away for the season, so thank you for pulling them back out so that our kids can enjoy recess and our classrooms stay dry!
As we approach Teacher Appreciation Week, May 7-11, I've been reflecting on the many, many hats that teachers wear. At Richards, we are blessed with amazing teachers, students, and families, a solid and well-cared for facility, and a highly supportive PTO. We are resource-rich in these ways! Our most precious and scarce resource is TIME…and this is due to vast array of things that teachers attend to on a daily basis.
As parents and guardians, we are most aware of the work that teachers do with students: building relationships, creating a classroom environment of respect and rapport, establishing a culture for learning, setting up and managing classroom procedures, organizing physical space to facilitate learning, communicating expectations and content, using questioning and discussion techniques, engaging students in learning through whole group, small group, and individual work, using assessment in instruction, and demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness. Whew!
What's happening behind the scenes is just as impressive. In the planning and preparation domain, teachers are responsible for having a strong knowledge of content, pedagogy, and child development continuums, setting instructional outcomes, using resources effectively, and designing coherent learning activities and student assessments. In the professional responsibilities domain, responsibilities include maintaining accurate records, communicating with families, growing and developing professionally, participating in a professional community, and being a reflective professional. WOW! And as you'd guess, our teachers are evaluated in each of these areas, using Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching.
Hats off to our teachers. Their work is highly complex and incredibly important!!
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Attention School District of Whitefish Bay Parents and Community
The School District of Whitefish Bay is requesting your participation in a brief (3 to 5 minute) community-wide survey. The District is committed to timely and meaningful communication in a manner that makes sense for you. Your participation in the survey will help the District improve communication practices.
All responses are anonymous. We have no way of tracking individual respondents, and we will be analyzing the results only in the aggregate. Please click on the link below to begin the survey, or copy and paste the link into your web browser. Your opinions are important to us; thank you for your help. The survey will remain open through April 27.
The survey link - http://bit.ly/2FJhdvk-WFB-Schools
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Parent/Guardian Engagement Survey
As an important component of our District Focus Plan, the WFB School District invites parents/guardians to provide feedback to us about a variety of topics related to our schools. As this survey is conducted annually, the results provide important insight into our work with students and families both at the elementary level and across the K-12 experience.
We highly encourage you to take the survey, found at this link. It should take approximately 10 minutes. Each adult in the household is encouraged to take the survey separately. The survey will remain open until April 27th. Thank you for taking the time to share your input.
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Human Growth and Development Adult Elementary Education Sessions
May 2, 2018
The School District of Whitefish Bay believes that the family plays the most crucial role in human growth and development education. The schools support parents/guardians and children in their efforts to develop an understanding of human sexuality and the family. Beginning last school year, the WFB School Board approved that the HGD information will be taught by a Medical Provider. The District has hired a licensed school nurse, who worked at Children’s Hospital and has had previous experience offering human growth and development education.
We are offering a free adult education meeting to review what is being covered in our HGD program the following week with our students, along with suggestions on how to talk to your child about HGD topics at home.
Session Information:
Feel free to attend any session, even if it is not your home school.
10:30-11:15am Richards Elementary, 5812 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Room 5
6:30-7:15pm Cumberland Elementary, 4780 N. Marlborough Drive, Great Room
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BayFest for BayFit
BayFest will take place this Saturday, April 21 at the Whitefish Bay High School Field House. See link below for all the details.
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2018-2019 School Year
It's hard to believe, but planning for the 2018-19 school year is upon us and we look forward to welcoming a new group of 4-year old kindergarten students! If you know of any students who are eligible to be part of this group (4 years old by September 1st and residing in our attendance area), please encourage them to contact us if they haven’t already!
New student 5K-5th grade registration is also in progress, please visit our website for enrollment forms or call the school office at 414-963-3951 for more information.
If, for any reason, your student(s) will not be returning to Richards for next year, please contact the office at 963-3951 as soon as possible.
The creation of class placements is a complex process that involves several staff members and multiple revisions. The Optional Class Placement Input Form is linked below for parents/guardians to provide information you feel will be helpful in the class placement process. Please return completed forms to school by Friday, May 11.
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Helping an Anxious Child: Best Practices for Parents
All children experience anxiety. Anxiety can be useful or burdensome, depending on its intensity and chronicity. When a child’s anxiety interferes at school, home or in other situations, parenting can be critically important in fostering change. Licensed Professional Counselor, Angela Miller, a specialist in treating anxiety, will present evidence based interventions parents easily can use to assist their children in learning to manage their fears and anxiety. She and her colleague, Dr. Michael Mazius, will use role plays to demonstrate and discuss the finer points of these interventions. Please join us for an interesting morning of learning and sharing.
This presentation will take place in the Richards Great Hall on May 1st from 8:15-9:15am.
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Richards All School Art Show
Richards families are invited to join us on Thursday, April 26 from 4:30-6:30pm for the Annual All School Art Show. More details in the link below.
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Student Council Pennies for Patients
Our Student Council Pennies for Patients fundraiser kicked off this week. You should have received your child's materials in last week's Thursday Folder. Please continue to send in any spare change (or bills!) to your child's classroom. Tomorrow, April 20th , is "Purple for Pennies" day, children can dress up in all purple to bring awareness to the fundraiser, which benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Let's work together to help our heroes beat cancer !!!
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Lost & Found
The Richards Lost & Found is filled with an array of clothing and winter gear. Please encourage your child(ren) to check the tables in the main lobby to claim any lost items. Any unclaimed items remaining at the end of the day Tuesday, April 24 will be donated to a local charity.
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From the PTO
Fun Lunch tomorrow, Friday, April 20 will be catered by Cousins Subs. Each participating student will receive a 5-inch sub or a salad in addition to a nut-free snack, a Rice Krispie Treat or Oreos, bottled water, and an apple sauce pouch.
Important Update:
Please mark your calendars as Fun Lunch on May 4th has been changed to June 1st due to a conflict with the Kindergarten schedule. Please make sure to send a lunch to school with your child on May 4th.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns please contact Amanda Flegner (amanda.flegner@gmail.com) or Verna Pazaras (vernapazaras@mac.com).
Lego Club - K5, You're Up Next!
The registration deadline for K5 Lego Club is April 23rd. The K5 Lego Club dates are:
- April 25
- May 16
- May 23
- May 30
Lego Club is an extracurricular activity run by the Richards PTO. The club is open to students in grades K5 through 5th grade. Lego Club meets on Wednesday afternoons from 3:20 to 4:15 in Room 5. Students will be dismissed from their classrooms to Lego Club. Unless prior arrangements are made, parents are expected to pick their child up from Lego Club at 4:15.
To sign your child up, go to the Lego section on the PTO website and scroll to the bottom for the online registration form!
https://www.richardspto.org/lego-club/.
Parent Volunteers are also still needed to help Lego Club run smoothly! Please consider volunteering your time. To sign up as a parent volunteer, please do so via Sign Up Genius - http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d48a4a822a0fb6-richards.
Any questions? Please email Lego Club co-chair, Allison Roth, at allison.b.roth@gmail.com.
Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, May 7-11!
Each year there is one week we celebrate our Richards teachers, staff and crossing guards, to show them how much we appreciate all they do for our children. This year, Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week will be May 7-11 and the Richards PTO has exciting plans! Each day, the PTO plans a special activity, including breakfast, a catered lunch, gifts and sweet treats. Everyone gets excited for the daily raffle as well, and this is where we can use your help!
You should have received an orange colored flyer in your child's Thursday Folder weeks ago with additional information on how you can help. If you did not receive the flyer or need another copy, visit the PTO website. Thank you in advance for helping make Teacher and Staff Appreciation week a big success!
Reminder: 5th Grade Parents
Before we know it, our Richards 5th graders will be moving onto middle school! As in years past, the last week of school is filled with fun and events that are sure to send them off with a smile. 5th grade parents, if you haven't done so already, please send in your signed permission slips for the week's events, as well as a $25 payment that will help cover costs for the events during this special week. We also need your help with photos! Please start going through your old photos of your 5th graders at Richards and emailing them to us! Lastly, if you still would like to help out with these events, please email Bridget Hanson or Wendy Welsh (bridget_hanson@msn.com wendywelsh100@gmail.com).
You can email your photos to:
5thgradetigers2018@gmail.com
- Digital photo from K4 or K5 (from any school) will be used for then/now portion in memory book
- Digital photos from their life at Richards, photos including other kids from Richards (field trips, recess, first day of school...)
- Baby picture should be an actual photo
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From the Recreation Department
- New sessions of the Young Rembrandt's afterschool art classes start on May 3rd. Don't forget to sign up!!!
- Lydell Preschool Open House will be held on Saturday, May 19 from 10:00-11:30am. More details in the link below.
- Looking for your child to have a memorable summer here in Whitefish Bay? Ms. Megan (from Richards Connects) will be teaching Art and Nature camps in the beginning of the summer for incoming 1st-5th graders. Programming is half day or full day and is held in the Richards Art Room. For incoming kindergartners, Richards Elementary hosts K-Camp. K-Camp is open from 7:30am-5:30pm. Campers take two field trips a week: one via foot and one via bus. Loads of fun! See the Rec Guide for more details on all of our lovely camps!
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District Announcements
Attending our School Board Meetings – You’re Invited! Next meeting: April 25, 2018
The community is welcome to attend School Board meetings to gain a better understanding of School District business and the role of the School Board. The public is also invited to address the Board during the public comment portion of each Board meeting.
- Meeting agendas are posted within BoardDocs two days preceding each meeting. Click here for the meeting dates & agenda link.
- Annual Meeting dates located under featured tab/documents
- Agendas located under featured or meeting tabs
All are welcome!
Run the Bay: Saturday, May 5th
April 22nd is the registration deadline to guarantee your shirt to represent your team (Team Richards, Team Cumberland or the community team). The students participating from the elementary school with the greatest number of registrants will receive a treat from a local business! Early Registration fees: 10K- $30, 5K- $25, Kids Run- $10. For more information and to register: www.runthebay.org . Sign Up Today!
Run the Bay- Volunteers Needed
Race day help is needed, including: race day registration, course set up, aid stations, on course personnel, and race clean up. All volunteers that sign up and perform day of race services will be entered to win one of four $25 gift cards to Noodles and Company.
Volunteer to sign up here:http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080f4da4a82ea4f49-runthe1
Recycle Day in the Bay: Saturday, May 5 from 9-12noon. More details in the link below.
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Upcoming REDgen Events
Katherine Reynolds Lewis: A Crisis of Self-Regulation - And How to Help
Tues, April 24, 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM CST
USM Mellowes Hall
2100 West Fairy Chasm Road River Hills, WI, 53217
In her book, journalist and parenting expert Katherine Reynolds Lewis proposes a radical solution: empathy. Lewis has documented a crisis of self-regulation -- and shows how children rise to the occasion when their parents learn to trust them, let them face consequences, and train them in the art of self-control. Appropriate for parents and staff. Registration required. teacherkrlspeakerseries.eventbrite.com
How to Talk to Kinds about Difficult Topics – Dr. Deborah Gilboa, MD
Creating Resilient Children One Conversation at a Time
April 26 6:30-8:00 PM, Harry and Rose Samson Jewish Community Center (JCC) 6255 North Santa Monica Boulevard, Whitefish Bay
REDgen and the JCC present Dr. Debrah Gilboa, MD, internationally respected parenting and youth development expert and founder of AskDoctorG.com. An industry leading speaker, author, social influencer, and media personality, she inspires audiences with relatable stories and easy tools to develop crucial life skills in children, teens and young adults. Dr. G is also the author of the critically acclaimed book, How to Get the Behavior You Want… Without Being the Parent You Hate! The presentation is geared toward parents however educators may also benefit from the information presented.
Suicide: The Ripple Effect – Film Screening
Tuesday May 1 7:00 – 900 at Oriental Theater in Milwaukee
Wednesday, May 9th 12:00 – 2:00 at Marcus North Shore Theater in Mequon
Wednesday, May 16th 7:30 – 9:30 pm at Ridge Theater in Waukesha
REDgen and Terry McGuire, founder of Giving Voice to Mental Illness, Inc, as they present this film. The film chronicles the story of Kevin Hines, who at age 19 attempted to take his life by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. Since then Kevin has been on a mission to use his story to help others stay alive and find recovery. The film carries a message of hope and healing. There will be Q & A as well as discussion on the topic following the film. The target audience for this film is parents and educators as well as 13-year-old students and older. Parents – please view this trailer and determine if the film is appropriate for your child. Suicide - The Ripple Effect. Please use the link to reserve your seats. http://suicidetherippleeffect.com/usascreenings
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