June 2, 2022

Messages from Dr. Kasmarick and Mrs. Petersen

Our hearts are happy after last week's Fine Arts Festival! It was wonderful to have so many families spend this time with us. We are grateful for the excellent work of our encore team: Lauren King-Driscoll, Christine Annin, Tom Gard, Sally Danforth, Andrea Beck, Pam Swanson, Brian Timmerman, Connor Robertson, Brice Peterson, Veronica Buzzell, Hannah Reed, and Jessica Heyman!

We also enjoyed a fabulous High Interest Day yesterday! Our students were highly engaged in a wide variety of activities, thanks to our many talented and attentive presenters. Huge thanks to all presenters, volunteers, and to event coordinators Susan Stadtmueller and Sarah Nowak!!

As you're aware, the last days of school are Thursday, 6/9 for 4K and Friday, 6/10 (early release) for 5K-5th. Report cards will be available in Family Access on Thursday afternoon.

Last Day of School 

• Thursday, June 9: 4K last day of school.
• Friday, June 10: K-5^th Grade last day of school. Early release at 11:35am.

Lost and Found: Richards and Found is on display in the main lobby now through the morning of Friday, June 10. Students and families are encouraged to check out the tables and claim any items belonging to them. Unclaimed items will be donated to charity.

The 2022-2023 School Year Calendar can be viewed in this link. You'll note that Thursday, 9/1, Friday, 9/2, and Tuesday, 9/7 are designated as Roaring Start days for the 2022-23 school year. The purpose of Roaring Start days for our Cumberland Cougars and Richards Tigers is to provide an opportunity for elementary students and teachers to meet in a small group/individual setting prior to regular daily attendance. For our 4-year old kindergarten students, the time will be used to begin building rapport and positive relationships and to support both students and families in learning school routines. For our 5K-5th grade students, the time allows us to begin building rapport and positive relationships and also to gather initial, individual literacy and math information in support of a strong start to the school year. At these grade levels, gathering assessment information within three days, instead of within five weeks through the use of substitute teachers, greatly increases our ability to provide responsive and targeted instruction at the start of the year.

Childcare for school aged children will be available through Connects. Information can be found on our district website here or by calling 414-963-3947. More information about Roaring Start days can be found here.  Appointment scheduling information will be sent during August registration.

2022-23 New Student Enrollment: Looking ahead to next year, we are excited to have seventy nine 4-year old kindergarteners enrolled! New student enrollment for all grades for the 2022-23 school year is now open. Enrollment information and forms can be found in this link. Current students do not need to re-enroll, families of current students will complete online registration in August for the upcoming school year. Another important part of our planning for next year is to project as accurately as possible our student enrollments. Please notify the Richards office if your child will not be returning to Richards next year. (Stephanie.Haupt@wfbschools.com).

From the PTO

Fun Lunch Tomorrow! The Richards PTO is excited to host our final Fun Lunch of the year tomorrow!  For participating families, don’t pack your student’s lunch tomorrow and let California Pizza Kitchen do the work!  As a reminder, the PTO cannot accommodate Fun Lunch picks-ups for students not in the building.  A special shout out to Fun Lunch chairs Deb Grayeski or Lynn Lange for all of their hard work organizing Fun Lunch this year!

Donuts for Dude(tte)s Tomorrow! Tomorrow, Friday, June 3rd in the Richards Great Hall starting at 7:15am.  All students are invited to bring a special dude or dudette to join them for a donut before school.  Donuts and beverages will be provided. Nut free and gluten free donuts will be available. Please note that in adherence to all Whitefish Bay School District Covid-19 protocols, masks will be required while inside the Great Hall to ensure a safe environment for all.  We encourage everyone to grab a donut and enjoy their treat outside on the front lawn of Richards School. Questions? Email Mandy Severson at severson.mandy@gmail.com.

Lake Shore Chinooks: Get Hooked!  The Lakeshore Chinooks and the Richards PTO invite you to Kapco Park tomorrow, June 3rd at 6:35pm as the Chinooks take on the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters!  A portion of the ticket proceeds will benefit the Richards Elementary PTO.  Visit the Chinooks website, then click on “Buy Tickets” in the upper right corner. Use the Promo Code “Richards”.  This incredible ticket package includes a general admission ticket, a hot dog, and a soda or water! Go Chinooks!  Questions? Email Lauren Wolter.

Room Parent Sign Up Open:  Are you looking to become more involved at Richards next year?  Consider being a Room Parent!  The main responsibilities may include providing communication from the PTO to classroom families via Membership Toolkit, coordinating teacher gifts on behalf of the classroom, and assisting the teacher as needed.  Sign up is available on the Richards PTO website.  Questions?  Contact the Richards PTO.

High Interest Day Thank You! Although it’s technically a PTO event, the amount of cooperation and logistical support from Richards staff, the talent and enthusiasm of our presenters, and the support provided by our parent volunteers are what make High Interest Day special. It’s truly a group effort, involving our school community and our community at large. Thank you to everyone who helped make it a success.

Walking down the school hallways yesterday afternoon was a treat. Peeking into classrooms to hear all the different topics being discussed, demonstrations happening, and seeing the rapt attention of Richards Tigers. So many happy faces!

High Interest Day essentially takes over the entire school building and we’re grateful to all of the Richards staff for lending us their classrooms, and their afternoon. A special thank you to Margaret West, Stephanie Haupt, Dr. Alix Kasmarick, and Katie Petersen for all their help coordinating the event, managing volunteers, and keeping the afternoon running smoothly. Thank you to Brett Malcom for setting up all the equipment we needed and to Webster Boyd and Tim Masarik for dealing with the aftermath.

Thank you to our Presenters:

• Brett Hanisko, Lizzy Cichowski, and Lewis Zwiefelhofer from Brass Bell
• Instructor Kludt from J.K. Lee
• Lynn Raines & Kristin Sherman from Kids Impact Community
• Jessica Heyman from Second Story Bakery
• Allison Silveira-Haworth
• Amanda Zolltheis
• Caitlin Fetherston
• Chi Karri
• Dan Tyk
• Deborah Grayeski
• Derek Riley
• Dr. Amanda Kong
• Dr. Angela Tonozzi
• Dr. Dean Tigrani
• Dr. Gita Sinha
• Dr. Jennifer Koop
• Dr. Patrick Cummings
• Dr. Tracy Donahue
• Jenna Kashou
• Jennifer Curnes
• John Schmid
• Jordan Curnes
• Junjie Niu
• Lisa Petrella
• Lisa Ramirez
• Lowell Schaapveld
• Mike Jacque
• Nicole Miskel
• Rebecca Lane
• Rob Scheibel
• Ross Leinweber
• Sandy, Mike, and Brody Jacque
• Senta Metz
• Shengtong Han
• Sina Teskey
• Stephen Lopes

Thank you to our volunteers:

Aine McMenamin Johnson, Allison Roth, Angeline Saeian, Carrie Osswald, Chandra Novoa, Chris Donovan, Chrissy Tigrani, Courtney Stokes, Erin Haan, Jen Willems, Jill Fink, Kelly Moore, Kristen Pavlik, Mike Zweck, Sandy Bugbee, Stephanie Karri, and Teresa Priest. An extra special shout out to our High Interest Day Co-Chairs, Sarah Nowak and Susan Stadtmueller!

WFB Middle School Spirit Wear Is In! If you ordered WFBMS spirit wear, it is now available for pickup in the office.  Thank you again for supporting WFBMS!  We can’t wait to see you next year!  

District Announcements

Crisis Response for Families: WFB School District communication regarding Crisis Response can be viewed in this link.

Parent/Community Representatives Sought for Curriculum Review Committees:  Please view more information about these opportunities via this link.

School Board Meeting: June 8, 2022: 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 as indicated in Board meetings. Meeting agendas are posted within BoardDocs two days preceding each meeting.

• Meeting dates located under featured tab/documents
• Agendas located under featured or meeting tabs

Notifying Families about New COVID-19 Cases in Schools:  The District is posting information about new COVID-19 cases in schools on the Dashboard website, below the Dashboard itself. Families will no longer receive emailed letters about new COVID-19 cases in schools. Please check the Dashboard for these daily updates.

Optional Testing Site: The COVID-19 testing site is located at the Lydell Community Center (5205 N. Lydell Ave.) in the parking lot. In case of inclement weather, testing will be held at Whitefish Bay High School (1200 E. Fairmount Ave.) inside Door 2. Testing hours will remain the same (Tuesday through Friday, 9:00AM-2:30PM). Beginning April 19th, testing will be open to community members, in addition to students, staff, and families. Additional information can be found on the District website.

Whitefish Bay Public Library Summer Reading Program:  Check out all the fun-filled activities and learning opportunities being offered at the WFB Public Library this summer!  Find all of the details in this flyer.

From the Recreation Department

School's Out Care: Friday June 10th, 4K: No School 5K-5th: Early Release Day. Please fill out the attached School's Out Form if you would like to sign up for our last School's Out Day! Payment is due at the time of registration. We don't keep credit cards on file so please fill out the form completely or call with your card information. Program withdrawal requests will be honored one week prior to the scheduled day and will result in a household credit. Withdrawal requests made within one week will not be honored. Our teachers are working on some extra fun activities to celebrate the last day of school!