May 5, 2022

Messages from Dr. Kasmarick and Mrs. Petersen

Richards 5th grade students participated in the Kindness Retreat yesterday. The day was filled with small and large group activities, camaraderie, and plenty of kindness!

We are excited for several upcoming school events taking place in the weeks ahead. The 4th and 5th Grade Orchestra Concert is on May 16 from 7-8pm in the Great Hall, more details to come.  Richards Fine Arts Festival on May 26 and High Interest Day on June 1 are sure to be fun-filled days, in which we celebrate both our students and the Richards Community!  Please find further information for both events below.

Lunch phase-in to the Great Hall: We are navigating a move back into full capacity eating in the Great Hall, starting tomorrow. We will also plan to eat outside as soon as the weather is warm enough, so honk and wave if you are driving past Richards and see us picnicking on the front lawn! Please let us know if you have questions.
 

Fine Arts Festival: Thursday, May 26, 2022 (May 27th rain date) 11:45am-2:00pm.

Richards Encore teachers are putting on a day of fun called the Fine Arts Festival. Families are invited to school from 11:45am-2:00pm to celebrate our Encore subjects: art, library, music, physical education, and Spanish. Families will visit the art show, have lunch together on the back field, visit a book walk, and attend our school-wide music and PE performance!

We are asking all families to RSVP using the link in this flyer by Monday, May 16. The flyer also includes all the details of this special event!  

Based on our theme, The Day the Crayons Quit, we are asking that students wear their assigned color on Thursday, May 26th (May 27th rain date). A simple, light-weight t-shirt would work great. Please let Mrs. King Driscoll know if you have any questions. Grade level colors are:

• Jr. Kindergarten - Orange
• Sr. Kindergarten - Yellow
• 1st Grade - Green
• 2nd Grade - Gray
• 3rd Grade - Purple
• 4th Grade - Red
• 5th Grade - Blue

Richards Tiger Times:  The 5^th Grade Student Council Newsletter Committee has created the final issue of the year. Click here to view the Tiger Times Edition ll.  Enjoy!

2022-23 Richards School Day: For many years, Richards and Cumberland Elementary Schools had staggered start and end times to accommodate shared bussing. Because our students who participate in the Chapter 220 program have moved on to the middle and high schools, beginning in the 22-23 school year, start and end times will be aligned across the two schools. Both schools will run from 7:50-3:00 each day, with 4K sessions running from 7:55-10:55 and 11:55-2:55. Thank you for planning accordingly!

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 six 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).

Winkie’s School Tools: Get ready for next school year! Families have the option of purchasing school supplies through Winkie’s, with a percentage of sales being donated back to Richards. The 5K- 5th Grade 2022-2023 Winkie’s School Tools Order Form can be found in this link. For our future 6th graders, the Middle School Order Form is coming soon. Orders placed this spring will be available for pickup at Winkie’s in August.  Please return completed order forms to school by Friday, May 20. Questions? Contact Winkie’s at 414-964-2130 or Richards at 414-963-3951.

From the PTO

High Interest Day Registration Open Now! High Interest Day is Wednesday, June 1st from 1:00-2:40pm. Grades 2-5 will have the opportunity to participate in THREE High Interest Day sessions of their choosing:

• Session 1: 1:00-1:30pm
• Session 2: 1:35-2:05pm
• Session 3: 2:10-2:40pm

What about Grades K4-1st?! Don't worry, they're participating too! The presenters for the lower grades were pre-selected based on subject matter and grade level appropriateness. For a list of the Grade K4-1st presentations, visit The Richards PTO website.

What is High Interest Day?

High Interest Day brings together parents, friends, family and community members to our school to talk to our students about things they are interested in or passionate about. This might mean they talk about their career, or a special hobby. It gives the children the opportunity to learn about things outside the topics regularly covered in their classrooms.

What do you need to do?

Please take some time to look over the session offerings on the Richards PTO website by clicking here. Fill out the online registration form, indicating your child(ren)’s top 5 session choices. Every effort will be made to place students in their top three choices, however, session sizes are limited. We appreciate your flexibility and understanding. The registration deadline is Thursday May 12th.

When and how do we register?

Registration takes place online and begins today, Thursday, May 5th and goes through Thursday, May 12th. To register please visit richardspto.org. Any student not registered by May 12th will be assigned to the remaining presentation spots.

After a pandemic induced pause, we are extremely excited to bring High Interest Day back to Richards! Thank you to all the parent, family, and community volunteers for sharing their talent, knowledge, and enthusiasm with our students. Thank you to the Richards PTO for their financial contribution, and to Dr. Kasmarick, Mrs. Petersen, and Richards teachers and staff for their support. Any questions about High Interest Day? Email Susan Stadtmueller or Sarah Nowak.

Scholastic Book Fair! The Richards PTO is excited to announce the Spring Book Fair will return on May 18th for one day only! We will be open in the Great Hall from 3-8pm! The fair will feature great titles to interest all ages! Richards Spirit Wear will also be available from 5-7pm. We hope to see you there! We do need a few volunteers to make this event work. If you are interested, please click here to sign up.  Questions? Contact Book Fair Chairs Carrie Osswald cseelman@yahoo.com, Jen Willems jenwillems1@yahoo.com, or Amy Mulcahy amymulcahy13@yahoo.com.

Spirit’s Soiree! Save the Date! Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 18th for a fun night at Richards Elementary School!  The Richards PTO invites all K4 and K5 families to join us in the Richards Gym for Spirit’s Soiree from 5-7pm.  All are welcome to enjoy dancing to a DJ, snack on cookies and refreshments, and there's even a special appearance by Spirit the Tiger!  Stop by the Great Hall for the Book Fair and Spirit Wear Sale!  We hope to see you there! Questions?  Contact The Richards PTO.

Campus Clean Up! The Richards PTO Green Team would like to invite you to join us on May 14th for the Spring campus clean up for Richards School. Families are welcome to join in to rake and clean up the Richard's grounds, playgrounds and flower beds. Children must be accompanied by an adult.  Please Click here to sign up!  Questions? Contact Green Team Chair Emily Bandsma.

Outdoor Movie Night!  We are excited to announce our Outdoor Family Movie Night, which will be a joint event with Cumberland PTO!  We will be showing “Sing 2” on Saturday, May 14th on the Cumberland lawn at 7:00pm.  Admission will be free to all Richards and Cumberland families and delicious food will be available for purchase.  We hope you can join us for this fun community event! Questions? Email the Richards PTO.

District Announcements

Notifying Families about New COVID-19 Cases in Schools:  Beginning May 5th, the District will be 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.

School Board Meeting: May 11, 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

WFBHS Grad Grams: Who do you know that is graduating from WFBHS this year? Your sitter? Your neighbor? Your favorite Sendik's bagger? The kids you coached in soccer? Send them each a sweet Grad Gram message! The WFBHS Parent Association is taking orders for Grad Grams from April 18 - May 30. For $1/each you can send a quick note that will be bound in a special book for each senior and delivered at graduation practice. Please see the attached flyer to participate in this very fun tradition that is a highlight for our WFB seniors.

Whitefish Bay Public Education Foundation's Run the Bay REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Run the Bay is the foundation's main event to fund innovation in the WFB Schools. The run, as well as all Bay Day activities, are returning as an IN-PERSON event on Saturday, May 7th! You can register for the run HERE! Visit us on Facebook for more information on the run along with the other Bay Day activities. Please email educatethebay@gmail.com for sponsorship opportunities.

From the Recreation Department

Sign up soon for Tee Ball and Coach Pitch! Early Bird registration ends Monday May 9th and the deadline to sign up is Friday May 20th! Check out our flyer for more details.