October 6, 2022

Messages from Mr. Nelson and Mrs. Petersen

Dear Richards Families, 

I would like to take the time to wish Margaret West, our former office administrative assistant, all the best as she finalizes her transition to the district office in Human Resources. Margaret West has made such an impact on our students, families, and staff over her years in the Richards office.

I would like to congratulate and introduce Chris von Paumgartten as our new office administrative assistant. You may recognize Chris as she has worked with many of your children as a 4K Paraprofessional over the last several years. We are very happy to have her join our office team and we’ll be looking to fill the 4K paraprofessional role soon.

Thank you to the Richards PTO for sponsoring a visit from Jasmine Warga, Newbery Award winning author, to share her journey as a writer and author, and her new book, A Rover’s Story, with our 3rd through 5th grade students!

Thank You, Whitefish Bay School Board!  Whitefish Bay students benefit every day from the leadership and vision of our school board. This week, October 2-8, is Wisconsin School Board Appreciation Week. Please take time to thank these dedicated school leaders.

• Anne Kearney
• Kristin Bencik-Boudreau
• Pam Woodard
• Sandy Saltzstein
• W. Brett Christiansen
• Lynn Raines
• Dan Tyk

Upcoming No School Days and Calendar Information 

• Wednesday, October 26: Early Release Day – No School 4K.  11:30 a.m. Dismissal 5K-5th Grade

• Thursday, October 27:  No School 4K – 5th Grade

• Friday, October 28:  No School 4K – 5th Grade

Click here to view the 2022-23 School Year calendar.

Reminder for Lunch and Snacks: We are able to help students opening containers and different types of snacks on occasion. However, this should not be the norm as with a classroom or lunchroom full of students, we are limited in our ability to help in this way. Please practice with your child and have them demonstrate the ability to independently pack lunch or snack on their own. This could be a fun activity at home over the weekend packing lunch for the day to see how independent your child is with their lunch. If they do struggle, please look to adjust the packaging to something they are able to open (ziploc bags seem to work). We are also unable to peel oranges for students so please peel if necessary and put into a bag they can open. 

Parent/Guardian Illustrative Math Workshop Grades K5-5th Grade: Please join Math Coaches Matt Skinner (Cumberland) and Susan Jones (Richards) as they provide an introduction to Illustrative Math, our District Approved Math Curriculum this year.  Two evening presentations will be held next week. More information and an opportunity to RSVP can be found in this link. 

Fall Parent Teacher Conferences: Our teachers are looking forward to having their first conference of the year with you! Directions for scheduling your conference time(s) will be provided next week. The conference schedule is:

In-Person Conferences

• 4K – 5th Grade:  10/26 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm

Virtual Conferences

• 4K ONLY:  10/26 from 8:00 am -12:00 pm

• 4K – 5th Grade:  10/27 from 12:00 – 8:00 pm. After you sign up, your child’s teacher will email you the conference link.

Staff prepare extensively for conferences, and this is the time allocated for conferences when teachers are not teaching. Teachers are not allowed to schedule conferences outside of this window. If your child’s teacher has any concerns and you are not able to attend during these times, they will send an email with a summary.

Two household parents/guardians sometimes request separate conferences. This is often problematic as the dialogue, discussion, and conclusions in each conference may vary. Therefore, parents/guardians are asked to attend one conference together and to sign up accordingly.

Repeat: Music Department Concert Dates:  We are looking forward to a number of upcoming music concerts at Richards this school year!  Performance details and dates are linked here.

From the PTO

“NEW” Richards PTO Website on Membership Toolkit!  Well, it’s not necessarily new, but now it’s the only!  Please bookmark https://richardspto.membershiptoolkit.com/ as your one stop shop for all things Richards PTO.  We are no longer using the old PTO website - everything you need can be found on Membership Toolkit!  Please continue to follow, like and even share our posts on our social media accounts too! 

• Instagram: richardspto_wfb
• Facebook : Richards PTO

Fun Lunch Order Deadline is Quickly Approaching: Due TODAY.  Deadline to order is TODAY, October 6th.  Beginning tomorrow, any new orders placed for existing students will be $7.00 per lunch.  Fun Lunch Dates:  Oct 21, Nov 4, Nov 18, Dec 2, Dec 16, Jan 13, Jan 27, and Feb 10th.

Fun Lunch is catered by California Pizza Kitchen with a choice of an individual cheese pizza, macaroni and cheese, or salad with grilled chicken, ranch dressing and goldfish crackers.  All lunches include carrots, applesauce, and dessert (Oreo cookies or Rice Krispie treat).  CPK lunches are peanut free. Fun Lunch may only be ordered on our Membership Toolkit.

Fun Lunch is one of the PTO’s biggest fundraisers and would not be possible without parent volunteers!  You can sign up to volunteer during Fun Lunch here: LINK  

Raise a Slice for a Good Cause!  Mark your calendar for Tuesday, October 11 and join us for a Richards Dine Out fundraiser at Lou Malnati’s in Fox Point! Pick up pizza (or have it delivered) for dinner and Lou Malnati's will donate 20% of the proceeds to the Richards PTO. If ordering online or on the app, please use code: FUNDRP22. If placing your order in person or over the phone, please make sure to mention the Richards PTO fundraiser.

For any questions, email Kristin George at kristincerbins@hotmail.com.

The Fall Book Fair is Back!

Wednesday, October 12, 2022 8:00am-8:00pm

Thursday, October 13, 2022 8:00am-7:00pm

The fall Scholastic Book Fair is back in the gym and will be open for two days!  We will be asking families to SIGN UP FOR A 15 minute slot to visit the book fair after school. Slots are limited to 30 people. Please include the number of family members attending when you sign up.  We ask that you stick to your 15 minute time limit. Sign up for a 15 minute slot to visit the bookfair in this LINK.

 K5-Grade 5 will visit the fair during school time with their teachers to browse and create wishlists.

 ***Please note that K4 Students WILL NOT be visiting the book fair during the school day.  They must attend the fair with a grown up. K5 Students will be creating wish lists.  They will also need to return with a grown up to make a purchase.

Students in grades 1-5 may bring money or you may set up an E-Wallet for your child.  The directions to do so are in the link below.  The E-Wallet allows you to create a “gift card” with a specified amount to use at the bookfair. 

To Set up an E-Wallet, go to: Parent How it Works (scholastic.com)

When you create an E-wallet, we will have record of that at the fair, so the kids don't need to bring anything with them. Any unused money is converted into a gift card that can be used in the online store, for classroom book orders, or saved for future book fairs.  Cash will also be accepted from the kids if they want to buy books when they visit with their class. If you have money remaining on an ewallet from a previous book fair, you will receive an email from Scholastic that is titled: ONE WEEK “TIL THE FAIR-BE READY WITH EWALLET.  You will need to activate the remaining funds.

Teacher Wish Books will be Available: Each year families have donated over 200 books back to the classrooms.  Thank you!

Finally, we need a handful of volunteers to help make our book fair a success.  Please visit this link to help us set up, clean up, or volunteer at the fair.

Still have questions?  Contact one of the Book Fair Chairs. 

• Amy Mulcahy - amymulcahy13@yahoo.com
• Carrie Osswald - cseelman@yahoo.com

Family Fun Night:  Wednesday, October 12th at Richards Elementary School from 5-7pm for Family Fun Night!  Richards PTO invites all Richards families to Family Fun Night for food and lots of fun! Admission is free!  Food, spirit wear, and book fair items are all available for purchase!

Spirit Wear Family Fun Night:  New Spirit Wear, along with our Best Selling Gear will be hitting the Spirit Wear Table on Family Fun Night from 5-7 PM  ONLY.  Don’t miss out on Richards water bottles, the bows are back in stock, key chains, beanies and much more!

Boo Bags: Ordering Begins Today!  “You’ve been BOOED!" A long-standing tradition in Whitefish Bay, a Halloween Boo is a little gift or treat left anonymously by a friend or neighbor. Once you’ve been Boo’d, you hang a picture on your front door to let everyone know that you’ve gotten your Halloween surprise. Let the Richards make your Boo Bags for you! Richards PTO will be selling Boo Bags for $5 each, during the month of October and will be available for pick up at Richards. Online ordering available through Membership Toolkit opens today.

District Announcements

School Board Meeting: October 12, 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 Theater Children's Play: After a two-year hiatus, WFBHS Theater is bringing back our Children's Play! This year, the play we are producing, Small Actors, is written for upper elementary and middle school students and is sure to entertain the entire family!   The play will take place in the Richards Great Hall October 15th at 2:00 and 6:00 pm, and October 16th at 1:00 pm. All of the details can be found in this link.

Portraits in the Park: It's that time of year, and Orchestra Boosters are once again hosting our annual fundraiser, Portraits in the Park. Please click here for more information: LINK

Bay Gives Back: This year Bay Gives Back, the largest service club at the high school is hosting its 8th annual city wide food drive to benefit Kinship Community Food Center (formerly Riverwest Food Pantry).  100 students will be delivering a bag to every front door in Whitefish Bay on Saturday, October 8th and collecting those filled bags one week later on Saturday, October 15th. Through our community's generous donations, we typically collect between 8,000-10,000 lbs. of food in one day.  It is the largest single food drive of the year for Kinship and we only achieve that by getting every family involved! For more information, please click here: LINK

WFB Blue Duke Nation Alumni & Friends: The WFB Public Education Foundation and Whitefish Bay School District are excited to announce the launch of WFB Blue Duke Nation Alumni & Friends,  a free way for alumni and community members to stay connected and engaged in activities that strengthen our schools and celebrate alumni achievements and accomplishments.

We could use your help in a big way. As we work to build a network that best serves our alumni community, input is of utmost importance. Can you please take this quick survey to help us better understand the information, services and opportunities you would like to receive from the network? It will only take a few minutes of your time and, at the end, you will be invited to become an early member of WFB Blue Duke Nation Alumni & Friends. 

Your participation is greatly appreciated. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/wfbbluedukenation

From the Recreation Department

The North Shore Health Department has partnered up with the Whitefish Bay Recreation Department to provide FREE classes that are focused on health, safety, and wellness. Each month is a different topic. November's topic is "Healthy Food Swaps."  Check out the flyer for more information and how to register!