The Tiger Tea

I hope all scholars and families enjoyed the Wellness Day, November 7th and the day off November 8th. Our teachers and staff enjoyed meeting with parents and caregivers yesterday! If you would still like to meet with your scholar's teachers, please email them to make arrangements.

Come cheer on our boys soccer team in the 2nd round of the playoffs at home vs. Brown Middle school, Thursday, November 10th. Good luck soccer team!

Highlights from last week!

• Thank you to all of our scholars and staff who participated in our last day of Spirit Week and wore their costumes!
• Our fabulous Tiger Cheerleaders did a phenomenal job at their first basketball game!
• Kudos to Mrs. Crapanzano's chorus scholars for singing the national anthem at the girls basketball game. Albert Hill Arts represents!
• The Soccer team beat Binford 9-0 on 11/1 and they also beat Brown Middle School 6-1 on 11/2.
• We celebrated our Teachers of the Year for the last 3 years at RPS Shines. Kudos to Ms. Howard (2019-2020), Ms. Johnson (2020-2021) and Ms. A. Russell (2021-2022)!
• Ms. Ashleigh Russell was selected as a winner of the 2022 R.E.B. Awards for Teaching Excellence!
• Kudos to our September Students of the Month: 6th Grade: Peter Carbonneau and Adriana Winston; 7th Grade: Laurel McDaniel and Notorius Tunstall; and 8th Grade: Kadence Coleman and Myles Cooke

November 7

RPS Closed- Wellness Day

November 8

11:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. Parent/Caregiver Conferences

November 9

Girls Basketball Game Albert Hill vs. Boushall

November 10

PTA Board Meeting

Girls Basketball Playoffs

Soccer Playoffs 2nd Round: Albert Hill vs Brown @ Hill

November 11

Flex Bell Schedule: Element Meeting

November 14

Interim 1 Window Begins

History PBA Window 2

November 17

Math Night

Report Cards Sent Home with Students

November 18

Fall Tiger Rally

November 23- 25

RPS Closed: Thanksgiving Holiday

November 28

Fall Picture Retakes

The application window for families to submit open enrollment, specialty school, and governor’s school applications for the 2023-24 school year is now open via the Enroll RPS Portal. Students may apply for:

• Any specialty school for which they are eligible (specialty schools include Franklin Military Academy, Open High School, Richmond Community High School, Governor’s STEM Academy at Richmond Technical Center, and the IB Diploma Programme at Thomas Jefferson High School (for rising 11th-grade students))
• Out-of-zone schools via the open enrollment lottery (maximum of three school choices)
• Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts (charter school) via a separate open enrollment lottery (if eligible)
• Appomattox Regional Governor’s School and/or Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School (the application for CodeRVA is managed separately by that school)

A few important notes:

• Families will have until 4:30 pm on December 1, 2022, to submit specialty and governor’s school applications, and until 4:30 pm on February 1, 2023, to submit open enrollment applications.
• We unfortunately cannot accept late applications for any reason. Please plan accordingly.
• As long as your application is submitted before the deadline, the timing of your submission will have no impact on the outcome.
• We're holding information sessions about the application process, the Enroll RPS portal, and school options. Details will be at www.rvaschools.net/enroll as soon as they are final.
• If you have additional questions, please email us at enrollrps@rvaschools.net.

Eighth grade students interested in interview prep for specialty schools should email or google chat Mr. Gustavson (dgustavs@rvaschools.net) to sign up.

Our fall session of NextUp will end on December 15th. The Winter Session will begin on January 2nd. Registration for the Winter Session opens December 5th. Block 1 of programming will be from 3:15 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. and Block 2 of programming will be from 5:00 p.m.- 6:30 p.m. Students will have the option to be dismissed at 5:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. Transportation is provided for in-zone students.

Newtowne Tutoring run by students at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School. Newtowne offers free tutoring to elementary, middle, and high school students for any subject. This program takes place once a week after school on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:30 pm until April. Tutoring is currently offered in-person at the Bluestone Lobby at Maggie Walker (1000 N Lombardy St). Students who participate can opt-in to wear masks according to personal comfort levels; tutors may or may not wear masks. Safety protocols such as sanitizing tables will be implemented.

Newtowne Tutoring is not directly affiliated with the Richmond Public Schools system. It is a program run by Maggie Walker. Newtowne Tutoring has been in operation for several years and is monitored by club sponsor, Ms. Hana Voight.

If you are interested, in signing up please fill out this Google Form below.

https://tinyurl.com/Newtowne2022.

Scholars are encouraged to use the Tigers T.A.L.K. QR code if they need mental health support or if they would like to report instances of bullying or unkind acts anonymously. The QR code is monitored by one of our school counselors.

Our athletic director is Mr. Kyle Kimbrell. If you have any questions regarding middle school athletics, please email him kkimbrel@rvaschools.net

All scholars must have a VHSL Physical to tryout or participate in sports.

Fall Outdoor Track (co-ed)

Head Coach- Ms. West (twest@rvaschools.net)

Track Meet- November 16th

*Final tryouts for the track meet events are November 14.

Cheerleading

Head Coach: Ms. Lloyd (clloyd@rvaschools.net)

Assistant Coach: Ms. West (twest@rvaschools.net)

*If your scholar is interested in cheering for boys basketball. Tryouts will begin November 14. Information sessions will take place during each grade-level lunch on November 9.

Boys Basketball

Head Coach: Mr. Carlos Payne (carlospayne24@gmail.com)

Assistant Coach: TBD

*Tryouts are November 28-30 and December 1st.

Please help us encourage all of our scholars to learn and recite the Hill Way! Give scholars a pop-quiz!

P: Prepared- I will be in school on time ready to learn.

R: Respectful- I will conduct myself in a way that honors myself, my school, and my community.

I: Integrity- I will do the right thing and make positive choices.

D: Determination- I will not give up in the face of adversity. I am resilient.

E: Exceeding Expectations with Excellence- I will do my personal best everyday.

Every Tiger, Every Day!

Albert Hill is a Title 1 School. Our fantastic Title 1 coaches, Ms. Greenhill (Reading) and Ms. Newkirk (Math) are always available to answer your literacy and mathematics questions. We thank them for sharing information regarding our Title 1 status at Back to School Night Thursday, September 22, 2022.

Title I, Part A provides financial assistance through state educational agencies to school divisions and public schools with high numbers or percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic content and achievement standards.

School divisions target the Title I funds they receive to public schools with the highest percentages of children from low-income families. RPS Title I funded schools are school-wide programs that are designed to upgrade their entire educational programs for all students, particularly the lowest-achieving students.

Please view this schoolwide Title 1 Presentation to learn more! This information can also be found on our school website.

Every Tiger, Every Day! Every Day Counts!

School attendance is vital to scholar academic success at all levels.

The Virginia Department of Education defines “chronic absenteeism” as missing ten percent or more of the academic year for any reason (18 days). Truancy is the act of accruing one or more unexcused absences. Though the definition of absenteeism may differ from truancy, the National Center for School Engagement asserts that the outcomes of a student missing class remain constant regardless of how truancy or absenteeism is classified. Several studies suggest that chronic absences frequently lead to notable academic problems.

• Parent/guardians are encouraged to call the school on the day of their child’s absence, but MUST send a written note requesting absences be considered excused upon returning to school. All written notes MUST be submitted to the school within five (5) days of the last absence.

• Excused absences are typically those that have resulted from conditions beyond the control of the students or parents/guardians. The only excuses for absences that shall be deemed acceptable for consideration are:

• Personal illness (if over three days, the school shall require a note from the doctor)

• Personal court appearance (student)

• Death in the family (mother, father, spouse, son, daughter, sister, brother, grandparent, aunt, uncle, nephew or niece)

• Religious holidays regularly observed by the student

• Extenuating circumstances as approved by the school administration

Scholars are asked to voluntarily accept the #distractionfreechallenge and turn in cell phones to a secured cell phone bin in each class. Scholars are rewarded for their participation and receive cell phones back at the end of each class. The RPS cell phone policy is referenced in the student and caregiver handbook and Student Code of Responsible Ethics. #offandaway #Tigersdistractionfree