Richmond Elementary E-News

Friday clubs are off to a great start! Kids were so excited and thank you to all of our club sponsors for offering unique opportunities for our students! Enjoy some pictures below. If your child is interested in joining clubs, we do have limited availability - please e-mail me at Lisa.Simoncelli-Bulak@d303.org with the club you are requesting, your child's first and last name and their teacher.

I have a few safety requests regarding arrival and dismissal.

As the weather remains warmer, many of our students bike to school. Please remind your students about the importance of staying on sidewalks and crossing the street safely.

In the morning, we ask that parents use our drop off lane on 12th OR park in a designated parking spot and walk your child. Please DO NOT park on 12th and walk your child across the street. This causes traffic congestion and is unsafe. Please use a designated crosswalk to cross the street.

At dismissal - please ensure your child is using a dedicated cross walk to cross the street.

Picture Day is coming up on 09/26/2025! Order before Picture Day to receive free shipping to the school. Order online at https://inter-state.com/FlyerEntry/0104WCF.

This event's Order Code is 0104WCF.

In art class, our students upload a photo of their work onto Artsonia, the world’s largest online

student art museum. It's a free, safe, educational program designed to connect parents and families

with their child's creative activities at school. Some of you may be familiar with Artsonia from past years.

Founded over 15 years ago, Artsonia has been recognized with the national distinguished

service award for outstanding contribution to the arts by the National Art Education Association, as

well as the distinguished service award by the state art associations in New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan

and Colorado.

Connect with your children on artsonia to receive notifications

of what they have created and posted. Use any of the following methods:

1. Click the link following link

https://www.artsonia.com/connect/6M2ZZPX2

2. Check your email for an invitation from Artsonia

3.Or scan the QR code

We participate only for the digital gallery and it is not necessary to purchase anything that Artsonia offers. However, any purchases do result in a 20% fundraising sent directly to our Richmond art department. Thank you for your support! If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to

contact us at Julie.lambert@d303.org.

We will take our SEL screener during the month of September. Please click HERE for a detailed letter on the survey.

Elementary Parent/Teacher conferences will be held from 8am-8pm on Thursday, Oct. 9th and 8am-Noon on Friday, Oct. 10th.

Pick-A-Time opens for parents to schedule their parent/teacher conferences on Friday, Sept. 26th at 8am.

Please see directions below on how to sign-up for a conference.

We look forward to talking with you about your child's education.

Pick-A-Time Parent Directions

Pick-A-Time Parent Directions_Spanish

On Friday, October 3rd, a Richmond teacher or staff member will be kicking in the annual Kick-A-Thon, which is raising money for the Hardy Strong and Big Hearts of Fox Valley. Beginning Monday, September 15, and ending Friday, September 26, Student Councils will be sponsoring a “Penny Drive,” to support this important cause.

Information for you:

• All classes will have a “penny jar” where your child may put his/her donated coins.

• The class which raises the most money (in each grade level), will win a treat for their class.

Thank you in advance for all of your help! If you have any questions, please see ask any of the Student Council Advisors:

Mrs. Ganshert, Mrs. Luebke or Mrs. Webster

Hi parents! Get a jump on the book fair by shopping our online pre-sale! You can browse and buy from a curated collection of new books from home, giving your family a chance to explore titles together. Every book you purchase earns rewards for our school, helping us get more books into the hands of our students. This is a great way to ensure you get the books you want before they sell out, and it makes book fair day even more exciting for your kids!

The book fair will be October 6th-10th - more info to come!

During the end of September and early October, we will invite guest readers into classrooms to read a book that pertains to Hispanic Heritage Month. For a list of possible books please click HERE. If you have another title you are interested in reading, please e-mail your book idea to our LRC director at kristine.mutchler@d303.org to see if it can be added to our list.

To sign up we will use Sign Up Genius. Please note, you do need to create a FREE account if you do not have one in order to sign up. To sign up for a slot, please click HERE. Please fill out the book you are reading in the comment section.

At Richmond, we love celebrating students for making positive choices! Our school-wide system recognizes both classes and individual students when they follow our "Tiger Tools For Success" expectations of being respectful, responsible, and problem solvers.

• Whole Class Recognition: Classes earn Tiger Paws for positive behavior as a group. When a class reaches 10 Tiger Paws, they receive a Tiger Head and enjoy a class celebration. After earning 5 Tiger Heads, the class earns a Golden Tiger Head and a special reward.

• Individual Recognition: Students can also be recognized individually with Tiger Bucks. Tiger Bucks can be saved and spent on fun items and experiences with Richmond teachers and staff. Students also have the chance to participate in monthly raffles, thanks to the generous support of our Richmond PTO.

We’re proud of our students’ hard work and can’t wait to see all the celebrations and rewards they earn this year! The Tiger Menu is included below so you can see some of the exciting items and experiences available.

On 9/23 we will conduct our bus evacuation drill when the students' bus arrives at school.

i-Ready is an online program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade that provides personalized reading and mathematics instruction based on their individual academic needs. We ask that students complete 40-45 minutes per week of i-Ready reading and math. Many grade levels offer some time in school to complete this. As students get to 4th and 5th grade we ask that they complete at least 2 lessons a week and not just look at the time to ensure they are engaged with the lessons. Below is a chart so you can see how the progression looks at Richmond with students starting with completing it in classroom in Kinder to being more independent by 5th grade.

Dear Fifth Grade Parents,

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to inform you about an important upcoming educational program for our fifth-grade students. We have partnered with Candor Health Education to present their "Puberty I - Understanding Changes" program, which will be delivered to our students on October 22, 2025 in the afternoon.

Program Overview

The 90-minute session is thoughtfully designed to help students understand and navigate the physical, emotional, and mental changes that accompany puberty. We have chosen an in-person delivery model to ensure our students can learn about and discuss this sensitive topic in the familiar, comfortable environment of their regular classrooms. Students will be separated by gender during the lesson to encourage open discussion and address gender-specific topics appropriately. As part of the Candor program, students will complete a pre-test on the content of the presentation. Your child will complete this pre-test on October 22nd in the morning. The pre-test allows the instructors to know the group's current level of understanding related to the content.

Educational Approach

The program incorporates several learning methods to maximize student engagement and understanding:

• Pre- and post-lesson assessments to measure comprehension

• Interactive group work activities

• Pre-lesson e-learning opportunities

• Guided discussions in a supportive environment

Parent Resources

We understand you may want to review the program content before the session. Candor Health Education has created comprehensive resources for parents:

1. Visit their parent information page: Here you'll find helpful FAQs and an overview video about the program.

2. To view the specific content that will be presented to your child: Use password: Premier25 This page contains detailed presentations showing exactly what your child will learn during the program.

We believe this program provides valuable education that will help our students understand and feel more confident about the changes they are experiencing or will soon experience. The Candor Health Education team has extensive experience in delivering this sensitive content in an age-appropriate and respectful manner.

If you have any questions or concerns about the program, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly. We want to ensure you feel fully informed and comfortable with this important aspect of your child's education. As a parent, you have the right to request that your child not participate in this presentation. If, after reviewing this information, you would prefer not to participate, please let me know through e-mail at lisa.simoncelli-bulak@d303.org by October 15, 2025.

Sincerely,

Lisa Simoncelli-Bulak

Richmond Principal

Classroom party sign-ups for the 2025–2026 school year are now live! Sign up to be part of your student’s classroom celebration and help make the year extra special.

https://tinyurl.com/RichmondClassroomPartySignUp