LRC Weekly Update

Thank you, Richmond, for making our book fair such a success! With the support of our students, families, and staff, we had more than $6,500 in total sales. Those sales earned $1,500 in book rewards and $650 in profit that will go toward new books for the LRC.

A special thank you to Zin and Atlee for donating gift cards so that 1/4 of our student population could receive books. Many students came to me and gushed about their new book, and Lisa overheard students heading to the bus happily showing each other what they picked out. Moments like those are what the book fair is all about.

The library also shared our book profit with teachers by letting them pick out books before the book fair wrapped up, because everything goes back to our students, whether in the library or in the classroom.

Our online book shop is always open for purchases, and the LRC receives rewards and profit on every additional purchase, so we can continue to buy new books for our collection:

👉 https://literati.com/a/store?school=richmond-elementary-school-saint-charles-il

Each year our goal is to make the fall book fair a happy memory for our students, and with your help we made that vision a reality. Thank you to every family who donated gift cards and wishlist contributions, and to everyone who volunteered, shopped, and spread the word.

The little free library has been open since August, and now its dedication sign is officially installed! Student council members, Principal Simoncelli-Bulak, elementary classes, and STC Learn members gathered for the dedication ceremony that took place on Wednesday, October 7th.

An extra special collaboration within our installation is a Trex bench, earned through a plastics collection drive organized by last year’s student council members.

A huge thank you to STC Learn, The Hogan Family, Derek Hartmann, our 2025 5th Grade Class, Atlee Smith, Principal Simoncelli-Bulak, and the 2025 Student Council members for making this happen for our Tigers!

Mark your calendars — author Ron Keres visits Richmond on Wednesday, October 28! He's the creator of the laugh-out-loud Finn the Frog books (This Book Is Perfect!, This Book Is On Fire!, This Book Is A Mistake!) and The Scariest Story You've Ever Heard, and he's a Geneva neighbor — a former gym teacher turned picture book author. Nothing turns "I have to read" into "I want to write" faster than meeting a real live author.

Author Visit Schedule

When: Wednesday, Oct. 28th

Where: LRC

Time: 9:25 - 10:15 a.m. - 1st and 3rd Grades

Time: 10:40 - 11:30 a.m. - Kinder and 2nd Grades

Time: 12:10 - 1:00 p.m. - 4th and 5th Grades

Order forms for autographed copies of his books were sent home with students last week! They are due back to school by Oct. 28th.

Great news for Dog Man fans! Dav Pilkey is visiting D303, and our 3rd graders will head to the Norris Center on Nov. 6th for a special field trip to see him.

Student Orders (Grades 2-5)

All students in grades 2-5 can pre-order a signed copy of Dav Pilkey’s brand new book, A Sprinkle in Time, through the LRC. Student order forms will be going out on Monday.

Teacher Orders

Teachers can order their own copies of A Sprinkle in Time at a 20% discount! Woo-Hoo!

How to pre-order:

1. Fill out the order form
2. Write a check made out to CUSD303
3. Bring your check to the LRC. We’ll get it to Shannon at Wildrose :)

Please complete the order form and turn in your check by Oct. 30th so your order can be placed.

We are excited to offer teacher seats for two powerful tools designed to boost student engagement, literacy, and interactive learning: Blooket and BookBreak!

• What is Blooket? A fast-paced, trivia-and-review platform that turns learning into interactive classroom games. It’s perfect for exit tickets, test prep, or energetic skill-building sessions that keep students motivated through custom game modes and rewards.

• What is BookBreak? A virtual author-visit platform that connects K–12 students directly with bestselling authors. Each monthly session includes live-streamed author talks, interactive Q&A, and pre-built lesson resources aligned with standards to inspire young readers and writers.

Featured Upcoming BookBreak Virtual Author Visits: Get your classes ready to tune in live or watch the recordings on demand! Mark your calendars for these incredible author events:

• Tuesday, October 13th: Pam Muñoz Ryan — Author and illustrator of Esperanza Rising

• Thursday, October 22nd: Andrea Beaty — Author of the best-selling STEAM-themed picture book Ada Twist Scientist

How to Join & Get Started: Reach out to the LRC to schedule a virtual author visit for your class! You can choose to bring your students down to book the LRC space or stream the visit directly in your own classroom.

Interested in a teacher seat? If you’d like access to either (or both!) of these subscriptions for your classroom this year, please reach out so we can get your account set up!