Richmond Family Fall Newsletter

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!

Thank you, Richmond families!

Because of you, our fall book fair was a huge 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.

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 book fair may be over, but you can keep supporting your school library all year long! Our online Literati book shop is always open, and the LRC earns rewards and profit on every additional purchase. Whether you’re shopping for a birthday, the holidays, or just a good read for the weekend, your order helps us keep adding new books to our collection:

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

Pre-order autographed books for your child!
Books are available at the special school visit price of $15 each (regularly $17.95-$18.95). Plus, there are free gifts:

Get a free Finn the Frog plush with a purchase of 3 or more booksGet a free coloring & activity book with a purchase of 5 or more books

How to order:

Print the order form: English | Español

Fill it out and return it to your child’s teacher by Tuesday, October 27th.

1. Pay with cash or a check made payable to Flypaper Press LLC, or pay online by scanning the QR code on the form or visiting square.link/u/5Y1oN4NG.
2. If you pay online, write “ONLINE” on the form and still return the form to your child’s teacher.

Calling All Dog Man Fans!

Students in grades 2-5 can pre-order an autographed copy (bookplate) of this brand-new hardcover graphic novel for $15.99. In this space-capade, Grampa is back and messing with time, Nurse Lady has been kidnapped by the Space Cuties, and Dog Man, Petey, and Chief blast off in Petey’s Space Shark to save the day. It’s packed with action, humor, and Flip-O-Ramas!

How to order:

Scan the QR code below to visit the PushCoin Store and complete your purchase.

Select how many copies you are ordering.

Select Richmond as your school from the drop-down menu.

Select your child’s grade level from the drop-down menu.

Payment must be made by Friday, October 30th at 4:00 PM to receive an autographed copy.

Join us in the LRC for a fun, relaxed start to your day. Families are invited to come together to enjoy a delicious breakfast of bagels, juice and coffee while playing classic and new board games.

• When: Once a month on Tuesdays from 8:05 AM – 8:45 AM

• Where: Richmond Elementary Library

• Upcoming Dates: October 23rd | November 13th | December 11th

Bring the whole family for some breakfast, friendly competition, and quality time together before the school day begins. We can’t wait to see you there!

Tail-waggins and page-turners are coming to Richmond! We are thrilled to welcome Finn and Tiffany, our dynamic duo of therapy dogs, and their handlers Laura and Leslie for special once-monthly school visits. Here is how your students can get involved:

• Class Paw Rewards: Two lucky classes will have the opportunity to pool their tiger paw reward to purchase an exclusive whole-class visit with Finn or Tiffany.

• Tiger Mart Reward: Students can individually use their tiger bucks to purchase one-on-one time reading to their favorite furry friend.

• "Read to Me" Program: Select students will be invited to participate in a recurring "Read to Me" program, designed to boost reading confidence and academic growth alongside a patient pup.

Our furry friends visit once monthly for students and classes to meet with Finn or Tiffany! Their next visits will be Nov. 4th and Dec. 9th.

Richmond will be observing Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11th. We invite our veterans (and one family member or guest) to join us at 9:15 a.m. for a complimentary breakfast, followed by an all-school assembly at 10 a.m.

The assembly will include a performance by our orchestra, “The Star-Spangled Banner” sung by our very talented paraprofessional Melissa Pagano, speeches from our student council members, and a dedication video created by LRC Director Kristine Mutchler.

We need your help!

We are putting together a video to show at the assembly, and we will email it to families afterward. We would love to include pictures of our veterans in the presentation. Please reach out to family members and direct them to this form to be included in the video. Please fill out one form for each veteran attending.

You can also RSVP by calling the main office at (331) 228-2800.

Celebrate Local Authors at GPLD’s Author Fest! 📚

Join us this November as GPLD celebrates the writing craft with Author Fest! On Saturday, November 14th, stop by our Local Author Fest meet and greet, where book lovers and aspiring writers alike can engage with creative minds and find inspiration.

We’re thrilled to support our very own local author Michele Garza, along with Ron Keres, who visited us on October 28th. Come chat with them about their stories, their process, and what inspires them to write.

Books will be available for purchase during the event, so bring a friend, pick up a signed copy, and support local talent. Don’t miss this exciting celebration of storytelling in our community!

We’re excited to welcome Superintendent Dr. Gordon to Richmond on Thursday, November 19th, when he will be in the LRC from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. to read books aloud to our students.

In addition to sharing stories with our classes, Dr. Gordon generously donated new books to the library collection, which students will be able to enjoy all year long. Thank you, Dr. Gordon!

Last year’s read aloud was Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, and we can’t wait to see what he picks this year!

Jólabókaflóð (yo-la-bok-a-flot), or the Yule Book Flood, is a beloved Icelandic holiday tradition where families exchange books as gifts and spend the evening reading them together with a cup of hot cocoa. It began during World War II, when paper rationing made books a cheap and accessible present. Today it’s a major cultural event, and a special book catalog is sent to every home in Iceland to prepare for the “flood” of new titles.

This year, the LRC will celebrate with our own book gift exchange! Students will draw a name from a hat and become a secret gifter, looking for books their person will love. Each student will give their secret gift recipient a book, a packet of hot cocoa, and a bookmark, all put together in a holiday bag.

We invite families to join in the tradition at home by opening the books together on December 24th. Grab a mug of hot cocoa, get cozy, and enjoy a evening of reading as a family. It’s my favorite week of the year, and I can’t wait to see the joy of giving and receiving books. Learn more about the tradition here.