The Tiger Tea

Happy Sunday!

Whew! It was a week last week. A huge thank you to the amazing Hill students and staff for navigating our emergency evacuation Friday. Thank you to our families who were patient as the staff worked to ensure every student made it home or were reunited with a caregiver safely. The Albert Hill community is hands down, THE BEST!

SOL testing begins this week. Albert Hill is the ONLY Accredited middle school in the city! Now is our opportunity to show that we will not be one and done! Academic (and Athletic) excellence is just what we do! Please encourage your students to bring their charged Chromebook to school, get a good night's rest, review their notes, and do their very best on their Math SOL this week!

Highlights from last week!

• PTA Yard sale. Kudos to our PTA yard sale committee for an amazing event Saturday!

• Flag football championship. Congratulations to our flag football team for their win against MLK bringing home the trophy!

• Rule of Law field trip. Despite our asynchronous day, some of our students participated in the region's Rule of Law field trip!

• Softball Championship. Congratulations to our softball team for their win against Boushall bringing home the trophy!

• Track Meet. Congratulations to our track team for winning first place bringing home the trophy!

• Administrative Professionals Day. Our school runs smoothly because of our 3 administrative professionals. Mrs. Davidson, Ms. Bennett, and Mrs. Pope, we appreciate your service to our school!

• SOL Prep Session at the Calhoun Center. Thank you to all the students and staff who participated in the SOL Prep Session Saturday! A special thank you to Community 50/50 for providing breakfast and lunch, RRHA, and Ms. Andrea with the Gilpin Tenet Council for your support!

• Our very own seventh grader Julia Jones continued Tiger Excellence this week by competing at the Virginia History Day Competition. Julia won a special prize, the Mary Bicouvaris Award in Virginia History, and placed Third in the Junior division Individual Exhibit category. Congratulations, Julia!
  

We will have our final lockdown drill of the year on Monday, April 29th. First notice of the drill was provided April 22nd through Remind.

Spring Sports Banquet

Monday, April 29th is the deadline to RSVP for the spring sports banquet!

Chromebook and Charger Collection

We will begin Chromebook and charger collection on Friday, May 17th. If your student has a lost/stolen chromebook, please send cash or money order to replace the lost/stolen assets.

Chromebook Replacement Cost: $279.00

Charger Replacement Cost: $25.00

Immunization Information- Mandatory: Rising 7th Grade Students

April 29

8th grade yearbook Superlative voting

April 30

EOC Geometry/Algebra 1 SOL

May 1

8th Grade Math SOL (7th Graders)

May 2

6th Grade Math SOL

Spring Sports Banquet

May 3

7th Grade Crosswinds Trip

Music Department's Kings Dominion Trip

May 7

Earth Science SOL

May 8

National School Nurse's Day

May 9

Grade 6 Reading SOL

7:00 p.m. PTA Board Meeting

May 13

Locker Collection

History PBA 4 Window Opens

May 14

Grade 8 Reading SOL

May 15

Grade 7 Reading SOL

May 16

Civics and Economics SOL

6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. Spring Showcase

May 17

7th Grade Crosswinds Trip

Chromebook Collection Begins

May 21

History PBA 4 Window Closes

Tiger Turn-Up: SOL Incentive

May 22

AttenDance

May 23

24-25 NJHS Induction

May 24

8th Grade Kings Dominion Trip

May 27

RPS Closed: Memorial Day

May 28

Moving On Ceremony

May 29

8th Grade Dance

May 30

8th Grade Field Day

May 31

8th Grade Movie Day

Last Day of School

All students must have a current VHSL physical form dated after May 1, 2023 and signed by a physician before they can try out or participate in any athletic activities. Transportation is provided for in-zone students.

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

Softball

Flag Football

Coach: Mr. McLane jmclane@rvaschools.net

Kids on the Move

Do you want to run the Monument 10K for FREE! Join Kids on the Move! The club will meet Tuesdays beginning February 13th. Students should come dressed to run! See flyer in the sports section for more details! Runners must have a completed and updated VHSL physical in order to participate.

Coach: Mr. Kimbrell kkimbrel@rvaschools.net

Tennis

Coaches: Mr. Yavorsky dyavorsk@rvaschools.net and Ms. Gabbert egabbert@rvaschools.net

Track

Albert Hill Spring Track begins Wednesday, March 27th. Practices will be Mondays and Wednesdays. Participants must have a completed and updated VHSL physical.

Coaches: Ms. West twest@rvaschools.net and Mr. Books jbrooks8@rvaschools.net

Virginia Credit Union is offering an opportunity for all Richmond Public School students to jumpstart their savings in 2023-2024. This new initiative, called RPS Saves, is designed to provide families with quality financial literacy programming to prepare all individuals for a brighter financial future. Parents can sign their student(s) up for a Virginia Credit Union Custodial Saving Account using this link. VACU will then cover the $5 membership and deposit $20 in the account to get their savings started!

23-24 Albert Hill Middle School Mold Report

Albert Hill Middle School received a building mold test. The report, with those test results, is attached. A quick reference to key points of the report:

Based on our observations and sampling data, ECS does not see any reason why the school should not be continued to be used based on our experience with similar school buildings across the Richmond area and our findings for this study. In general, our air sample results did not indicate any significantly elevated spore trap air samples in the classrooms above outdoor comparison samples.

Students 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.

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!

Core Belief: In order to facilitate an uninterrupted, distraction-free learning environment, all cell phones and electronic devices should be off and away unless teachers expressly permit their use for instruction.

• All classrooms will have signage indicating “Red, Yellow, or Green Zone”

• All classrooms will have a cell phone locker for students who are using cell phones during unauthorized times.

Every Tiger, Every Day! Every Day Counts! Thank you for helping us reduce our chronic absenteeism rate last year from 25% to 21%! Our goal this year is 15%. WE CAN DO IT!

School attendance is vital to student 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

Albert Hill is a Title 1 School. Our fantastic Title 1 coaches, Ms. Collier (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 14, 2023.

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.

All students are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at no charge each day of the school year. No further action is required of you. Your children will be able to participate in these meal programs without having to pay a fee or submit an application.

Food deliveries to students from meal delivery services are not permitted at any time during the school day or at after school activities due to safety and to minimize disruptions. Attempted deliveries will be confiscated and will remain in the main office until dismissal. Parents may bring food to students.

If you would like to stay abreast of all of the latest information. Please be sure to sign up to receive Remind messages from our school. You should've already been receiving Remind messages if your student is enrolled. If you are not, you have likely opted out of receiving Remind messages and must change your preferences.

Please also check out the school's website, weekly Tiger Tea (access through school website, social media accounts, or set preferences to receive via email), and follow all school and PTA social media accounts.

-TigerEye ParentLink on Instagram
-Albert Hill Middle PTA private Facebook group
-Albert Hill PTA Facebook account