Red Pride Weekly - Family Edition

Greetings Gladiator Families!

We have another busy week ahead and we want to enlist your support to make it a successful one!

We look forward to seeing our Gladiator families out Monday night for our 2nd grade performance of Meet Me at the Pumpkin Patch. Doors open at 5:30 and the show starts at 6:00 pm. See additional details below.

Wednesday is Unity Day and as part of our October Empathy Month celebration, we are encouraging students and staff to wear orange in support anti-bullying efforts.

To cap off the week, our PTA is hosting Boo Bash. We look forward to seeing our Gladiator families out that night. See below for more details.

Upcoming Dates

• Monday, October 19 - 2nd Grade Performance; 6:00 pm, Gym
• Wednesday, October 21 - Unity Day - Wear orange to support bullying prevention efforts.
• Friday, October 23 - PTA Boo Bash
• Friday, October 30 - Vocabulary Dress Up Day
• Monday, November 2 - No School for Students - Professional Development Day
• Tuesday, November 3 - No School for Students - Election Day / PD Day
• Friday, November 13 - Progress Reports
• Monday, November 16 - 1st Grade Performance
• Wednesday, November 25 - Friday, November 27 - Thanksgiving Break
• Saturday, December 5 - PTA hosting Breakfast with Santa

Shout Out

This week's shout out goes to Matt Parrish our school tech. We knew Matt was talented with technology, but we discovered he is also a talented musician and an incredible singer. Matt performed in Some I Wrote, the ShenanArts production honoring the music of The Statler Brothers. Matt's performance of "Elizabeth" was incredible as was his performance of "I'll Go To My Grave Loving You", which happens to be my absolute favorite Statler song.

A second shout out this week goes to Mrs. Roberts, one of our Gladiator parents, whose artwork adorned the Some I Wrote stage. The set was beautiful and helped set the mood for a fantastic show.

Thanks to you both for contributing your talents to our local community!

We are excited for tomorrow's 2nd grade performance of Meet Me at the Pumpkin Patch. The performance will be held in the gym starting at 6:00 pm. Doors will open at 5:30 pm and students should report to the cafeteria at 5:45 pm. Students that arrive earlier than 5:45 pm should wait with their families in the gym.

It is an exciting time of year planning one of our favorite events, the Boo Bash! For those of you who are new, the Boo Bash is a safe, Halloween event held at Riverheads Elementary School. A lot of the teachers and staff participate and get dressed up, which students really love! Teachers, staff, community members and high school/middle school clubs set up tables inside the school or trunk-or-treat stations outside for people waiting in line to get in. After everyone makes their way through the event, there will be a DJ and food trucks outside to enjoy. Everyone has a great time!

This year, our Boo Bash is scheduled for October 23rd from 6-8pm inside with trunk-or-treat starting outside at 5:30pm. In order to make this a successful event, we need LOTS of volunteers for decorating, cleaning up and delivering/restocking candy. We also need community members to sign up for a station. This can be a business, community resource, church, etc. Candy will be provided for teachers and staff, but others will need to provide their own. Please send the sign up to anyone who might be interested!

TONS of candy is also needed! We will be collecting candy for the Boo Bash from October 8th-October 21st. There will be ghosts placed in the car rider line or in the office for you to place the candy in. Also, you are welcome to send it in your child's backpack. Your child's teacher will make sure it gets to the right place.

Volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FAAAE28A6FECE9-66356341-boobash#/

Station sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FAAAE28A6FECE9-66356530-boobash#/

Thank you,

RES PTA Board

Mrs. Moser is inviting students to decorate Storybook Pumpkins again this year. Students may decorate a pumpkin based on their favorite story. Pumpkins should be of average size and may be real, plastic or paper. Please decorate only, do NOT puncture real pumpkins.

Drop off is October 19, be sure to include a note card with the students first name, grade and book title. All pumpkins needs to be picked up by Friday, October 23.

If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Moser through ParentSquare. If needed, students can get a paper pumpkin from the library.

As a reminder, breakfast and lunch are free for all Riverheads Elementary students. Gladiators in grades PK, K and 1 will have breakfast delivered to the classroom and they will select their breakfast there. Gladiators in grades 2 - 5, will need to stop in the cafeteria on their way in the building to pick up their breakfast before heading to their classroom. All students in grade K-5 make their lunch choices when they arrive in the classroom each morning

You can also find the breakfast and lunch menu on our website by going to Our School > Menu.

Please note that menus are subject to change.

1. All sandwiches served with option of dark green lettuce & tomato slice.

2. All side salads & chef salads are made with romain lettuce and/or fresh spinach.

3. Raw Veggie Cup = may contain a mixture of celery, cucumbers, cauliflower, & green peppers.

4. Manager's Choice (USDA) may be substituted for one of the other entrees listed above.

Each month we will celebrate a different aspect of life at Riverheads Elementary. October is Bullying Prevention Month, and we know that encouraging Empathy is one of the most successful ways to prevent bullying. When students are able to put themselves in someone else's shoes and see the world from their perspective, they will be less likely to pick on or bully others. Please help us support our Gladiators by encouraging empathy, kindness and respect for others.

We have a number of activities scheduled for the month of October.

Counselors School-Wide Activity

Counselors are building on the theme with a new school-wide book and art project inspired by Beneath by Cori Doerrfeld.

Students will explore the idea that there is often much more to a person than what we can see on the surface. Our hope is to encourage students to look closer, listen longer, and choose kindness, remembering that everyone has a story we may not completely see. Everyone will create a two-sided quilt square showing a little of what others see and what makes them who they are “beneath” the surface. Hundreds of individual squares will then come together to create one giant school-wide quilt mural. Our message: “You can see my square, not my whole story.”

School-wide Assembly

We have Leslie Rob, a teacher, comedian, and an author, coming to present to our Gladiators on October 20. She recently wrote a book called The Butter Bus Bullies. She is from VA and often tours with the Bored Teachers comedy circuit.

Family Resources

What is Bullying?

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated or has the potential to be repeated over time. Bullying can occur in person or online (cyberbullying). Bullying may include:

• Physical actions, such as hitting, pushing, or damaging belongings
• Verbal actions, such as name-calling, teasing, or threats
• Social behaviors, such as excluding others, spreading rumors, or public embarrassment
• Cyberbullying through text messages, social media, gaming platforms, or other digital spaces

Below you will find a Family Guide to Recognizing and Responding to Bullying taken from the VSBA's Sample Parent/Caregiver Guide: Recognizing and Responding to Bullying.

For October, we’re kicking off “Strive for 5!” Each week, five students who have perfect attendance with no tardies for that week will be selected to receive a special prize! We hope this encourages our Gladiators to show up on time, work hard, and make every school day count!

October is also National Bullying Prevention Month. This is a great opportunity to talk with your child about kindness, respect, and standing up for others. Remember, bullying involves repeated, unwanted aggressive behavior and a real or perceived imbalance of power. While disagreements, unkind words, and conflicts between peers should always be addressed, they are not automatically considered bullying. We encourage students to speak up and seek help whenever something makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

As always, Mrs. Cheyenne and Mrs. Mack are here to support our students and families! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if there is anything we can do to help. We will also be available during Parent-Teacher Conferences on Monday if you would like to stop by and meet with us.

Thank you for helping us make Riverheads a place where every Gladiator feels safe, supported, and ready to grow!

Mrs. Cheyenne: lewis.ct@augusta.k12.va.us
Mrs. Mack: mcmanaway.pa@augusta.k12.va.us
Riverheads Elementary: 540-337-2535

Riverheads Elementary is excited to be planning a Thanksgiving Gathering for our school families on Tuesday evening, November 24!

Our hope is to bring our Riverheads families together to enjoy a warm, sit-down Thanksgiving meal and time together as a school community. We want every Riverheads family to have the opportunity to gather around the table and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal together.

Right now, we are trying to get a general idea of how many families may be interested in attending so we can plan for enough food and seating.

This is NOT an official RSVP and does not commit your family to attending. A formal RSVP with additional details will be sent at a later date.

If your family thinks you may be interested in joining us, please complete this short interest survey and let us know approximately how many people from your household might attend.

Thanksgiving Gathering Interest Survey

Thank you for helping us plan! We are looking forward to sharing a special evening with our Riverheads community.

You are cordially invited to attend an OPEN HOUSE at Valley Career and Technical Center (VCTC) and Shenandoah Valley Governor's School (SVGS) on Monday, November 2, 2026 from 4 pm -7 pm!

The event is a unique opportunity for students to learn about programs offered, meet staff, and discover the academic and technical programs that define student experiences at VCTC and SVGS. Business/industry representatives, educators, local leaders and our communities are invited to see our labs/shops/classrooms, connect with our teachers, and network with each other.

Open House attendees will have the opportunity to:

• Tour facilities, including classrooms, shops, and labs.
• Meet with current students and staff. Our instructors will be on hand to share what makes each program unique and answer your questions
• See it, try it, do it! Explore student-made projects and experience hands-on activities.

The event is free and open to the public. Visitors may explore programs at their leisure with student guides and staff available to assist them. Local food trucks will be serving up delicious eats throughout the evening.

Link to OPEN HOUSE SVGS Facebook Post

Link to OPEN HOUSE VCTC Facebook Post

The Adapted Physical Education Program will be holding a Silent Auction & Craft and Vendor Fair on November 8 at Stuarts Draft Middle School from 1-5 pm.

Augusta County Public School Elementary School Handbook for 2026-2027

Each morning our Gladiators are asked to live up to our Red Pride Pledge by living up to our Riverheads Expectations for Success. They do this by being...

• Safe
• Respectful
• Responsible
• Caring
• Learners

Our 2nd grade's work is on full display in the hallway. Mrs. Mabe's class works hard to make sure their "work is on point" so that it gets displayed in the hallway.

Our 1st graders were challenged by Mrs. Reese to listen carefully to a storybook, then sequence the events of the story. If they followed the sequence the work correctly, they developed an algorithm they could follow to put the scarecrow together as it was described in the book. If they didn't follow the sequence, the scarecrow wouldn't build.

Our K-2 Gladiators had a chance to work on different sports skills this week in PE. From balancing to jump rope, from rock climbing to soccer, there was an opportunity for our Gladiators to develop skills to help them enjoy sports and other lifelong fitness activities.

The clear skies early last week made for some great moon viewing, including over our playground on Tuesday night... even if it is a little hard to pick out in the picture.