Richmond Elementary E-News

Thank you to all of our teachers and staff for creating warm and welcoming classrooms for our students. Thank you to our PTO for providing breakfast as a welcome back treat! We are looking forward to an amazing year!

Thank you to everyone for a great first week! The first day of school is an exciting day for everyone, and we loved having Rudy the Tiger and the rest of the Richmond staff welcoming our students!

As we observed arrival this week, there is one important safety reminder we need everyone’s help with:

For drop-off, please use the designated parent drop-off lane. If you park across the street, your child must walk to a designated cross walk. Please DO NOT allow your child to cross the street in the middle of the road.

This is a very important safety issue, and we need 100% participation from our families.

A huge thank-you to all of our parents who are already parking and walking to the designated areas or using the parent drop-off lane. We truly appreciate you helping us keep Richmond safe for everyone!

Thank you for partnering with us and helping us make it a great start to the school year!

We are thrilled to launch our brand-new Richmond LRC Family Website! Designed as a digital hub for our school community, this page makes it easy to stay connected with everything happening in our library.

By visiting our site, families can:

• Explore Digital Resources: Access e-books and digital tools for home learning.

• Stay Updated: See our current library programming, read-aloud highlights, and special LRC events.

• Discover Reading Recommendations: Find curated book lists for every reading level to keep your students inspired.

Check out the site with your reader today: Richmond LRC Family Webpage!

Students in grades 2-5 will take i-Ready starting August 18-21. If you would like to read more information, please look at this Fall testing letter.

The TLC (Tiger Lunch Crew) program is a school-based, family, and community engagement initiative designed to strengthen connections between parents, students, and staff. Inspired by similar successful programs like WATCH D.O.G.S.®, TLC is focused on fostering a supportive and positive school environment where parents can actively participate in their child's school experience.

Our program allows parents and guardians to volunteer during lunch and recess shifts to help supervise and build meaningful connections with students.

The TLC Tiger Lunch Crew is open to all parents, guardians, and caregivers. Volunteers play an essential role in creating a nurturing school community and supporting teachers and staff. Through this program, we hope to bring more volunteers onto campus, demonstrating the power of family engagement in boosting student success and well-being.

If you are interested in signing-up for any lunch shift, any day school is in session please click the sign-up button below. We will have two volunteer slots available per lunch. After you sign up, just come to the main office with an ID so we can check you into our system on the day(s) you volunteer.

We do NOT allow fast food delivery to our elementary aged students at Richmond during the school day.

If you have a change in transportation, such as your child regularly rides the bus, but you will be picking them up one day, please call the main office at (331) 228-2800. We will take care of notifying the teacher. If you e-mail your child's teacher, you must still notify us in the office of the change.

We love our pets - but ask that you keep pets on the public sidewalk and do not bring dogs or other pets near entry/exit doors and drop off lanes. Thank you for your cooperation!

On Tuesday, September 15, Richmond Elementary will conduct our state-required annual Lockdown Drill with law enforcement personnel present. During this time, students will review and practice the classroom procedures. Parents/guardians may opt their child out of physical participation in this drill each year by emailing Lisa Simoncelli-Bulak at lisa.simoncelli-bulak@d303.org and Darlene Buffano at darlene.buffano@d303.org at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled date. Students who are opted out will receive an alternative school safety learning experience with a certified staff member.

District 303 procedures and our student handbook are available in the CUSD 303 Student Handbook found in the Parent/Community tab in the Information column of the districtd303.org website. Parents please familiarize with the procedure in this handbook. Attendance procedures, including when letters are sent home can also be found in the handbook.

Breakfast and Lunch Menus will be available electronically this year. You can click link below for access.

Tuesday, September 1st: Curriculum Night 5:30-7:00 p.m. More info forthcoming.

Friday, September 4th: Institute Day - No Students

Monday, September 7th: Labor Day Holiday - No School

September 30th: Early Release. School Dismisses at 2:30 p.m.

Dear Richmond Families,

Welcome back, Richmond families! We hope everyone had a wonderful summer and is ready for an amazing 2026–2027 school year!

The Richmond PTO is so excited for the year ahead, and we already have some fun and exciting things to share with you! We have several important opportunities and events coming up, and you’ll find flyers attached to this email with more information about each of the items below.

We are excited to introduce our new Richmond PTO Membership Toolkit website and app!

https://richmondpto.membershiptoolkit.com/

Membership Toolkit will serve as a central hub for all things PTO. You’ll be able to find information about who we are, upcoming events, fundraisers, volunteer opportunities, and other important PTO happenings—all in one convenient place!

Families who choose to opt in can also use Membership Toolkit as a student directory, making it easier to connect with other families and see which students are in your child’s classroom.

BONUS: Every student registered with Membership Toolkit by September 1st will be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift card!

It's time for one of our favorite fall traditions—Fall Mums!

Orders are due by August 25th.

This year, we’ve made a change to the ordering process. Please use the link below to complete a Google Form with your order and then follow the instructions to submit payment via PTO Zelle.

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Mums will be delivered to Richmond Elementary on Friday, September 18th for pickup. More information about pickup will be shared as we get closer to the date.

And this year, you don't have to be a D303 family to participate! So please share our mums fundraiser with your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers so they can support Richmond PTO too!

Remember: August 25th is the order deadline!

Our 2026–2027 PTO Committee Sign-Up is now open!

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We know that being involved with PTO can feel like a big commitment, so we've designed our events and fundraisers around individual committees. This allows families to choose opportunities that fit their schedules and interests without feeling like they have to take on everything.

But here's the thing: we need YOUR help!

In order to continue hosting the events, activities, and fundraisers that make Richmond such a special community, we need families willing to pitch in and help make them happen.

Whether you can help with one event or several, every helping hand makes a difference.

And remember, if you sign up for a committee by September 1st, you'll also be entered into a raffle to win a gift card or a piece of Richmond spirit wear!

We'd love to meet you!

Please join us on August 19th for our first open PTO meeting of the school year.

This will be a casual meet-and-greet where you can:

• Meet the PTO
• Learn more about who we are and what we do
• Hear what's coming up this year
• Ask questions
• Find out how you can get involved

No experience or commitment required—just come say hello! We hope you can make it!

Information about Room Parent and Classroom Party sign-ups will be coming in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, be sure to register for Membership Toolkit and follow us on Facebook and Instagram so you don't miss important announcements, volunteer opportunities, event information, and other PTO updates.

We are so excited about everything we have planned for 2026–2027, and we can't wait to make it a fun, memorable year for our Richmond students, teachers, staff, and families!

Thank you for supporting the Richmond PTO and helping us make Richmond an even stronger school community.

Here's to a fantastic school year!

Your Richmond Elementary PTO
RichmondElementarySchoolPTO@gmail.com
Follow us on Facebook & Instagram

@RichmondElementarySchoolPTO