Red Pride Weekly - Family Edition

Greetings Gladiator Families!

Just a quick reminder that Monday is Parent Teacher Conferences and Tuesday is a Professional Development & Teacher Work Day. We hope that you and your child enjoy a long weekend now that we have reached the end of the first quarter. We look forward to seeing everyone on Monday for Parent Conferences. Please take time to look through the Lost & Found to find any items your child may have left behind this quarter.

Upcoming Dates

• Monday, October 12 - No School for Students; Parent Conferences
• Tuesday, October 13 - No School for Students; Professional Development Day
• Tuesday, October 13 - Community Meeting - 1% Sales Tax Referendum; 6:30 pm, RHS
• Wednesday, October 14 - PTA Meeting; 5:30 pm, Library
• Thursday, October 15 - Report Cards Distributed
• Thursday, October 15 - Fall Picture Makeup Day
• Thursday, October 15 - Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill
• Monday, October 19 - 2nd Grade Performance; 6:00 pm, Gym
• Friday, October 23 - PTA Boo Bash
• Monday, November 2 - No School for Students - Professional Development Day
• Tuesday, November 3 - No School for Students - Election Day / PD Day

September Attendance Award

We recognized Mrs. Arney's class for having the highest attendance rate for the month of September with an attendance rate of over 98%. Her students received recognition awards for their attendance. Congratulations to Mrs. McWhorter's / Mrs. Buchanan's class and Mrs. Long's class for finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Shout Out

This week's shout out goes to our School Nutrition Program staff in honor of National School Lunch Week. Learning is tough work and kids need fuel if they're going to learn! National School Lunch Week is annual observance of the importance of a healthy school lunch in a child’s life and the impact it has both in and out of the classroom.

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.

Strawbridge will be returning on Thursday, October 15 for Fall Retake Picture. Students who require retakes and those that were not here for our first Fall pictures will have their picture taken the morning of 10/15.

We are excited to celebrate Mrs. Arney’s class for having the best attendance in September! Their hard work and dedication earned them a donut party!

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

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

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

One of our Gladiators had the chance to travel overseas earlier this year. She shared a short presentation about her travels and experiences with her classmates.

Our Kindergarten took a trip to Endless View Farms on Friday.

We celebrated local foods in schools along with other schools in Augusta County and around the state. On Thursday, students and staff had a chance to add an apple from Showalter's in Timberville to their lunch.

Thanks to the Ruritans of Stuarts Draft for bringing school supplies to share with our Gladiators.