April 14, 2022

Messages from Dr. Kasmarick and Mrs. Petersen

Following last week's Thursday Folder reminder, we have seen an improvement in adherence to the parking signs on Santa Monica. Thank you very much! We wish you all a happy long weekend and we look forward to having students back on Tuesday!

No School:  School is not in session from Thursday, April 14 - Monday, April 18.  School resumes Tuesday, April 19.

2022-23 Richards School Day: For many years, Richards and Cumberland Elementary Schools had staggered start and end times to accommodate shared bussing. Because our students who participate in the Chapter 220 program have moved on to the middle and high schools, beginning in the 22-23 school year, start and end times will be aligned across the two schools. Both schools will run from 7:50-3:00 each day, with 4K sessions running from 7:55-10:55 and 11:55-2:55. Thank you for planning accordingly!

Wisconsin Forward Exam: Students in grades 3-5 have been participating in the Wisconsin Forward Exam testing this month. More detailed information can be found in this brochure. All testing will take place in the morning. Your help in not making appointments on these dates is much appreciated! Please note the remaining testing dates: Fourth Grade: April 19-20. 

The 2022-2023 School Year Calendar is now available and can be viewed in this link.  You'll note that Thursday, 9/1, Friday, 9/2, and Tuesday, 9/7 are designated as Roaring Start days for the 2022-23 school year. The purpose of Roaring Start days for our Cumberland Cougars and Richards Tigers is to provide an opportunity for elementary students and teachers to meet in a small group/individual setting prior to regular daily attendance. For our 4-year old kindergarten students, the time will be used to begin building rapport and positive relationships and to support both students and families in learning school routines. For our 5K-5th grade students, the time allows us to begin building rapport and positive relationships and also to gather initial, individual literacy and math information in support of a strong start to the school year. At these grade levels, gathering assessment information within three days, instead of within five weeks through the use of substitute teachers, greatly increases our ability to provide responsive and targeted instruction at the start of the year.

Childcare for school aged children will be available through Connects. Information can be found on our district website here or by calling 414-963-3947. More information about Roaring Start days can be found here. Appointment scheduling information will be sent during August registration.

Planning for 2022-23: An important element for our spring work is to create tentative class groupings for next year. Our goal when creating class groupings is to put together classes in each grade that are representative of our school population as a whole. This means classes balanced in numbers of students, gender, learning and social emotional needs, supports, and with academic peers for students. The initial work is done at each grade level with significant input and review by the counselor, school psychologist, literacy/math coaches, encore teachers, and administrators. The tentative groupings change throughout the summer as students depart and enroll.

This link takes you to the Optional Input Form. This form can be used to provide us with any information that you feel will be helpful in the class placement process for your student for the 2022-23 school year. Please note that requests for specific teachers will not be honored. All classroom placements are carefully considered whether this form is submitted or not. The form will be available online through April 15, 2022.

Another important part of our planning for next year is to project as accurately as possible our student enrollments. Please notify the Richards office if your child will not be returning to Richards next year. (Stephanie.Haupt@wfbschools.com) Thank you!

2022-23 New Student Enrollment: Looking ahead to next year, we are excited to have seventy two 4-year old kindergarteners enrolled! New student enrollment for all grades for the 2022-23 school year is now open. Enrollment information and forms can be found in this link. Current students do not need to re-enroll, families of current students will complete online registration in August for the upcoming school year. 

From the PTO

We are WILD about our staff! Staff Appreciation Week is May 2nd-May 6th and we need your children’s help transforming the main entrance bulletin board into a special display for the Richards staff.  In last week’s Thursday folder, your child received a leaf to decorate or to write a special message of appreciation to our teachers and staff.  The leaf will be used to help display how “wild” we are about our teachers and staff!  Please return the leaf in your child’s folder by Friday, April 21st.  The students will be so excited to find their leaf in the display and the staff will appreciate the special thoughts!  Thank you so much for helping celebrate the awesome teachers and staff of Richards School!  Questions? Email Hannah Ruck.

Staff Appreciation Week 2022! Attention Richards Families! Each year there is one week we celebrate our Richards teachers, staff, and crossing guards and show them how much we appreciate all they do for our children. This year, Staff Appreciation Week will be May 2-6, and the Richards PTO has exciting plans! Each day, the PTO plans a special activity, including catered lunches, gifts and sweet treats. Everyone gets excited for the daily raffle as well, and this is where we can use your help! We are looking for donations from our Richards Community to help make the raffle a success. Please consider making a monetary or gift card donation.  Donations may be made through Membership Toolkit by clicking here, or in the envelopes that came home in your child’s Thursday Folder.  Questions?  Email Staff Appreciation Week Chairs Angela Burke or  Chrissy Tigrani.

High Interest Day!  Thank you so much to everyone who has signed up for High Interest Day! If you want to sign up but haven’t gotten around to it, now’s your chance! The deadline for sign ups is Friday, April 15th. Here’s how:

• Visit richardspto.org and click on High Interest Day in the main menu. Fill out the form, it’s that simple. Someone from the High Interest Day will follow up with you with more information.
• Think you might want to participate but you’re not sure if your job/talent/hobby is something the kids want to hear about? Go fill out the form, the High Interest Day committee can help you tailor your presentation for the elementary school crowd.
• High Interest Day is Wednesday, June 1st. Please let us know if you would like to participate by April 15th. More information about the event is available at richardspto.org. Questions? Email Sarah sarahzirbelnowak@gmail.com and Susan susan.stadt@gmail.com.

Earth Day Zero Waste Lunch Week: Please join the Green Team at Richards to celebrate Earth Day and let's aim for a zero waste lunch throughout the week (reminder that Friday is fun lunch). Suggestions on how to lessen our impact include:

• Reusable cloth napkins vs. disposable
• Purchasing snacks in bulk and using reusable snack bags/containers to limit single-use wrappers
• Reusable lunch containers
• Reusable utensils vs. plastic utensils
• Reusable water bottle vs. single-use water bottles or juice packages
• Compostable or recyclable sandwich/snack bags

Outdoor Movie Night!  We are excited to announce our Outdoor Family Movie Night, which will be a joint event with the Cumberland PTO!  We will be showing “Sing 2” on Saturday, May 14th on the Cumberland lawn at 7:00pm.  Admission will be free to all Richards and Cumberland families and delicious food will be available for purchase.  We hope you can join us for this fun community event! Questions? Email the Richards PTO.

Yearbooks on Sale Now!  Yearbooks are on sale now through April 24th.  The cost for each yearbook is $16.50 and will be delivered to your child at school in May.  Yearbooks may be ordered through Membership Toolkit by clicking here.  Questions?  Contact Yearbook Chair Allison Roth.

Crayon & Marker Recycling Spring Cleaning?  The Marker and Crayon Recycling Center is OPEN! All staff and families are invited to donate their used markers and crayons in the bins outside of the Main Office.  All markers and crayons are accepted, including dry erase markers. The crayons will be melted down by an organization who will then donate the new crayon! Thank you to Emily Bandsma and Ms. Danforth for collaborating on this initiative! Questions? Contact Emily Bandsma at ecbandsma@gmail.com.

Miltown Eats: The Richards PTO is again partnering up with Miltown Eats – a local home meal kit service.  Richards families will receive 25% off new signups and the Richards PTO will receive $10 per family that signs up.  Visit Miltown Eats to browse what you would like to order and enter the code RichardsPTO to get 25% off of your first signup.  This is a great way to take care of dinner and raise money for the Richards PTO!  Questions? Contact the Richards PTO.

Attention 5th Graders — WFB Middle School Spirit Wear Sale! Whitefish Bay Middle School’s Spring Spirit Wear sale is LIVE! What better way for our rising 6th graders to show their [new] school spirit! The store will be open through Wednesday, April 27th, with delivery expected by Memorial Day. We will deliver to the Richards School office for student pickup, or you may contact Amy Goldstein to arrange pickup (i.e. if your order is a surprise for your student!). ONLINE STORE: https://wfbmspto.membershiptoolkit.com/form/m/180700. Questions? Contact Amy Goldstein agoldstein1124@gmail.com

District Announcments

Optional Testing Site: Beginning Tuesday, April 19th, the COVID-19 testing location will move to Lydell Community Center (5205 N. Lydell Ave.) in the parking lot. In case of inclement weather, testing will be held at Whitefish Bay High School (1200 E. Fairmount Ave.) inside Door 2. Testing hours will remain the same (Tuesday through Friday, 9:00AM-2:30PM). Beginning April 19th, testing will be open to community members, in addition to students, staff, and families. Additional information can be found on the District website.

WFBHS Grad Grams: Who do you know that is graduating from WFBHS this year? Your sitter? Your neighbor? Your favorite Sendik's bagger? The kids you coached in soccer? Send them each a sweet Grad Gram message! The WFBHS Parent Association is taking orders for Grad Grams from April 18 - May 30. For $1/each you can send a quick note that will be bound in a special book for each senior and delivered at graduation practice. Please see the attached flyer to participate in this very fun tradition that is a highlight for our WFB seniors.

Whitefish Bay Public Education Foundation's Run the Bay REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Run the Bay is the foundation's main event to fund innovation in the WFB Schools. The run, as well as all Bay Day activities, are returning as an IN-PERSON event on Saturday, May 7th! You can register for the run HERE! Visit us on Facebook for more information on the run along with the other Bay Day activities. Please email educatethebay@gmail.com for sponsorship opportunities.

From the Recreation Department

Does your child practice a musical instrument or is looking to start next school year? Children grades 5 through 12 can turn the volume up this summer by registering for Summer Band or Summer Orchestra through the Whitefish Bay Recreation Department.

Taught by the Whitefish Bay School District Band and Orchestra teachers, these programs are a great way to get a head start for the Fall. We hope you'll join us for summer music fun!