Robious Express Newsletter 

September 2016


Welcome back!  I can't believe we are already at the end of the second week of the 2016-17 School Year.  As Fall keeps teasing us with an early entry, I am pulled back 6 years to when my oldest, who is now in 6th grade, started Kindergarten. What a scary time for me!  With two ready for preschool, and an infant in my arms, our little entourage walked little Kesiah down to the bus stop every morning, and I put her on the bus thinking, I STILL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY DO ALL DAY!    

Hahaha.  No worries.  BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT is only a week away.  We will learn everything then.  The daily routines, the resource schedules, the behavior expectations, the academic expectations, and yes you will even have an opportunity to sign up to be a room parent.  You will be hearing much more from our wonderful new Principal, Mrs. Childress, and me, the PTA President, as to what your children will be up to this year. For now, rest assured that they are in for a FANTASTIC year.  

Read on for a sneak peek at the super fun year that the PTA has planned for your kiddos and family.  None of these events is possible without the continuing support of families like you.  And I'd like to give a special THANK YOU to our amazing group of Committee Chairs, who have volunteered their time and energy to making this year a special one for our kids, their teachers, and our entire community.

I look forward to seeing you all at Back to School Nights:
3rd, 4th & 5th grades - Thursday, September 22 at 7 PM
K, 1st & 2nd grades - Tuesday, September 27 at 7 PM

Krista Dodson
PTA President
A Note from Our Principal
#RobiousWay


 
Robious Elementary School is historically known for being a trailblazer school; a leader in innovation.  We ended our 2016-2017 teacher work week with a luncheon including former principals Bernie Monroe, Anne O'Toole and Stacey Austin.  The intent was for our new and current staff to experience a piece of the history before we welcomed students.  This year, we will embrace the rich history of excellence at Robious Elementary as we strive to continue to set the bar for the rest of the county. Rooted in Expeditionary Learning, we will continue to work towards implementing a Problem Based Learning approach to teaching and learning in every classroom, every day.

As a former parent at Robious Elementary, I experienced rigorous standards and a path paved towards excellence-- the Robious Way.  I understood that my sons' Friday folder was a snapshot into their week and that E's on report cards were going to be earned with a tremendous amount of hard work coupled with work that was a year and a half above grade level. When there were no E's, our conversations centered around persevering and commitment to quality. When those E's were on the report card, my son didn't see my intense excitement deep down, knowing that he worked hard to earn them.  I gave a modest, "great job."  Letter grades weren't really what it was all about. I don't take for granted that integrity, perseverance, compassion, collaboration and commitment to quality were common language.  It began as purposeful discourse in the classroom and modeling of the behaviors and actions. The traits were living and breathing in every Robious classroom, and as a former teacher and administrator, I knew those traits were not living and breathing in every classroom across the county.  Robious was special, the teachers who instilled these traits in my children, with regards to school were special, and I am left with a lasting impression of the power of a teacher from the eyes of a parent.  As an educator, I witnessed a spark for learning in my children, and that carries a "priceless" price tag. 

With a rich history of excellence and innovation, comes one of the hardest working team of teachers you will encounter.  Together, in partnership with you, the opportunities are endless for our students and we will leave no path unturned. The Robious Way is "to innovate, not imitate"- Bernie Monroe.

I look forward to seeing you at Back To School Night over the next two weeks.

Partners in Education,
Casta 
News
Fundraising Events and Programs

Direct Donation -The PTA has again elected to have a Direct Donation Drive instead of product sale fundraisers.   Our goal for this school year is $12,000. The donation is tax deductible and 100% of the profit goes to technology and classroom supplies at RES. Click HERE to make your Direct Donation now using PayPal . Don't forget to look into a company match. Many of the large corporations in the area like Capital One, Carmax, Altria and Genworth will match your donation. Your donations go directly to helping to keep our school a wonderful place for learning!
 
Spirit Nights - Celebrate Back to School with a Fundraiser at Gelati Celesti! 

The RES PTA is excited to host a back to school fundraiser at Gelati Celesti located at 3004 Stony Point Rd, Richmond, VA 23235, on  Wednesday, September 28, 2016 from 5-8pm.   Please join us to celebrate the new school year with a sweet treat.  Make sure to mention you are with Robious Elementary School when ordering! 

Family Movie Night

Come help us kick-off our first movie night of the year with Disney's Zootopia on Friday, October 7 @ 6:00PM.  Popcorn and drinks will be available, bring your own chairs and/or blankets, snacks or dinner and enjoy the movie.
The Library Corner

Thank you to all the RES Students who participated in the Summer Reading program. There will be a special assembly on Tuesday, September 27 to celebrate those accomplishments.

September is Public Library Card Sign-up Month.  Be sure to stop by your local Chesterfield County Public Library
to get your very own library card!

Did you know you can look at your child's RES library account online? Learn how, HERE

The RES Library needs your help! Volunteers are needed for an hour each day to help shelve books or complete general organizational tasks.   SIGN-UP TODAY!

And last, but not least,we are excited to announce that we have kicked off a new 'Author of the Month' program at the RES Library. September is featuring Roald Dahl whose 100th Birthday Celebration was on Sept. 13. Be sure to ask your student(s) about the featured author each month throughout the school year.
Yearbook! Get Your Yearbrook!
 
Yearbook
NOW is the time to order your 2015-2016 YEARBOOK!
 
Yearbook signing at the end of the school year is a RES tradition in all grades (yes, even Kindergarten)!  A Yearbook Order Form was sent home in your child's September 16th Friday Folder, or better yet, ORDER ONLINE!   Simply search for our school name and complete everything online!  Please visit the PTA yearbook webpage if you need detailed instructions on how to order online. 
 
Order your yearbook by September 30 and pay only $20 ORDER ONLINE or make checks payable to RESPTA.  The price will increase to $25 after September 30.  

Yearbook orders will close November 11, so Don't Wait, Order Now!
 
Later this Fall, 5th grade parents will have the opportunity to purchase personal yearbook messages to celebrate their graduating student, so stay tuned for that!
 
Lastly, we want your photos!  From the first day of school and throughout the year, we have 3 ways you can get them to us.
  1. Upload them directly to our yearbook design site, eShare.  Simply enter our school code: roadrunners and then proceed to upload your photos
  2. Download the HJ eShare app to your mobile device and enter the school code: roadrunners.
  3. Email your photos to the Yearbook Committee at robiousyearbook@gmail.com.
RES Kids Care Club
 
Join us for the Kids Care Club Kick Off!


Communities In Schools of Richmond supports K-12 students in 41 Richmond City (RPS) and Henrico County high-poverty neighborhood schools. Through early interventions and enrichment opportunities, CIS-R works with the community inside schools to help students succeed. These kits help provide for students' basic needs and encourage their academic success, but perhaps most importantly shows them that they are surrounded by a community of support.
 
There are bins outside of the library for students and/or parents to donate the following supplies. We will be putting these in large zip lock bags so travel sizes are great for the hygiene items.

Hygiene Kit:
  • 1 plastic comb
  • 1 toothbrush
  • 1 toothpaste
  • 1 deodorant
  • 1 antibacterial soap
  • 1 hand sanitizer
  • 1 pocket tissues
  • 1 moist towelette
School Supply Kit:
  • 2 spiral notebooks
  • 2 composition books
  • 1 pack pens (blue or black ballpoint)
  • 1 pack pencils (#2)
  • 1 eraser
  • 2 highlighters
  •  2 glue sticks
Gallon size and 2 Gallon size ziplock bags also needed.
 
Kids Care Club will be having evening, morning, and weekend opportunities this year to make it easy to fit into students and families schedules. Please join us!
 
Questions?
Michelle Pendleton:  mdp0803@yahoo.com
reflections_black
Reflections - "What Is Your Story?"

Calling all Robious Roadrunners!

The PTA Reflections contest is a national program that encourages children to express themselves artistically by creating an original entry in one of the following categories: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Musical Composition, 
Photography or Visual Arts. The deadline for entries is  Thursday, October 13.  

RES students are recognized at a school celebration in January and first place winners in each category advance to the next level of competition. 

For more information on the contest and links to the rules and application, please visit the  RES PTA Reflections Webpage.

Submissions can be made to the PTA reflections mailbox in the office. If you have any questions please contact Allison Cohee ( allisoncohee@gmail.com).

Green Team News  

Please join us for the annual RES Green Apple Day of Service on
Saturday, September 24 from 1 to 3 PM!  
Kids can help beautify the grounds around RES by picking up litter.  Parents, we need your help repainting the storage container behind the gym.  Together we can make RES look even better!  Contact Julie Mitchell ( julie.mitchell@colliers.com)



International Walk and Bike to School Day is a global event that involves communities from more than 40 countries walking and biking to school on the same day.   Let's Get Moving Roadrunners!
Wednesday, October 5, 2016 is International Walk and Bike to School Day! Participants will receive a fun prize!

_______________________________________________________
  

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the PTA Board.


 

Sincerely,

 

Robious Elementary School PTA
In This Issue
A Note from Our Principal
Fundraising Events and Programs
Movie Night
Library Corner
Yearbooks
RES Kids Care Club
Green Team
Upcoming Events
Volunteers Needed
Auction
Hat Day
PTA Membership
Box Tops
STEAM Club
Running Club
Staff Appreciation
Quick Links
BTS
Upcoming Events

Sept. 22 :  
Back to School Night Grades 3rd - 5th, 7 PM  

Sept. 24: 
Green Apple Day of Service, 1 to 3 PM

Sept. 27:
Back to School Night K-2nd, 7 PM

Sept. 28:
Gelati Celesti Spirit Night,  5 to 8 PM

Sept. 28, Oct. 5:
Running Club after 8 AM on RMS track

Sept. 30:
One School One Book Kickoff
3 hour early release day

Oct. 3:
PTA Meeting in the Library, 7 PM

Oct. 4:
Kids Care Club Kickoff Meeting 6:30 PM

Oct. 5:
National Walk to School Day

Oct. 7:
Interim Report Cards
Back to School Movie Night 6 PM


Join the Team!  
Kindergarten Bus Duty went great and the new students now know the path from bus to class and back again.  Thanks to our volunteers who came out and helped the cause.  We still have plenty of opportunity to join our volunteer team to help out at school.  Right now we are looking for a couple of volunteers to help our young friends at lunch.  Sign up here for LUNCH DUTY VOLUNTEERS!

 

Whether you have a flexible work schedule or just want to help out at a single event, we would love to have you engaged in helping our students.  Please sign up HERE to be a volunteer!  


 
Any questions on volunteering can be directed to Ben Pearson-Nelson at benpearsonnelson@gmail.com.  Thank you for all that you do to make our school an even better place for our kids!  

Raising the Rails Auction - "Full STEAM Ahead on the Orient Express"
Mark your calendars now so you don't miss the biennial PTA Raising the Rails Auction on Saturday, March 25, 2017 from 6-11pm at Salisbury Country Club.  With a new, later date and a new name, Raising the Rails is going Full STEAM Ahead on the Orient Express.

The silent and live auction is a fun, festive night for adults to socialize while bidding on exciting items donated by the members in our community.  If you are interested in getting involved, please come to our first meeting on October 5th, 2016 from 10am-11:15am in the Robious cafeteria.  We are looking for lots of volunteers (Sign up HERE!)  for solicitations/fundraising, art projects, setup, an IT guru and more! If you cannot attend the meeting, please email Julia Preusser, Auction Chair, at  julia_preusser@yahoo.com and let her know what you are interested in helping with.    
We look forward to working with you!

Kids Helping Kids - Hat Day!

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. On Friday, September 23 bring $1 to donate to Cookies for Kids' Cancer and you get to wear a hat to school.

 Together, we can make a difference, one Good Cookie at a time!

Also, remember to WEAR GOLD every Friday in September in support of Childhood Cancer Awareness month!

 

PTA Membership and Class Celebrations Fund

 

If you haven't submitted your PTA dues and Class Celebrations Fund money please do so as soon as possible.  The blue Membership Form was in your child's back to school packet.   You can also signup and pay HERE!

             
 
Box Top for Education
 
Box Tops

Did you know that we earned an EXTRA $4,000 for Robious last year through the Box Tops program?  Help us reach our new goal of $5,000 by clipping and sending in your box tops.  Box Tops can be found on many of the products your family uses each week!  Enter the individual contest by sending in 10 Box Tops TAPED to a sheet with your child's name and teacher.  Classrooms also will receive incentives as they work together to reach our clipping goals.  The first contest begins now and will end on October 31.  Recruit friends, neighbors, and grandparents to help save those Box Tops, too!
It's a small thing that adds up to something BIG for the programs at our school! 

STEAM CLUB

Ever wonder what this STEAM thing is all about?  Join us for a STEAM Family Night on Tuesday, October 18 from 6:30-8:00 PM in the RES Cafeteria.  

Families will learn what STEAM is and have the opportunity to complete a STEAM Challenge as we kickoff our NEW RES STEAM Club!

Look for more details to come home soon!

A special Thank You to  Challenge Island for being our kickoff partner!  
Running Club
All Robious Elementary students are invited to join the running club! We meet every Wednesday before school on the Robious Middle School track any time after 8:00 am. (You can arrive ANY time you like after 8:00, whatever works for your schedule!)  The first running club is Sept. 25.  Parents can sign in students to drop them off or they can stay and walk, run and chat with other parents. Younger preschool siblings are also welcome.

Each week we will have a raffle drawing or fun contest for prizes! The grade levels will also compete for prizes for most student participants and most laps logged, so encourage your friends to join. The more, the merrier! Contact me with any questions. Liz Scioscia at 
 lizscioscia@yahoo.com.

See you on the track!
The back to school luncheon was a big success. Not only did we have veteran and new staff but we had the past principals of RES attend. Mrs. Ann O'Toole, Mr. Bernie Monroe, and Mr. Stacey Austin attended and shared with us what RES meant to each of them. The Robious Bucs cheerleaders cheered the teachers into the cafeteria. The teachers had a great time! A big thank you to all who donated food, drink and their time.

Our next staff lunch will be held on Tuesday, October 18th. Be on the lookout for emails regarding this event as well as a sign up genius to donate food/drink. There are many opportunities to join in the fun of "treating" the wonderful staff here at RES.