School News

Happy Veterans Day!  Our school had a wonderful program on Friday to recognize those that have served in the armed forces.  We had quite a turn out of parents and grandparents that represented all the branches of service.  Thanks to those of you able to come as it gives our students a real sense of the word dedication. Our custodian, Mr. Frank, did a wonderful job as our keynote veteran speaker.

MAC AND CHEESE!  One of our own big cheese wagons (school bus) will be coming to each school on Monday the 19th to pick up donations to the Christmas Mother.  Randolph is to bring mac and cheese.  We’ve got lower donations this year than last. If you are headed by the store during the week it would be awesome if you can pick up a couple of boxes and send them in by first thing Monday morning the 19th.

We’ve got another full week of school starting tomorrow. Looking at the calendar we’ve got a few third-grade students representing Randolph at the School Board meeting on Tuesday night. Recycling club is after school on Tuesday and then Orff and Garden clubs are after school on Wednesday. Thursday evening we will have a PTA Meeting with a focus on device use in Goochland. The Digital Family Night will target 3rd through 5th-grade families, however, all are welcome to attend, especially if you want to know what’s coming for your young ones. I will talk about the Goochland 1:1 iPad initiative and what it is like to parent in the digital age. Others will talk about Schoology and internet safety. We’ll finish with an open session where 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade teachers will be available to answer specific questions. A reminder that we want you to bring your kids iPad and your phone so we can get you set up with the right apps.

And lastly, I’d encourage your kids to cheer on the Lego Robotics teams through the week. Mrs. DeArras and her son, as well as Sherrill Kauffman and Johanna Schmeichel, have been working with the kids for many weeks. They travel to Norfolk for the regional competition on Saturday, hoping to make it to states. Good luck teams!

Last week was quite a week for students despite it being a short one. Our Twitter feed exploded with tons of book character costumes! I found myself very confused after wearing a Piglet costume on Wednesday and a Unicorn and Mac and Cheese costume on Friday. There’s a picture of each for your viewing pleasure online. Piglet was to fit into the office theme of Winnie the Pooh. The unicorn costume was because the kids raised a bunch of money at the book fair to support struggling libraries across the nation. And the Mac and Cheese was to support the Christmas Mother.

Kavis Winston is the Christmas Mother this year and came to read to us on Friday. She was selected to represent a wonderful organization that raises funds and goods to help needy families through the holiday. They have asked for Randolph students to bring mac and cheese to support the Goochland community. You can send them in until November 16th. Another event that happened this past Friday was the Wonder book handout. The Goochland Rotary gave every fourth-grade student a hardback copy of the book Wonder by R. J. Palacio. Their mission and the Randolph Compass Values have a great tie to the book, which we plan to read in fourth grade over the next month.

Looking at the calendar for next week: On Monday 4th grade spends all day outside with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. This ties into their Journey Project. Recycling Club meets after school on Tuesday. Garden and Orff Clubs meet Wednesday after school. On Friday we’ll have a wonderful Veteran’s Day assembly at 2:15 pm.

The Digital Family Night has taken on more shape for Thursday, November 15th. Although it will target 3rd through 5th-grade families, all are welcome to attend, especially if you want to know what’s coming for your young ones. I will talk about the Goochland 1:1 iPad initiative and what it is like to parent in the digital age. Others will talk about Schoology and internet safety. We’ll close with an open session where 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade teachers will be available to answer specific questions. We want parents to bring the student iPads and be the ones to take the driver’s seat!

Is there anyone out there looking for a little extra cash and a chance to see their kid during the school day?  Our second cafeteria monitor position still sits open and we could really use the help.  If you are available from 10:30 to 12:30 each day and interested in spending time with us at Randolph please get in touch with me. Here is the link to apply for the position.

This week please remember that students are off on Monday and Tuesday. Parent-teacher conference times are all set for tomorrow, so please do not show up at the school unannounced.  Please email or send a note to your child’s teacher if you would like to connect on a different day.  Book Character Day is on Wednesday. Any costumes should be appropriate for all ages and the character should come from a book.  In addition to some creative costumes, I look forward to visiting classroom parties as well! Please note that there are no after-school activities on Wednesday.  So no Garden Club and no Orff.  On Friday the 2nd grade is headed to Lewis Ginter for a field trip.

Looking farther into the future, please mark your calendar for a Family Digital Info Night for Thursday, November 15th. We are putting together a program to help support families with the digital tools we use for assignments and communication.