Dear Parents,

Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year! We had a smooth start and successful first week of school. It was great to see so many smiling faces filling the halls of Davis and Richmond. We are excited to enter a new year of learning and look forward to working with all of our Davis Richmond students and families.

We will continue to communicate weekly through a common newsletter each Friday. The newsletter will begin with news that pertains to Davis Richmond including D303 Communications and PTO initiatives. The next section will outline Davis Primary Information, followed by Richmond Intermediate Updates. We hope this format allows parents to access all information for our two schools they desire and/or skim quickly to the information that pertains to their family.

Our first week has been one of setting expectations for behavior and learning. We have begun by introducing “Best Behaviors” in our schools.

• At Richmond, we learned about our community expectations for the following common spaces: Hallway, Lunch/Recess, Arrival/Dismissal, and Bus Lines.

• At Davis, Wednesday was a busy day as we introduced Lunch and Recess Best to our Kdg for the first time. They learned their three jobs while in the lunchroom: “Sit Flat. Talk quietly. Eat.” Jan Geier, Asst Supt for Elementary Education stopped in to meet our kindergartners and reinforced their “Best Learning.” We taught “Hallway, Bathroom, and Classroom Best” as well. Next week, we will be focused on Bus Best. During Bus Best on Tuesday, we will actually practice riding the bus around the block.

As always, we thank you for your support,

Denise Liechty, Principal Davis Primary

Lisa Simoncelli-Bulak, Principal Richmond Intermediate

As the school year begins, please keep in mind the following D303 bus procedures:

• Students can only ride the bus they are assigned on.
• No students will be allowed to ride the bus home with friends.
• The PM Shuttle bus to Davis is only for students who reside within walking distance from Davis.
• All bus changes need to be approved by the transportation department, 331-228-5180.
• Please expect delays the first week of school.

Parents can access the electronic version of the Elementary Handbook on the D303 website. Go to the D303 website - Our Schools - Student Handbooks - 2019-2020 - Elementary Handbook and Discipline Procedures Addendum. Please note that you will not be receiving a paper copy this year. It is the responsibility of each family to review both handbooks with their children. Thank you for your support.

Check out our new PTO website to see everything your PTO has to offer this year! On our NEW site, you can see upcoming calendar of all school events, get access to classroom directories, buy spirit wear, sign up to volunteer, pay dues directly and much, much more.

- August 21st - First PTO Meeting of the year! Come to meet the new Principal of Richmond Intermediate, socialize and learn about volunteer opportunities. Meeting is at 7pm in the LRC @ Richmond Intermediate.

- September 12th - Block Party @ Davis. Let’s celebrate the beginning of the school year with family, food and fun! Stay tuned for more details and ways to volunteer.

- Don’t forget to pay your PTO dues - The PTO requests support from every family because every student benefits from the PTO's efforts and events. Dues can be paid through D303 Pushcoin system by visiting www.pushcoin.com. After logging in, click on “webstore” underneath your child’s photo. In the “search” bar, type Davis/Richmond PTO. Add it to your cart and proceed to checkout.

Tim Hannig, ventriloquist and illusionist, will present two assemblies on Monday, August 19th during the school day for Davis Primary. He will teach important Social Emotional Learning Lessons and reinforce our BEST Behaviors.

Families are invited that same evening for a totally different show that offers music, amazing illusions, hilarious comedy, ventriloquism, drama, and audience involvement. This is a free event. Doors open at 6:15pm. The show is from 6:30 - 7:30pm.

Teachers will send out an electronic greeting along with grade level curriculum and classroom procedure information for parents to preview ahead of time. Families will come together on Curriculum Night. Students will guide their parents through their daily schedule and learning activities. Teachers will welcome each family and answer any questions that arise.

Our Curriculum night is scheduled for Wednesday, September 4th from 6:15 - 7:30pm. Families can come and go as they wish.

We love our pets and young children love them even more! They want to hug and pet them. However, when we have 400 students entering and exiting the building at the same time, a docile pet may become overwhelmed and do something out of character. We ask that you refrain from bringing pets onto school property when students are present.

Click HERE

Join us for Richmond Curriculum Night scheduled for August 26th from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm. We will be offering 3 sessions of Curriculum Night presentations. Teachers and staff will be presenting the same information at each session. Session times are as follows:

• 6:30 pm - 6:55 pm Session 1
• 7:00 pm - 7:25 pm Session 2
• 7:30 pm - 7:55 pm Session 3

All parents are invited to learn about our School-wide Improvement Initiatives and Classroom Curriculum, Routines, and Volunteering Opportunities.

Planning for Explore Week has begun! Explore week gives students an opportunity to try new things that they may be interested in through unique course offerings. Explore electives will be Tuesday, August 27 through Thursday, August 29. We appreciate the wonderful support we receive from our community for this Richmond tradition! We are still accepting donations for teachers to purchase elective materials. If you would like to volunteer to help during Explore Week, please use this link to sign up. Contact Jenni Iwanski (jennifer.iwanski@d303.org, 331-228-5052) if you have any questions.

Monday, August 19

- Pro-Kids Show at Davis Primary - Doors open at 6:15pm / Show begins at 6:30pm

Wednesday, August 21

- PTO Mtg at Richmond Intermediate from 7:00 - 8:00pm

Thursday, August 22nd

-Fire and Lockdown practice at Richmond

Monday, August 26

- Richmond 3rd - 5th Grade Curriculum Night from 6:30 - 8:00pm

Friday, Aug 30

- Teacher Institute Half Day - Students released at 11:40am

Monday, Sept 3

- Labor Day - No School

Wednesday, Sept 5

- Davis Kdg - 2nd Grade Curriculum Night from 6:15pm - 7:30pm

Friday, September 6

- Davis Picture Day

Thursday, September 12

- Davis Richmond Block Party from 5:00 - 8:00pm at Davis

Wednesday, September 25

-Richmond Picture Day Re-take