Red Pride Weekly - Family Edition

Greetings Gladiator Families!

It is amazing how good completing a full week feels! We got back into a routine in the classrooms and around the school. Our breakfast and lunch menus will return to normal and we even managed a full fire drill on Friday... our Gladiators did a GREAT job by the way!

This week is National School Breakfast Week and the theme is "Clue In". To celebrate, our cafeteria staff are hiding stickers on random breakfast food items so our Gladiators can hunt for clues. Students can bring any stickers they find to lunch and get a treat.

This is also Read Across America Week in celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday today, March 2. Thanks for your support of our PTA coin drive last week, they will conduct the official count tomorrow and I will dress up as the winning costume this Friday, March 7. The Lorax looked to have a commanding lead!

Important Dates

• Monday, March 3 - Online Kindergarten Registration Begins
• Tuesday, March 4 - No School for Students
• Wednesday, March 5 - Spring Pictures
• Monday, March 10 - No School for PreK Students
• Tuesday, March 11 - Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night
• Wednesday, March 12 - PTA Meeting
• Friday, March 14 - End of 3rd Grading Period
• Monday, March 17 - Onsite Kindergarten Registrations Begins
• Monday, March 17 - 3rd Grade Program; 6:00 pm, Gym
• Friday, March 21 - Career Fair
• Friday, March 21 - Report Cards distributed
• March 24 - 28 - Spring Break
• Saturday, April 5 - PTA Spring Fling Dance

Announcement

Please join me in welcoming Deputy Jacob Green, the new, full time School Resource Officer for Riverheads Elementary. He will join Sgt. Pultz and Deputy Burner on the Riverheads campus. We are excited that he will be at RES to support our Gladiators and help keep our school safe.

It's time to celebrate reading with Read Across America week! In addition to starting a new Beanstack challenge for the month, we will participate in a few reading events this week.

During Read Across America Week, the top reading class will be announced at the end of each school day, so be sure to log those minutes on Beanstack.

This Friday, we are encouraging our Gladiators to wear a shirt with words (school appropriate) to help us celebrate reading. Our students will have special time on Friday to have DEAR time... "Drop Everything And Read".

For more information about Beanstack, please visit: https://resbeanstack.my.canva.site/

For the 2025-2026 school year, children who will be 5 years old by September 30 of 2025 are eligible to enter kindergarten. There are two steps to register your child for Kindergarten.

Step 1: Online Registration

Online Registration must be completed for each child. You can access the link through

the Augusta County Schools Website by clicking the “Register Online” link.

Step 2: Onsite Registration

Beginning March 17, onsite registration runs from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm daily. Onsite registration is completed by bringing the following documents:

• Birth certificate
• Immunization and Physical Forms
• Proof of Residency - 2 forms are required:
• The 1st proof of residency must be either a Lease Agreement or a Mortgage Statement.
• The 2nd proof of residency can be any of the following: Bank or Tax Statement, Utility Bill, or a Pay Stub

Be sure to share this information with family and friends who will have a child turn 5 years old by September 30. We are excited to welcome new Gladiators!!

Spring Pictures are scheduled for Wednesday, March 5. Please note that spring pictures are done differently than fall pictures, so do not send money that day. Instead, a proof or portrait package will be sent home from the school with information on how to order. (Allow 3-4 weeks)

The Middlebrook Library is hosting a Children's Art Show featuring Riverheads Elementary School. Open House is from 3:30 - 6:00 pm on March 6. The show will remain open through the end of March. We are thankful to the Middlebrook Library for hosting this show and we look forward to seeing folks out at the Middlebrook Library Station.

We previously announced that the Youth Art Show, an annual exhibit of artwork from youth in Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County, began on Saturday, March 1 at the Staunton Augusta Art Center. The exhibit is one of my favorites each year and I'm excited to see artwork from our students alongside artwork from other elementary, middle and high school students around the region. The exhibit runs from March 1 to March 30. SAAC galleries are in the R.R. Smith Center for History & Art, 20 South New Street in downtown Staunton (across from the Visitor Center and parking garage). Free & open to the public, routine gallery hours are Wed-Fri/1-4pm, Sat/10am–4pm, and Sun/10am–2pm.

March will be an exciting month for our PTA, including a Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night on Tuesday, March 11 and a PTA Meeting on Wednesday, March 12. They are also excited about their plans for a Spring Fling Dance on Saturday, April 5, so please get those dates on your calendar to come out and support our PTA.

Each morning our Gladiators are asked to live up to our Red Pride Pledge by being safe, respectful, responsible, caring learners. Students who live up to our Riverheads Expectations for Success have a chance to be nominated by their teacher or another staff member for the honor of being a Good News Gladiator. Students who earn this honor are given a shout out over the announcements and are allowed to choose a book from our book vending machine.

Please join me in celebrating these Gladiators for showing their Red Pride!

We have been busy recognizing students all year, so be on the lookout for more Good News Gladiators each week.

Congratulations to our Gladiators whose art is on display at the Youth Art Show in Staunton. Their work is showing alongside students from around the county, including work from current RHS Gladiators. If you are downtown, it is worth the time to check out the talented work on display from artistic youth in Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County.