Friday, May 28th

Calendar of Events

6/9      PTO Meeting – 5:45 pm

6/10    Bullying Info Meeting 6:30 pm

6/11    Last Day for Pre-School

6/14   Beginners’ Band Concert-9:15 am Cafe

6/17   Last Day of School (1/2 day)

Olympics for Grades 5 – 8

Tuesday, June 1^st beginning at 9:00 am lasting throughout the day.  Please dress in your Olympic gear including sun screen.  Water will be provided, personal water bottles are acceptable.

Next PTO Meeting

The next PTO meeting will be June 9^th at 5:45pm.  All room parents as well as the old and new board members should attend.  Recently, a form was e-mailed to all K-7 parents to invite people to apply to be next year’s room parent.  Please consider volunteering your time for this worthy cause.  If you can’t open the e-mail, please let the office know so we can send home a hard copy.

Bullying Information Meeting

The bullying meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday, June 10^th at 6:30 pm.

Beginner’s Band Concert

The Beginners’ Band concert will be Monday, June 14^th at 9:15 am in the cafeteria.  The dress attire will be skirts or dresses for the girls; and dress pants, dress shirts with ties for the boys.

Theatre CAP Instructor

Amy Brentano, Theatre CAP instructor and Play Director, has taken a full time position as Theatre Director at Berkshire Country Day School in Lenox for the fall of 2010. She is grateful for her years with the RCS community and the wonderful opportunity to have worked with our talented students, devoted staff, and generous parent volunteers. Amy will aid in our transition to find a new instructor and director, as she is committed to RCS continuing to offer excellence in our theatre program. She thanks all of us for our support and participation in her many projects at RCS.  We wish her well!

Garden Celebration

Thanks to the many people who attended our garden celebration on Saturday.  The weather was perfect and the children had a terrific time planting their seedlings and participating with all the arts and crafts activities.  I’m sure you have noticed all the great scarecrows they made that are now guarding the garden.  A big thank you to all the parents and staff that worked on the set up or take down crews, arts and crafts, potluck supper and garden preparing and planting.  But we would be remiss if we didn’t single Amy Brentano out and thank her!  It was due to her dream that this project became a reality.   Thanks Amy!!

Berkshire Theatre Festival

Bennie Lopez and Theo Burns have been awarded a scholarship to attend the 2010 BTF Plays Summer Writing Residency at BTF.  Congratulations to both students!

Hop-a-thon

The kindergarten and preschool classes raised $367 for MDA this year.

Art Winners

Congratulations to the following people for winning the edible art contest:

Grade 1 – 1st place – Liam O’Gara   2^nd Place – Talia Caine

Grade 2 – 1^st place – Sarah Jane Rawson

Grade 3 – 1^st place – Frankie Shack

Grades 4-8 – 1^st place – Sinaia Smith

Families – Nigel Baldwin and Addie McLaughlin

Individual – Geoff Bell-Devaney

Stop & Shop Bucks

Thank you to all the families that registered the school for their Stop & Shop Bucks.  We received a check for $200.00.

Soccer Equipment Drive

Sophie Randolph, Alandra Lopez and McKenna Powell are collecting used soccer equipment.  This equipment will be brought to Haiti June 23^rd by John Evans.  John Evans is a local coach who, for the past several summers, has gone to Haiti to work building soccer programs for the children in the Jacquet, Solino and Laplenn communities.  He runs camps, trains coaches, and brings down equipment.  Any shoes, shorts, socks, shin guards, or soccer balls would be welcome contributions to this effort.  If you have any questions, please e-mail Sophie at srsoccer20@yahoo.com.  Thank you.

4^th Grade News

4th grade is looking for Magnetix Building Sets to use for Enrichment Week in June.  If your child has any of the sets he or she would be willing to lend to Mrs. Manzolini, please contact her directly.  Thanks for your support.

4^th Annual Richmond Reach the Beach

Richmond Rec. Committee’s 5k Run/Walk with Dad! June 20^th.  Flyers have been sent home with children in grades K-3.  Older students should contact Chris Begley.  Volunteers needed:  please contact Rebecca Marzotto at the Richmond Rec. Committee.

Friday, May 21st

Calendar of Events

5/22    Garden Celebration 1:30-6:00 pm

6/9      PTO Meeting – 5:45 pm

6/11    Last Day for Pre-School

6/14   Beginners’ Band Concert-9:15 am Cafe

6/17   Last Day of School (1/2 day)

Garden Celebration!!

Join us for our Garden celebration on Saturday, May 22^nd, 1:30–6:00pm at Richmond Consolidated School

1:30 pm Come see Molly Boxer, BBG Exec. Dir. and neighbor, drive her tractor up route 41 to our new Garden

2pm Ground Breaking with Richmond Land Trust, Rep. Denis Guyer, and our Garden Advisory Board

2-4pm Craft activities and planting student seedlings

4:30-6pm Pot Luck Dinner and Celebration Berklee College Students to provide Great Music

BE PART OF THE BEGINNING……

Great Fun!!!  Good Food!!  Great Friends!!!

Next PTO Meeting

The next PTO meeting will be June 9^th at 5:45pm.  All room parents as well as the old and new board members should attend.  Recently, a form was e-mailed to all K-7 parents to invite people to apply to be next year’s room parent.  Please consider volunteering your time for this worthy cause.  If you can’t open the e-mail, please let the office know so we can send home a hard copy.

2^th Grade News

Congratulations to Hannah Supranowicz for running the Mother’s Day Race @ BCC.  She placed 1^st in her age group and 20^th overall.  204 runners competed.

4^th Grade News

4th grade is looking for Magnetix Building Sets to use for Enrichment Week in June.  If your child has any of the sets he or she would be willing to lend to Mrs. Manzolini, please contact her directly.  Thanks for your support.

5^th Grade Red Sox Raffle

ATTENTION RED SOX FANS!!!!!!!!  Your 5th grade class is selling raffle tickets for June15, 2010 Red Sox tickets for 2 people.  It is against the Diamond Backs.  Cost:  5.00/ticket or 3 for 10.00.

GET THEM WHILE THEY ARE AVAILABLE!!!   Drawing June 1, 2010.

Beginner’s Band Concert

The Beginners’ Band concert will be Monday, June 14^th at 9:15 am in the cafeteria.  The dress attire will be skirts or dresses for the girls; and dress pants, dress shirts with ties for the boys.

Drawing Contest

Richmond School Children between the ages of 8 & 14.  The Richmond Pond Association (RPA) is sponsoring its annual drawing contest.  We are asking that you use your artistic talent and imagination to draw some activity, adventure, or experience that you have had at Richmond Pond.  The picture is to be no larger than 3”x5”, please sign your name or initials in the bottom right corner.  Print your name, age, address and phone number on the back of your picture.

The RPA will be selling stickers and tee shirts with the winning drawing on them for its annual fundraiser.  The winner will receive $50.00 and a tee shirt displaying their winning drawing.

Please submit your drawing to:  Richmond Pond Association, Linda Kay, President, 39 Cherry Road, Richmond MA  01254, before May 28, 2010 to be included in the contest.

Tennis Anyone?

The Richmond Recreation Committee would like to offer tennis lessons this summer for both children and adults. Lessons would probably be twice a week for children and once a week for adults and we would charge a small fee.  If enough folks express interest, we will proceed with a program. If interested, please email Holly Freadman at  hfreadman@nycap.rr.com.

4^th Annual Richmond Reach the Beach

Richmond Rec. Committee’s 5k Run/Walk with Dad! June 20^th.  Flyers have been sent home with children in grades K-3.  Older students should contact Chris Begley.  Volunteers needed:  please contact Rebecca Marzotto at the Richmond Rec. Committee.

May 2010 Minutes

Richmond Consolidated School

PTO Meeting Minutes – May 12, 2010

By:  Julia Russell

Attendants :  2:00 pm Julia Russell, Anne Danko, Wendy Laurin, Tracy Crawford

5:45 pm Julia Russell, Alicia Woodbury, Jenevra Strock, Bianca Diegle, Jim Biancolo, Vicky Biancolo, Beth Smith, Wendy Laurin, Catherine Gamberoni, Grace Daley

First order of business was to vote for the PTO paying the speaker fee for Dr. David Anderegg who will be speaking at the school on May 19^th from the Educational Productions budget.  The board also voted for making a monetary donation of $200, toward the community garden.

Julia Russell did a slide show presentation outlining the board positions and the focus and goals of the PTO.  It included the class trip financing requirements as well as the PTO financial requirements.  It briefly covered next years planned fundraisers and some other fundraising ideas, e.g.  monthly movie nights (after school for elementary, evenings for middle schoolers, the idea of after school play ground etc, was also brought up.  In addition the ideas of PTO dues and offering parents the option to opt out of fundraising by writing a check, (this would be done directly to the school, by S.S.A.E) in order to keep the students and classroom out of it and giving everyone confidentiality.

We also discussed including PTO events on the school website calendar and possible PTO website discussion boards.

Wendy Laurin provided a break down of the Craft Fair components, the crafter letters need to go out Mid August and the Silent Auction letters need to go out early September.

Some changes were discussed such as the name and that the Chinese Auction be removed from the event and the Kid Activities be brought in instead.

In the search for a new PTO board for next year, we have received a Secretary commitment and a Co-President commitment.  We still need a Treasurer for next year.  Julia Russell cannot do the office next year.   The new board members really need to be voted in at next months meeting.

A number of attendants expressed some concerns about the combining of class parents, with the PTO and across the board fundraising and feel that more discussion needs to be made before and changes occur.

Friday, May 14th

Calendar of Events

5/18   Recreation Committee meeting 7:30pm

6/14   Beginners’ Band Concert-9:15 am Cafe

6/17   Last Day of School (1/2 day)

Principal’s Search Update

from Superintendent Ballen
The Principal’s Search Committee has worked long and hard to find the right individual to be your next Principal.  They reviewed the resumes of 31 candidates, interviewed nine individuals, and invited four back for a second round of interviews and a visit to the school.  One candidate declined, but the other three completed a second interview and visited.  At this point, the Search Committee has unanimously voted NOT to forward any of the three candidates to the School Committee and myself as finalists.  This is not to say that any of the nine who were interviewed were not qualified, each person had their own strengths and weaknesses.  Rather, the Committee has taken the courageous step to say that they did not feel, at this point, that any of these individuals were the “right fit” at this time for Richmond School.
This is a critical time for Richmond School and for our community.  The choice of a new Principal is the most important decision that has to be made at this point in time and you should feel fortunate that you have a dedicated and talented Search Committee in place to continue with this process.

Therefore, the Committee has decided to instruct me to RE-OPEN the search and re-advertise for the position.  In addition to re-advertising, they are being proactive about contacting any individual they feel may have the qualifications for the job and are encouraging them to apply at this time.  I am asking that you participate in the process by doing the same thing!  If you know someone who you feel might present a strong candidacy, please contact them or let me or one of the members of the Search Committee know.  We would certainly be happy to contact them.
I am also prepared, if this second search does not yield any individuals we can all feel excited about, to appoint an interim Principal for next year and begin the search again next spring.  That decision will be made after reviewing a new batch of candidates.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns or comments, feel free to contact me here at school.  My office number is 698-4001 or you may try me on my cell phone at 446-1196.
Bill Ballen

Talent Show

Thank you to Mrs. Regina Serkin & Mrs. Kim Lopez for once again organizing and running our Talent Show this year.  Thank you also to Diane Piraino, Ted Randolph, Mark Kelso and Tammy Jervas for adding an adult element to the show.  A big thank you to all the students who shared their wonderful talents with us that evening.

Kiss & Ride

Please help keep our students safe by only having one lane of traffic into the pick-up area and one lane out.

Great East Festival

Mrs. Mullen and the Richmond Chorus won a Gold plaque at the Great East Festival today!!  Congratulations to all the students for their hard work all year.  Thank you to Mr. Peter Serkin for accompanying the chorus.

Art Show/Spring Concert

Congratulations to all the students, Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Mullen for the terrific evening Wednesday night.  The Art Show was great and the Concert was wonderful.  Thank you to Mr. Peter Serkin for accompanying the chorus.

7th Gr Berkshire County Writing Contest

Congratulations to Richmond students Jordan Begley, Allie Glass, Ceci Reynolds, Mia Smith, and Kevin Stasiewski for their participation in the annual  7th Grade Berkshire County Writing Contest. The students spent the day at Nessacus Middle School in Dalton writing, communing with other young writers, listening to a guest speaker who is a writing professor at NYU, and eating pizza. All the students did a great job; special kudos to Jordan for winning an honorable mention plaque!

5^th Grade News

Congratulations to Lucy Hoffman for winning 3^rd place on the beam with a 9.625 during the state gymnastics competition.

Seedlings

Calling all seedlings and budding gardeners: please bring back to school the seedling you have been nurturing at home. Drop the milk carton with the growing plant in the cafeteria so we may continue to help it grow strong. All plants will be planted in the school garden on Sat. May 22^nd (with a rain date of May 23^rd) at our celebratory ground breaking garden event from 1-6pm.  Please plan on joining us that afternoon to start our garden and participate in various fun activities, followed by a potluck supper. So mark your calendars for the 22^nd!

5^th Grade Red Sox Raffle

ATTENTION RED SOX FANS!!!!!!!!  Your 5th grade class is selling raffle tickets for June15, 2010 Red Sox tickets for 2 people.  It is against the Diamond Backs.  Cost:  5.00/ticket or 3 for 10.00.

GET THEM WHILE THEY ARE AVAILABLE!!!   Drawing June 1, 2010.

Washington, DC (7/8)

If you haven’t already turned in your paperwork for this trip, please do so ASAP.  The final payment of $110 ($330 total) is due Monday, May 17^th.  Thank you for attending to these two matters promptly.

Beginner’s Band Concert

The Beginners’ Band concert will be Monday, June 14^th at 9:15 am in the cafeteria.  The dress attire will be skirts or dresses for the girls; and dress pants, dress shirts with ties for the boys.

Drawing Contest

Richmond School Children between the ages of 8 & 14.  The Richmond Pond Association (RPA) is sponsoring its annual drawing contest.  We are asking that you use your artistic talent and imagination to draw some activity, adventure, or experience that you have had at Richmond Pond.  The picture is to be no larger than 3”x5”, please sign your name or initials in the bottom right corner.  Print your name, age, address and phone number on the back of your picture.

The RPA will be selling stickers and tee shirts with the winning drawing on them for its annual fundraiser.  The winner will receive $50.00 and a tee shirt displaying their winning drawing.

Please submit your drawing to:  Richmond Pond Association, Linda Kay, President, 39 Cherry Road, Richmond MA  01254, before May 28, 2010 to be included in the contest.

Parent Enrichment Committee- Book/Lecture

We are pleased to announce our spring book selection,

“Worried All the Time: Over parenting in an Age of Anxiety and How to Stop It” by David Anderegg, Ph.D. We are fortunate in that Dr. Anderegg, a resident of the Berkshires, has graciously agreed to moderate what promises to be a dynamic discussion on May 19^th at 6:30 PM.  Participants will have an opportunity to submit 2-3 questions and/or topics of interest prior to the discussion to help direct the conversation. So don’t miss this exciting opportunity. Get your book and start reading!

See the following links for some helpful information.http://www.drdavidanderegg.com/page.php?PageID=470&PageName=Worried+All+The+Time

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=worried+all+the+time

http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=book&ATH=David%20Anderegg

Recreation Committee meeting

Tuesday 5/18 at 7:30pm.  The agenda items will include debriefing of the Ping Pong tourney and the upcoming Fathers Day– Reach the Beach race.

Tennis Anyone?

The Richmond Recreation Committee would like to offer tennis lessons this summer for both children and adults. Lessons would probably be twice a week for children and once a week for adults and we would charge a small fee.  If enough folks express interest, we will proceed with a program. If interested, please email Holly Freadman at  hfreadman@nycap.rr.com.

Donations Accepted

The Pediatric Development Center, PDC, is now accepting “gently used” items for their table at the Kiwanis Tag Sale at the Pittsfield Common o Saturday, June 5 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Items include: children’s clothes (NB-6yrs), children’s toys, children’s books, and children’s furniture and other accessories.

Berkshire International Film Festival

This June the Berkshire International Film Festival will showcase two free family programs as well as an enactment of the classic Yiddish musical film JIDL MITN FIDL (tickets $10 for the play). KID FLIX MIX 2009 comes from the world-renowned New York International Children’s Film Festival and presents a kaleidoscopic collection of the best animated short films from around the world, for ages 3 to 8 and will show at the Mahaiwe at 10am Sunday, June 6th. In SCHOOL PLAY (recommended for ages 3-8) a hilarious, award winning coming-of-age film showing Sunday June 6^th at noon, the drama of childhood is magnified through the lens of a 5th grade production of THE WIZARD OF OZ.  For more info visit www.biffma.org.

Friday, May 7th

Calendar of Events

5/7 Talent Show, 7 PM

5/11 PTO Meeting, 2:00 or 5:45

5/11 Informational Mtg, 7/8 Grade Trip, 6 PM

6/14 Beginners’ Band Concert-9:15 am Cafe

Staff Appreciation Week

Thank you to the PTO and parents/guardians who have showered us with goodies, cards, letters and flowers this week!!  We feel very much loved!!!  The Richmond Staff

PTO Meeting

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, May 11^th.  Julia Russell has offered to chair the meeting twice, once at 2:00 pm and once at 5:45 pm.  Hopefully, this schedule will help all the room parents who need to start attending meetings. If you need childcare call before the 10^th so we can arrange for a sitter (cost is $2.00/child.)

Ping Pong Tourney

We had about 50+ participants in the First Annual Richmond Ping Pong Tournament!   Thanks to all who helped with this fun community event.  Special thanks to Tammy Jervas, Kim Lopez, Ruth Hanovan, Chris Begley, Jeff Konowitch, Jim Nejaime and the Wyatt family.  Thanks also to all families who loaned their tables.

PTO Pancake Breakfast

Congratulations to Carolyn Clairmont on winning the 50/50 raffle during the PTO Pancake Breakfast.

MCAS Schedule

Date                    Grade          Subject

Mon, May 10th Wed May 12th	3rd & 4th	Math
Mon, May 10th Tues, May 11th	5th – 8th	Math
Wed, May 12th Thurs, May 13th	5th & 8th	Science

Please make sure your child has a good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast and the message from you that they should try their best. Gum and water bottles are encouraged during the test.

Math Club

The last session for Math Club for this year will be Thursday, May 13^th.

Seedlings

Calling all seedlings and budding gardeners: please bring back to school the seedling you have been nurturing at home. Drop the milk carton with the growing plant in the cafeteria so we may continue to help it grow strong. All plants will be planted in the school garden on Sat. May 22^nd (with a rain date of May 23^rd) at our celebratory ground breaking garden event from 1-6pm.  Please plan on joining us that afternoon to start our garden and participate in various fun activities, followed by a potluck supper. So mark your calendars for the 22^nd!

5^th Grade Red Sox Raffle

ATTENTION RED SOX FANS!!!!!!!!  Your 5th grade class is selling raffle tickets for June15, 2010 Red Sox tickets for 2 people.  It is against the Diamond Backs.  Cost:  5.00/ticket or 3 for 10.00.

GET THEM WHILE THEY ARE AVAILABLE!!!   Drawing June 1, 2010.

7/8 Trip Information

On Tuesday, May 11^th at 6:00 PM, there will be an information meeting for all students and all their parents that will be going on the Washington DC trip. Please be prepared to fill out emergency information for health insurance and emergency phone numbers.

Beginner’s Band Concert

The Beginners’ Band concert will be Monday, June 14^th at 9:15 am in the cafeteria.  The dress attire will be skirts or dresses for the girls; and dress pants, dress shirts with ties for the boys.

Play Bousquet Summer Camp 2010

Camp Overview

Join us this summer for seven different weeks of fun! Daily activities include hiking, games, mini golf, arts and crafts, rock wall climbing, homemade treats and, of course, plenty of fun on the water slides – all for just $140 per week or $40 per day. At Camp Bousquet there is something for everyone!  Camp is geared for kids ages 6-14. Every week’s activities are different so campers will never get bored. Call 413-442-8316 to register today.

Weekly Sessions   Camp runs from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. each day (before and after care available)

• July 6 – 9 (No July 5)
• July 12 – 16
• July 19 – 23
• July 26 – 30
• August 2 – 6
• August 9 – 13
• August 16 – 20

Parent Enrichment Committee- Book/Lecture

We are pleased to announce our spring book selection,

“Worried All the Time: Over parenting in an Age of Anxiety and How to Stop It” by David Anderegg, Ph.D. We are fortunate in that Dr. Anderegg, a resident of the Berkshires, has graciously agreed to moderate what promises to be a dynamic discussion on May 19^th at 6:30 PM.  Participants will have an opportunity to submit 2-3 questions and/or topics of interest prior to the discussion to help direct the conversation. So don’t miss this exciting opportunity. Get your book and start reading!

See the following links for some helpful information.http://www.drdavidanderegg.com/page.php?PageID=470&PageName=Worried+All+The+Time

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=worried+all+the+time

http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=book&ATH=David%20Anderegg

Tennis Anyone?

The Richmond Recreation Committee would like to offer tennis lessons this summer for both children and adults. Lessons would probably be twice a week for children and once a week for adults and we would charge a small fee.  If enough folks express interest, we will proceed with a program. If interested, please email Holly Freadman at  hfreadman@nycap.rr.com.

Donations Accepted

The Pediatric Development Center, PDC, is now accepting “gently used” items for their table at the Kiwanis Tag Sale at the Pittsfield Common o Saturday, June 5 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Items include: children’s clothes (NB-6yrs), children’s toys, children’s books, and children’s furniture and other accessories.

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