albert h. hill middle school - pta...

Albert H. Hill Middle School - PTA Newsletter April 2013

PTA Plant Sale

Principal’s Message

Music Program News

Beautification News

PTA Pres. Message

Science Bowl Team

School Board Message

Science Extravaganza

Important Safety Tips

Plant Sale Order Form

PTA Board Members

PTA Membership Info

Issue Highlights

1

2

2

2

3

3

4

4

4

5

6

6

Upcoming Events

PTA Poetry Night

PTA Board Meeting

Teacher Week

PTA Meeting

No School (Mem. Day)

No School (Mem. Day)

Last Day of School

4/18

5/2

5/6-5/10

3/16

5/24

5/27

6/14

Volume 2012 - 2013, Issue 3

3400 Patterson Avenue • Richmond, Virginia 23221

PTA Mother’s Day Plant Sale! Sunday, May 12, 2013

12:30 to 6:30 PM

Moms love flowers! This Mother’s Day, the Albert Hill PTA is going to make it easy for you to make Mom’s day! Beautiful hanging baskets, flats of flowers, and pots of flowers, vegetables, and herbs will be sold at Albert Hill on Sunday between 12:30 and 6:30 PM. You can also order in advance (see order form on Page 5) and pick them up that day. Single pots are $5 and flats and hanging baskets are $20, payable by cash or check made out to Albert Hill Middle School PTA. This is a great way to celebrate mothers, get yards and planters beautified, and support our wonderful school!

We need volunteers to make this event a success! Please call Molly Todd at 804-350-6718 or e-mail [email protected].

Museum of Poetry Past & Present Come one… come all to Hill PTA’s annual Poetry Night… Join us on Thursday, April 18th from 6 to 6:30pm for a free dinner plus guest poets and activities from 6:45 - 7pm in the auditorium. Then enjoy the Poetry Museum from 7 – 8pm where wax poets come to life! – Denise Briggs ([email protected])

Albert Hill Is Hospitality Site! for

The 19th Annual Museum District Mother’s Day House & Garden Tour

Sunday, May 12, 2013 1: 00 to 6:00 PM

On Sunday, May 12, hundreds of visitors, including Honorary Chair Maya Smart and her family, will celebrate Mother’s Day in style touring some of the Museum District’s loveliest homes and gardens. Proceeds from this year’s tour will support Albert Hill Middle School, Richmond Peace Education Center, FRIENDS Association for Children, & neighborhood improvement projects.

Albert Hill will be a hospitality site for this year’s tour. We need volunteers to welcome visitors and serve refreshments. Shifts are from 12:30 to 3:30 and 3:00 to 6:00. Volunteers receive a free ticket to the tour. To volunteer, please call Amanda Scudder at 804-350-6636 or e-mail [email protected].

For more information about the tour, including ticket outlets, sponsorship opportunities, previews of the houses, and other volunteer opportunities, please go to ww.museumdistrict.org.

www.richmond.k12.va.us/schools/hill/

Hill PTA Newsletter

http://web.richmond.k12.va.us/ahms/Home.aspx

A Message from Your Principal Racquel Jones

Dear Albert Hill Middle School Families: It is hard to believe we are in the last quarter of the 2012-13 school year! We are enjoying how students are growing academically and socially right before our eyes.

During the months of May and June, students will take Virginia assessments. Many students will take the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, and some will participate in alternate assessments. We are expecting all of our students to excel and do well on their tests. Teachers have devised instructional plans that promote student success. Parents/guardians can also provide support by making sure students attend school each day and complete all assignments. Together, we will promote high expectations for academic success. More information about testing will be sent home with students. Thank you for your continuous support! Mrs. Racquel Jones - Principal (780-6107 or [email protected])

Albert Hill’s Music Programs The Albert Hill 7th and 8th grade band traveled to Short Pump Middle School to participate in their state concert assessment. This performance is adjudicated by the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association. The band passed their assessment with a rating of Excellent. As always the band lives by its motto "Excellence in Sound". Amy Tarabay and Jasmine Jones will represent Albert Hill at the Landmark Theater in April in the RPS All City Middle School Honors Band. In addition, the Band and Orchestra will be competing at King’s Dominion on Friday, May 10th. - Adrienne Nelson ([email protected])

Thank You Area 10 The PTA Beautification Committee would like to thank the Area 10 Faith Community, especially Brent Idleman and Nicole Farr, for doing a fantastic job cleaning up our school grounds: painting the iron fence out front, mulching, cleaning the vegetable garden and more. In addition, thank you for building shelves for our art teacher, Ms. Russell and stripping wallpaper for Mrs. Perry. We hope they will volunteer with us again! - Anne Jordan ([email protected]) and Marybeth Deutsch ([email protected])

Hill PTA Newsletter

A Message from Your PTA President Sarah Gross

Spring is in the air! It seems like the whole city is coming back outside after the winter. Our athletic teams are taking to the field, trees are back in bloom & the kids can practically taste the summer. As you know, the faculty, staff and students at AHMS have been busy taking their 3rd 9-week benchmarks and everyone is gearing up for the end of the year.

If you weren’t able to get in to see your child’s teachers during the parent-teacher conference window, please think about checking in with them now as we move into the


4th quarter. Hard to believe, but there’s only another 9 weeks of the 2012-2013 academic year.

So far this year, the AHMS PTA board has been busy! But there are always more projects and, of course, great ideas coming from our parents, teachers and staff. We are actively looking for parents who are interested in being a part of the AHMS PTA board for next year. If you know someone, or if you have a few hours a month to get involved and get “in the know”, please email me at [email protected].

A few quick notes: Please remember that Patterson Avenue is a busy street and it’s very important that when we drop our kids off, we do so on the same side as the school and NOT ACROSS THE STREET. If your child needs to cross Patterson, please have them cross at a crosswalk. It’s a few extra steps, but there have already been a few close calls. We appreciate your cooperation.

The grounds at AHMS can always use some attention. If you are interested in helping to get some weeding or planting done, please contact Anne Larus at [email protected].

Thank you to everyone who has come to our PTA meetings this year. We have had some truly entertaining programs and some really fun evenings. I would like to that ALL the teachers, students, parents and staff that have helped to make our 3rd Thursday meetings memorable! Won’t you join us on April 18th and May 16th?

I look forward to seeing you all around Albert Hill Middle School! Thank you for your support!

Sarah Gross - PTA President ([email protected] )

Hill Team Competes in Regional DOE Science Bowl On March 2, 2013, eight Albert Hill students (Ethan Vaughan, Terrans Edmonds, Teliza Bracey, Bella Nathenson, Gabriel Wilkes, Shavé Ward, Dylan Zipperer, and Nina Bartlett) traveled to Jefferson Laboratories in Newport News, VA. After practicing for many weeks, the students competed in the Regional Department of Energy Science Bowl, which is a national quiz bowl competition that focuses on science, math, engineering, and technology. This is the team’s 6th year of participation in the competition. The students did an exceptional job though they were eliminated during the Round Robin competition. Ms. Wilson would like to commend the students for their commitment and interest in science and looks forward to working with them next year. – Phylis Wilson ([email protected])

Upcoming Events for Hill 8th Graders

The 8th Graders will have a Formal Dance (Friday, June 7th from 6pm to 9pm) in the gym, an 8th Grade Trip to Hadad’s Lake (Tuesday, June 11th) and a “Moving-On” Ceremony (Thursday, June 13th) in the auditorium.

Hill PTA Newsletter


Moving Our Schools Forward Glen Sturtevant, Jr. - 1st District School Board Representative

Dear Albert Hill Family,

The School Board has been busy since I last wrote in February. We passed the first balanced budget in recent memory while getting a good raise for teachers. Because there is too much bureaucracy at Central Office, I asked that the administration find the savings internally to provide a 10% raise for teachers. I ultimately could not get

those concessions from Central Office, but we did get about a 16% cut in Central Office’s $40 million budget. That will help provide about a 4% raise for teachers, which includes the elimination of the furlough days. We were also able to avoid big increases to class sizes as the administration had originally proposed. In light of those cuts at Central Office, I am going to cut my own School Board stipend by what we cut at Central Office and donate that money to the PTAs of Hill, Munford, and TeeJay.

The other major policy change I am working on is to move RPS to a 10-point grading scale like Chesterfield and Henrico are doing. It has recently come to light that many colleges and universities do not recalculate high school GPAs from school divisions that do not have a 10-point grading scale. This has a major impact on the prospects of students applying to college and their opportunities for good financial aid and scholarship packages. For example, a 92 is a B in Richmond; but in Henrico, it’s an A. So, a student in Henrico who gets the same number grade as a student in Richmond still stands to have a better GPA by the time they graduate because that 92 is a 4.0 in Henrico, but only a 3.0 in Richmond. Unfortunately, not all colleges will factor in those differences when considering applicants. I am actively working to make this change in Richmond so that we are also on a 10-point grading scale. That way our students remain competitive with their peers and get assessed on a level playing field.

Lastly, I know many of you have expressed frustrations regarding bus transportation this year. I am working on setting up a meeting with the transportation department manager so that we can get these problems fixed and keep them fixed.

As always, you can reach me by email ([email protected]) or on my cell phone (804-513-4248). For the most up-to-date information, follow me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GlenSturtevantFor SchoolBoard), on Twitter (@GlenSturtevant), and on my website (www.glensturtevant.com).

-Glen

Science Extravaganza Albert Hill entered 14 projects into RPS's Annual Science Extravaganza that was held Wednesday March 13th at the Arthur Ashe Center. The following students placed in the the fair: Peyton Embrey, Nicholas Woolfolk, Jeremiah Hoy, Maya Flores, Takiyah Carter, Claire Grew, and Duncan Hicks. Congratulations! – Amaya Hendrick ([email protected])

Help Keep Students Safe Please help keep our students safe! Here are three ways to prevent injuries and accidents during drop off & pick up:

1) Drop off on the school side of Patterson Avenue. Do NOT drop off or pick up your child across the street.

2) Have your child use cross walks. Do NOT allow them to cross in the middle of Patterson.

3) Pull to the curb in front of the school. Do NOT stop in the street!

Hill PTA Newsletter


Hill PTA Newsletter

Calendar of Upcoming Events

April 18 (Thursday) - PTA Meeting (Poetry Night) - 6:00 PM.

May 2 (Thursday) – PTA Board Meeting – Hill Library – 6:00PM

May 6 thru May 10 – Teacher Appreciation Week

May 16 (Thursday) - PTA Meeting (Volunteer Appreciation) - 6:30 PM.

May 24 (Friday) – No School (Memorial Day)

May 27 (Monday) – No School (Memorial Day)

June 6 (Thursday) – PTA Board Meeting – Hill Library – 6:00 PM

June 14 (Friday) - Last Day of School


PTA Board Contact List The PTA Wants You To Get Involved Too!

Executive Board President Sarah Gross [email protected] 1st VP Programs Pam Embrey [email protected] 2nd VP Membership Mary Beth Deutsch [email protected] Treasurer Richard Deutsch [email protected] Secretary Amanda Scudder [email protected]

Fundraising (Chairpersons: LeAngela Baker & Molly Todd) Fundraising Chairperson LeAngela Baker [email protected] Molly Todd [email protected] Barnes & Noble Bookfair Lisa Wilkes [email protected] Spring & Fall Catalogs Kelli Smith [email protected] Retail Rewards Cindy Creasy Woolfork [email protected]

Box Tops for Education Tonya Waller [email protected]

Merchandise Liz Guarnieri [email protected]

Communications (Chairperson: Nicole Monroe) Website & News Email Nicole Monroe [email protected] Newsletter Lesley Paiva [email protected]

Staff Appreciation/Hospitality (Chairperson: Anne Larus Jordan) Hospitality Anne Larus Jordan [email protected] Staff Appreciation Ellabeth Karalus [email protected] Staff Liaison Stephanie Perry [email protected] Volunteer Coordinator Sonja Keeve [email protected]

Activities (Chairperson: Anne Larus Jordan) Beautification Mary Beth Deutsch [email protected] Anne Larus Jordan [email protected] Soccer Coordinator Stephanie Perry [email protected]

Please Volunteer for the Albert Hill PTA Board for the 2013-2014 School Year

The Albert Hill PTA invites you to volunteer! The Nominating Committee is searching for volunteers interested in serving as a PTA officer for the 2013-2014 school year. Offices include: President, Vice President of Programs, Vice President of Membership, Secretary, Treasurer (reasonable bookkeeping skills and able to send 2 electronic tax forms), Vice President of Fundraising (coordinate fall and spring fundraisers with committee), Beautification Chair (coordinate volunteers to clean-up events), Volunteer Chair, Communications Chair, Newsletter Chair (collect school happenings and create newsletter 4 times per year), Hospitality Chair and Teacher Appreciation (coordinate several appreciation events during the year).

PTA officers attend a general monthly meeting, currently held on the first Thursday of each month (subject to change). All PTA activities, programs and fundraising are planned at these meetings. Nominees will be contacted prior to the PTA’s May meeting, where the slate of officers will be presented. Elections will be held at the May meeting. You must be a member in good standing (abide by the current bylaws and have paid PTA $7 dues) for at least 15 days to be nominated. Please contact Sarah Gross ([email protected]) if you have even just an hour or two a month to give back to AHMS PTA!

albert h. hill middle school - pta...

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