Richfield Joint School District No. 1
Inspiring Learners, Cultivating Leaders
January 2018 Newsletter
Mission Statement:
To ensure student growth and achievement through supportive learning environments, while cultivating challenging educational opportunities through parent, staff and community partnerships.

Vision Statement:
We will inspire our students to find the joy in life-long learning, reach their fullest potential and make positive contributions to their community.
Student
Monthly Message
Brought to you by the 2017/18 Raider Leaders
Welcome to our 150th academic year! Whether it is your first year in the district or your last, we're extremely glad you’re here. To help commemorate our history, please share your favorite memories with us by clicking on the button below.
Plat Elementary
2nd grade Writing Celebration - 12-8-17
Toy donations from Plat families were sent to the Gingerbread House program of Washington County.
Arts in Community Education
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Kindergarten students learn about instruments that are musical opposites from members of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra through the ACE program.
Second grade students are challenged to solve a mystery through music, thanks to MSO performers and our ACE program.
Final Winter Concerts at Plat
December 19, 2017
Thank you to Ms. Blanco, Ms. Blau, teachers, paraprofessionals, Denk Cleaning & Security, Mr. Carron and all who helped make the final Winter Concerts at Plat School special. The most important thank you? Our students for their performance, and parents, family and friends for being a great audience. All contributed to make these moments especially memorable.

Thank you to Mr. Wuteska for filming the event and to Mr. and Mrs. McManigal for their photography. Please find the photos at the button on the left.
Christmas Cardio at Plat, December 20, 2017
Plat School students enjoy a few minutes of Christmas Cardio - an activity they earned with their positive behavior the past few weeks!
Plat Panther Point winners
12-4-17
12-11-17
12-18-17
Richfield Elementary
Fourth Grade Poster Presentations
Ms. Klug's students share their posters with Ms. Blank's class.
Geography Bee!
Congrats to all of our students for their efforts and achievements in the Geography Bee that occurred directly preceding winter break on December 22, 2017. Congratulations to our winning student, pictured at left with Mr. Cirillo!
Richfield Instrumental Concert
December 14, 2017
Congratulations to our middle school students who were recognized at the concert for the acceptance to the UW-M Middle School Band. One additional student was accepted to the Wisconsin Band Camp!
Arts in Community Education
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Fifth grade is treated to an ACE concert on December 11th.
ALL ABOARD the Polar Express...
Polar Express Literacy Night
A group of young students, attending an event at Plat School on December 13th, were welcomed aboard a magical train to the North Pole.

What a fun night upon the Polar Express! We had a great night learning about helpful reading strategies and listening to Train Conductor Carron read The Polar Express to us.

Thanks to all staff who participated in making the night a success, and to all of our families for their attendance-- we had over 100 families in attendance!
Richfield Readers Cafe
Love to read?

Have some free time? Or know someone who does?

Come to Richfield and share your time with some of our students. The commitment is minimal, but the impact is far-reaching and long-lasting!
Richfield Elementary school is starting an exciting new program called the Richfield Readers Cafe to connect readers of all ages! Students will have an opportunity to spend their lunchtime reading with volunteers from the Richfield Community-- hopefully you! They will spend a half hour eating, reading, and discussing the book with you. This program will help develop a child’s love for reading, comprehension skills, and important social skills. The program time will run from 11:15 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. on Wednesdays. You will be matched with 1-2 students per lunch period, or 6-8 students during the length of a cycle (6-8 weeks). Multiple sessions will be offered throughout the school year.

If you are interested in volunteering for this program, please complete the form below and return the completed Volunteer Application Form .

Volunteer Name: ________________________

Community Connection to School: ___________________________

Volunteer Contact Information
Phone Number:_______________ Email: _____________________

Select each cycle you are interested in being part of:

_____ Cycle #2 begins Wednesday 1/17-2/7 (8 weeks)
_____ Cycle #3 begins Wednesday 2/14-3/21 (6 weeks)
_____ Cycle #4 begins Wednesday 4/4-5/9 (6 weeks)

Please contact Becky McGinley, Reading Specialist, with any questions, comments, or concerns at 262-628-1170 x 3022 or email at mcginleyb@richfield.k12.wi.us .

Community Connections
The Washington Country Library Board is hoping to get as many people as possible to complete the attached survey. The information provided and data collected will be helpful to our Board and may help improve our library budget.
Richfield Association of Parents and sTaff
RAPT
You Shop. Amazon Gives.
Amazon Smile is a program where Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to R.A.P.T. It’s a super easy way to raise money for R.A.P.T and you can share this information with your family and friend (even if they are out of state).
Step 1: Log into www.smile.amazon.com

Step 2: Use your current Amazon account email address and your password (YES, if you have
amazon prime, it will accept it when you log in!)

Step 3: If you don’t have a current Amazon Account create one (Name, Email Address, and
create a password).

Step 4: It will say “Choose a spotlight or charity or search all charitable organizations” you will
want to “search all charitable organizations”, at this point type in Richfield Scholarship and hit
enter. The first response should be Richfield Scholarship Association Inc. Select that.

Step 5: Start Shopping! It really is THAT easy!

You must log into www.smile.amazon.com every time you shop (there is not an app. for Amazon
Smile, so you must go into your browser and type the address). It will recognize your amazon
prime account so you will still get free shipping with Amazon Smile.

There is absolutely no extra cost to you, or the R.A.P.T. program for using Amazon Smile.
New Addition
Evelyn Rose Hartlmeier
Mr. & Mrs. Hartlmeier welcomed their first child, Evelyn Rose on December 10, 2017. She arrived at 10:05 am, weighing in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces. 20.5 inches. The family is doing well!

While Ms. Hartlmeier is out, we welcome Ms. Becky Jagielski to our district.
Reports & Updates
President's Corner
Mr. Blair Rogacki
The December Joint Interim Board meeting for the Holy Hill Area School District was held on December 19th at Friess Lake School. At this meeting, administration discussed sending brief surveys to both the parents and staff in order to gather information to assist with planning for the 2018/19 school year. These surveys went out just prior to the beginning of winter break. Administration also discussed the upcoming Kindergarten Registration process. Registration will once again be available online, as well as in person. Registration will be held at Plat on January 24th and 25th to ensure convenience for parents with students currently enrolled at Plat School. Registration will also be held at Friess Lake on January 31st and February 1st so that families have the opportunity to tour the Friess Lake facility.

In addition, the 2018/19 School Calendar was discussed, and a final version will be approved at the January Joint Interim Board meeting. This calendar will be posted online following its approval. Lastly, administration discussed the 2018 Summer School program for the Holy Hill Area School District. The program will run June 18 - July 13 at Richfield Elementary/Middle School. An exciting addition this year due to consolidation, is the addition of Camp Invention, which will be offered at Friess Lake School July 16 - July 20. Staggering the locations will allow staff to ready the buildings for the opening of school in August (Orientation) and September (beginning of the 2018/19 school year). The summer school program will be acted on in January, and brochures will be sent to families after approval.

Later this month, Vice President Paul Propst will represent the Richfield School Board at the Wisconsin State School Board Convention. Also later this month, the Joint Interim Board will discuss and act upon open enrollment policy and designate space availability. We have been advised by legal counsel that all students currently attending our schools through open enrollment need not reapply; they are automatically enrolled for next school year! More information will be available on our website following the January Board meeting.

Upcoming Meetings:
January 22nd @ Richfield
February 20th @ Friess Lake
March 20th @ Richfield
April 23rd @ Friess Lake
Joint Interim Board Mission Statement:
Provide oversight and direction to the integration and unification of the Holy Hill Area School District.
Message from your Administrators
Mr. Jeff Carron
Ms. Tara Villalobos
The turn of the new year always signifies a fresh start. This January, we are proud to celebrate our 150th anniversary of educating Richfield students. Today we look back on our accomplishments and use our past to positively plan for our future.  

The Richfield Schoolhouse was constructed in 1867. In 1936, the schoolhouse was replaced and has had eight additions since that time, the most recent in 2015. The 1997/98 construction project was easily the largest of these additions: the library was updated and was expanded to include a computer lab, the art room and gymnasium were built, and the 'old' gymnasium was converted into a multipurpose room including the stage and cafeteria. Several classrooms received new heating vents, and a fire alarm, bell system, and clocks were installed throughout the school. These rooms have remained largely untouched except for a cafeteria facelift in 2013 and the updating of the band room and heating and cooling units in 2017. Over the summer we plan to remodel our library media space.

The Plat School District has educated students since the mid-1850s, and it too, has undergone several renovations. The original building we see today was erected in 1929, the wing of classrooms added and expanded in 1967 and 1980, and the gymnasium we just used for our winter concerts: the 1970s. Plat originally served the towns of Merton and Erin as well as our current population, but in the early 1960s, the boundaries were changed, and Plat began to provide service to students entirely in Washington County.  

In 1986, students from the Plat School District began attending Richfield because of declining enrollment at Plat. In 1988, the Plat School District officially dissolved. For a few years, all Plat District students were bused to Richfield and the Plat School was closed temporarily; following this, Plat reopened and began providing service to students as we now know it -- 4K - 2 at Plat, 3 - 8 at Richfield.  

Our district has a unique beginning, and will soon be recreating itself once again. With each of these changes comes some uncertainty, but our commitment to your students and our focus on continuous improvement is unwavering. We are working to move forward collectively, to strengthen our processes and better serve your child(ren). Your support and the support of our staff is key to another successful transition for the Richfield, and now Holy Hill Area School District.

As we begin the descent of our final year of educating as the Richfield Joint School District No. 1, our excitement to celebrate the many 'lasts' builds, and we look forward to a year of 'firsts.'  We'd like to say, "Thank you," to each of you, for being a part of our rich history, and for helping us to create and innovate in the upcoming year. 
Richfield in the News
Social Media

Hey #GoRJ1Raiders! We're gearing up for the 2017/2018 school year and want to be sure that you continue to stay informed and see all of the wonderful things we share here on school district's page. 

To be sure you don't miss out on any important info, make sure you "see our posts first in your news feed" and "turn on notifications" from our page. Now get back to enjoying your summer!
Holy Hill Area School District
Holy Hill Area School District Enrollment Survey
Prior to winter break an enrollment survey was sent out in order to gauge enrollment for the 2018/19 school year... the first year of the Holy Hill Area School District! To date we have received 211 responses. If you are among the 211-- thank you! If not, we encourage you to complete this survey for us. It will be used to help determine open enrollment space available and guide us as we establish grade level sections for next year. If your students will be graduating from Richfield at the end of this school year, you can either disregard the survey, or complete the survey by responding, "No, my child(ren) will not be attending next year." Find the survey by clicking on the red button. Thank you for your help!
As a team, the Holy Hill Area School District will continue to serve students first, providing academic excellence through a positive, supportive, safe and respectful environment in which we equip and empower all students, staff, parents, and community.
Our district is now using  SafeSchools Alert, a tip reporting service that allows students, staff, and parents to submit safety concerns to our administration four different ways: 
1.    Phone:  262.623.5186
2.    Text:    Text your tip to 262.623.5186
3.    Email:     1507@alert1.us
4.    Web:     http://1507.alert1.us 
SafeSchools Alert
Safety is one of our district’s top priorities and to help safeguard our school community, we’ve taken an important step that I want to share with you. 
You and your child can easily report tips on bullying, harassment, drugs, vandalism or any safety issue you're concerned about through SafeSchools Alert. Every tip SafeSchools Alert receives about our district is immediately logged in the system and our administration is notified so that they can investigate and take appropriate action. And, tips may also be submitted anonymously if you prefer.
Together, using SafeSchools Alert, we can make our district a safer place to work and learn! Thanks in advance for your support. 
Richfield Joint School District No. 1 | (p) 262.628.1032 | (f) 262.628.3013 | www.richfield.k12.wi.us