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SPOTLIGHT

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PARENT NATION

SPARTAN NEWS

COLLEGE PREP

5 November 2023

CEO MAGAZINE LOOKING AHEAD Check out What’s Happening at Richard Wright

Special Edition Honoring our Veterans: A Tribute to Our Beloved Partners The South Carolina Combat Veterans

Table of Contents 3

CEO MESSAGE

SPARTAN NEWS

REMINDERS

The latest and greatest with new video link

Highlights of a dynamic week of Spartan Pride for Homecoming 2023

Things to keep in mind each and every day

HONORING VETERANS PARENT NATION

GUIDANCE CORNER

The South Carolina Combat Veterans warm welcome back to Richard Wright

Looking for Inspirational parents for the “10 Second Moment”

College Prep and Dual Enrollment applications open

SATURDAY SCHOOL

WISE OWL

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The importance of the Saturday program and upcoming dates

Sports Broadcaster Howard Inspirational thoughts and Cossell’s career spans 3 new perspectives decades with many life lessons

19/20

THE WEEK AHEAD

SCHOOL DIRECTORY

SEASON STYLE WATCH

The schedule for the week of November 1-3, 2023

All the school contacts you may be in search of

The latest in fashion and join the movement with “We All We Got” gear

IMPORTANT DATES

EDUCATOR SALUTE

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Fall weather brings November dates to be on the lookout for

Gratitude for educators who continue to shape the world

Follow, subscribe, and share all the great RW content

Thank you for all you do as parents/guardians. We cannot believe that we have completed seven weeks of school already. Our students have been absolutely phenomenal. Parents, I ask that you continue checking in with your child every day to ensure that they are completing their homework and class work.

CHECK OUT OUR LATEST VID HERE We thank you for the opportunity to serve you, your child, and your family. All the Best,

Dr. Marco Clark FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 3

HONORING THE SOUTH CAROLINA COMBAT VETERANS GROUP One of the favorite times of the school year is embraced when longtime partner the South Carolina Combat Veterans Group returns to the Capitol to pay their respects to fellow servicemen and servicewomen and visit their Richard Wright Family

Cover Photo by Logan McCrae 4

Photo by Logan McCrae

Photo by Latrice Adams

As the leaves turn from green to golden as the seasons change without fail, so too do the South Carolina Combat Veterans (SCCV) travel to Washington, DC to honor their fallen brothers and sisters in combat and pay their respects at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Richard Wright Schools students once again had the incredible opportunity to accompany the veterans, hear their stories, and gain an insightful perspective on history. The first-person point of view of this impactful moment in history through the hearts and minds of AfricanAmerican soldiers was not only an invaluable learning experience, but a true honor. Students (See credited photos on left) captured photos and video at the memorial but then had the opportunity to serve the longtime partner of Richard Wright as the group visited the school for their Annual Luncheon. For almost a decade, the SCCV has made Richard Wright its second home in Washington, DC. The group is extended family and welcomed as such. One of the school community’s favorite times of year, the day is filled with not only reflection, remembrance, and gratitude, but laughter, love, food, and fellowship. Students and staff have the wonderful opportunity to serve those who have served the country with sacrifice and bravery.

Cornerstones of Richard Wright are community and service and our annual visit from the South Carolina Combats Veterans encompasses both with genuine fellowship, kindness, and love. We deeply honor and respect our incredible partners for their dedicated service. The SC Combat Vets have given so much and continue to do so with their words and actions, in their generosity and conviction, through their wisdom and kindness, always rolemodeling strength, character, integrity, and compassion.

During the visits, our young people are able to share their gifts of music, song, dance, and words as the Veterans do the same. The Wright Dancers through the direction of Richard Wright Dance teachers, Ms. Johnson, and Ms. Featherson; the Richard Wright Choral Ensemble, co-directed by Mr. Charlton and ROXIE Director Mr. Murray; and the Strings Ensemble, directed by Ms. Uzuegbu, performed with such soulful expression that brought warmth and joy to our guests. Behind the scenes, RW students and staff concentrated their efforts to make the reunion meaningful and memorable, making sure the Vets were given the attention they greatly deserved. Ambassadors served delicious food lovingly prepared by Food Managers Ms. Hines and Ms. Smith, and Parent and Community Liaison Director Ms. Glover.

The ROXIE media and tech team Mr. Gordon, Mr. Jackson, and Chief Creative Officer Ms. Santos captured the day with photos and video. Celebrants were welcomed fondly and graciously by Founder & CEO, Dr. Marco Clark, while Outreach & Development Director, Ms. Compton-Harris kept the party going. Commander Tommy Olds, Mr. Bob Harris, Mr. Douglas Brackett, and Mr. Frank Bynum, who have been coming to Richard Wright since the initial visit a decade ago, visited the ROXIE Studio to drop a special CEO message to the Richard Wright Community which can be viewed on the link below. Thank you to the South Carolina Combat Veterans who reached deep into their pockets to take up as collection once again to donate over $1K to the school. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to serve you, break bread, share stories, music, dance, and blessings. You inspire us to do better, and be better and remind us that in order to lead, we first must be willing to serve. We love and respect you! THANK YOU DEEPLY FOR YOUR NOBLE AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY AND FOR BEING THE BEST ROLE MODELS FOR OUR YOUTH!

HAPPY VETERANS DAY!

Family, the energy throughout the building has truly been electric. We are also thankful for the young people who showed up for Saturday School this past Saturday. Parents if your child is in the 8th, 9th or 10th grade, we need them in Saturday School. Our Saturday programming is designed to address the deficiencies we analyzed at the start of the school year.

Parents, we are constantly evaluating student academic data and overall performance. As you know, all of our students were given a diagnostic exam at the beginning of the school year to assess their academic performance levels. After the assessments were completed our Academic Leadership Team did a thorough analysis and concluded that we need to revive our Saturday School to address academic deficiencies.

The analysis revealed some areas of concern which need some extended time to address. This is not uncommon for students to show signs of needing improvement during the lack of schooling in the summer. In order to ensure that we are completing the task of ensuring that every student is “College Ready”. We need all students in grades 8-10th in “Saturday School”. Please see the schedule below.

SATURDAY SCHOOL SATURDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE FOR 8th, 9th, and 10th GRADERS

9:45AM - 12:00 PM October 21, 2023 November 4, 2023 November 11, 2023

November 18, 2023 December 2, 2023 December 9, 2023

December 16, 2023 January 20, 2024 January 27, 2024

February 3, 2024 March 2, 2024 March 9, 2024 7

SCHOOL STARTS @8AM SHARP!! PLEASE BE ON TIME AND IN FULL UNIFORM.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE PARENTS WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!! PLEASE ENSURE THAT STUDENTS GET TO SCHOOL ON TIME ……

Students will not be admitted after 8:20am without a parent, a note from court, or a doctor's note.

School Schedule Week of November 1-3, 2023 Monday, November 6

Full Day of Learning - Dismissal @3:30 pm

Tuesday, November 7

Full Day of Learning - Dismissal @3:30 pm

Wednesday, November 8 Full Day of Learning - Dismissal @3:30 pm Thursday, November 9

Full Day of Learning - Dismissal @3:30 pm

Friday, November 10 School Closed in Observance of Veterans Day STAFF & STUDENTS RETURN ON NOVEMBER 13th @ 8AM 8

IMPORTANT CALENDAR DATES

STAFF & STUDENTS RETURN ON (NOVEMBER 13th @On- time) DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME (NOVEMBER 5th) ELECTION DAY (NOVEMBER 7th) VETERANS DAY (NOVEMBER 11th) STUDENT LUNCHEON (NOVEMBER 21st) THANKSGIVING BREAK (NOVEMBER 23-29th) 9

SPARTAN

BY MARGARITA PEREZ

NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SPARTAN VOLLEYBALL AND FOOTBALL TEAMS AS THEY FINISH UP THEIR EXCITING SEASONS and to OUR DEDICATED COACHES... Volleyball Coach Mya and Football Head Coach McCauley, Assistant Head Coach Richardson, Assistant Coach Johnson!!! KUDOS to the SENIORS on those teams for your leadership and efforts to model SPARTAN pride and determination!

VOLLEYBALL FOOTBALL Stay tuned as SPARTAN BASKETBALL TRYOUTS begin this week and INDOOR TRACK is coming soon. Be sure to check in with Coach Singleton for permission slips and tryout dates. 10

BASKETBALL

WISE

OWL Joy Harjo is an internationally renowned performer and writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States from 20192022 and is the winner of Yale's 2023 Bollingen Prize for American Poetry.

RECOMMENDED

READING WEAVING SUNDOWN IN A SCARLET LIGHT: FIFTY POEMS FOR FIFTY YEARS

The author of ten books of poetry, including the highly acclaimed, Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years, several plays and children's books, and two memoirs, Crazy Braveand Poet Warrior, her many honors include the National Book Critics Circle Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

A magnificent selection of fifty poems to celebrate three-term US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s fifty years as a poet. In this gemlike volume, Harjo selects her best poems from across fifty years, beginning with her early discoveries of her own voice and ending with moving reflections on our contemporary moment. Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light traces every occasion of a lifetime; it offers poems on birth, death, love, and resistance; on motherhood and on losing a parent; on fresh beginnings amidst legacies of displacement.

ON POINT: PARENT

NATION

U N I T I N G R I C H A R D

A S

O N E

W R I G H T

PARENT NATION MEETING FOR 10TH & 11TH GRADES Thursday, nov.9th 6:30 pm on zoom

Contact: Ms. Randi Glover 202-500-9413 Director of Parent and Community Engagement

LOOKING FOR PARENTS INTERESTED IN BEING A PART OF OUR POPULAR DAILY QUOTE SEGMENT “10 SECOND MOMENT FOR SUCCESS.” PLEASE EMAIL MRS. GLOVER RGLOVER@RICHARDWRIGHTPCS.ORG TO SCHEDULE YOUR FILMING SESSION. PARENTS ARE LINING UP TO JOIN THE FUN . IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO ALREADY, PLEASE LIKE OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES ON ALL OUR PLATFORMS AND READ OUR NEW CEO MAGAZINE IN ITS ENTIRETY!!! 11

CALLING INTO THE SCHOOL 📞

Parents, just in case you are unfamiliar with our phone system, let's take a moment to take you step by step to ensure you reach the person best suited to answer your questions. First, please dial 202-388-1011 and listen to the school’s message. Then dial the appropriate extension number (listed below to reach the correct person or to leave a message). Hopefully, this will close the gap on any questions you may have. If not, please feel free to email Mrs. Glover at rglover@richardwrightpcs.org.

EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

128 Alisha Roberts-Funderburk (Chief of Operations) 160 Michelle Santos (Chief Creative Officer) 131 Carolyn Youngfolk (Chief of Staff) 135 Lamarge Wyatt (Chief Academic Officer) 155 Randi Glover (Director of Parent and Community Engagement)

SCHOOL BASED LEADERSHIP & ASSISTANTS 1172 056 058 160 126 149 150 158 120 200 119 118 148 199 059 112 128 144

Danzell Bussey (Academy Director) Eugenia Turner (Director of Academics) Roger Murray (Director of Journalism and Media Arts) Issac Jackson (Multi-Media Arts and Technology Director) Valeria Rodriguez (Director of Student Support Autism and Self-Contained) Dr. Kevin Parson (Director of Student Support Instructional Learning ) Kacey Holland (Director of Student Support Behavioral Compliance) Helen Compton-Harris (Director of Outreach, Planning, and Development) Kara Sheler (Director of Admissions and Enrollment) Leia Harris (Director of Attendance and Truancy Monitor & Director of Academic Counselor) Darryl Singleton (Dean of Students) Cheryl Mayfield (Dean of Students) LaRhonda Wright (Main Office Manager) Angela Fornah (Nurse) Shara Cyrus (Clinical Social Worker) Carlette Jones (Therapist) Kelli Parks (Exec. Assistant to the Chief of Operations) Destinee Whittington (College Counselor Assistant)

FACULTY

Lindsey Laster - English Language Arts (8th); English IV (12th) Llaster@richardwrightpcs.org Tyrice Brown - English I (9th) Tbrown@richardwrightpcs.org Ashley Wilson - English II (10th) Awilson@richardwrightpcs.org Jillian Uzuegbu - English III (11th); DC History (12th) Juzuegbu@richardwrightpcs.org Evan Jackson - Algebra I (9th) Ejackson@richardwrightpcs.org Melissa Alto - Algebra II/Trig. (11th) Malto@richardwrightpcs.org Marsha Chamberlain - Biology (10th) Mchamberlain@richardwrightpcs.org Francis Ayissi - Chemistry (11th); Pre-Algebra (8th) Fayissi@richardwrightpcs.org Rachel Nelson - U.S History (8th) Rnelson@richardwrightpcs.org William Morse - U.S History (9th); World History (11th) Wmorse@richardwrightpcs.org Joe Gassert - Latin (11th) Jgassert@richardwrightpcs.org Allen Lester - Intro to Film (8th) Alester@richardwrightpcs.org Elijah Gordon - Intro to Photography (8th) Elijah.gordan@richardwrightpcs.org Dwayne Charlton - Music (9th) Dcharlton@richardwrightpcs.org Summer Johnson - Dance Theater (9th) Summer.johnson@richardwrightpcs.org Anthony Carr - Studio Art (10th) Acarr@richardwrightpcs.org Jessica Featherson - Dance (10th) Jfeatherson@richardwrightpcs.org Desmond Smith - Graphic Design (12th) Dsmith@richardwrightpcs.org Dahia Frazier - Student Support Teacher Dfrazier@richardwrightpcs.org Donnetta Mcfadden - Student Support Teacher Dmcfadden@richardwrightpcs.org Gerald Caver - Student Support Teacher Gcaver@richardwrightpcs.org

SALUTE TO EDUCATORS Please join me in a salute for all educators who diligently work hard on behalf of all students and families. As an educator with 30 years of experience, I realize that educators are not perfect, but then again, no one is. I’m asking you to take a moment to salute an educator you know for the courage to continue preparing our young people to become tomorrow’s leaders. Without good educators, all careers would cease to exist.

SCHOOL IDs: WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING STUDENT IDENTIFICATION PHOTOS FOR THEIR SOON-TO-BE-ISSUED CARDS. PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR CHILD IS “RICHARD WRIGHT READY!” IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, PLEASE REACH OUT VIA EMAIL TO MR. JACKSON AT IKE@RICHARDWRIGHTPCS.ORG

https://www.iheart.com/live/roxieradio-9887/

Richard Wright Schools has its own radio station. Please click the link, follow and share it with your friends. We will start debuting various shows starting in October. If you are someone you know is interested in renting airtime, please email Ms. Santos msantos@richardwrightpcs.org.

Students are expected to report to school at 8am daily. Doors open at 7:45am.

Students are prohibited form using cell phones during school hours.

All students must have signed permission slips for all after school activities.

Parents please feel free to call the school in cases of emergency.

All students must be in full uniform.

Research reveals that young people between the ages of 6-18 need at least 8 hours of sleep to perform at their highest potential.

REMINDERS

SENIORS, PLEASE BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SCHOLARSHIP AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. SCHEDULE CHANGES OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL NEEDS ARE BEING ADDRESSED ONE PERSON AT A TIME. WE ARE COMMITTED TO GETTING EVERYTHING CORRECT AND WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING.

DUAL ENROLLMENT APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN! STUDENTS MUST BE IN THE 10TH-12TH GRADE AND HAVE A CUMULATIVE OF 2.5 OR HIGHER. EMAIL MRS. HARRIS FOR MORE INFORMATION: LEIA.HARRIS@RICHARDWRIGHTPCS.ORG

GUIDANCE

CORNER

FOOD FOR THOUGHT “Knowledge is food for thought, and while food is perishable, thoughts persist. Teachers feed the whole world, many times over.” “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. Learning may begin in the classroom, but it certainly doesn't end there”.

“Education is the Great Equalizer". Elementary prepares students for middle school. Middle school prepares students for high school. High school prepares students for college, life, and the next steps in their lives.

THE TRIPLE L THING

"We set limits, we teach lessons and we do it all in the name of love." 17

SEASON STYLE WATCH Why representation matters: “My birth father is Chippewa, and my birth mother is Black. A lot of people don’t affirm my Native ancestry, because my skin is darker. But we range in all different shades and colors—my skin doesn’t control the blood that runs through my veins. I would like toSoon. Your Style on View Here. Coming see more of a welcoming arm [in fashion], so that we can all feel included, and for all of us to have a seat at the table. There are so many jobs, and nobody's losing spots by including more people of different backgrounds.” Indigenous Model Kita Updike Photographed by Rafael Martínez for VOGUE “Six Indigenous Models on Finally Feeling Seen in Fashion” BY CHRISTIAN ALLAIRE November 24, 2021 18

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

THAT GEAR IS

DOPE

“We All We Got” Tees: XS- XL $20 2XL- 4XL $25 Hoodies: XS- XL- $40 2XL- 4XL- $45

DON’T FORGET YOUR SNOOP CEREAL

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyMSW 9oSqwH/?igshid=MzRlODBi

A LOOK BACK TO THE CEO VIDEO MESSAGE FORM THE VETS VISIT CHECK OUT THE LATEST NEWSCAST OF WRIGHT NOW NEWS Check out the latest newscast HERE

@rwpcsroxie

@richardwrightschools

@RichardWrightSchools