June 9, 2009 Vol. 1 • Issue 56

‘Guardian angel’ donates fundsto rebuild Mason playground

Richmond Public SchoolsPublic Information Office

301 North 9th Street, 14th FloorRichmond, VA 23219

P: (804) 780-7100 F: (804) 780-6988

Students at George Mason Elementary School will be enjoying new playground equipmentsoon thanks to a generous donation from W. E. Singleton. The Midlothian resident hascommitted $75,000 to rebuild the school’s playground, recently destroyed by fire, to honor thememory of his mother, Ellen Passmore Singleton. “My mother was a long-time employee of the Richmond City Department of Parks andRecreation,” Singleton said. “So, she understood the need for students to be active and to have asafe environment in which to play. When I heard about the fire at George Mason, I rememberedmy mother talking about the school. My wife and I decided then that we wanted to honor hermemory.” Singleton, 75, is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School. He also attended Robert E. LeeElementary and Albert Hill Middle schools. Richmond City School Superintendent Dr. YvonneBrandon and students recognized Singleton during George Mason’s Extreme Field Day programheld June 9.

SEE PAGE 2

Chad Coleman, a 1984 graduate of Armstrong-Kennedy, is currently performing in theBroadway production of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” Coleman is thebrother of current Richmond City School Board member, Donald Coleman. Along with his brother, others who have enjoyed Chad’s performance include two recenttheater-goers, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Among Chad’s other acting credits was a recurring role on the HBO series, “The Wire.”

RPS graduate, Chad Coleman,is in Broadway production

SPOTLIGHT

Richmond Public SchoolsPublic Information Office

301 North 9th Street, 14th FloorRichmond, VA 23219

P: (804) 780-7100 F: (804) 780-6988

Munford unveils ‘wax museum’

Local resident donates $75,000 to rebuildplayground equipment at George MasonFrom page one

“Richmond Public Schools and George Mason Elementary School trulyhave a guardian angel in Mr. Singleton,” said Dr. Brandon. “His financialgenerosity is matched only by his sense of kindness and compassion for others.He has reminded all of us that when a tragedy occurs, there is always someonewilling to help and renew our spirit.” Also on June 9, the STRONG Foundation made a $1,000 donation to theschool. Capital One has agreed to handle the demolition and removal of theburned playground equipment.

Second-graders at Mary Munford Elementarydressed as historical figures as the school un-veiled its “Madam Munford’s Wax Museum”June 4. As visitors strolled hallways and thecafeteria, students posed and answered ques-tions about the characters they portrayed.Clockwise from top right are: Renn Trani asDavy Crockett, Julian Ferrell as Oliver Hill,and Emily Annejankowski and Jessica Thorneas Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan.

Richmond Public SchoolsPublic Information Office

301 North 9th Street, 14th FloorRichmond, VA 23219

P: (804) 780-7100 F: (804) 780-6988

Upcoming Events √ it out

John Marshall alumni gather to ‘revitalize’

•June 10•Open HS graduation, 11 a.m.•GW graduation, 3 p.m.•ACDC graduation, 6:30 p.m.All held at The Landmark TheaterDetails: 780-7703

•June 11•Amelia Street School graduation2 p.m.Amelia Street SchoolDetails: 780-7275

•June 16•Genworth Financial Service Day9:15 a.m.Chimborazo and ReddDetails: 819-4382

A number of John Marshall HighSchool alumni (photo right) gatheredon a recent Saturday to launch the“JM Football Field Self Help Revital-ization Project.” The effort, spear-headed by 1988 graduate MarkLomax, is just part of an overall cam-paign to increase student pride andalumni support of the North Rich-mond school. Lewis Armstrong fromthe Richmond City Department ofParks and Recreation arranged forthe donation of grass seed and waterhoses. Corporate sponsors includedLee’s Chicken, owned by HenryLoving, and Home Depot. Along with Lomax, other alumniwho took part in the project included:Angela Haden-Jones (‘87), AdrienneQuarles-Smith (‘87), Loren White(‘87), Kecia Norrell (‘88), MauriceMiller (‘88), Milton Bell (‘88) andDennis Parker (‘88).

football field

The four-day work week beginsJune 22 and ends August 21.Hours: 7 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. or

7:30 a.m - 6 p.m. The July 4thholiday will be observed on

Monday, July 6.

Information for In Focus should be emailed to: sbolton@richmond.k12.va.us.

You Should Know That……George Wythe senior Javon Harper won first place in the short story category at the2008-09 VHSL Creative Writing Contest. Javon was recognized for the work, “Lenny’sLife Story.” Heather Brodie is Javon’s English teacher at Wythe.

…Sierra Carr-Davis, a first-grader at Linwood Holton Elementary School, won firstplace in the elementary school division and captured the grand prize in this year’sCommonwealth of Virgina Campaign Visual Arts Contest. The theme for this year’sdesign was “What Can $2 Do?” Rolanda Scott teaches art at Holton.

…Erica Coleman, administrative assistant for the Title I office, was named theRichmond Association of Educational Office Professionals (RAEOP) 2009-2010 OfficeProfessional of the Year. RAEOP also named Charlene Rodgers, Coordinator ofNursing Services, as the district’s Administrator of the Year.

…Harper Speagle Price, a fifth-grader at Mary Munford Elementary School, won theNational Junior Mandolin Championship held at Fiddler’s Grove in Union Grove,North Carolina. Her winning song was “Cherokee Shuffle.”

…the Richmond Public Schools “Go Green” recycling campaign ended with someimpressive collection totals. District-wide, RPS collected 116,675 tons of paper, saving662 trees in the process. Those figures equate to approximately $1,116.80. At the schoollevel, John B. Cary placed first with a collection average of 71.61 pounds per student.Amelia Street (46.34 PPS) and Albert Hill (33.87 PPS) placed second and third,respectively. For their efforts, Cary received $250; Amelia Street won $150; andAlbert Hll received $100. The winning schools may keep or donate their funds toThe Children’s Hospital.

…Rhonda Allen from Martin Luther King MS is this year’s FBLA Middle SchoolAdviser of the Year. Ella Jones from the Adult Career Development Center is theFBLA High School Adviser of the Year. Other teaching honors include: RonaldHarrison, Henderson MS, Middle School Business/Information Technology Teacherof the Year; Anita Stith, Armstrong HS, High School Business/Information Teacherof the Year; and Justine Jones, Huguenot HS, Cooperative Office Education (COE)Coordinator of the Year. The awards were presented during the Business andInformation Technology Recognition Banquet held last month at the Omni RichmondHotel.