Sunday Greetings
Week 2 is in the books, and it was a smoother and more successful week than Week 1! Thank you to our parent drop-off families for using our new drop-off zone by the gym each morning. This change has helped make arrival safer and more efficient, and we also saw a decrease in both tardies and early dismissals. More than 250 students registered for our morning clubs, our PTA membership grew by more than 10%, and more than 95% of our students now have a green Take-Home Folder. We also increased the number of students with headphones, another mandatory school supply. In classrooms, teachers are establishing strong routines, students are becoming more familiar with learning expectations, and our classrooms are settling into a strong academic rhythm. Every one of these improvements matters, and together they show the Power of Us!
This Week's Big 3
1️⃣ Grandparents Luncheon – Friday, September 11
Our Grandparents Luncheon is one of our favorite Greenwood traditions! Please make sure your child’s teacher knows by Wednesday if a grandparent or special guest is attending or taking your child home after lunch.
2️⃣ Back-to-School Night – Thursday, September 17
We have a big night planned! Come learn about our new math curriculum, homework expectations, device reduction, classroom learning, and much more. We also have our Kindergarten Orientation, Gifted Open House, SINGO, and two 1st–5th grade sessions. There is something for every Greenwood family!
3️⃣ Get Connected & Get Involved
This week is full of opportunities to connect with Greenwood—from House Week and Dot Day to SINGO, the Glen Allen Parade, and our virtual Spilling the Tea update. We want our families to be part of the experiences that make Greenwood more than a school—it makes us a family.
Morning Clubs - Click here for MORE details
We still have some spots available in our morning clubs! Click here to view the club offerings and sign up.
Safety Drills Completed
This past week, our students completed our first fire drill, restricted movement drill, and hide-and-lock drill of the school year. Our students did a wonderful job, and we are proud of the seriousness and focus our teachers bring to each drill. We know that practicing these procedures helps ensure that our students and staff are prepared to respond quickly and appropriately in an emergency. Safety is always a top priority at Greenwood.
Update on Device Time - Click here for MORE details
We are proud of how our students are choosing to connect, play, and learn without devices at school, and we are asking families to partner with us by reinforcing healthy screen-time, sleep, and activity habits at home. Together, we can help our students build healthy minds and bodies while ensuring they come to school ready to learn, connect, and thrive. This is the Power of Us!
Explore specialty centers at HCPS middle and high schools! - Click here for MORE details
Open houses are available at all sites throughout the fall.
Student IDs
All students should have received their ID badges with a breakaway lanyard. As outlined in the Code of Student Conduct, students are expected to wear their ID daily and supports operational services such as riding the bus, attendance tracking, purchasing lunch and checking out library books.
Back to School Forms
Just a friendly reminder to fill out your Back To School forms through the PowerSchool Parent Portal (E-Collect) if you have not already done so.
How to Report Your Student’s Absence
Please call the office at 804-261-2970, or send a ParentSquare message or email to the teacher and Mrs. Christina at cmmedico@henrico.k12.va.us and Mrs. Jae at jtsjones@henrico.k12.va.us.
Monday, September 7 - No School
Permission Slips Available - ORFF, Advance Drumline, Advanced Dance, and Cheerleading
If your student was selected to participate in one of our yearlong advanced performance groups, please pick up a permission slip from the main office this week.
Wednesday, September 9: Student Advisory Committee Selection (1st - 5th)
Mrs. Earl and Mr. Stein will announce at the end of the day which students will represent their classrooms on the Student Advisory Committee.
Friday, September 11: Spilling the Tea with Mr. Stein @ 9 AM
Join Mr. Stein for our next virtual “Spilling the Tea” update at 9:00 AM! We will discuss Back to School Night, the Grandparents Luncheon, Amplify Math - our new math curriculum, the Student Advisory Committee, Gifted Open House information, and recess needs for our school. Have a question or a topic you would like us to address? CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS
Spilling the Tea with Mr. Stein | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams
Friday, September 11: Grandparents Luncheon - Click here for MORE details
One of our favorite events of the entire year is right around the corner—our Grandparents Luncheon!
1st Grade: 10:00–10:30 AM
5th Grade: 10:40–11:10 AM
4th Grade: 10:45–11:15 AM
Kindergarten: 11:20–11:50 AM
PK: 11:40 AM–12:10 PM
3rd Grade: 12:00–12:30 PM
2nd Grade: 12:15–12:45 PM
Monday, September 14: House Week Begins
We are excited for our PK and Kindergarten students to join one of our five Houses on Thursday, September 17! Throughout the week, our youngest Gators will learn more about our House System, our school values, and what it means to be part of the Greenwood family. Learning about our House stories, mascots, and traditions helps our youngest students develop a sense of belonging and understand the culture and values that make Greenwood such a special place.
Tuesday, September 15: Dot Day
Get ready to get creative! Students can celebrate Dot Day by wearing dots on their clothing and showing off their creativity. Throughout the day, students will participate in an activity on campus that celebrates creativity, innovation, and the courage to try something new. At Greenwood, we believe creativity and innovation are part of who we are— The Most Innovative School East of the Rockies!
Thursday, September 17: Back to School Details - Click here for MORE details
5:00 PM – PK & Kindergarten Back-to-School Orientation (Classrooms)
6:00 PM – Gifted Open House (Library)
6:00 PM – SINGO: Singing + Bingo (Gym)
6:30 PM – Session 1: 1st–5th Grade (Classrooms)
7:00 PM – Session 2: 1st–5th Grade (Classrooms)
Constitution Week Begins - September 17 - 23
As we celebrate Constitution Week, we are grateful for the rights and freedoms we enjoy each day and for the generations of Americans who have worked to protect them. We are especially looking forward to our annual Veterans Day Assembly in November, where we will come together as a Greenwood family to proudly honor and thank the men and women who have served our country.
Friday, September 18: PTA Spirit Night: Ashland Skateland
September 18: The Heat, ADL Payment Due & Cheerleading Payment Due
A reminder that payments for The Heat, ADL, and Cheerleading are due Friday, September 18. Please send payments to the main office. If you are paying by check, please make it payable to Greenwood PTA.
Parent Directory Update
Based on feedback from our staff and families, we will not be publishing a Parent Directory this year. If you need help connecting with another family to arrange a playdate, please reach out to your child's teacher. Room Parents will also be able to send messages to the teacher that can then be shared with the entire class.
House Achievement Bingo – September
We look forward to celebrating students who meet their academic and behavior goals each week during our House Achievement celebrations in the cafeteria. Thank you to our families for celebrating these accomplishments at home as well!
If a student receives two or more infractions in one week, they will participate in a restorative circle lesson with a counselor or administrator. These conversations provide an opportunity to reteach expectations, reflect on choices, and practice the behaviors students need to be successful. Reteaching is important because we cannot expect students to consistently demonstrate behaviors if we have not taken the time to explicitly teach, practice, and reinforce them.
Saturday September 19 - Glen Allen Parade - CLICK HERE to Register
We are hoping Greenwood students, alumni, parents, and friends will join us for the annual Glen Allen Parade! This is a great opportunity for our students to wear their Greenwood spirit wear, chant together, dance, and show the entire Glen Allen community the spirit of the best school in town.
The PTA will share our meeting location and additional details in the near future. From our meeting location, we will walk together to Crump Park to participate in the parade. We will have Greenwood signs and banners for students to hold, and we will also have Greenwood flags for parents to carry as we parade. We will ask our cheerleading team to wear their uniforms and help bring even more Greenwood spirit to the event!
Most importantly, this is a wonderful opportunity for our students to connect with one another outside of school, build friendships, and celebrate being part of the Greenwood family. Families can walk with us, meet other Greenwood parents, bring a coffee, and enjoy a fun morning celebrating our school pride. We hope to see you there!
School Song – “Power”
We are excited to share that our new Greenwood school song, “Power,” will be released at Back-to-School Night! We cannot wait to hear our students singing our song in music class, at pep rallies, and throughout the school year.
Bus Reminders
Thank you, families, for continuing to bring your ID and/or yellow bus tag to the bus stop when picking up your Pre-K and kindergarten students. This helps us ensure that we are safely releasing our youngest students to an authorized adult.
We have also seen an increase in bus discipline concerns during Week 2. As a reminder, the expectations for student behavior on the bus are the same as they are in our classrooms, cafeteria, library, and throughout the school. Riding the bus is a privilege, and students are expected to follow the Code of Conduct and listen to their bus driver and bus assistant. When students do not meet these expectations, bus privileges may be suspended or revoked. We cannot jeopardize the safety of an entire bus because of the choices of one student. Thank you for partnering with us to make sure every student has a safe, respectful, and positive ride to and from school each day.
Final Thought
At Greenwood, we talk a lot about academic achievement, but we also know that a great school is about so much more than test scores, progress on a diagnostic, and report cards. It is about the relationships students build with their teachers and classmates, the confidence they develop, the choices they make, and the sense of belonging they feel when they walk through our doors each day. Our goal is to create a school where students are known, challenged, supported, loved, valued, and excited to come to school each day. That takes all of us—students, teachers, staff, and families—working together with passion, purpose, and clarity. We are building something special at Greenwood, and we are just getting started.
Previous Messages/Important Links