Chapter 9: Questions and Challenges

September 2006-August 2007

 This school year got off to a great start for 105 students who were able to take part in the YMCA Bright Beginnings program, which provided school clothes and supplies. Students were also still excited about the great experiences they’d had at summer camp and wanted to go back again the following summer.

The Micah Committee affirmed the good work being done in the summer with the program and the tremendous contributions of Page Luxmoore in overseeing it. Page reported on the increase monies available for camps, including transformational grants from St. Paul’s Outreach Ministry and St. Paul’s Church Home Board awards. A new camp committee was formed to evaluate and chart a course for the camp program.

Mrs. Taylor continued as principal of Woodville, with Betsy Carr as Outreach Coordinator, Phyllis Moyer as On-site Coordinator and Buford Scott as chair of the St. Paul’s Micah Committee. The committee discussed concerns about overcrowding at Woodville as there were 33% more students because of the closing of another elementary school in the area.    

The committee affirmed the great job Phyllis Moyer continued to do despite undergoing cancer treatments.

Micah Board member and volunteer, Anne Rusbuldt, arranged for the Pup Team of the local Seal Team Physical Training Group to come to the fourth grade for a week in September. The fourth-grade teachers felt their students needed teamwork building—to help them better adapt to having multiple teachers on this grade level. Led by John McGuire, founder of Seal Team Physical Training, students enjoyed team-based athletic drills and learning team language. They worked together to answer such questions as: “How many people does it take to win? Everyone! To earn respect, you must give respect.” The beginning of the week focused on encouraging students to work together towards a goal. By the end of the week, students took turns leading their small groups and giving directions. The student participants loved this program and welcomed John back several times during the year to follow up with team-building exercises.

Also in the fall, Al Lacy was asked to serve on the CIS Board and has continued in that capacity. Betsy Carr was elected to the Richmond School Board for a two-year term.

Don Cowles spoke at the December School Board meeting expressing the Micah Committee’s concerns about overcrowding at Woodville due to consolidation efforts as other city elementary schools are closed. He suggested returning class size to 14, instead of the current 22, hiring qualified teachers to handle increased population, and stabilizing the current added student population before adding more.

Our long-time rector, Bob Hetherington, announced he would retire in June. Buford Scott agreed to contact the wardens about asking the Vestry to allow Micah staffing to remain status quo through the interim period, as St. Paul’s search for a new rector began.

Exciting new enrichment opportunities for students developed this year. These new trips grew out of the great experience 16 fifth-grade students had the year before in attending a conference of the Foundation for Excellent Schools Century Program.

• A group of 10 students visited Baltimore’s National Aquarium and spent the night there as part of Shark Sleepover. On the way back, they visited Washington, D.C. and toured historic sites. Teachers Sylvia Haliburton and Rovez Ingram and volunteers Page and Adrian Luxmoore made the trip.
• A group of six fifth-grade boys traveled to Bald Head Island over spring break to study at the Bald Head Island Conservancy Program. They stayed at the home of Micah volunteer, Ellen Hamrick. Mrs. Shaunte Means, the teacher leading the Foundation for Excellent School’s Century Program, accompanied the students along with Micah volunteers Susan and Philip Brooks.

Highlights of Scholar Trips included the year-end Virginia Beach trip, Gardenfest of Lights, VMFA Egg Event and Mad Science for first through third grades. Fourth and fifth-graders visited the Capitol, the Maggie L. Walker House, the University of Richmond’s slave ship exhibit and attended of performance of the Kodo Drummers. In all, 196 students, 56 parents and 29 volunteers participated.

Class enrichment trips continued to:

Students participated in the Draw Your Dreams poster contest, sponsored by the Virginia College Savings Plan. Ten awards were given.

Ten to twelve Woodville fourth through former Woodville seventh-grade students (students stay in the program until they graduate), participated in St. Christopher’s School’s Saturday Academy, which provides enrichment activities for academically-motivated inner-city boys. The program ran for 12 Saturday mornings in fall, winter and spring. Volunteers drove the St. Paul’s van between homes and Woodville Elementary, where students were picked up by the St. Christopher’s bus. Micah provided three extra afternoon activities for these boys to James River Park, Three Lakes Park, and climbing at Peak Experiences—all led by Page Luxmoore.

Sadly, the end of the school year was marked by the death of another Woodville student, Caleb Echavarria, who died of a rare cancer in June. Another sad note—our in-school coordinator, Phyllis Moyer, underwent a bone marrow transplant and was seriously ill.

SUMMER 2007        

A spring health clinic was held again this year at Woodville Presbyterian to provide physicals for students and assist parents in filling out necessary camping forms. Dr. Michelle Whitehurst-Cook arranged MCV participation and volunteers from Micah assisted.

Micah Summer Camp 2007 provided 179 campers with 276 different camping experiences at 10 residential camps and 20 day camps. Seventy volunteers made this possible. RRHA provided one van and a driver part-time, which helped tremendously. Our summer intern was Jamie Michael. Richmond Hill began Camp-on-the-Hill, a day camp which many of our campers attended.

 In July, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding, to begin a new partnership with Communities in Schools of Richmond and we shared the salary of our on-site coordinator.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

OTHER CHALLENGES: