Ridgeview STEM Junior High
Back to School UPDATE - August 9, 2018
Welcome Back Letter & Information from Mrs. Richardson
Hello Ridgeview Students and Families,
First of all, I want to welcome all new students and incoming 7th graders to Ridgeview and, of course, a huge welcome back to our returning 8th graders. As we look to starting off the 2018-2019 school year, I wanted to review a few things that may be unclear.
To begin, students at Ridgeview are given lockers to hold their belongings. I want to emphasize the importance of students keeping their locker combination to themselves and not sharing that information with other students so that their items remain secure. Also, because the expectation is that students use their lockers, we have a no book bag to class policy. Students may bring their items in a book bag to school, however they are not permitted to carry them from class to class. Girls are permitted to carry a small purse for personal items, but they may not be large enough for books and folders. Students may visit their lockers throughout the day to retrieve needed items during their class change. String bags are also not permitted to be taken from class to class.
Students may utilize a Chromebook carrying case similar to the one that the technology department has recommended for carrying their Chromebook from class to class. The link to see the recommended case and order, if you choose to, is here: http://pickerington.strikingly.com/. Any chromebook carrying case should be similar in size to the suggested case above.
Chromebook care is of the utmost importance and we will be talking to students about appropriate Chromebook care to limit and hinder any possible damage. Please have conversations with your students about maintaining proper care of their school issued device and remind them to talk to you if they are having issues with the functionality of their Chromebook.
Speaking of technology, the policy for personal communication devices has changed a bit from last year. Students are allowed to bring cellphones to school. They are permitted to use them before and after school but not during the school day. It is the expectation that students bringing a cellphone to school will power it down and leave it off and in their locker before their first period class, where it will remain until the end of the day at 2:10 PM. If you need to reach your student while they are in school, please call the main office at 614-548-1700 and your student will be notified to call you between classes. Each classroom has a phone, and to give privacy, students are permitted to use the office phone to call home when needed. Please review this expectation with your student in regards to their cellphones.
Finally, I would like to address school attendance. If you know your child is going to be absent, please call the attendance line at 614-548-1701 and leave a message letting us know the name of your child, grade and reason for the absence. For those who may be planning a vacation during the school year, please remember that “vacations” are not recognized as an excuse to miss school. Any days that are taken as a vacation will be recorded as unexcused on your students attendance, and could result in a letter of notification about the amount of unexcused hours. As attendance is calculated in minutes/hours, arriving late or leaving early will also add up. Please try to schedule appointments outside of school hours whenever possible. If you have questions regarding the Attendance Policy please refer to the student handbook found on line at https://www.pickerington.k12.oh.us/student-handbooks/.
We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!
Beth Richardson
Lead Assistant Principal
Back to School Information
Join us for Open House August 13
In order to accommodate parking, we have divided the grades as follows. Kindly observe your time slot, thank you.
8th grade: 5 - 5:50 PM
7th grade: 6:10 - 7 PM
Student Schedules - What you need to know
We begin building our schedule for the upcoming school year in February. There is a great deal of time and consideration put into the overall master schedule, as well as the individual student schedules. At the junior high, students are fortunate to be given a wide range of elective course options. We do our very best to create student schedules that contain the electives of their choosing; however, that is not always possible. Your priorities when scheduling are 1.) scheduling students into the correct core classes (math, science, ELA, & social studies), then, 2.) we give priority to electives of band, orchestra, choir, and world languages, and then 3.) remaining electives.
Our scheduling system will first try to schedule the electives that the students requested in the spring. It will then consider alternates that were chosen. At times, students may be placed in an elective that the did not choose, simply because, for that trimester, during that time of day, none of the electives requested are available, or there are not any seats remaining in that class.
A schedule change request may be made IF there is something significantly wrong with the student's schedule (missing a core class, missing a lunch, etc). However, we will not change schedules for students that would result in having a core class taken on another team just to secure an elective, for students wishing to be with friends in class or lunch, or for the purpose of changing instructors.
Your PTO Needs YOU!
Don't forget to sign up for the PTO. Membership forms can be found online and in the main office. The PTO has some great things planned for our students and staff this year and they need your help to make it a success. Please consider joining today! Volunteers are always needed for events throughout the year, as well as filling a few leadership/officer positions. All donations are tax- deductible. Thank you!!
COMING UP AT RIDGEVIEW
***8th grade: 5 - 5:50 PM
***7th grade: 6:10 - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, August 15 - FIRST DAY OF CLASSES
Thursday, August 23 - School Pictures
Friday, August 31 & Monday, September 1 - NO SCHOOL
Ridgeview STEM Junior High School
Email: eric_koch@plsd.us
Website: www.pickerington.k12.oh.us
Location: 130 Hill Road South, Pickerington, OH, United States
Phone: 614-548-1700
Facebook: facebook.com/RidgeviewStem
Twitter: @RidgeviewPLSD