West Ridge Elementary Newsletter
January 9, 2023
School starts at 8:55 (9:25 on Mondays) and ends at 3:20
PRIDE: Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Dependable, Empathy
Principal's Post
Hello West Ridge Elementary Cougar Families!!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year break! We are excited to be back and see all of our students!!
Please take a minute and read through this newsletter as we have some events coming up.
Reminders:
We will be asking to see your Driver's License when you enter the building, please have it ready to hold up to the camera when you enter.
Office hours are 8:00-4:00 Monday-Friday.
Lisa Hoffeld
Parent Advisory Meeting
Families-
We have our Parent Advisory Meeting Tuesday, January 24th @ 3:30 in the West Ridge Library. We are having a drawing for all attendees for a family night which includes $50.00 to Triple Play and $50.00 gift card for dinner out. Pizza will be provided at the the meeting as well. The meeting will be your opportunity to meet our Safety Dean, Mr. Breven and Dena Naccarato will be here to share information about our upcoming levy. You will also have an opportunity to brainstorm topics for our future Parent Advisory Meetings.
If you plan on joining us, follow the link below to RSVP so we can get a count for how many pizzas to order.
Hope to see you there,
Lisa Hoffeld and the West Ridge Staff
Triple Play West Ridge Family Night
Thursday, January 26th, 6 to 9PM
Join your West Ridge Family & Invite Others for a Night of Fun!
$20 per person allows access to all open attractions, including the Raptor Reef water park, bowling (even the shoes are included in this price!), rock wall, miniature golf, laser tag, ropes course, the 4D dark ride and many more! All outside features are included in the price…weather permitting.
Our school receives a portion of the ticket proceeds. If we have over 150 people attending, then we receive 50% of the ticket sales!
Students must be accompanied by an adult!
*Tickets can be purchased in advance and is encouraged. Please return this form to school with cash. Checks will no longer be accepted. All credit/debit card transactions will be completed at Triple Play.
See you there!
Child's Name _______________________ Teacher _________________
Number of Tickets _________ Payment Attached $___________($20 each)
Presentation: Mental Health Resources for Students and Families
Presentation Information:
Location: Virtual Over Zoom
Date: Thursday, February 23rd
Time: 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Registration: Click this link to register.
Title 1 Funding
We need your help! Post Falls School District “Free and Reduced lunch” numbers are
historically low right now which may jeopardize student programs, such as Title One
Reading. School lunches are a cost effective way to provide students with a nutritious
meal during the school day. You may qualify to take advantage of this wonderful service
allowing your child to eat for free or at a reduced cost.
Complete the free and reduced lunch application in 2 easy steps.
- Step 1 - Please review the income eligibility chart found at the bottom of
this webpage for the gross annual income qualifications.
- Step 2 – If you think you qualify (or even if you are not sure) access this link to
complete the online application. Paper copies are available upon request from
the school offices. Only one application needs to be filled out per household.
Contact Becky Elmore, Child Nutrition Supervisor, at 208-773-1625 with questions
regarding the school lunch or breakfast program. If you have already completed an application for this year, you don’t need to complete it again. Or, if your circumstances
have changed since you applied and were denied, you can call and provide
updated information to your application at any time.
Even if you choose not to take advantage of the free and reduced lunch program,
a qualifying application can increase our allocated federal dollars, which go
directly toward improving reading!
Title One is a reading intervention program offered at all of our elementary schools to
help students gain the skills needed to meet the state and district reading benchmarks.
Our program receives its funding from the federal government. All of our Title funding is
based on the number of students in the district who qualify for free and/or reduced
lunch.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, January 24th: Parent Advisory Meeting at 3:30 in the West Ridge Library
Thursday, January 26th: West Ridge Family Triple Play Night 6-9pm @ Triple Play
Friday, January 27th: No school for students...Teacher Workday
Monday, January 30th: Report Cards go home
Every Friday is Hat Day for students and staff
For up-to-date information and events, please visit our website
Parents,
In order to make certain all our students receive appropriate educational supports, Post Falls School District 273 conducts a mid-year residency verification. Residency is defined as where your family sleeps at night. Has your residency changed since September 6, 2022? If yes AND if any of the following statements are true for your family, please contact your school counselor or the Post Falls School District McKinney-Vento Liaison, Dawn Mackesy at 208-773-3541 or dawn.mackesy@sd273.com for more information about educational services that may be available to your student(s) and family.
· We are doubled up with friends, grandparents, or other family due to economic conditions.
· We are living at a motel / hotel because other housing is unattainable.
· We are living in a domestic violence shelter.
· We are living in transitional housing.
· We are sleeping in public places or abandoned buildings.
· We are living in a car, trailer or campground.
· We are living in a home for pregnant or unwed mothers without another place in which to
live.
· I am a student not in the physical custody of my parents or guardian.
After school change of transportation reminders
- Please call the office (208-773-7291) if your child will be going home a different way at the end of the school day before 2:00pm
- If your child's transportation changes for the year, please email your child's teacher or call the office so we can get them to the area at the end of the day
Are you signed up???
The Post Falls School District has joined the School Messenger emergency notification system. The system allows the district to communicate via SMS text messages to parents regarding important matters such as a school lockdown, school closure (weather or otherwise) or other issues that affect their students.
To receive school notifications, you must opt in to School Messenger and your student's school must have your current cell number entered in their system.
Please follow the steps below to opt in:
**Send a text message to 67587 with "Y" or "Yes” in the body of the text.
**You will receive a confirmation text reply that you are registered with School Messenger.
New Visions Clothing Closet
Post Falls Community:
It is with great pleasure that we announce the opening of the New Vision High School Community Clothes Closet. Students in Rich Raynor's advisory class have been working hard to get the closet up and running. The closet is open to any family in the Post Falls School District who is in need of clothing. This is only possible due to the very generous donations of money and clothing from the businesses and community of Post Falls.
The Community Clothes Closet seeks to provide free clothing to families in need. We provide casual and career clothes and footwear, along with clothing for children and teens.
We are located in a portable behind New Vision High School and are open Tuesdays from 2:45 pm to 4:00 pm. You can enter through the small gate on Catherine Street on the east side of the building. If this time does not work for you, please email Rich Raynor at richard.raynor@sd273.com and he will try to set up a better time for you.
Donations still needed: clothing, coats and shoes for younger children.
GAP Assistant Needed at West Ridge
We are looking for a GAP assistant at West Ridge Elementary
The schedule would be . . .
- Monday 6:30 - 9:00 AM
- Tuesday - Friday 6:30-8:30 AM
If you are interested, please contact Christina Magistrale at 208-773-5010 or christina.magistrale@sd273.com
Free and Reduced Lunch Applications
Free or Reduced Price Meals & Title I Funding-
Currently 37% of elementary school students in the Post Falls School District and 27% of students at West Ridge receive free or reduced cost meals ($.40 for lunch instead of the full price rate of $3.05).
Title I programs at every school are funded based upon the school’s percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced meals. At least 35% of students in a school must qualify in order for the school to continue to receive Title I funding.
At West Ridge, Title I funding pays for certified teacher Holly White and 80 hours per week of classified (paraprofessional) support. The work of our Title program is instrumental in providing intervention that helps our struggling readers achieve grade level success.
Even if you do not plan to have your child eat school meals, please consider applying to help us retain our Title program. Click here to see if your family qualifies for free or reduced price meals. If it looks like you may qualify, click here for the free and reduced price meal application or call the nutritional services office at (208)773-1625.