Friday 9/2: Back to School Forms Due

Monday 9/5: Labor Day - Office Closed

Tuesday 9/6: Staff Work Day

Wednesday 9/7: First Day of School for all students

Wednesday 9/7: Monthly Donor Campaign Starts

Thursday 9/8: (6:00-8:00pm) Board Meeting

Saturday 9/10: (10:00am-2:00pm) RCO Grounds Work Party

Tuesday 9/13: (8:30am-9:30am) Fundraising Committee Meeting

Tuesday 9/13: (6:00pm-7:30pm) New Family Orientation

Friday 9/15: Substitute Assistant Applications Due!

We encourage you to regularly check the full calendar at www.ridgeline.org as some dates may change. Please note that Ridgeline’s calendar is slightly different from 4J elementary calendars.

The 2022-2023 School Year is about to begin!

This new school year brings many changes: new students, teachers, staff, and facilities updates. Along with these changes comes the return of familiar faces, classrooms and traditions. We can't wait to see students return next week and we hope that everyone is excited to return to classes, volunteering and contributing to the school community!

Welcome to the Ridgeline 2022-2023 school year!

As always the Ridgeline eNews is packed full of information for new and returning families so be sure to read through so you don’t miss anything. As the school year progresses we will continue to send this newsletter out every Thursday with important messages as well as highlighting fundraising events, volunteer opportunities, and school accomplishments!

The Front Office Team

This year you will see changes in the front office! After 16 years as the School Community Coordinator, Cynthia Friedman has switched desks to become the Admissions and Office Coordinator and Becky Fay is the new School Community Coordinator.

Check your Inbox

It is that time of year! Emails with class placements were sent out on Friday, August 26th (Middle Schoolers will be sorted on the first day of school so you will not have been sent class placement emails for your Middle School students) and Back to School Packets were emailed out on Monday, August 29th with forms due tomorrow, Friday, September 2nd.

Please check your SPAM folder if you did not see the emails.

Let us know if you have trouble accessing the forms and the office will provide accommodations.

All students will be sent home on the first day of school with brightly colored signs with their teacher's name on it. Please clearly add your student's name to the sign and place it in the passenger window of your vehicle when driving through the pick up line. This will help keep the process smooth and efficient and safe for all students and families.

It is through your generous donations to the food pantry that we are able to ensure students are never left hungry during lunch or snack. Teachers and assistants access the food pantry as they perceive a need.

Your donations to the food pantry will be accepted starting Tuesday, September 6 and are always welcome as the need continues all year long.

Great items to bring include string cheese, packaged boiled eggs, yogurt, gluten free bars or other healthy snacks, single serving baby carrot packs, fruits such as apples and oranges, granola bars, and any single serve main course protein items.

Thank you so much for your donation. Last year the food pantry was in high use.

Due to a recent medical diagnosis, the mother of one of our students is not able to drive him to or from school.

We would love to be able to find one or more families in our school community who could pick him up on their way here or take him back home to the 50th and Donald area!

As we come together for the start of the school year, we want to make sure that all of our students are able to be here the moment the doors open.

Please contact becky.fay@ridgeline.org and let us know what days you are able to provide a ride.

As the office works hard to order high quality Montessori supplies for all of our students, your supply fee is so important. We are now collecting the $85 supply fee per student. You can pay online at our payment link that can be found if you click on the family resources link on the top of the Ridgeline website.

Ridgeline is committed to ensuring all of our students have access to meals and will provide free lunch for our students that qualify for free and reduced meals for 22/23 school year. Students who do not qualify, may purchase meals for $4.75.

School leadership has approved the use of general funds to cover the lunch expense since we do not currently qualify for the National School Lunch Program. We will contract with Eugene School District 4J to provide vended lunches for Ridgeline students. To see the planned menu, please visit this website and search for Eugene School District (filter for Spencer Butte Middle School). Breakfast will not be provided however snacks will be available for students who qualify for free or reduced meals. Click here to learn more and sign-up.

• To determine your eligibility for free meals complete the Confidential Family Income Survey. Students who do not qualify, may purchase meals for $4.75.

  
  

• Use the Meal Sign-up Form to sign up and confirm the days of the week your student will receive school lunches. The deadline to sign up is September 2, to receive meals the first week of school. Any changes or cancelation of lunch must be submitted by Wednesday prior to the week of the change.

  
  

• Families (who do not qualify for free lunch) will make payments and check balances through the mealtime program application once it is set up.

As a public charter school Ridgeline receives 20% less in state funding than other similarly-sized public schools. So, every year we fundraise to support our public Montessori program. This year our goal is $90,000, which comes out to about $360 per student. Together, we have successfully reached our annual goal each of the last five years. Thank you to everyone who has made that true!

• MONTHLY MATCH CAMPAIGN STARTS SEPTEMBER 7 - Thanks to a generous Ridgeline supporter, we will be hosting our 4th annual Monthly Donor Match from September 7 - October 7! For each and every new or increased Monthly Donor who signs up between September 7 and October 7, Ridgeline will receive an additional $50! Sign up here as a new monthly donor or email giving@ridgeline.org to increase your current monthly donation, and Ridgeline will receive a $50 match!

Tuesday, September 13 at 8:30 am.

The fundraising committee will meet in the school library after drop-off on Tuesday, 9/13 at 8:30. This committee plans and leads the full year of fundraising activities. Sound like something you might be interested in? Join us! Or contact Amy Sage for more information.

Volunteers entering the building during the school day must be fully vaccinated and show proof of vaccination.

Happy Fall to all of our Ridgeline families! We wanted to take a moment to introduce the RCO to families who are new to Ridgeline (and provide a refresher to those who are already a part of our community!). The RCO is our parent organization, all parents/guardians of Ridgeline students are automatically members, and we are focused on community, service and fun :) The RCO Leadership team is made up of an RCO Lead, filled by Meghan Rogacki, and four Planning Team members made up of parents from each grade level (Kinder, Lower El, Upper El, and Middle) - Kayla Hixson (Kinder) and Ruth Tabak (Lower El) are the current Planning Team members and we are looking for a parent from Upper El and one from Middle School to join us (please email RCO@ridgeline.org if you are interested)! The RCO Leadership Team meets once per month to plan fun activities for our community and any member of the community is also welcome to join in these meetings to take part, the meeting info will be posted to the Ridgeline calendar. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to RCO@ridgeline.org.

Back to School Picnic!
The RCO would like to welcome all Ridgeline families back for the 2022-2023 school year and invite you to our Back to School Picnic to be held on the south field Tuesday September 20th from 5:30-7:00 pm. This is a “bring your own” and “leave no trace” event - families should bring their own food (no potluck) and chairs/blankets as well as take all their own trash, etc. We will be enjoying each others company and hearing about all of the fun things families enjoyed during summer break.

Substitutes Needed

At this time our substitute pool is very low! We are looking for individuals who are enthusiastic to spend a day in a Montessori classroom in the role of the assistant in the event of a staff absence. Subs help with classroom management, assisting students with their work, and tasks assigned by the staff lead for the day. Several of our staff members started their educational careers here at Ridgeline in this role! Subbing is a great way to gain experience and a better understanding of tMontessori education at all grade levels.

• If you are interested in getting on our substitute list: Please submit a resume and three references with contact information to careers@ridgeline.org. The application deadline is Thursday, September 15. A substitute training will be scheduled in the coming weeks.

  
  

Contact Becky Fay if you have any questions.

We are excited to be bringing more volunteers back to school as we rely on our amazing parent volunteers to help with so many different aspects of life at Ridgeline! Teachers will reach out to families in their classroom communications, and Becky Fay will include volunteer opportunities in the eNews. Volunteers serve on committees, make materials at home, do grounds work, act as crossing guards, and other projects.

The following volunteers are needed to make sure that pick-up and drop-off are smooth and safe for our students:

• Crossing Guards

Crossing guards needed to help guide Ridgeline students as they cross W. Amazon to access the Amazon trail and the bridge across the creek. Volunteers needed daily at 8-8:30 am and 3-3:20 pm. Safety vests and stop signs provided. Crossing guards need to be fully vaccinated and have a background check within the last 5 years. Sign up for any number of mornings and/or afternoons on Track it Forward

• Arrival & Dismissal Volunteers

We are looking for volunteers to help direct both students and cars through the arrival and dismissal process. Safety vests provided. Arrival & dismissal volunteers need to be fully vaccinated and have a background check within the last 5 years. Sign up for any number of mornings and/or afternoons on Track it Forward

• School Work Party!

Happy almost back to school time from Ridgeline Facilities. We will be hosting our first school work party on Saturday September 10th from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Come and join us for a chance to help clean up and beautify some of our campus spaces, get some volunteer hours early in the year, see old friends and meet new ones! Feel free to join us for some or part of the time. We are looking for teams of volunteers to help with the following projects:

1. Weeding Crew - front of school, totem pole beds, & upper el field

2. Gravel Team- moving & adding gravel to the kinder gravel area

3. Painting Troop - black & yellow paint touch ups (full!)

4. Hospitality & Good Cheer Squad - bring snacks & drinks, spread good cheer

Signups can be found on Track it Forward. Please contact Jesse if you have questions.

PS - There are always facilities-related tasks available for volunteers. If you are interested in discussing the available tasks please reach out to Jesse.

Ridgeline will continue to utilize Track it Forward for volunteer sign-ups and to log your volunteer hours. If you are new to Ridgeline or have not yet created an account, please do so! Last year we had a lot of folks forget to log their hours. Volunteer hour reporting is important for us to show support for Ridgeline when applying for grants and for reporting to our sponsoring district.

• Track It Forward app can be added to your phone!

If you are a first-time Track It Forward user and have not set up an account you will need to create an account first. If you already have an account, skip to step two.

Step One:

Go to https://www.trackitforward.com/site/ridgeline-montessori

Select sign in

Create your account.

Step Two:

Go to the app store on your device and search for Track It Forward.

Download the app

Log In

You are all set!

Weekly COVID-19 Screening Testing

The University of Oregon (UofO) has again partnered with Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to provide free, voluntary COVID-19 screening testing to schools! Ridgeline opted to continue with the program, and we strongly encourage families to opt-in to testing for the well-being of our school community.

On-Site Rapid Testing

Should your student develop COVID-19 symptoms while at school, Ridgeline has BinaxNOW rapid tests available. These tests will only be administered if you have completed the Oregon Health Authority waiver and returned it to the school.

Students requiring medication are requested to take all doses at home if possible. If medication must be given during school hours, or while students are on school sponsored field trips, a medication distribution form must be completed and signed by the parent. Medication must be given to school staff in the original container with the prescription label attached, and only the amount to be given by school staff in the container. School staff must keep a log of the date, time, and amount of medication given to the student. All medications are kept secured in the school office. Contact the office to make arrangements and complete the paperwork. Students are not to have medications elsewhere on the school grounds without prior written approval including a Medication Self Administration form. This includes over the counter medications and cough drops. All forms are available through the office.

Did you know when you buy gas at SeQuential Biofuels, you can ask them to donate to our school? Simply ask them to put your fill up toward Ridgeline Montessori and $.05 per gallon will come back to us. http://www.sqbiofuels.com

OregonYouthLine.org is a free teen-to-teen crisis support and help line. YouthLine is confidential to a point - while they will never share conversations had on the lines, they are mandatory reporters. If a young person is unable to agree to safety for themselves or another person, or if abuse is occurring, YouthLine contacts other agencies to ensure the best support and safety for the young person in crisis.

Teens are available to help daily from 4-10pm PST (adults are available by phone at all other times!):

• Call: 877-968-8491

• Text: 839863

• Chat

• Email

988, Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 and offers compassionate care and support for anyone experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, substance use, or any other kind of behavioral health crisis. You can also dial 988 if you are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

Your Y’s Youth Development team is hiring for fall programming! We are currently seeking before and after school care program Aides, Teachers, and Site Directors. For any questions reach out to rachel@eugeneymca.org, or APPLY HERE

Frequency: 1 hour/week; lesson times to be arranged individually - School Year/Summer/Year Round Available

Location: Skype/Zoom or In Person 3 Minute Drive From Ridgeline Up Fox Hollow

Ages: 10(ish)+; Cost: $15 per class; pay for 4 lessons ($60) at a time; 50% sibling discount; small group class option as well for students wanting to learn together

Contact: Kesha Hawk at thehawksaerie@gmail.com

Classes are tailored to each student or group. Depending on your child's level, they will go from where they are or begin with concept development and learn the basics before moving on to more complex topics. Topics range from animation to perspective, anatomy, Photoshop/Procreate digital work, comic panels, painting, sculpture, etc. Usually, each 4 classes will include a small project to learn new skills. One of our main goals is that our students learn by having fun, creating in the realms of what they are interested in and passionate about. Long-term projects are also possible. The sky's the limit! The instructor is my husband, Matt Hawk. He has an associate's degree in Illustration & Graphic Design and has taught art to children in Eugene for over 10 years. He has also worked with a video game company and illustrated several books. Most students tend to remain with us long term!

Weekly eNews is usually sent out on Thursdays.

Items for eNews must be submitted electronically to Becky Fay becky.fay@ridgeline.org by Tuesday at 4:30 pm.