Thursday 12/8: Ridgeline Board Meeting 6pm-8pm

Monday 12/12-Friday 12/15: Joy of Sharing

Tuesday 12/13: UO test kit return

Wednesday 12/14: RCO Planning Meeting 7pm-8pm

Monday 12/19-Monday 1/2: NO SCHOOL - Winter Break

Tuesday 1/3: NO SCHOOL - Planning day

Wednesday 1/4: Return to school refreshed and ready to learn!

Be sure to check the full calendar at https://www.ridgeline.org as some dates may change. Please note that Ridgeline’s calendar is differs slightly from 4J elementary and middle school calendars.

With just one more week of school before Winter Break, we have generosity on our minds and Ridgeline has opened up our yearly opportunity to share with our community. Take a look below for more information on how to donate!

Be sure to check the lost and found for your student’s clothing so that they can stay warm all winter!

Lost and Found clothing will be donated during Winter Break and there are many valuable items that we would love to have returned to their owners!

Don’t forget to check out the new volunteer opportunities available!

Donate NOW! We are now collecting monetary donations for Ridgeline families who need a little extra over the winter break. Donations thus far have been light, and we are hoping to collect enough to be able to support our families over the break. Funds collected will be used to purchase grocery gift cards. If you have a little extra and the capacity to give, please donate to this grocery gift card fund. To contribute click on the Joy of Sharing link. Donations are being accepted until noon, December 15th. Your help will make a difference for our families!

Lost and Found items will be donated at winter break, so be sure to take a look in the boxes in the lobby and scan the playground fences to see if your child’s clothing is in the collection.

The Ridgeline Board will have its regular meeting today, Thursday, December 8, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm over Zoom and in person in the library. Action items on the agenda include: Changes to online lottery, compulsory attendance, animals in school facilities, and changes to bylaws. Information items on the agenda include: Higher rate of return savings accounts and public records request. Discussion items on the agenda include: Brainstorm retreat options, municipal audit, and local wellness. The agenda was finalized and posted here on Tuesday December 6th; the Zoom link to join is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84542263211?

pwd=ank5a0V4d05Zeno5dDRxV2lpYmQyUT09 Meeting ID: 845 4226 3211 Passcode: 709037.

You can always reach the board by email (board@ridgeline.org). Members of the public may also provide comments to the board in written form by emailing board@ridgeline.org prior to the meeting. The board will read (not aloud), review, and take into consideration all comments. In order to be fully considered at this meeting, comments must be received by noon on the day of the meeting. Please clearly label the email subject line as: "Public Comment."

Each year Ridgeline creates a School Improvement Plan, which is designed to help students and school staff focus on growth of the school overall. This plan includes goals for Social and Emotional Wellness, Equity, and Math. Your representatives on the Site Council would like your feedback on your understanding of the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) goal and how it has impacted your child. Please take a few moments to fill out this survey to share your perspective.

The SEL program includes two parts. The first part is the Wellness Center where a student can receive individualized attention by either asking for assistance or being referred by a teacher. The second part is lessons which are conducted in the classrooms once a week. The classroom lessons are conducted by Jon Talebreza-May and Jenine Stocke.

Site Council Social Emotional Wellness Survey

Sign up and work toward your commitment of 40 hours of volunteering at Ridgeline!

Talent Show Stage Cleaning Party

• Volunteers needed! We will be having a work party on Saturday, January 14th, from 10 am to 1 pm, to clear the stage and prepare for Ridgeline Montessori 2023 Talent Show. Please sign up for a shift in Track it Forward! The show must go on (but hopefully without junk and dust)!

Site Council Minute Taker

• The minute taker is a nonvoting member of the Site Council that takes key notes during the meetings including decisions that are made, plans created, and action items that need to be completed. If you are interested please contact Becky Fay.

The Site Council meets once a month from 6:00-7:30 at the school. The purpose of the site council is to gather insight from school stakeholder groups to guide leadership with decision making. We are currently in need of a minute taker for the rest of the school year.

STILL NEEDED!

• Crossing guards are needed to help guide Ridgeline students as they cross West Amazon to and from the amazon trail. Volunteers are needed daily at 8-8:30 am and 3-3:20 pm.

Safety vests and stop signs provided. Sign-up for any number of mornings and/or afternoons on Track it Forward

• Traffic Guides for the Drop off/Pick up Loop! Please sign-up to come help guide families safely as they pick-up and drop-off their children.

If you would like to volunteer, go to the Volunteer Page of our website and review what is required.

Fill out a background check form if you have not done so in the last five years.

See instructions at the bottom of the eNews for more information on how to sign up and track your hours with Track it Forward.

We have seen many different symptoms and illnesses in our community recently. Wearing a high-quality mask and handwashing are key prevention measures, along with up-to-date immunizations and cleaning. Please ensure that hand washing routines are maintained (Minimum Hand Washing/Sanitizing Requirement) and consider reminding your children how to properly wash their hands. High-quality masks are available for staff, students, and volunteers in the office.

“Thank you for the reminder about not opening the door for the children to get out!

I’m going to switch my child’s car seat to the passenger side to facilitate safer drop off, and ease of her opening the door on her own.” -Amber Lippert

Reminder: Please pull all the way forward, regardless of where your students attend class. Direct your vehicle with intention and care to model safety. Lastly, if your student requires your help to exit or enter the car, please park your vehicle on the street to help facilitate the smooth car line we all appreciate.

With the holidays fast approaching, we are receiving emails about planned trips. If your students will be absent for a planned trip, please fill out the Planned Absence Request Form.

Please note that trips of more than five missed school days will result in unexcused absences, and trips longer than 10 missed school days will not be approved, and result in your student being unenrolled due to the 10-day drop requirement. If your student is unenrolled, you will need to reapply for the lottery.

Please use this link to ask to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/604057500592213. Please take a minute to answer the questions and read over the rules of the group and we’ll get you in as soon as possible. This is a peer run community group for the parents and guardians of Ridgeline Montessori. This group's purpose is to provide connections, share information, ask questions and facilitate conversations. This group is not managed by Ridgeline staff nor does it include members of Ridgeline staff. (Exception would be if a staff member is also a parent).

Ridgeline students spend time outdoors, rain or shine, but that means we sometimes need to lend them clean clothes when theirs get soiled!! We are in need of versatile pants (especially leggings and athletic pants in gender neutral colors) in all sizes, youth size 5 through adult small/medium. When your student arrives home in borrowed school clothes, we appreciate it if they are laundered and returned as soon as possible. Please bring clean clothing donations to the office!

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!