Ridgeview STEM Junior High School
December 18, 2020
From Our Administrators
Happy Holidays to all of our Ridgeview families,
As we take some time to spend with our families and reflect on the year of 2020, we are looking for input on how to make Ridgeview a more inclusive place for all of our families. Our PAW Time curriculum is continuing to focus on our students' emotional regulation and sense of belonging. As a part of that effort, we are including conversations around inclusivity and diversity. We recently shared a resource from Teaching Tolerance that promotes our students' awareness of bias and strategies for how to stand up for fairness and inclusivity. We will continue to share strategies for helping students advocate for equity and the fair treatment of all community members.
As we return from winter break, our students will be engaging in lessons around how to respond to events and things outside of our control, how to be a good digital citizen, implicit bias, and how we can all work together to influence the best outcome for ourselves and our community. As an administrative team we are reaching out to you as parents/guardians to work together in helping us promote inclusivity and appreciation for all community members. If you have an interest in being an active part of this conversation, please fill out the google form here and an administrator will follow up with you with more details.
Again, have a safe and happy holiday season, and we cannot wait to see your students again on January 5th!
Beth Richardson, Chris Stiel and Kevin Smith
NEW! Virtual Attendance Emails
Coping Through the Holidays
As we know, this year has been a trying time in many ways and with the holiday season upon us and in normal times spent with loved ones. For many, this season can be tough not being able to be with loved ones and grieving the loss of time together.
Grieving the loss of a loved one:
- Light a candle or create an ornament for your loved one
- Share favorite or funny memories of your loved one
- Create a new holiday tradition or celebrate the holiday in a new way
- Create a plan A/B: A plan for if you are okay in celebrating with family or a second plan quietly celebrating the holiday.
- Cancel the holiday: it's okay to take a year off from celebrating the holidays and needing some time to yourself.
Grieving the loss of large family gatherings:
- Set up a virtual gathering/ game night with loved ones
- Create new holiday traditions or celebrate the holiday in a new way this year
- Volunteer as a family to help others
- Have more family time within your household
How to support your child(ren) with their grief & loss:
- Have conversations to allow space for your child(ren) to express their emotions
- Get your child(ren)'s input on how they would like to celebrate through their grief & loss
- It's okay if there is a certain tradition or activity they don't want to celebrate.
- Express to your child(ren) it's okay to be joyful and happy through the holidays and grieving at the same.
The holiday season can be tiring. Please remember to be kind to yourself and take time for yourself.
Reading and Math Diagnostic Testing Info
Dear Families,
As we continue to support your child’s learning process, we must continually assess what they have learned and areas for improvement. Beginning January 11th through January 29th, we will be administering the i-Ready Diagnostic test for Reading and the i-Ready or ALEKS Diagnostic for Math. The test is similar to the test your child took at the beginning of the year. It is not for grading purposes but rather identifies your child’s growth from the beginning of the year until now.
Why is I-Ready and ALEKS Important?
i-Ready and ALEKS Instruction provides students with lessons based on their individual skill level, so your child can learn at a pace that is just right for them. These lessons offer explicit, yet challenging instruction at each student’s level of ability by providing systematic practice and feedback.
In preparation for the second diagnostic test, please partner with us to create a successful learning experience for your child.
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Talk to your child about iReady or ALEKS and have them log in and show you their progress. Have your child explain the lessons they have completed and what they have learned through the program.
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Remind your child about the test dates and encourage them to try their best on the test.
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Make a plan for testing days being sure to get a good night’s rest and that they eat
breakfast.
Below are directions to log into i-Ready or ALEKS
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Log into your child’s PLSD account.
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Navigate to their student bookmarks and choose “Classlink Launchpad”.
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Sign into by clicking the “Sign in with Google” button.
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Select the i-Ready icon from the Classlink Launchpad. If taking the ALEKS diagnostic,
please choose the ALEKS icon from the Classlink Launchpad.
Bagged Meals Update
Pickerington Schools Food Services will not be distributing bagged meals over winter break.
For the week of December 14th, Cohort A bags will be distributed on Tuesday, December 15th.
VLA bags can be picked up on Wednesday, December 16 and will include breakfast and lunch for December 17th and 18th.
There will be no distribution of Cohort B bags.
Meal distribution will resume the week of January 4th.
Odds and Ends
- WINTER SPORTS Pay2Play Fee Payment due TODAY
- Trimester 2 VLA Art materials are ready for pickup-See information below.
- Just a reminder, students should bring a refillable water bottle to school as our water fountain mouth pieces have been turned off. We have bottle filling stations that they may use throughout the day. Students may also purchase a bottle of water through our vending machines for $1.25.
- Please see the bottom of the newsletter for links to: Free Meals on Virtual Days, Weekly Classroom Information, Parent Hub, Technology Troubleshooting, Virtual Attendance.
Trimester 2 VLA Art Materials are Ready for Pick Up
Spelling Bee Info
Dear Parents,
This year, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has developed an online testing platform that will allow Ridgeview STEM Junior High School to host a school spelling bee program, whether your children are learning in classrooms or remotely from your homes.
In place of our traditional spelling bee program, we will hold two levels of competition through online spelling tests. The first step to spelling bee participation is for you to register for the Scripps National Spelling Bee's online testing platform by visiting https://online-test.spellingbee.com.
I encourage you to watch this video tutorial that will walk you through the registration process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ThKRsffiFc
Once you have registered, I will be able to assign the appropriate test to your child. Your child must complete the test before the given deadline, and these tests can be taken on any device with a web browser, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
The students with the highest scores will move on to compete at the school level. This year, our school-level competition will be administered via online test.
Our school champion will then move on to represent Ridgeview STEM JH in the Central Ohio Regional Spelling Bee program sponsored by Ohio University, which also includes online tests in lieu of in-person spelling bee events.
The first step to spelling bee participation is to register at online-test.spellingbee.com. Please register at your earliest convenience as I will begin assigning tests to students in January. If you have already registered in the online testing platform for another child, you can log in to your account and add an additional child to that same parent account. There is no need to register a different email address for each child in your household.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions about our school spelling bee program. I look forward to having your child compete to represent our school!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kissell
RSJH Library Media Specialist
Winter Sports
- WINTER SPORTS Pay2Play Fee Payment due date extended: Full payment $155 or first half $80 payment due TODAY.
Winter sports pictures are in
VLA pictures are available for pick up in the main office from 7:30-3:15 p.m.
Parents, you are able to sign up for ALL SEASON's sports online. This will enable you to start receiving communications from the coach/program when anything is going on. Winter sports are starting some open gym workouts at this time.If you sign up now, you will receive all the necessary instructions for registration / physicals / communication from the coach prior to the start of the season. Visit Pickeringtontigers.net and click on "Final Forms" to register your athlete today. Also remember your athlete needs a current OHSAA physical on file. All athletic announcements and updates can be found at the website as well.
Sign Up for Meals on Virtual Days
The deadline is every Monday by 10am. FREE for ALL students
An important reminder: Please sign up weekly as this helps control food waste and monitor inventory levels.
The ODE Child Nutrition Department announced that all meals are free through June 2021! If you would like to receive breakfast and lunch for the days your student is virtual, please click on the correct link below to sign up. Remember that you need to do this every week.
Ridgeview Values
Ridgeview STEM Junior High School
Email: beth_richardson@plsd.us
Website: pickerington.k12.oh.us
Location: 130 Hill Road South, Pickerington, OH, USA
Phone: 614-548-1700
Facebook: facebook.com/RidgeviewStem
Twitter: @RSJHSPrincipal