Wednesday 10/12: Walk & Roll to School Day!

Thursday 10/13: Fun Run Packets Sent Home

Thursday 10/13: (6-8pm) Ridgeline Board Meeting

Friday 10/14: No School (Planning Day)

Monday 10/17: No School (Professional Development Day)

Thursday 10/20: (3:15-4:15pm) (6-7pm) Curriculum Sharing

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.

Walk & Roll To School Day is next Wednesday, October 12th. You and your child can join students all over the world in supporting safe and environmentally friendly transportation to schools. Join other Ridgeline families Wednesday morning at Tugman Park on Hilyard between 36th and 38th ave and then you and your child can walk, ride, scoot or cartwheel your way to Ridgeline! Watch for an email with more information on Monday!

Students will be accompanied by their parents at this event, but volunteers are still needed to help support everyone as we make our way safely to the school. Sign up on Track it Forward to be a Walking or Biking Helper!

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 DONOR MATCH ENDS FRIDAY OCTOBER 7!
• Our Monthly Donor Match ends tomorrow Friday, October 7. We need just 9 more new or increased monthly donors to maximize our Monthly Donor Match of $1500! You still have one more day to sign up here. We send heartfelt thanks and gratitude to our 15 new monthly donors and our six existing monthly donors who have increased their monthly contribution! Thanks to your generosity you have already earned Ridgeline $1,050 in matching funds! Remember each and every gift moves us closer to our $90,000 goal this year! Please sign up today!
  

Thanks to all who came out and volunteered at the work party last Saturday. Outstanding progress was made weeding and pruning all around Building A, touching up the paint on the covered walkway, cleaning up the area between Building A & B, and more. Huge thanks too to Paul Cziko for leading the charge to explore, diagnose, and see that the gutters drainage is all working properly! Please remember to track your hours for your work on Track-It-Forward.

I am working hard to process all of the background checks that have been turned in, however the turnaround time is longer than usual so thank you for your patience. In the meantime, take a look at the Volunteer page on the Ridgeline website and fill out the forms there so that we can get you your very own volunteer badge!

Thank you to all of our snack donors and everyone who has participated in the Monthly Donor Match! We appreciate each and every one of you and every bit counts!

The Ridgeline Fun Run is coming up on October 28th from 10:00-11:00am, on the Rexius trail in front of the school. Students will walk, run and skip their way around the trail to raise money for the Ridgeline general fund! Flyers with more information along with pledge sheets will be sent home Thursday, October 13th.

There will be plenty of room for volunteers to make this an amazing event! Sign up now on Track it Forward!

We are excited to bring 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.

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

If you would like to volunteer with students and you haven't done so in the last 5 years, please fill out the volunteer background check form. Submit the form to Becky Fay in the school office. Please have patience with the background check process, as there is a delay in turnaround. Bring your ID and proof of COVID vaccination as well. School volunteers are required by state law to be vaccinated.

Stone Soup Cooks

• We are looking forward to the return of this beloved Ridgeline tradition. Stone Soup is a school-wide event the day before Thanksgiving (November 23). Students bring vegetables to school on Tuesday, November 22 and slice them in the classrooms with the support of volunteers. The following day, Wednesday, November 23, volunteers prepare soups that staff and students will enjoy as an afternoon snack before dismissal for the Thanksgiving break. Since we have not had this event in several years, we are looking for a new team of volunteers! Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks. Contact Becky to volunteer.
  

Fun Run

• Water tables, Lap counters, Bikers, Set-up, Clean-up, Music and more! Are you a DJ? Would you like to give water to grateful and thirsty children? Are you good at cleaning up after super fun events and making sure that our neighbors appreciate how considerate we are? Head over to Track it Forward and sign up to volunteer for the Fun Run!
  

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

A group of parent volunteers maintains an email list related to cycling (and pedestrian) issues, improvements and activities related to Ridgeline Montessori. This is a good spot for voicing concerns, suggesting and discussing possible improvements, learning about fun bike/ped events, or just for celebrating human-powered transportation at Ridgeline.

If you'd like to be added to the email list (very infrequent emails, unless there is an active discussion topic), please email parent volunteer Paul Cziko at pcziko@gmail.com

Parents new to our program are in for a treat! Curriculum Sharing is a time when children can bring you into the classroom and show you some of their favorite work. The format is informal and student led. This experience empowers students in a special way. They can demonstrate the confidence and independence gained since school began. Curriculum Sharing is Thursday, October 20. The classrooms will be open 3:15-4:15 p.m. and 6-7 p.m.

New Leif Photography did a great job taking photos last Friday. Huge thank you to Picture Day volunteer Robyn Suzumara who assisted every step of the way and who made sure each class arrived in the gym on time for their photos!

Photo packages are expected to arrive in approximately four weeks and they will be sent home with your student as soon as they arrive.

Pictures may still be ordered online at https://newleifphoto.inter-state.com/. Ridgeline's order code is 71229HB. Families can order two weeks past picture day with the flier code. After pictures come back, parents/guardians will get a second chance form to order with a code designated for their kiddo so they can go online and order. Picture Day retakes will take place on November 16th.

A new entry and surveillance system was installed for the main doors of Building A and Building B which allows the main entry door in Building A to remain locked throughout the day just like Building B. Office staff can now monitor both door stations with video and audio and have the ability to identify individuals before granting access to either building. This is another major step toward building security and securing our school perimeter. Visitors can now contact the office staff for entry into the building using the call button on the keypad next to the main doors.

Campus guests should approach the Building A main entrance. They will interact with the office staff via the door station and be buzzed through the door to sign in and pick up their badge once cleared for entry. Signs are posted next to the door stations and instructions will be shared with students.

Please remember to let us know if your child has COVID symptoms, known exposure to someone who tests positive or is presumed positive for COVID, or if your child tests positive for COVID.

The team at Ridgeline are doing all that we can to keep your children, and each other, safe and healthy, and we know that is your top priority as well. So let’s work together by making sure that students come to school when they are well.
If your child has any of the listed symptoms on our website, please keep your child home and contact the office.

Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter School has partnered with My MealTime, a fast, secure online service for making credit or debit card deposits and monitoring your student’s lunch account. If your student is signed up for paid meals please look out for an email giving you more information on how to sign-up. Families with students who qualify for free meals did not receive an email as they do not need to sign up for this online payment service. Please contact meals@ridgeline.org if you have any questions or need assistance.

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.

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 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.