Ranger News

Dear Ranger Families,

March has arrived, which means St. Patrick’s Day, spring break, and hopefully some wonderful spring-like weather for us here in Northeast Ohio. As we head into the new month, many in our community are learning about Issue 5. Issue 5: The Need is Now, focuses on the safety, space, and success of our students. This bond issue spotlights a new high school, elementary school and space for Ranger High Tech Academy to help with overcrowding problems and prepare for the future as enrollment continues to increase. More information can be found in the newsletter below.

Today wraps up our annual Kindness Week throughout the district. This year’s theme was “Finding Kind”. We hope you find time to discuss the various activities that occurred in your child’s school this past week and continue to look for ways to ‘be the good’ in our community. Thank you to our guidance staff for creating a unified spirit week across the district.

Congratulations are in order for Lydia Bubar who is the first North Ridgeville gymnast in six years to qualify for the OHSAA state finals taking place this weekend. Congratulations to all of our winter athletes. Spring sports are in practice mode right now as their seasons get ready to begin this month. Visit rangersathletics.com to see the latest news and schedules to support these student athletes.

As a reminder, Wednesday, March 8 is an early release day and spring break is just around the corner. There will be no school for staff and students March 20-24.

Have a great month, Ranger Nation!

North Ridgeville City Schools will be placing a bond issue on the ballot on May 2, 2023. The focus is student safety, space, and success.

Issue 5 is for the building of a new high school and elementary school to give adequate space for the growing student population. Click here to see a brochure of the bond issue including a cost breakdown, what the future will look like without new facilities, and the current enrollment versus capacity at both Liberty Elementary and North Ridgeville High School. Click here if you support the schools.

If you are not registered to vote, you must do so by April 3. Please click here to register.

Liberty Elementary has faced many challenges with the growing student population and very little space. In fact, the capacity of the building is 520 students, but there are currently 600 students enrolled. To make the most of their space, additional classrooms have been built in the library for music class, converted utility closets are being utilized for student reading interventions, and the back of the stage has been walled off to create storage space where PE is also taught. With the growing population in North Ridgeville, more students will be enrolling which will create even more overcrowding. In fact, in 2023, we have 4,711 students enrolled in the district. It is estimated that by 2024, we will have 4,803 enrolled. The need is now for student safety, space, and success.

"I have been teaching at Liberty for several years now. Background noise is constantly an issue. An audiologist for Lorain County students came out and did a noise assessment for my classroom for one of my students. She reported that the design of these rooms make it extremely difficult for students who need hearing aids. There is constant outside noise that you cannot control. My students have access to a basket of noise canceling headphones at all times so they can use them to help focus.

Liberty is out of space. Liberty is too loud. Liberty is not safe. Liberty is outdated. We need a new building now."

-Liberty 1st Grade Teacher

"While we love working at Liberty, we do have some space/safety concerns that impact our students' learning. Liberty Title classrooms were originally closets that are now converted to classrooms which limit the functionality of the space.

• Not soundproof
• One light switch to power different classrooms
• No clock or speaker systems in classroom so unable to hear important announcements
• Gym taking place immediately outside door so safety concerns exiting and entering the classroom
• No air conditioning/heat
• Lack of mobility in small room with several students
  
  

Thank you for your consideration to provide the best education for our students."

-Title One Liberty Team

"Every week the students in my classroom have physical education in a room that was originally the back of the stage. The space is small and limits the activities they can do. This same space is used as the offices for P.E., art and digital art teacher, therefore these teachers cannot be working at their desks during physical education classes.

My classroom is currently in a space with no windows. It is an odd thing for 7-8 year olds to not see outside all day. It is also a shame we can never let fresh air into our classroom."

-2nd Grade Teacher at Liberty

On Thursday, February 23, North Ridgeville hosted five school districts for the Unified Sports Basketball Tournament. Students with specials needs played in a round robin tournament. NRHS varsity basketball players acted as the referees. It was an energetic day filled with support for our students!

Thank you to the Student Services Department for putting on this outstanding event.

On Saturday, February 11th North Ridgeville High School hosted 26 local schools for the annual Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) District 4 Solo and Ensemble event. With this, there were over 550 events where the North Ridgeville Band students and families ran tasks such as guiding others in the hallway, checking in performers, greeting patrons, serving concessions and helping make this event a success in a variety of ways.

What is Solo and Ensemble? It is an annual event that takes place throughout the country in which students prepare their own music either as a solo or a group. Students pick out pieces of music from a required list that often can double as college audition pieces and classic standards of their instrument. These performances are then evaluated by a judge and scored on a rating system.

Students who perform in Solo and Ensemble greatly benefit as they work diligently on perfecting their piece and working with an accompanist if taking a solo or working with other students if in an ensemble. Students learn time management while working on a piece of music that may be out of their comfort zone.

The North Ridgeville High School Band Program sponsored 22 events to participate in this event.
1 event received rating of good
5 events received ratings of excellent
16 events received the top rating of superior

In preparation for this event, the band held a “recital” where each student performed the piece of music they had been working on the past few months in front of the community and their peers. In addition to this, the band also collected monetary and food donations for the North Ridgeville Community Care. From this recital, monetary donations totaling over $200 dollars and more than 4 boxes of food and other goods were collected and delivered to Community Care.

The North Ridgeville High School Band could not have done this without the help of the North Ridgeville Band Boosters, NRHS Staff, NRHS and NRAC Maintenance Department, NRCS Food Service Department and the NRCS Administration. Representatives from these groups deserve a special thank you for allowing the band program to run this large event.

North Ridgeville 8th graders, Leah Boutton, Addison Kawiecki, Ailani Mathias, and Erin Schwiefert, shined at the Power of the Pen District tournament on January 21st, and the girls will advance to the Regional Power of the Pen Tournament. The tournament will be held at Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday, March 11th. Power of the Pen is an Ohio-wide interscholastic writing competition in which students write to three 40 minute timed prompts. Keep up the great work, Rangers!

Each month the Board of Education recognizes two staff members who have shown extreme care, demonstrated excellence, and/or provided exemplary professionalism. These nominations may come from students, parents, colleagues or administration. Please take the time to nominate a staff member today. Complete this quick form to nominate a deserving staff member. In order to be considered for March's award, please complete submission prior to Monday, March 13. Thank you for taking the time to recognize our valuable staff members.

Congratulations to the following students who were selected for the fan experiences before tip-off!

Anthem Buddies:

ECLC:

Kennedy Gassman, Thaddeus Ginley, Adley ONeil

Liberty:

Riley Brennan, Cameron Johnson, Sophia Kasinecz, Claire Massey, Owen Schons, Ryan Spears, Elianna Tibbits

NRAC:

Evan Evilsizer, Addilyn Gassman, Colton Hammer, Reagan Limpert, Alana Lozada, Carter Massey, Joshua Myers, Emerson ONeil, Max Shaffer, Mason Smith, Chandler Sroka, Diego Tejeida

RHTA:

Jordan Bradley, Nya Bradley, Tyson Bradley, Jordan Fildes, Mason Gallagher, Cooper Krugman, Tanner ONeil, Lily Strait

Spirit Tunnel:

Liberty:

Elise Baker, Evan Baker, Emily Eby, Mikel Tejeida

NRAC:

Calvin Bonner, Carter Brennan, Julia Ciuta, Caleb Hammer, Aaron Holtzman, Carter Hreha, Allison Koris, Brayden Koris, Mason Limpert, Kamden Lozada, Sebastian Marcis, Jordan Morgan, Grayson Pero-Luter, Avery Polasky, Jaxon Rossi, Landen Sroka, Santiago Tejeida, Madelyn Wilkinson, Willow Wilkinson

RHTA:

Kay Hoff, Sophia MacDonald, Logan Strait, Noah Toth

NRHS:

Supawadee Baothong , Noah Brennan, Alex Ciuta, Abigail Cook, Austin Cook, Alexis Gaal, David Gordon, Kylie Klein, Samantha Klein, Owen Krugman, Elizabeth Lawson, Brett Lienerth, Kamryn Lienerth, Kaylin Murton, Ayla Polasky, Brady Quinn, Reilley Quinn, Harley Ross, Stephen Spears, Nadeen Sulaiman, Omar Sulaiman, Zareen Sulaiman, Annabell Wargo

Parents/Guardians will receive more information via email as we get closer to the event. If you have any questions or concerns, please email Nikki Roth at nicoleroth@nrcs.net.

The 8th grade students at NRAC held a canned food collection in honor of North Ridgeville Community Care's fundraiser, Soup for the Spirit. Students then used craft materials to create "Donations in Disguise". Staff and students voted for their favorite decorated cans and the Top 10 were featured at the NRCC fundraiser last weekend where participants paid $1 to vote for their favorite. The winners are pictured below. Over 100 decorated cans were given to NRCC to pass on to their clients.

To purchase a ticket for the Calendar Raffle, please click here.

The parents/guardians of the class of 2023 are organizing a celebration night. Donations are appreciated. Click here to donate.

Ranger High-Tech Academy PTO is hosting a Spring Flower and Plant sale! See below for more information or click here to place an online order!

Last week, NRHS hosted their annual Future Fair. Thank you so much to the sponsors and participants! We had a great turnout for students to explore their options after high school graduation.

What ideas do you have about North Ridgeville’s future? The city is undertaking a master planning process, Ridgeville Ready, to create a master plan that will respond to current challenges and capitalize on the community’s potential. As the city continues to change, it is important to have a framework by which decisions are made. The master plan will be developed based on input from the North Ridgeville community, and so, the process will involve extensive, diverse and effective public engagement opportunities to gather input. To ensure the planning process is successful, the city wants to hear your voice. The first round of public input is underway with the “Ready to Listen” workshops. In-person workshops were held February 28 through March 2. Virtual workshops will be held March 8 and March 10. If you can't attend a meeting, don't worry! Online input through our project website will be collected through March 13. Everyone in the community is invited to share their ideas about the future of North Ridgeville. For more details about the workshops and other input opportunities, visit RidgevilleReady.com.

The North Ridgeville Baseball and Softball League is now open for registration for kids 5-18. See the information below for fees and registration.

Looking for spring activities for your child? Check out i9 sports. They have several leagues, camps, and clinics for flag football, soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, and lacrosse.

Charmed Boutique will have a Prom Resale the week of 3/21-3/25 with gently used dresses for all teens to shop for Prom this year! All sales are final. Gently used dresses will be displayed during their normal business hours. Go to Charmed Boutique on Facebook, click “events” and follow this event for more information.

If you love "Beauty and the Beast," be sure to check out North Pointe Ballet's production in April.

If your child loves video games, check out this fundraiser! This tournament is for kids 5 - 18 with games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. Click here to register.

Registration is open now for summer STEAM camps for kids 6 - 14. See more information below about fees, classes, and registration.

Click here for the March Connecting for Kids flyer of events.