Ridgeview STEM Junior High School
March 19, 2021
From Mrs. Richardson
Hello Ridgeview families,
How can we best support our students as we make this transition back to five days a week of school? The need to get back into a routine will be important. I know my own boys have a hard time sticking to a bed time at night on their virtual days and get up later than normal the next morning. We will be adjusting our sleep and wake times to get back into practice. Also, reminding them to power off their devices as our phones and internet have become vital ways of connecting with family and friends during this time. Turning them off about an hour before bed to help get good sleep will also help our students get into a routine.
IMPORTANT Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) TESTING INFO
PTO News-Fundraiser and Openings for 2021-2022 PTO Officers
No Cooking Tonight!
Ridgeview PTO is looking to make your Tuesday night a bit easier. Instead of having to stress about what to have for lunch as well as maybe even dinner, let Raising Cane's do the cooking. This Tuesday, March 23rd from 11am-7pm show the flyer attached below on your phone when you order and the PTO will receive 15% of your purchase. We greatly appreciate your support. If you should have any questions please feel free to contact Jennifer Sander jennsanderpto@gmail.com
PTO is looking for new officers
The PTO is currently looking for new officers for next school year. We have President, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable positions available. If you are interest or know someone who may be coming up from the middle school that is interested, please feel free to contact Jennifer Sander jennsanderpto@gmail.com for more information.
Social and Emotional Learning Survey
Dear Pickerington Local School District Families,
We thank you and your family for being our partners as we work together to educate the children in our district. Pickerington Local School District values input from our community, and we need to hear from your child(ren). Their voices are important as we work to improve the overall school experience for students and their families.
We would like your child’s feedback via a 20-30 minute online survey that s/he will be completing at school or home. The survey will provide us with social and emotional learning (SEL) information. SEL is the process through which children and adults apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. These are the skill sets that promote success in life.
We are asking that all of our students in grades 3-12 participate in the surveys, as their feedback will provide important insights into their school experiences for direction in planning to meet their needs. If a student does not feel they have enough information to answer a question, they will be able to skip the item altogether.
We are partnering with Panorama Education to support us in the survey process. To view the PLSD survey content, please feel free to copy and paste the following links into your browser:
Grades 6-12 SEL Competencies SEL Supports Equity & Inclusion
Please notify us if you do not want your child to participate in the survey by filling in the information below and returning it to the school by April 2. To opt-out, you may provide the form below or an email to your child’s School Counselor.
We thank you in advance for your support. If you have any questions about the survey, please do not hesitate to contact Cathy Ely, Prevention & Intervention Services Coordinator, at 614-548-1813.
Resources Available for Grandparents and Kinship Caregivers
Spring Sports
Pay to Play Fee Due Dates:
- 4/16 - 2nd pymt of $75
SPORTS PICTURE DAYS:
Wednesday, March 24th
Softball = 3:00 pm
Boys Tennis = 3:20 pm
7th Baseball = 3:40 pm
8th Baseball = 4:00 pm
Girls Lacrosse = 4:20 pm
Boys Lacrosse = 4:40 pm
Wednesday, April 21
Boys and Girls track @ 3:00 pm.Spring Ticket Guidelines
In anticipation of extracurricular activities for the remainder of the year and the limitation on the number of tickets we can sell at both indoor and outdoor facilities, we are continuing the ticket plan that was established in the fall. The plan for the rest of the 2020-21 school year can be found at: https://www.pickerington.k12.oh.us/news/spring-ticket-guidelines/
Important Dates
Friday, March 19-Virtual Learning Day for ALL students-teachers being vaccinated
-Rising Freshman schedule requests due in Infinite Campus
Tuesday, March 23-Raising Canes Fundraiser 11-7-flyer above
March 29-April 2-Spring Break
April 5-Return to 5 days a week for Hybrid students
Pickerington Schools is on the May 4 Ballot
The reality is, our district is rapidly growing and we are running out of space to continue providing our current level of educational, co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities to our students.
If passed, the bond issue will fund the current phase of the District’s Facility Plan which would: build a new junior high school building; renovate Ridgeview Jr. High into a K-6 facility and Heritage Elementary into a Welcome Center and Preschool; upgrade safety vestibules; and, add learning spaces and capacity to common areas and activity spaces throughout the district.
If passed on May 4, the bond issue will also fund future phases of the Facility Plan at no additional cost to taxpayers by bringing $53 million in matching funds from the state! Future projects would include renovations to: Tussing Elementary School, Diley Middle School, Harmon Middle School and Lakeview Jr. High School.
Completing the first two phases of Pickerington School’s Master Facility Plan will allow the District to meet the enrollment growth needs facing our district now and be prepared to continue providing safe and engaging learning opportunities to our students into the future.
If the bond issue fails, the district will need to divert money from the daily operating budget in order to pursue temporary options to accommodate enrollment growth. The growth we are experiencing and our facility needs will become even more urgent as classrooms and buildings become more crowded. In addition, there is no guarantee that the state can make available matching funds through OFCC in future years. Learn more about the May 4 bond issue here.
Information about voting is available at: www.VoteOhio.gov. The voter registration deadline is April 5 and early voting begins April 6.
Order Your Yearbook-Deadline to Order Online is April 10, 2021
- To order your Ridgeview Yearbook please go to Yearbookordercenter.com and use the School Code 13607.
From the Nurse
- If your child is absent from school for reasons due to Covid-19, please be sure to call the School Nurse as soon as possible. This is very important when recording absences and tracking Covid-19 cases in the school building.
GUIDANCE IF YOUR CHILD HAS COVID-19 SYMPTOMS:
Odds and Ends
JUST SOME REMINDERS:
- Students should leave airpods/beats or other bluetooth devices such as those at home.
- Students should carry a spare mask in their bag. We have extras if the mask gets soiled as well.
- Students are reminded to turn cell phones off during the day and keep them in a safe place if they need to bring them to school. The district policy for K-8th grade is to have them off during school hours. We appreciate your support in this. If you need to reach your student, please contact the main office and we will have them come down to the office to call you.
- 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.
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