Principal's Update
October 6, 2023
Happy Friday Wolves!
Shared below are many new updates for upcoming activities and events. Please be sure to check them out! Also a reminder that Picture Day is on Monday! Please see ordering information below if you are interested in purchasing pictures of your child.
Enjoy the sunshine this weekend,
Miranda
Celebrating Ridges Staff
Did you have an exceptional experience with one of our staff members this month? We would love to hear about your experience and help celebrate that staff member. Families, staff members, or students are invited to nominate any member of the Ridges staff to be recognized at our monthly staff meeting! The form for nominations can be found
linked here.
Picture Day- October 9th
Our Ridges picture day will be Monday, October 9th. Information about online ordering can be found
linked here. Picture packets were also sent home via Friday Folders. For those that miss picture day on October 9th, retakes will be taken the morning of December 7th.
Attendance Emails
Starting next week, all elementary students will be receiving an attendance report that outlines current attendance. Elementary School families will receive this report every 6 weeks via email. There's a very strong correlation between good attendance and success in school. On the other hand, students who regularly miss school are also more likely to struggle in school (Oregon Department of Education). Illnesses, travel and other circumstances for kids being out of school add up and every day makes a difference. Please let us know how we can partner with you if you find your child is struggling to be at school.
Again, these reports are meant to be informative and are sent to all families. You do not need to contact the school unless you would benefit from support for your child. Thank you!
Note: The attendance report will come from a
do not reply email address (Sherwood School District Mailer) so there’s a chance it may end up in your junk folder.
Lockdown Drill in October
Our school will be participating in our first lockdown drill of the school year during the month of October. Lockdown drills are an essential part of our emergency preparedness, and help students and staff to practice specific actions that would occur in an emergency situation. Practice drills such as these are also an opportunity for our administrators and staff to collaborate with the Sherwood Police Department to continue improving our safety plans. You may notice increased police presence if you are on/near our campus during a lockdown drill, as our SROs do participate in checking our building security during the drill.
During drills, staff and students are secured within their individual classrooms/offices, and there is no movement in the building. No one will be allowed to enter or exit the campus until the drill has been completed.
For more information on District emergency response protocols and communication, please visit the
SSD website here.
Ridges Elementary Fall Book Fair is coming October 19 - 25!
The Book Fair will be held in the Community Room near the school’s main entrance. See map here.
It will be open for student only shopping during school hours.
The community is invited to shop after school during these hours:
Oct. 19 ~ 2:15 pm - 6:00 pm
Oct. 20 ~ 2:15 pm - 3:30 pm
Oct. 23 ~ 2:15 pm - 3:30 pm
Oct. 24 ~ 2:15 pm - 3:30 pm
Each class will have a scheduled time to visit and shop at the bookfair.
For more information and to shop our Online Fair, visit our Ridges Book Fair Page.
eWallets can be set up for your child by clicking here and scrolling down to the eWallet section. This is an easy, cashless way for students to shop at the Book Fair. Plus, family and friends can contribute too!
Funds raised through our book fair go to support our two libraries at Ridges Elementary.
Volunteer Reminders
Thank you for all of you that have submitted background checks and updated/created your Helpcounter accounts. We appreciate your help in getting you ready to volunteer. While many parents have been cleared to volunteer, there are still a lot of parents who are wanting to volunteer but haven't:
1) submitted their background checks (Click here to submit background check) or
2) haven't created or updated their HelpCounter Accounts (Click here to log in to HelpCounter).
3) emailed ridgesvolunteers@gmail.com to let them know you've completed the above two steps
If you want to Volunteer at Ridges in any capacity this school year (in school, Field Trips, After school events) you MUST complete the 3 steps shared in the picture below.
We will email you once you have been cleared to Volunteer. If you have not received an email from us, letting you know that you are ready to Volunteer, you will not be allowed to volunteer in any capacity. Thank you so much for helping us keep the kids safe and for volunteering your time. If you have any questions please email us at ridgesvolunteers@gmail.com. We will help you complete all of the necessary requirements to volunteer.
Thank you for working so hard to become a Ridges Volunteer,
Lisa & Lindsey
Ridges Volunteer Co-Coordinators
National School Lunch Week - October 9-13
Next week is National School Lunch Week! This week celebrates the National School Lunch Program, which provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or no-cost lunches to children each school day. The program was established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1946.
Here in the Sherwood School District, our Nutrition Services team served approximately 220,000 school meals to our students last year! We encourage our students to take a moment next week to thank our cafeteria teams for all that they do to provide healthy meals in our schools.
Reminder - Meal Program Eligibility Expires Oct 12!
As a reminder, all Meal Program Eligibility from the 2022-23 school year expires on October 12. To ensure your child's access to free/reduced email eligibility continues for the rest of the 2023-24 school year, all families must submit a new application for the current year. The current Meal Application for School Year 2023-2024 can be found here.
If you have already completed a 2023-24 application but need to confirm your eligibility, please contact Nutrition Services at nutrition@sherwood.k12.or.us. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Seeking Parents for District Calendar Committee
The Sherwood School District is bringing together a committee of stakeholders who will provide input as we draft the district calendars for 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. We are looking for one middle or high school parent and one elementary school parent to join the committee. If you are interested, please email Steve Emmert, Executive Director of Human Resources, at
semmert@sherwood.k12.or.us.
Fun Run Info
Just a reminder that all fundraising money is due no late than Friday, October 6th to be eligible for prizes! Thank you so much for your support of our school. It is greatly appreciated!
Share Yearbook Photos with Ridges
We are excited to offer a 2023-2024 yearbook with the help of a parent volunteer and TreeRing! You can download the TreeRing app to your phone or create an account using the school’s passcode. Linked here are directions for ordering your yearbook at 10% off for their early bird special! Orders will be open through June, but the discount only applies through the end of October.
In order to make the yearbook a true success, we need the Ridges community (students, staff, and families) to share pictures of your school year so far (Fun Run, first days of school, Supply Night, etc.) Picture folders have been created in TreeRing for organization and we are excited about the collective effort to remember all that has happened throughout the year.
Below you will find links to everything you need to know about the yearbook.
Create a TreeRing Account
Create Custom Pages (Spanish Version)
How to Create Custom Pages
How to Share Pictures (Spanish Version)
Paper Towel Tubes Needed for STEM
It's paper towel tube season again, and probably again later on. Ms Phillips and Mr. Evers will gladly accept paper towel tube donations for an upcoming 1st/2nd project. Students can drop them off in either STEM lab. We don't need any TP tubes though, just paper towel tubes.
October PAC Newsletter
Linked here is the PAC newsletter for October, with information about upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. Please check it out for fun ways to get involved here at Ridges.
District Newsletter
Our most recent District Newsletter can be found
linked here Ridges PAC
Our parent volunteer group is a very important part of our school. Get connected with the Ridges PAC today! Visit the
link here to see upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and other ways to get involved and be connected.
All volunteers will need to complete and have an approved background check on file prior to volunteering (this must be renewed each school year). The background check process can take 7-10 business days, so please allow sufficient processing time if you are planning to volunteer for a specific event.
The Ridges PAC meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 7-8:30 pm in the Ridges Community Room. They would love to have any and all parents attend!
SHS Athletics Boosters Online Auction Opens Today!
This year’s SHS Athletics Boosters Club online auction is now open. To bid on items, watch the kickoff live stream today at 3:00pm, or learn more about the Oct. 14 live auction event, visit the link below.
ATTENTION PARENTS
Sherwood School District has some great
part-time job, coaching, and substitute opportunities!
Please check out our District website, or call
Jodi Jacobs in Human Resources for more information
503-825-5022
Upcoming Dates
October 9th | Picture Day!
October 11th | Early Release- Students Dismissed at 1:15 pm
October 13th | No School- State Inservice Day
October 18th | Early Release- Students Dismissed at 1:15 pm
October 18th | Student Store in the Edy Courtyard 1:15-1:45
October 19th-25th | Ridges Book Fair (see information above)
October 20th | Ridges Spirit Day (wear your Ridges shirt, gear, or our school colors)
October 20th | Student Store in the Edy Cafeteria 7:30-7:50 am
October 25th | Early Release- Students Dismissed at 1:15 pm
October 26th & 27th | No School- Elementary Conference Days (more info coming home on the 12th)
November 1st | Half Day for Students- elementary schools dismissed at 11 am
November 1st | Student Store in the Edy Courtyard 11:00-11:30 am
November 3rd | Popcorn Friday!
November 3rd | Wild Sock Day!
November 3rd | Student Store in the Edy Cafeteria 7:30-7:50 am
Helpful Information
Ridges Front Office: 503-825-5700
Helpful Links for Ridges Families
