Panther Tales
September 6, 2019
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"Tales from the Principal"
Ridgeview Families:
On the first Friday of each month, I’m penning a short message titled “Tales from the Principal” which will be included at the top of Panther Tales. In “Tales from the Principal” I’ll share brief, essential information with the goal of building better and better partnerships between you, our family partners, and Ridgeview. Welcome to the first edition!
August at Ridgeview ushered in a year-long focus on what I believe is the essential building block to effective education, and we’ve given that focus a hash-tag name this year -- #RelationshipsMatter. You may have heard the adage about students that goes something like “they don’t care to learn until they learn that you care,” which I find to be absolutely true. I’m passionate about the idea that the students we’re entrusted with won’t learn until they first learn that we, their teachers and Ridgeview staff, care about them. We’re committed to that. We contracted Amie Dean, “The Behavior Queen,” to build our entire staff’s strategy tool belt during pre-planning, and our first four weeks of school has focused on building community and confidence. Part of this included our now annual PBIS pep rally on the second Friday where in addition to underscoring our behavioral expectations, our students and teachers competed together in community-building games. Appropriately we’ve put a lot of front-end work into #RelationshipsMatter in our Ridgeview community.
Speaking of community, we are fortunate to have a few new members to our Ridgeview faculty and staff community this year. Of our 130 staff members, we brought on board 10 people who have incredible backgrounds and experiences. When my administrative team and I hire, we are searching for dynamic educators with expertise who are passionate about the middle grades. Please join me in welcoming:
- Ms. Samantha Romero, 8th grade social studies (former intern teacher at RCMS)
- Ms. Stefani Shepherd, 8th grade ELA (former intern teacher at RCMS)
- Ms. Reed Wenger, 8th grade reading
- Ms. Mable Hurtault, 7th grade special education
- Mr. Tony Williams, 7th grade special education
- Mr. Steven Sanders, PE
- Ms. Kimbula Beasley, PE
- Ms. Sharon Manson-Jordan, paraprofessional
- Mr. Harrold Niger, paraprofessional
- Ms. Vicky Zambrano, bi-lingual community liaison
Join me in wishing a happy birthday to these August (looking back) and September (looking forward) birthday folks:
August: Ms. Anderson (3rd), Ms. Soriano (4th), Ms. Walley (4th), Mr. Altman (13th), Ms. Bulluck (16th), Dr. Murovitz (16th), Ms. Price (16th), Ms. Hurst (18th), Ms. Cruver (18th), Ms. Parks (18th), Mr. Cooper (21st), Ms. Peddi (23rd), Mr. Brown (31st).
September: Ms. A. Smith (1st), Ms. Good (4th), Ms. Watson (4th), Ms. Boddiford (7th), Ms. Alvarez (8th), Ms. Phillips (10th), Ms. Stanton (11th), Ms. Abraham (16th), Ms. Hernandez (17th), Ms. Nichols (20th), Ms. Panos (21st), Mr. Tucker (21st), Ms. Lloyd (29th), Mr. Strickland (29th).
This past year we saw dramatic increases in student achievement as measured by Georgia Milestones -- growth not only in student “pass rates” but also in the percentages of students scoring at the highest levels of proficiency. We also saw our literacy rate increase to 80.8% of our students reading on or above level according to milestones, which surpassed our goal of 80%. I attribute this to dedicated and focused work from our staff, hard work from students, and strong parental support.
This year we will continue focusing on stretching our students’ brains and striving for increased student achievement. We do this with our three big academic focus areas: At least once each semester in every class our students use inquiry, research, and critical thinking in an International Baccalaureate project; we’ve committed to teaching high engagement strategies to build needed skills in every class in the areas of Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading; and we’ll continue to personalize learning, looking for opportunities for teachers to dig in to target students’ needs.
We are off to a great start this year, and as we move from the feel of the beginning of year into the feel of routines, I can’t encourage you enough to set a routine at home of regularly sitting with your child while logged into their Google Classroom to review their academic performance and to assist them with developing action plans for improvement.
I look forward to seeing you around Ridgeview sometime soon, and as always, thanks for your support. Welcome to the new school year!
Opie Blackwell, Principal
Attention Parents!! SCHOOL FAMILY COMPACT INFORMATION - Don't Forget!
Our School Family Compact will be sent home with your student in the next couple of days. Please review the document with your student. Sign and date the signature page and have your student return it to their homeroom teacher. Please keep your copy of the School Family Compact at home for reference.
Click HERE to view an electronic version of the School Family Compact.
Click HERE to view an electronic version of the School Family Compact Signature page.
Ms. Good
Title I Parent Liaison
PANTHERPALOOZA IS COMING! Friday, September 20th from 4:15-7:30 PM.
Pantherpalooza is Ridgeview Foundation’s annual carnival to support the school’s athletics and art programs.
All the students’ favorite activities are back including Dunk-a-Teacher, Bungee Trampoline, Knocker Balls plus new activities like Wipe Out Obstacle Course and 61’ Intense Rock Climb Challenge.
Pantherpalooza t-shirts, $10, and all-access Pantherpalooza wristbands, $25, will be sold every morning before school Thursday September 12th through Thursday the 19th.
Tickets and wristbands will also be sold at the gate on Friday the 20th. Food and drinks will be available for purchase during the event. All proceeds benefit the RCS band, orchestra, chorus and athletic teams.
Parents – We’ll need some help pulling
this off so please consider volunteering! Click RCS Pantherpalooza Volunteers to volunteer!
FALL PICTURE DAY SEPTEMBER 23th
Ridgeview students should wear school uniforms (no hoodies please) for the pictures. A package will be sent home of everyone photographed. There will be order forms included in the package and directions on how to order online.
Build the Habit of Good Attendance Early
Help Your Child Succeed In School - Information from RCMS Social Worker, Ms. Hutchins.
Join us First Annual PTA Fall Kick Off - October 2 - 4:30-6:30pm
Come enjoy an evening of sports and food at RCMS! Students and their family are welcome.
The RCMS Volleyball teams will be playing at 4:45, 5:45 & 6:45 and our Co-ed Soccer team will be playing at 5:30.
Pre-order a Chick-fil-a dinner ($6) by clicking here. The meal will include a sandwich, chips & water.
Join the PTA today to support our purpose of connecting parents and teachers for the benefit of ALL our students. You can become a member, donate, and purchase spirit wear online at RCSstore.org. PTA members receive information on volunteer opportunities throughout the school year.
Follow the PTA on Facebook - @RidgeviewCMSPTA
View our new Facebook page HERE.
Learn About The RCMS Foundation & Join Today!
The Ridgeview Charter Middle School Foundation provides funding to support Ridgeview’s sports and music programs. These programs cannot exist without parent donations. By enhancing the school’s sports and music programs, the RCS Foundation gives students the needed balance between academics, creativity, and physical growth.
To join, please click HERE.
NEXT MEETING: Sept 11 RCMS Foundation Meeting - 7:45 AM
SGC (School Governance Council) Corner
September 10 at 7:30 a.m. in the RCMS Media Center
Coming Soon To The View!
NEXT WEEK
Sept 10 RCMS School Governance Council Meeting - 7:30 AM
Sept 11 RCMS Foundation Meeting - 7:45 AM
COMING SOON
Sept 18 Euro Trip Meeting - 5:30 PM
Sept 20 Non-Uniform For Pay Day (Sponsored by Foundation)
Sept 20 PBIS Store is open - 8:15 AM
Sept 20 Pantherpalooza - 4:30 PM
Sept 23 Fall Picture Day
Sept 24 Spanish Honor Society Induction Ceremony - 6pm
Oct 2 Fall Kickoff Event Sponsored by the PTA
Oct 3 College Night w/ NSCHS and RICS at Ridgeview
Click HERE for full calendar.
Ridgeview Charter Middle School
Email: woodruff@fultonschools.org
Website: www.ridgeviewcharterschool.org
Location: 5340 South Trimble Road, Sandy Springs, GA, USA
Phone: 4702547710
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RidgeviewCharterSchool
Twitter: @CLCRidgeview