Thursday 11/10: 6:00-8:00pm Board Meeting

Friday 11/11: No School Veterans Day

Monday 11/14: Walk/Ride to School Day Cancelled

Monday 11/14: Ruby Bridges Day (See Below)

Monday 11/14: Fun Run Pledges Due

Wednesday 11/16: Picture Retake Day

Wednesday 11/16: 7:00-8:00pm RCO Planning Meeting

Friday 11/18: 5:00-7:00pm Book Fair!

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.

We hope everyone had successful conferences and look forward to a three-day weekend! The weather has turned and we are bundling up in warm coats and scarves; these items are often left behind after recess and PE. Please check the lost and found for lost items and make sure to have your student’s name on their belongings.

We have many events planned and Room Parents are starting to help teachers organize classroom activities so be sure to turn in your background check forms now, even if you don’t have any volunteer time planned yet. It is always best to be prepared!

We can’t wait for the Book Fair next Friday, take a look below for details on that and other school news and events!

This year's Book Fair will take place on Friday, November 18, from 5:00-7:00. We are partnering with local bookstore Books With Pictures Eugene to create a fresh, fun event where we will purchase books for our classrooms, home libraries, and as gifts for friends.

Enjoy student performances, buy some pizza from Whirled Pies, and connect with other Ridgeline families!

5:30 pm Kindergarten, Sarah

5:40 pm Room 3, Rachel

5:50 pm Room 4, Emily

6:00 pm Room 5, Emmanuel

6:10 pm Room 8, Adrienne

6:20 pm Room 9, Meridy

6:30 pm Room 10, Ray

6:40 pm T.R.U.E. (The Ridgeline Ukulele Extravaganza)

We exceeded our goal! Ridgeline has received $10,242.82 in pledges for the Fun Run!

Let’s see how much we can raise by our pledge deadline of Monday, November 14th!

Thank you so much, Tate, and volunteers, for leading such a fun and successful event!

We greatly appreciate every student and family for your hard work in raising funds to support Ridgeline Montessori!

www.ridgeline.org/support/2022-fun-run

The Ridgeline Board will have its regular meeting tonight, Thursday, November 10th, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm over Zoom and in person in the library. Action items on the agenda include: Property Value Increase, Health Insurance Renewal Contracts, Facility Fee Schedule Approval, and Policies. Discussion items on the agenda include: Shared Language and Policy. The agenda was finalized and posted here on Tuesday, November 8th.

The Zoom link to join is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84542263211?pwd=ank5a0V4d05Zeno5dDRxV2lpYmQyUT09

Meeting ID: 845 4226 3211 Passcode: 709037.

You can always reach the board by email (board@ridgeline.org). Members of the public may also provide comments to the board in written form by emailing board@ridgeline.org prior to the meeting. The board will read (not aloud), review, and take into consideration all comments. In order to be fully considered at this meeting, comments must be received by noon on the day of the meeting. Please clearly label the email subject line as: "Public Comment."

Stone Soup is a fable that illustrates the importance of sharing and cooperation. Ridgeline students share in these values when they bring vegetables, prepare the vegetables, and eat the collective soup for our community meal. Vegetable preparation will take place on Tuesday November 22, our students will enjoy their soup the following day on Wednesday November 23. Please see your child’s teacher update for specifics on what they should bring.

Get cozy and watch this video of Ridgeline staff and students celebrating past year’s Stone Soup!

Our pantry is running low! Please bring donations of granola bars, pre-packaged snacks, fruit, and other healthy snacks to the office so we can stock the cupboards.

It is through your generous donations to the food pantry that we are able to ensure students are never left hungry during lunch or snack.

Monday, November 14th, is Ruby Bridges Day. This day commemorates Ruby Bridges, the first black child to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. At six years old, Ruby's bravery helped pave the way for Civil Rights action in the American South. .Watch the video from the students in San Mateo County to learn more about how these students took their idea to the California State legislature to create Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. Next year, Ridgeline plans to dive more deeply into the meaning of Ruby Bridges day and honor and participate in walk to school day.

Ridgeline has many volunteer opportunities. Head over to Track it Forward and sign up! See below for more information on volunteering requirements (background checks are necessary!) and how to track your progress toward your 40 hour goal!

Stone Soup Veggie Slicers

• Volunteers needed! We need some veggies slicers to help students in classrooms cut the collection of vegetables that the students provide. Check out Track it Forward for that and more Stone Soup volunteer opportunities!

If you are interested, send your Background Check Form in today, and if you are already cleared to volunteer in the classroom, please consider signing up for this wonderful opportunity!

Turkey Dinners

• We need a volunteer to pick up turkeys on Monday, November 21st in the afternoon and a few volunteers to help distribute the Turkey Dinners at pick up afterschool on Monday.

Please head to Track it Forward to sign up!

The following volunteers are needed to make sure that pick-up and drop-off are smooth and safe for our students:

Crossing Guards and Traffic Guides for Drop-off/Pick-up Loop

• Crossing guards are needed to help guide Ridgeline students as they cross West Amazon to access the Amazon trail and the bridge across the creek. Volunteers are 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

• Traffic Guides for the Drop off/Pick up Loop! Please sign-up to come help families as they make their way to pick-up and drop-off their children

  
  

Keep an eye out for emails from Room Parents and Becky Fay look for volunteer opportunities in the eNews.

There are many ways to use your talents and skill sets to contribute to the Ridgeline community!

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, go to the Volunteer Page of our website and review what is required.

Fill out a background check form if you have not done so in the last five years.

• Provide a copy of your driver's license

• Provide proof of vaccination.

  
  

Background checks are taking a longer time than usual to process so please turn in your forms right away!

Thanks to an annual program organized by A3 Public High School and an extremely generous donation from Once Famous Grill, Quakers & Keith Lewis we are able to offer a free uncooked turkey dinner with all the trimmings to our Ridgeline families who find themselves in need.

Becky Fay needs your help picking up the turkeys and bringing them to the school to distribute, head to Track it Forward to sign up!

If you are interested in receiving a Turkey Dinner, please Sign up here. A limited number of turkey dinners will be available to each school in the program and we will let you know in advance if you are selected to receive a turkey dinner.

Please be aware of any allergies your family may have. These meals contain meat, dairy, wheat, and gluten. No substitutions are possible.

With the holidays fast approaching, we are receiving emails about planned trips. If your students will be absent for a planned trip, please fill out the Planned Absence Request Form.

Please note that trips of more than five missed school days will result in unexcused absences, and trips longer than 10 missed school days will not be approved, and result in your student being unenrolled due to the 10-day drop requirement. If your student is unenrolled, you will need to reapply for the lottery.

In the case of inclement weather that would make roads, school parking lots, driveways or sidewalks unsafe for travel, please watch for notification on http://www.ridgeline.org.

Ridgeline may be in session on a day when 4J district schools happens to be out of session. In this case, Ridgeline will make the announcement on our website.

Ridgeline will follow the 4j district’s decisions regarding school closures and two-hour delays on days when the Ridgeline calendar aligns with the 4j school district calendar.

4j school district communicates any decision to change school schedules as quickly as possible in several ways, all well before 6:30 a.m.

• Check the district website homepage: www.4j.lane.edu

• Follow district social media channels:

• Facebook: facebook.com/4Jschools

• Tune in to local news media

  
  

NO NEWS = N0 CHANGE. If schools are on their regular schedule there will NOT be an announcement.

School Closure = No school for students. Decisions about afternoon/evening activities will be made by noon.

Two-Hour Delay: School starts two hours late and ends at the usual school dismissal time. If a delay occurs on an early release Friday, school will still be dismissed at the early release time.

Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter School values safety. Neither 4J nor Ridgeline can make a decision based on conditions near individual families. Families are encouraged to consider road and sidewalk conditions in their areas and make decisions based on safety.

Ridgeline honors families’ decisions about school attendance in these conditions.

Nit Picking

• Heads up everyone, we have received reports of multiple cases of head lice since school started! We encourage you to make it a routine to periodically check your child’s head for nits and live bugs. Lice are tiny brown and gray parasites that can cause itching and scratching, especially in areas of the body that are covered with hair (typically behind the ears, near the scalp, and neck). You will be able to see the tiny lice eggs (called “nits”), which look like grains of sand attached to the hair shafts.

  
  

Hand, Foot and Mouth

• Hand, foot and mouth is common in young children. It is very common in children under 5 years old, but anyone can get it. The illness is usually not serious, but it is very contagious.

  
  

Symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease usually include fever, mouth sores, and skin rash that is commonly found on the hands and feet.

Please use this link to ask to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/604057500592213. Please take a minute to answer the questions and read over the rules of the group and we’ll get you in as soon as possible. This is a peer run community group for the parents and guardians of Ridgeline Montessori. This group's purpose is to provide connections, share information, ask questions and facilitate conversations. This group is not managed by Ridgeline staff nor does it include members of Ridgeline staff. (Exception would be if a staff member is also a parent).

Do you purchase products from Amazon? If so, please consider purchasing through AmazonSmile, which will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to Ridgeline Montessori. Be sure to use the link below to ensure your purchase benefits Ridgeline. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know—same products, same prices, same service. Support Ridgeline by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com. http://smile.amazon.com/ch/93-1296441

Please share your valuable input regarding Ridgeline's Student Investment Account (SIA) funding priorities and goals. Your input will be utilized as we update the SIA plan for the future. Please view the 2022 Student Investment Act Presentation and then complete the short survey at the end.

Ridgeline, we are one in community, and we need your help. Pick-Up and Drop-off times are a challenging sequence of events for the school day. We need all adults to work together to create an experience that is as smooth as possible and models Ridgeline’s Core Values. Please pull all the way forward, regardless of where your students attend class. Direct your vehicle with intention and care to model safety. Lastly, if your student requires your help to exit or enter the car, please park your vehicle on the street to help facilitate the smooth car line we all appreciate.

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.

Rapid PCR testing is available at two local sites through Curative. Check their website to sign up for a testing time. Results are generally available in approximately 2 hours. They also offer other testing and services.

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!