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Ridge-Brook Quarterly News
From Mrs. Jewell and Mrs. Pecora
First Quarter 2023
Hello Ridge-Brook Families,
It's hard to believe we have already made it through the first quarter of the 2023-2024 school year. We have been focusing building and teaching the foundational Reading, Math and Scio-Emotional skills that our students need to become successful independent adults! We have been working on Authentic Literacy with an emphasis on Read, Write and Discuss. We would like to thank our parent partners for their support in building their child's academic skills. We would also like to acknowledge your patience and understanding as we have implemented new arrival and dismissal procedures this year. We look forward to a new academic quarter in which we know that our students will continue to learn and grow!
In this newsletter, you will find information about..
- Positive Office Referrals
- Student of the Month
- PBIS Matrix and Information
- Upcoming Events
- Ridge-Brook State Report Card
- A Message from the K-2 Literacy Team
- State Testing in 3rd and 4th Grade
- Student Council
- From Our Home Liaison, Mrs. Forysth
- Attendance Procedures
- Update From the Nurse/Clinic
- Shout Out to PTA
- Cold Weather Reminder
- Important PCSD and Ridge-Brook Links and Information
🎉 Look at all these kids who have received a Positive Office Referral!🏆
We are working hard to recognize the students who make great choices at school! Don't worry if you get a call from the Principal or Dean, it may be to celebrate what a great dolphin they are by demonstrating Respectful, Responsible and Ready behavior!
October's Student of the Month Award Winners
KLA/Kindergarten: Bowen Pitts, Jeremiah Roman, Mia Armstrong, Hannah Makinster, Armani Ortiz
First Grade: Kyra Cooper, Lillianna Ziga, Sophia Pullman
Second Grade: Savannah Matute, Lukas Pullman, Julia Readinger
Third Grade: Myleenah Lindsey, Erion Thaqi, Morgan Fowler
Fourth Grade: Ediani Ortiz Miranda, Kylie Jarzembak, Amna Shinwari, Andy Sleva
Ridge-Brook Elementary PBIS Matrix
PBIS Information
Our students had the opportunity to spend their hard-earned Dolphin Dollars at the end of October. The Dolphin cart visited some classrooms, while other classrooms had a chance to shop via an order form or online. Students will have an opportunity to shop once a month. Ask your child how they have earned their Dolphin Dollars.
Upcoming Events
November 2023
- 22nd-25th- Thanksgiving Break
- 29th-December 2nd- Dolphin Cart Shopping with Dolphin Dollars
December 2023
- 5th-7th- Holiday Photos
- 8th- Family Craft Night
- 11th-15th- Holiday Shop
- 18th- PTA Meeting
- 19th Picture Re-Take day
- 25th-January 5th- Winter Break
January 2024
- 15th- No School MLK Day
- 22nd- PTA Meeting
- 25th- Kindergarten Field Trip to Playhouse Square
- 26th- No School PD for Staff
- 30th- Dental Sealant Program
- 31st- Dental Sealant Program
- 31st- Sky Dome Assembly
Ridge-Brook Report Card 🌠🌠🌠🌠
Congratulations! Ridge-Brook received four out of five stars on our Report Card. Please see the links below for information about our sate report card.
Ridge-Brook Report Card information
A Message from the K-2 Literacy Team
This year Ridgebrook’s reading teachers are using a new early literacy program, Really Great Reading. It has three components: Countdown, Blast, and HD Word. Our students have access to instructional materials that align with a strong, research-based approach to building literacy skills and knowledge. We are focused on the foundational reading program that supports explicit phonics instruction, and opportunities to apply and practice that learning. This ensures that students develop deep content knowledge in conjunction with how to read texts, write, speak, and listen. Really Great Reading provides explicit, systematic, multisensory instruction to help students develop a strong foundation for decoding and ultimately become confident, fluent, and independent readers.
We are gearing up for our next benchmark in January. Please make sure you are practicing our early literacy skills at home. Reading for 20 minutes a night and/or practicing letter names and sounds are really great ways to foster skills at home.
-Mrs. Covarrubias, Mrs. Myers, Miss Tsangeos, Mrs. Watson
State Testing in 3rd and 4th Grade
It's hard to believe that we are already talking about State Testing but being prepared is the best thing we can do for our students. We will be taking the Ohio State Tests in English Language Arts and Math during April. We would like to share with you some things you can start doing at home now to help your child be successful on test day.
- State Tests are ultimately intended to test what students have learned in class, which is why good attendance is critical.
- Talk with your child about the test and work through the practice test problems with them. Show your child how to look back in the story to find answers and how to look for keywords in a problem. This allows you and your child to see what kinds of questions, stories, writing prompts, and math problems they may be asked to do.
- You can find the practice tests here.
We will offer more tips in our next newsletter.
Student Council
Student Council has been busy making thank you cards and collecting canned foods during October and November. Our next service project will be to collect items for different local animal shelters/rescues. We will be collecting items during December and decorating a holiday tree with them. Examples of items that we are looking to collect are food, litter, toys, treats, and new blankets.
Thank you,
Miss Manzo, Mrs. Fyock and Student Council Members
From Our Home Liaison, Mrs. Forsyth
Just a reminder about Ohio’s attendance policy as we get into cold and flu season. Students are considered to have excessive absences if they accumulate 38 hours in one month or 65 hours in one year. Students are considered to be habitually truant if they accumulate 42 hours in one month or 72 hours in one year.
Studies have shown that students who miss school have a harder time learning to read, and students who miss as few as a day or two a month fall behind their peers significantly.
Of course, if your child is actively sick (fever, vomiting, etc.) then keeping them home is best. Thank you for your cooperation!
Attendance Procedures
If your child is going to be absent, please call the office at 440-885-2347 no later than 9:50 am. If the absence requires a doctor's visit, please provide a doctor’s note when they return to school. Daily student attendance is a vital component of student academic success. With the requirements of House Bill 410, the state of Ohio requires each school district to communicate with families when a child is considered chronically absent.
For additional information on HB 410, please visit this link.
Update from the Nurse/Clinic👩⚕️
Cold and Flu Season has arrived. If you are wondering when you should keep your student home, here are some guidelines from Parma City Schools.
- Coughing: If your child has a persistent, disruptive cough
- Fever 100 degrees or higher: Until fever is below 100 degrees for 24 hours without medication
- Vomiting: Until vomiting has ceased for 24 hours without medication
- Diarrhea: Until diarrhea has ceased for 24 hours without medication
- Strep Throat/Scarlet Fever: Until he/she has been on antibiotics for 24 hours
Shout Out to Our Amazing PTA
We want to thank our PTA for all the amazing first-quarter events that they sponsored.
- Movie Night
- Trunk or Treat
- Scholastic Book Fair
- Grandparents Day
- Jungle Terry
Cold Weather Reminder 🥶
Students will be going outside for recess as long as the wind chill is above 20 degrees. Please remind your child to wear their coat, hat, gloves, and scarf. Previous illness is not an excuse to stay indoors for recess. Only children who have a doctor's excuse will be permitted to stay inside. Please make sure to label all of your child's items. Typically, we have a lot of items in the lost and found that have no names and we are unable to determine who they belong to. Thank you.
Important PCSD and Ridge-Brook Links and Inforamtion
- PCSD Website
- PCSD Calendar 2023-2024
- PCSD Red, White, and Blue Encore Calendar 2023-2024
- Ridge-Brook PBIS Handbook
- Ridge-Brook Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
- Home Access Center (HAC) Instruction for Parents/Guardians
- Nutrition Services
- School Menus
- MySchool Bucks- Breakfast/Lunch Money
- Application for Free/Reduced Lunch
- PCSD Attendance Policy
Contact Info
Ridge-Brook Elementary School
Principal: Mrs. Wendy JewellDean of Students: Mrs. Jeannette Pecora
Secretary: Mrs. Amy Shafer
Clerk: Mrs. Jane Chura
Website: Ridge-Brook Elementary
Location: 7915 Manhattan Ave, Parma, Ohio 44129
Phone: (440) 885-2347