Hello Ridgeline Families-
During this time of the year, it’s difficult to put into words how much is happening and the type of experiences and emotion our students are going through. Rewind to last weekend and we had our epic Staff –V-Student softball game. This has turned out to be one of the most fun days of the year. It’s so simple in concept, and yet, the joy and fun and laughter it brings really can’t be captured in words. The experience is like a back yard, weekend, wiffle ball tournament, where it’s just about having fun and embracing the moment. We’re out on the diamond with our students and you can almost forget that this is a ‘school’ event and not a backyard BBQ! I laughed yesterday when I was talking to freshman softball player, Ada Case. She showed me a classic pic from Fuehr Photography and clearly she was complaining about the call I made at second base! She might be right, but there’s no instant-replay!
The next day, we had an EPIC prom night. The stars aligned for a beautiful evening and the Riverside Place didn’t disappoint for its elegance and functionality. Yes, Functionality- what a boring word!. The reason it matters is for access, parking, points of entrance, and supervisable space. Supervisable is getting spell-corrected in my doc, but, what I mean- is that students come in and only have one place to be—so that matters. It really was a beautiful night and the seniors and dates were awesome! I was “working” late on a Saturday night, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve said this in the past to parents, that I always have front row seat to their own kids high school experience, and it’s pretty cool. However, if I had a front row seat to my own boys high school experience I might have just left! Please note- the kids were awesome at the Prom!
We jumped into the week with a Spirit Week! That’s always fun! In addition to the students, I want to acknowledge a few staff who nailed it this week… Mrs. Scully, Mr. Dailey, and Mr. Maupin—and they know why!
It was also the final band/orchestra performances of the year. These are always quite spectacular and full of joy and emotion! Our Choir group had their final performance last week as well. Several staff members and myself enjoyed a private performance of Bridge Over Troubled Waters today—and the choir will perform this moving rendition at graduation tomorrow!
I’m wrapping this up Friday morning before the senior reception, superlatives, grad practice, and their Final Walk through the Ridgeline hallways! It’s a very exciting day and such a powerful moment where the entire student body and staff bids farewell to the seniors.
Graduation tomorrow- 3:30PM! One full week of school for the rest of the kids, last day, Monday June 17, capped off by our spirit parade and summer send-off event!
Make it a great weekend! –Mr. Hardt
Admission Tips for Aspiring Huskies
Again this summer, the University of Washington will host Washington Wednesdays throughout the summer to help answer questions students who intend to apply may have about the admission and financial aid processes. These opportunities are designed to be both in-person and virtual. For more information, please access this link!
Summer 2024 CVVL High School Registration is now OPEN.
Registration Link: CVVL HS 2024 Summer School Registration Link
CVVL HS SUMMER Course Information
- CVVL summer school is for credit advancement. If you failed a course and need to make up credits, please wait for information regarding credit retrieval summer school.
- You may register for only ONE summer school course.
Seniors Back Up Your Google 356 Account before June 17th!
Seniors Back Up Your Google 356 Account before June 17th! Save any work you want to keep on a thumb drive OR follow the instructions below!
Backing up your CVSD356 Google account with Takeout.Google.com
- Log in to your Chromebook or a Chrome browser with your CVSD356 account. Open up Chrome and go to takeout.google.com
- This page greets us. You can leave everything checked (the default) and scroll to the bottom. Not all the Google account features are used by CVSD356 accounts, but that’s fine.
- At the bottom of the page, click Next Step
- In part two, leave the options at their default. This will create a zip file that has all the contents of your CVSD356 account. Click Create export
- This part may take a while, depending on how many files you have. Once it is done, you can click on Download to save the zip file to your Chromebook or computer
- Now that your files are saved, you can transfer it a USB thumb drive using the Files application -or you can email it to a non-district email by attaching it in Gmail. Keep in mind if you have many large files, the attachment may be too big for email servers to handle. NOTES: These instructions are for a Chromebook, but this can be done on any PC with the Chrome browser and access to the CVSD356 account After you export your Google files, an email is sent to your CVSD356.org email. You can download the zip file by accessing this email on another device as long as the CVSD356 account still exists.
The Ridgeline Orchestra Program concluded their amazing 2023 - 2024 season with a concert celebration program titled: Impact. This year, students have been focused on making noise as a culture - getting to welcome and to know our very large freshman group. We also set forth to strengthen the bonds we’ve built over the last two years and to foster new relationships across the 83 students who make up our two orchestras and full symphony. The orchestra program also made an incredible amount of great music for events that both shine a light on our own students, as well as using our music to shine a light on the voice of others in our community: services performances for Reading In Our School events, the Spokane Scholars Banquet and of course a special performance that celebrates the amazing Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
Highlights from the concert this Tuesday included senior Maycie Hymas having her arrangement of Billie Ellish’s Oscar-winning song, “What Was I Made For,” from the film Barbie premiered. Maycie helped us all realize that what students at Ridgeline “Were Made For” is growing in a community that allows you to shed who you think you should be in pursuit of the dreams and passions that make you feel whole. Maycie is the first composer from RHS to have her own work performed in the history of our building, perhaps she has sparked and inspired other young artists to pursue the journey of discovering their own unique voice.
Ridgeline High School recognized Maycie as the National School Orchestra Award winner, while fellow senior-cellist Brinley Freeman won the Leonard Bernstein Award. We also had several other award winners from the concert and we couldn’t have been more proud of the artistry of all the students coming together. Congrats seniors, and to the Ridgeline orchestra for a season that made noise, made music and made an impact!
On Wednesday Night, the Ridgeline HS Band program celebrated the 2023-2024 year with a program titled, Moon River: Your Past | Your Future. The centerpiece of the concert was a performance by senior saxophonist Gracie Newell as she played the 1961 Henry Mancini, “Moon River.” Originally sung by the incomparable Audrey Hepburn in the film, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Gracie’s interpretation was deeply moving to audiences and students. The band backed up the lyrical melody, but it gave us time to reflect on the metaphor of the river our seniors are about to embark on. A life that awaits them coming of age, yearning for the unpredictable eddies of an adventurous life, to be swept away by the currents to somewhere new. Gracie was awarded the John Philip Sousa Award for her commitment to excellence and leadership in the band program. This is a Nationally Recognized Award that she can be proud about forever.
There were other amazing highlights from the night including our jazz band’s presentation of a highly creative arrangement of The Beatles classic, “Blackbird,” featuring senior trumpeter, Alexis Hochberg. Alexis will be studying music at Whitworth University and her final feature performance reminded us all in the band community how grateful we are that Whitworth is right in our backyard, allowing us to continue to be an audience for one of our favorite Ridgeline artists. Alexis was awarded the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award as the outstanding creative force of the jazz program at Ridgeline High School.
And of course, the percussion ensemble laid down grooves for the Santana hit - Oye Como Va. It was a total toe-tapper, and the “boom-whackers” arrangement of “Under the Sea,” pretty much brought the house down. Our percussion students are some of the most original performers we have in the Ridgeline HS Instrumental Music program! Thank you to our amazing senior class, 27 students in all! You have all done a remarkable job in setting the sails on the culture of Ridgeline Bands. We are not going to forget you!
Board & Young Reader books needed
The library is looking to expand our children’s book collection to support ALL of our Ridgeline Readers. If you have any sturdy board books, or books that appeal to young readers – especially nonfiction picture books – we would LOVE to have them. Books that are as young as Kindergarten through 5th grade are welcome! Please send them to the library with your teen or drop the books off anytime during our office hours. Thank you for supporting our Ridgeline Readers!
Registration for Summer Youth Camps is now open!
We have lots of camps: Football, Youth Basketball for Girls & Boys, Tennis, Percussion, Cross Country, Volleyball, Soccer, and Dance!
Hey Falcons! Do you need a job? Check out our Jobs Board! It's updated regularly and there are some amazing opportunities!
There are flyers in the office to scan the QR code, too!
If you have any questions, please see Mrs. Demarest in E202 or email: kdemarest@cvsd.org
