Ridgeway RAP October 11, 2024

October

• Monday, October 7 - Friday October 18 - One Read
• Tuesday, October 15 - Unit A Field trip to Pumpkin Patch and Unit B Field Trip to Bird Day
• Wednesday, October 16 - Spirit wear pick up 2:45 - 6:00 PM, North Office
• Thursday, October 31 - Fall Parties

Tuesday/Thursday Morning (7:10-7:35 AM)

Running Club - Tuesday, October 15 & Thursday, October 17

Afternoon Clubs

Monday, October 14: No Clubs

Tuesday, October 15: Friendship Bracelet Making Club

Wednesday, October 16: Photography & Yearbook Club and Lego Club

Thursday, October 17: Kiwanis Club, Choir

Friday, October 18: No Clubs

Last night at our PTSA meeting, Lazell O’Field (CPS Chief of Operations), came and spoke about air quality at Ridgeway. As you may recall, about a month ago an original round of air quality testing was completed. Most of our rooms were above the outside baseline for mold count. The district had all our AC wall units cleaned, filters and coils changed. They installed ionizers in every room. After these mitigating measures had been taken, another round of air quality testing was conducted. The results were shared last night and are favorable. All rooms measured well below the outdoor baseline.

The district has committed to changing AC filters every three months and are doing it monthly right now to monitor the situation. Our AC units will be cleaned yearly (previously they were on schedule to be cleaned every three years), and air quality testing will be conducted yearly (this was not previously happening). The district committed to doing this for 2 years, then assessing the situation to plan for years beyond. We also requested that there be better documentation of when contractors are working in buildings, what they’re completing, and monitoring of whether these companies are fulfilling their agreement/contracts.

There were several other questions regarding water quality and water filters asked during the meeting that Mr. O’Field needed to investigate before answering. As I gain new information, I will communicate it with you.

Additional Updates:

• Morning Arrival - Supervision at the front of the building does not begin until 7:20. Many students are already outside of the door several minutes before that time. Please supervise your students until the bell rings at 7:20. If your student is one who walks up right at/before 7:20, please remind them not to crowd the door and to stay off the stairs until the bell rings. We’ve talked to students about this, but would appreciate you reinforcing IF this applies to your child.

• Attendance Update - We ended last week at 87.5% which means we have 87.5% of our students attending school at least 90% of the time. Please be aware, students can miss up to 16 days and still stay at or above 90%. That’s a lot of days! While we completely understand illness, emergencies, etc., when your child is healthy and able please ensure they’re at school. When a student misses an entire day of school they’ve missed 6-10 lessons, which is impossible to completely make up with the student. Teachers do their best to fill holes and reteach, but there’s no way to replicate a full day of learning. Our goal this year is to maintain our 95% attendance from last year! (highest attendance in the entire district)

• Late Arrivals - If your child arrives past 7:40 and an adult is no longer at the front door with the door open, you must go to the back and sign your child in at the main entrance. You must physically walk your child in and sign them in, otherwise the tardy will be coded unexcused.

• Alternative Birthday Treats - CPS is offering birthday treat alternatives that are available for parents to purchase. View the graphic below to see what can be purchased in place of a sweet treat, if you’re looking for a healthy alternative.

• T-Shirt Pick Up - T-Shirts are in and will be available for pick up on Wednesday, October 16 right inside the main entrance (North Office, Media Center entrance) from 2:45 - 6:00. We are hopeful to pass out as many as possible during this time, but if you’re unable to attend we will send the t-shirt home in your child’s backpack.
• Weather Reminders - Fall is bringing chilly morning weather. Please be mindful of the temperature and weather when dressing kids each morning. Even if the high for the day is warm, if the morning is cold please send them with a jacket/sweatshirt. See our jacket guideline below - if below 55 students must wear a jacket. Once we get into weather that is 40 and below a coat is needed. Please include your child’s name or initials on their jackets/coats, as many students have similar attire and this will help us keep things out of lost and found.
  

Reading: We have been focusing on non-fiction texts with an emphasis on pumpkins. We are exploring pumpkins using our 5 senses, cooking with pumpkins, and so much more in preparation for the pumpkin patch.

Writing: We are integrating science into our writing block to prepare for our trip for the Pumpkin Patch.

Math:

Mincke/Triplett: This week we have been working on identifying and describing shapes and making repeating and growing patterns. We are wrapping up Unit 1 and will begin Unit 2 next week!

Blades/Horn: We have been working on addition and subtraction fluency 0-10 and 0-20 for enrichment practice.

Fundations: (Mincke/Triplett): We are learning the letters i, u, c, and o. We are also working on the high frequency words to, me, I, a.

Phonics: We have been working on short vowels and the following high frequency words: the, see, go, she, and. We are also practicing building words and handwriting.

• We are starting geography. This would be a great opportunity for you and your student to explore maps at home. We will be learning about cardinal directions , geographical features, and regions of Missouri.
• We are beginning narrative writing. Narrative writing is where students will be writing about things they have experienced personally. If your student is having trouble generating topics you can think of special experiences together and write them down at home.
• Unit B is going on a CPS sponsored science field trip to the Columbia Audubon Park. We will be participating in Bird Day. We will be out of the building from 11:30-2:00 on Tuesday, October 15.

Just a reminder that all fifth-grade students will be going to Rock State Park on October 18. The Unit C teachers will be providing lunch on the field trip. Students need to wear closed-toe shoes as there is a possibility that they may get wet or muddy, so please have them dressed accordingly. If any fifth-grade parents would like to join us on this trip, please email your child’s homeroom teacher as soon as possible.

It’s a Friday Folder week. Make sure you check your child’s link to view their Friday Folder. Fifth graders are coming home with very important information about enrolling for Jeff Middle next year!

Unit A

A Day - Mincke

B Day - Triplett

C Day - Horn

D Day - Blades

Unit B

A Day - Basham

B Day - Malloy

C Day - Rice

D Day - Mc Coy

Unit C

A Day - Sandstedt

B Day - White

C Day - Gray

Hello Ridgeway Families!

We are eagerly looking forward to our “Folk Dance Day” event held next Thursday, October 17th. This will be a school wide event held during the morning where all units get to showcase two dances they have learned during their music classes. Music and movement are eternally linked and folk dances offer us an opportunity to learn music and dancing styles from all around the world!

Because we are now in the season of Fall, please plan on sending your student to school next Thursday (17th) with multiple layers to ward off any chill there might be in the early morning during our folk dance event. Jackets, sweatshirts and shoes that are easy to move in are highly suggested.

We look forward to performing and getting to spend a musical morning together!

Sing-Cerely,

Ms. Meeds

The Ridgeway One Read is in full swing! We had a wonderful kickoff assembly on Monday with some special guests: Precious, Steve, and Michelle from the Central Missouri Humane Society and Tiger and Kristofferson from the MU engineering department. Having a real dog and a robot dog in the same room was quite the experience! I hope you have been enjoying the nightly reading with your family. This weekend could be a great time to do some of the BINGO board activities as a family too- including emailing me a photo of your family reading. It is fun to see our bulletin board start to fill up with pictures of families (and pets) reading! Next Friday, we will have a popcorn party at school to celebrate the end of the book.

Thanks and happy reading,

Rebecca Munsterman

rmunsterman@cpsk12.org