The Ridge Roundup
November 4, 2024
Mark Your Calendars
November
11/4: No School - Student Holiday
11/5: No School - Student Holiday
11/7: Morning Mingle -Arabic Speaking and Middle Eastern Families - 7:30-8:45 A.M. - MPR
11/11: Veteran's Day Assembly - 8:30-9:30 A.M. - Multi-Purpose Room and Cafeteria
11/14: Morning Mingle - Spanish Speaking Families - 7:30-8:45 A.M. - MPR
11/15: Fall Picture Make-Up Day
11/15: International Night - 5:30-7:30 P.M. - Multi-Purpose Room and Cafeteria
11/19: PEP - 2:45-4:45 P.M. - Multi-Purpose Room
11/21: Morning Mingle - English Speaking Families - 7:30-8:45 A.M. - MPR
11/27-11/29: Thanksgiving Break - No School
Get Involved in Sports
For families with children interested in participating in basketball in Sterling, please review the information below to learn more about this opportunity.
Providing Identification
This is just a friendly reminder that all individuals are required to provide identification in order to enter the school building. In addition, parents and families who pick their children up from the bus must provide identification to the bus driver too. We have to make sure we are releasing children to the correct people and also that we know the individuals entering the school building.
Lost and Found
Kindly ask your children to check the lost and found if they have misplaced any water bottles, bags, or clothing, as we have noticed a growing collection of these items. Parents must check in at the main office before proceeding to the lost and found to retrieve any lost belongings. Thank you for your cooperation!
LCPS and RRD Event Calendar
We're excited to share the new LCPS and RRD Event Calendar for the 2024-2025 school year! This calendar includes important dates, events, and activities designed to enhance our students' educational experience. Please review it carefully and mark your calendars. We look forward to another fantastic year of learning and community engagement.
This is just an overview for the year. We will continue to share the important dates with times in the section above and more detailed information about events when they are closer.
There may be changes on the calendar throughout the year. We will be sure to update it and put out the changes.
Stay Connected and Informed
Exciting news! LCPS has launched a new app designed to keep families connected and informed with just a tap. The app allows users to conveniently access documents, news updates and emergency notifications in one place. It’s a must-have for students, families and staff, and is available for download from the Google Play or Apple App Store (just search for “Loudoun County Public Schools”). With this mobile-responsive tool, you can receive important updates directly from your school and stay informed on the latest features. The LCPS website and app also offer a centralized feed for all division news, events and announcements, providing a reliable way to stay updated than relying on multiple social media sites.
Understanding LCPS Assessments
The Division of English Learners, Family and Community Engagement (EL FACE) Office cordially invites families of English Learner students to join The Family Room virtual session titled: “Understanding LCPS Assessments”
Learn about LCPS assessments and how to support your student’s participation, including:
How the assessments are administered and measured
How they can impact graduation and /or course placement
Assessment dates
Families of English Learners are encouraged to come with questions.
For more information, please access the flyers linked below:
Contact Sarah.Ocampo@lcps.org, DEL FACE Supervisor, with any questions.
This update has been shared with EL Leads, EL teachers, and Family Liaisons and can be found on the Division of EL Landing Page and the Division of EL website.
Families of English Learners
The Division of English Learners, Family and Community Engagement (EL FACE) Office cordially invites your multilingual community to:
EMPOWERED: A Resource Fair and Learning Conference for Families of English Learners
Saturday, November 16th
10:00 am - 1:30 pm
LCPS Administration Building,
21000 Education Ct. Ashburn, VA 20148
EL Families are invited to a day where fun and learning come together! Meet community organizations and attend learning sessions about how to support your student’s learning.
See flyers below for details and to share via your preferred method of communication.
Veteran's Day
On Monday, November 11 at 8:30 a.m., the Rolling Ridge 5th grade class will present our annual Veteran’s Day program as a tribute to U.S. Veterans. As part of the program, we would like to thank members of the Rolling Ridge community who are currently serving or have served in the U.S. military. If you have served or have a family member or friend who has served, please join us! The students are eager to thank you for your service!
Also, if you have a family member or friend who is serving or who has served in the United States military who cannot attend our program, please email a digital photo to Ms. Pisani at Jennifer.Pisani@lcps.org. In the email, include their name, the branch of the military in which they served, and the name, grade, and teacher of your Rolling Ridge student/s. Please send photos no later than Monday, November 4.
Morning Mingle
We are excited to invite families who speak Arabic, Turkish, Farsi, Persian, or languages from any other Middle Eastern nations to our first Morning Mingle event! This event will provide an opportunity to connect with other families and participate in a fun activity with your children.
This event will take place on Thursday, November 7th from 7:30-8:45 A.M. Please use the link below to RSVP and view the flyers for the event.
RSVP
This is our first Morning Mingle this year. The information for our Spanish Speaking Families and English Speaking Families is below:
-Spanish Speaking Families - Thursday, November 14th @7:30-8:45 A.M.
-English Speaking Families - Thursday, November 21st @7:30-8:45 A.M.
Rolling Ridge International Night
We are so excited to share the date for our International Night. This event will be taking place on Friday, November 15th from 5:30-7:30 P.M.
We cannot wait to see everyone come out to celebrate their cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. We know there will be amazing food, artifacts, dancing, and so much more.
What's the Word with Mr. Burd
Good Evening Rolling Ridge Families,
Thank you for your continued partnership in your child's education! Students and teachers have wrapped up the marking period, conferences, and are currently finishing grades and report card comments. It's great to see how our students are growing academically and socially as well. We especially appreciate your commitment to improving school attendance, and we have seen a strong reduction in the number of students who are chronically absent.
This is great news! You can continue to support your students in their health and academics by setting an early bedtime on school nights, ensuring devices are left outside of the bedroom so sleep patterns are not disrupted, and encouraging healthy eating habits. Let us know how we can help with these habits as well. It's also important that each evening, including weekends, students read for at least 20-30 minutes. This simple habit increases vocabulary, comprehension, early literacy skills, background knowledge, and research has even shown it bolsters performance in math! Our current chronic absenteeism rate is near 15%. That is down from the end of last year, but we are hoping to get it down to the single digits. Listed below are ways to build habits for good attendance and important facts related to attendance!
How Can You Build the Habit of Good Attendance
Set a regular bedtime and morning routine
Lay out clothes/backpacks night before
Encourage your child to attend every day
Why is this important?
The routines we establish in elementary school set habits for a lifetime.
Too many absences result in falling behind.
Students can fall behind if they miss just 1-2 days every few weeks!
Did you know…
Missing 10%, or just 2 days each month, over the course of a year makes it harder for students to learn to read.
Over time, at this rate, students will miss one full year by the time they graduate.
Students’ attendance in school is mandatory and required by law.
Excused absences include:
Child’s illness
Child’s medical or dental appointment (child can arrive late or leave early as well)
Death in family
Court appointments
Military obligations
Family trips are not excused absences
We have started sharing communications with families, concerning attendance, and will continue to work together to help support families and students have good attendance. We will also celebrate good attendance at our upcoming Roadrunner Rally assemblies, providing certificates to students, and having homeroom celebrations.
Always remember, "RRD is the Place to Be!"
Sincerely,
Mr. Burd
