Ridgeline eNews

Full calendar: http://www.ridgeline.org/calendar

Friday 3/1 Direct Donation Drive (DDD) begins

Wednesday 3/6 Equity Committee 7 pm

Friday 3/8 Student Art Show & Silent Auction 6-8 pm, Ridgeline Gym

Sunday 3/10 Direct Donation Drive concludes

Saturday 3/9 OBOB 6-8 grade team at Regional Battles - Siuslaw Middle School

Saturday 3/9 OBOB 3-5 grade team at Regional Battles - Thurston High School

Thursday 3/14 Board Meeting 6-8 pm

Monday 3/18 Site Council Meeting 5pm

Monday 3/25 Spring Break starts

Monday 4/1 No School - Planning Day

Tuesday 4/2 Classes resume

Be sure to check the full calendar at https://www.ridgeline.org as some dates may change. Please note that Ridgeline’s calendar differs slightly from 4J elementary and middle school calendars.

We are thrilled to announce the Direct Donation Drive (DDD) starts tomorrow and will continue through March 10. We encourage all Ridgeline families to participate!

What is the Direct Donation Drive?

DDD is the name given to Ridgeline’s annual campaign, where we simply ask for donations. Unlike traditional public schools, Ridgeline does not ask students to sell candles, books, or candy bars. Instead, we plan for a specific 10-day fundraising window, and invite families and our community to make a financial contribution directly to Ridgeline. This means that 100% of your donation goes straight to the school, helping us bridge the 20% funding gap.

What To Expect

Starting on March 1, you will see the first of three written letters from Ridgeline families. These letters highlight and speak to the heart of why giving to Ridgeline is critical. We encourage you to take a few minutes and read each e-newsletter, coming to you via S’more on the following dates: March 1, 4, and 7. The amazing part about this campaign is that we have a significant donor match. If we raise $10,000 in 10 days, a generous community member will match this amount, dollar for dollar up to $10,000. This means we have the potential to raise up to $20,000! Thank you in advance for supporting Ridgeline and investing in public Montessori education. Every gift matters and helps us get closer to reaching Ridgeline’s overarching fundraising goal of $98,000. Click on this link to make your donation today.

This year, as part of the DDD, Ridgeline is hosting a Student Art Show & Silent Auction in the Ridgeline gymnasium. This event will be held next Friday, March 8, from 6 - 8pm. Save the date and plan on coming to see your student's creative artwork on display!

Grandparents, neighbors, friends or anyone who would like to walk through the gallery, enjoy refreshments, and participate in the silent auction are encouraged to attend. We are still seeking additional cookie sign-ups. We’d like to have enough treats to share with each person that attends. Please consider signing up to bring 1-2 dozen cookies!

We are proud to share over the past few months, we have collected several beautiful pieces of art, some of which were donated by known community artisans. We also have several pieces of art that were designed and curated by Ridgeline family members. Starting bids will range from $15 - $150. In addition to these items, silent auction participants can also bid on eight amazing gift baskets. Starting bids for the gift baskets range from $20 - $45. Cash, check, and card payments will all be accepted. If you’d prefer to simply make a direct gift to Ridgeline, you can scan the QR code and give online. ALL proceeds and donations directly support Ridgeline.

As a reminder, staff will not be supervising students during this time. We kindly ask that all students be accompanied by a family member and students refrain from touching the artwork. There will be sidewalk chalk activities in front of the school, and access to both playgrounds (with family supervision) for movement breaks and wiggly kids!

This weekend’s outdoor work parties have been rescheduled to April 6 & 7, due to cold and wet weather. We are hoping for warmer temperatures in early April. Click on this link to sign up and help on Saturday, April 6 from 10 - noon, or on Sunday, April 7 from noon - 2pm. If you can only come for 1 hour, please still sign up! We hope to get a great work crew together and accomplish a lot.

It has come to our attention that an increasing number of personal items, such as fidget toys, Legos, stuffed animals, special pens, and other toys are being brought to school by students. While we understand the appeal and comfort these items may provide, they are beginning to pose challenges within our learning environment. Personal items have been accumulating and, in some cases, have created distractions and other behaviors. As educators, it's crucial that we maintain a conducive learning environment where all students can focus and thrive. Thank you for your cooperation and commitment to maintaining a positive and productive learning environment for all our students.

Current Ridgeline families: we will assume you plan to return to Ridgeline next year, unless we hear otherwise. No action is needed at this time. If you are planning to make alternative plans for the 2024-2025 school year, please complete the Intent to Withdraw Form by March 22. If you have further questions, contact enrollment@ridgeline.org. We look forward to a great rest of the school year!

Last weekend, Ridgeline’s OBOB teams competed in the in-school battles. Great work everyone and congratulations on all your hard-work!

The winner of the 3-5 grade in-school battles was the Never Gonna Quiz You Up team, coached by Mary Johnard. We are excited to cheer you on, as you continue to practice and prepare for the Regional Battles on March 9, at Thurston High School in Springfield. In addition, Ridgeline’s 6-8 grade OBOB team will also be going to the Regional Battle on March 9, at the Siuslaw Middle School in Florence. Spectators are welcome and OBOB students greatly appreciate your support!

Thank you Heather Cates, Courtney McIntyre-Trent, Jennifer Little, and Laura Waters for all your help matting artwork for the Student Art Show next week. Your volunteer time has been a wonderful gift, helping Merideth prepare for this exciting event!

Sign up to help at the Mulch To the Moon work party, on Sunday, April 14, from 10am - 2pm. We are going to have an absolute mountain of mulch delivered and hope to mulch all of the Amazon Drive-facing beds on the property so it looks beautiful for the Student Marketplace event. Ridgeline has four wheelbarrows, several shovels, many buckets, some rakes, and a few pairs of gloves. BYO gloves, shovels, and rakes if you have ones that you like and prefer to work with. Our hope is to have enough volunteer help to lay down new mulch throughout the school grounds. Sign up here to join one of the wheelbarrow teams, to help spread mulch, or to bring snacks for this epic work party!

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

We need lots of cookies for the Art Show refreshments table! Use this link in Track It Forward to sign up. We need several more families to bring 1-2 dozen store-bought cookies on March 7, or on March 8, the morning of the event. Please bring your cookies to the front office.

Volunteers are an integral part of the Ridgeline Community. Families pledge to complete 40 hours of volunteer time per school year. There are a myriad of volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Volunteers serve on committees, make materials at home, do grounds work, act as crossing guards, help in classrooms, chaperone field trips and much more. To help us get to know you better and your areas of interest, please fill out the Volunteer Interest form here.

To fully participate in most volunteer opportunities, volunteers are background checked. In addition to the background check, volunteers need to complete the volunteer code of conduct. After that, they will be issued a green badge with their name on it and notified that they are ready to go! Visit our website for more information on volunteering.

Ridgeline uses 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.

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.

1. Go to https://www.trackitforward.com/site/ridgeline-montessori

-Select sign in

-Create your account

2. Go to the app store on your device and search for Track It Forward

-Download the app

-Log In

You are all set!

We have noticed that some students are still hungry after they eat what was packed for their daily snack and lunch. Growing is good, and with that comes an increased appetite! For this reason, we encourage families to touch base with their students, regarding snacks and lunches. Please evaluate if any adjustments are needed, such an increased protein, or larger amounts of food throughout the school day.

With that, we continue to welcome snack donations.The food pantry is primarily geared towards families who need food assistance. This year, it has been a constant need to restock our supply. We want to say thank you to those who have contributed to the snack pantry, and let you know this need is on-going!

The Ridgeline Equity Committee will meet virtually on Wednesday, March 6, from 7pm - 8:30pm. We invite you to consider joining this Committee, aiding in some very important and impactful work for the Ridgeline Community. The Equity Committee is seeking parents who are passionate about developing the Ridgeline community's ability to provide an equitable, inclusive and accessible environment. We need five more members. Come and check it out!

Transponder is hosting a Transparent Support Group at Theo's Coffee House, located at 199 W 8th Ave #1, in downtown Eugene. All families are welcome. Check out the flyer for more information.

Are you looking for a spring activity that will help boost your child's confidence? Come join our cast of sea creatures in Finding Nemo Jr. Registration is still open for grades 2nd-8th. No prior experience needed. To register click here.

The Rose Children's Theatre has more auditions, shows, workshops, and summer camps. Be sure to check the RCT website for more information on summer camps and all they have to offer.