Happy Friday Ridgeview families! Here are your weekly updates.

We are almost finished with our End of the Year iReady Diagnostic. ELA and math is now completed. The last amount of make-ups are on the following days for anyone who still has one or more parts to complete:

• Diagnostic Make-Ups: May 19-23

Students are reminded to turn in all library materials prior to leaving for the summer. They may be taken directly to the media center or put in the small tub outside the media center doors. If students are unsure if a book belongs to us or the Pickerington Public Library, they may still turn it in to the media center. We’ll figure out where it goes. If you have questions, please contact our media specialist, Kim Kissell.

Families who will need to pick up medicine from our clinic for the summer may do so at any time between now and the last day of school. Please reach out to our school nurse, Rachel Ross if you have questions.

It’s almost time for our final major event of the year: End of the Year Awards Ceremony for 7th and 8th grade. Students may receive academic, athletic, and/or other special awards nominated by teachers/coaches. Students who receive an academic award (for honor roll) must have been on at least honor roll all three quarters of year (Quarters 1, 2, & 3). Families please pay close attention to the information below as well concerning both days:

• Wednesday May 21

7:40 am: 7th grade awards (students only)

9:00 am: NJHS Induction (parents/guardians will receive an invitation)

• Thursday May 22

7:20 am: 8th grade awards (Invitation sent via Talking Points by May 14th)

PLEASE NOTE: **Due to limited space, only parents/guardians will be invited**

This is a reminder to all our families that if you have to pick up your student’s personal communication device(s), we will only distribute them to the legal guardian(s) listed in Infinite Campus (must have proper ID) AND during our posted office hours for pick up: 7:30-1:45 pm and again from 2:30-3:00 pm when school is in session. We’re not trying to be difficult, however, we will follow the protocols we’ve put in place. We thank you in advance for abiding by our protocols, as well as talking to your student about the building expectations where personal communication devices are concerned.

We have had several students in the past couple of weeks cause building disruptions associated with Splat Wars. They are “pressing” each other in hallways and starting verbal confrontations in hallways and classrooms, leading to unnecessary physical behavioral issues. We are not in high school. End of the year “tag” is not something we do or condone, especially when it creates disturbances during the school day. If your student is involved with this type of behavior, is putting their hands on other students, and/or instigating issues between students related to Splat Wars, they will receive discipline - and it will be hefty. Please have a conversation with your student(s) about behaviors. This is a safety issue we will not deal with. They will be home and starting their summer break early.

Students have been reminded about picking up their belongings from the lost and found. Items left in the building past Fri May 23rd will be donated to the Good Will.

We now have just 5 days of school left in the year! We have a great deal of work left to do. iReady testing/make-ups, 7th and 8th grade Award Celebrations, and our National Junior Honor Society induction for rising 8th graders to name a few. I mention this because attendance is still as important in the last weeks of school as it is all year. It is imperative we finish the year strong and students arrive on time daily. Let’s all make a concerted effort to end on a great note going into the summer! Parents please also be reminded that on Fri May 23rd, students will be dismissed 2 hrs early. Dismissal will be at 12:10 pm. If you are picking up your student, please make sure you are at the building by 12:10 pm. Students who ride buses will be dropped off as usual.

Take care everyone and we’ll see you again next week for the final newsletter of the year! GO TIGERS!

Important Dates:

May 19-23: iReady Make-Ups

May 21: 7th Grade Awards Ceremony

May 21: NJHS Induction

May 22: 8th Grade Award Ceremony

May 23: Last Day of School - 12:10 pm Dismissal

Sheila A. Evans, Principal

Ridgeview Junior High School

Important Safety Reminder: Protecting Students from Risky TikTok Trends

Parents, please be aware of a concerning TikTok trend impacting students in some school districts. While we have no confirmed cases in PLSD, we believe it’s important to proactively address student safety.

• Device Tampering: Students have attempted to short-circuit their Chromebook USB ports using small objects—this poses a serious fire risk.

• Electrical Hazards: Wall outlets can also be dangerous if students insert foreign objects into them.

• Consequences: Engaging in these activities can lead to suspension or expulsion and even criminal charges like vandalism or arson.

Here is a video showing what can happen.

How You Can Help: Have an age-appropriate conversation with your child about responsible technology use and the dangers of unsafe online trends.

Thank you for your partnership in keeping students safe!

At the Academic Awards Assembly, students will be honored for their achievements based on their entire school year efforts.

Recognitions include: Honor Roll, High Honor Roll, Distinguished Honor Roll, Leadership Awards, Class & Team Awards, Tri-Athlete Awards, the Archie Griffin Awards, and the Brandon Mosely character award.

We celebrate all of these students’ amazing accomplishments!

**Invitations were sent via Talking Points on May 8th and May 12th, please check your Talking Points messages to see if your student will be receiving an award**

District Policy states that only guardians listed on Infinite Campus are permitted to pick up their student. If your student needs to be picked up early by someone who is NOT their guardian, a guardian must call the office to let us know who will be picking up their child. The other adult must present a valid ID to office staff for the student to be released to them.

Personal Communication Devices:

• Pick-up times for Personal Communication Devices will be Mon - Fri in the main office from 8:00 am - 1:45 pm and again from 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm as long as school is in session. The main office closes at 3:00 pm daily.

• We’re collecting more devices daily. If your student has a device confiscated and it doesn’t belong to them, the person that it belongs to AS WELL AS the student who had it taken from will be added to our spreadsheet for a confiscated device. Please make a note of this.

Link

IMMUNIZATION REMINDER: In order to start school, all immunizations must be up to date.

Click HERE for complete guidelines.

School-Based Health Clinic

Pediatric Associates has an office located at Tussing Elementary that is available to all PLSD students and the community of Pickerington. The clinic offers the following services: helping with sore throat, headaches, earache, bad cough, strep test, immunizations, blood work, physicals, well check-ups, sports physicals, medication, asthma, etc.

The clinic is open on Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 - 3:00 and closed from 1:00 - 2:00 for lunch. Walk-ins are welcome or to schedule an appointment call 614-864-3222.

Emergency Resources

Crisis Text Line: text "HOME" to 741741

Nationwide Children's Youth Hotline: 1-614-722-1800

Teen Hotline: 1-614-294-3300

Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

Safe Schools Tip Line: Call or text 1-844-723-3764

Suicide Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 1-614-221-5445

Sheriff Department: 1-740-652-7900

Friendly Reminder:

Fall clinics will take place during the summer months for some sports.

Your student cannot tryout/ be added to another sports season with past due Pay to Participate Fees. Please check your fees in Infinite Campus to see if your student owes any athletic fees.

Reminders have been sent monthly via Talking Points.

Please contact Tiffany Dalton with any questions: tiffany_dalton@plsd.us

Tiger Athletics Website

Athletic Handbook

Spring Sports are in session!

Please be sure that your student is registered on Final Forms.

YOUR STUDENT MUST HAVE AN UPDATED PHYSICAL ON FILE IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE OR TRY OUT IN ANY SPORT

Students: $5 Adults: $7

Cash/Card is accepted at the gate. If you pay online, there will be additional fees.

Click here to purchase tickets: https://www.pickerington.k12.oh.us/Page/126

You may purchase a Tiger Club Pass ($50/student) or a Central Club Pass ($100/adult) that is good for all regular home games for every sport.

To purchase Club Passes, use the same link as above and select Central. Once there, you will select Purchase Yearly Passes.

**Students are now required to show their student ID card to attend athletic events. If your student does not have an ID card yet, you can show the attendant your Infinite Campus information from your phone until your ID arrives**

Happy Friday!

We are just a week away from the end of the school year - where has the time gone?

On behalf of the PTO Officers and Members, we would like to give a BIG THANK YOU to all the parents and staff members who donated to our Teacher's Appreciation and 8th Grade Cookout. From the 15+ home baked brownies, cookies, cupcakes, chips, monetary donations and more we appreciate everyone that participated in this wonderful event we have now hosted for 3 years. The weather was iffy at first but it ended up being a FANTASTIC day!

Another "Shout Out" to each of our volunteers that manned the cold, cooked up the delicious food and served our staff and students! And to our 8th graders leaving Ridgeview Stem Junior High - we wish you the best of luck as you journey off to High School - have a fantastic summer!

Final note, we are looking for new officers and members to join us in the 2025-2026 school year - if you are interested or know an incoming 7th grade parent that would like to be a part of our organization, we would love to have you and them.

Have a wonderful weekend Ridgeview Family and Friends.

Kelly and Qiana

Kelly Martin: kelly.martin_rvjhpto@hotmail.com

Qiana Ellis - qsmith6@hotmail.com

Kelly & Qiana

• PLSD 2024-2025 District Calendar - click here

• Districtwide Activities Calendar

  Upcoming events and important dates are listed in the Districtwide Google Events Calendar, which is synced with individual building, program and athletic team calendars. Once inside the district wide calendar, to display the events of a particular building, team, program or activity, you will need to check the specific corresponding color-coded box(es) from the list on the left-hand side.

  Pickerington Schools partners with the City of Pickerington and Yodel to bring you the Pickerington Community Calendar!
  

  Visit this link to view all Pickerington Schools activities included on the calendar and don’t forget to “favorite” our Pickerington Schools schedule! Once favorited, Pickerington Schools' events will be front and center on your calendar, enabling you to see what’s coming up.

Dates: June 3rd & 4th

Times: 9-11:30am (morning session); 12:30-3:00pm (afternoon session)

Lunch: If they choose both sessions, students will need to bring a sack lunch.

Location: Eastland Career Center, 4465 S. Hamilton Rd., Groveport OH 43125

Price: FREE!!

Transportation: On their own, unless a district decides to offer busing

Registration: Eastland-Fairfield website

Attached is a flyer for this year's camp that lists what sessions will be available to choose from. Students can choose to stay with us all day, or just one session (they can pick a morning or afternoon). Each camper will receive a T-Shirt! Once a student is registered, more detailed information will be sent to the parent/guardian that has registered.

PLEASE CLICK THE FLYER IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER FOR SPECIFIC CLASS DETAILS - THIS IS SUCH A COOL OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR KIDDOS!

The Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Public Safety have launched the SaferOH tip line that will accept both calls and texts 24 hours a day.

This tip line allows students and adults to anonymously share information with school officials and law enforcement about threats to student safety—whether that involves a threatened mass incident or harm to a single student.

Every tip can remain anonymous. School safety analysts may ask for additional information, but the caller can remain secret or leave his or her contact information for later follow-up.

Calls or texts to 844-SaferOH (844-723-3764) are answered by analysts in the Ohio Homeland Security’s Threat Assessment and Prevention (TAP) Unit. When action is needed, the TAP Unit immediately forwards information to Pickerington Schools, local law enforcement agencies, and others, if necessary.

Here at Ridgeview Junior High we value being Timely, Innovative, showing GRIT, being Engaged in our learning, and Respect! Notice the letters spell out TIGER! Click on our behavior expectations, and please take a moment to look over and review with your student(s).

Principal: Sheila Evans

Assistant Principal 7th Grade: Henry Lee

Assistant Principal 8th Grade: Kevin Smith

Dean of Students: Sydney Dillard

Building Secretary/Athletics: Tiffany Dalton

Building Secretary/Registrar: Lisa Holley

Attendance: Pat Petrini

Office Assistant: Madelyn Gomez

Counselors: Kris Owen: A-Ga, Erica Reynolds: Ge-N, Meghan Wade: O-Z

Nurse: Rachel Ross/Mindy Stillwell

Safety/Security: Jon (JT) Haynes

School Resource Officer (SRO): Mathew Swaney, Jeremy Collier

Email: Sheila_Evans@plsd.us
Website: pickerington.k12.oh.us
Location: 130 Hill Road South, Pickerington, OH, USA
Phone: 614-548-1700
Twitter: @RidgeviewPLSD