Ridgecrest Panther Press

It’s a great day to be a PANTHER!

Dear Parents,

Love is in the air at Ridgecrest this week!

The PCSB Stakeholder Survey is currently open until Sunday, February 16th. Please take a few minutes to give us valuable feedback. We are always looking for reasons to celebrate Ridgecrest, along with opportunities for us to grow as a school! https://www.pcsb.org/survey

We were excited to find out that Ridgecrest will be a Summer Bridge Site! Our focus this year will be on reading skills. Without these skills it is hard to compete in Math, Science, industry or even sports!

Please take the time to read with and to your children! Reading is so FUNDAMENTAL to life! Registration will begin after Spring Break by INVITATION ONLY.

Volunteers NEEDED!

HELP WANTED! The PTA has the funding, but it needs VOLUNTEERS to make this years 5th Grade End of Year Social a success. Parents of all grade levels, but especially 5th Grade parents are encouraged to help plan, set up, chaperone and make sure the event runs smoothly. Teachers will be with their classes, but it takes a village of volunteers to run the show! Please email president@theridgepta.org, if you are willing to help with the event.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Gardner

Mrs. Nguyen

Our school goal is to raise $8000 by February 21, 2025, we are 70% there! Help us reach this goal!

Follow these simple steps below to continue to donate to Ridgecrest Elementary School.

1. Visit https://app.99pledges.com/fund/ridgecrestcolorfun/addme OR scan the QR code to to donate.

2. Share your fundraising page with your family and friends! Send e-mails and text messages, and post your link on social media so everyone can help support your Color Fun Run!

When we meet this goal, the whole school will get an ice cream party, and Mrs. Gardner will get a pie in the face!

Plus, there will be tons of fun prizes for creating a fundraising page and earning donations!

Applications for Pinellas County Schools Summer Camps will open in mid-February. Families can choose from more than 50 summer camp offerings, ranging from STEM to the arts to fitness activities. The district is expanding camp opportunities and providing options in June and July. This year, camps will have a cost of $75 per session and a rate of $25 per session for students eligible for free- or reduced-price meals.

Summer Bridge will be held, here at Ridgecrest Elementary this year. Elementary Summer Bridge will be for students who have demonstrated a need for extra support in reading based on state reading criteria. Middle School Summer Bridge will focus on credit recovery.

In the coming weeks, schools will be reaching out to parents whose children are eligible. Registration for Summer Bridge will begin after spring break. Parents should contact their schools if they have questions.

February

2/16 - Last Day to have your voice and opinion heard in the Annual Stakeholder Survey

2/17 - 2/22 - Dental Health Week-🦷

• School based sealant application

2/17 - Students in class for Hurricane Make-up day

2/28 - iMoms, 7:45 Media Center

March

3/3 - 3/7 - Read Across America - Plans to follow

3/6 - Enterprise Village - 5th Grade Students

3/14 - PTA Pi/Pie Day - PTA to supply Pie for Teachers

3/17-3/21 🚴⛹🏻SPRING BREAK! 🪁😎

3/26 - Spring Photos

3/28 - All Pro Dads 7:45 am

April

4/11 - Coffee with the Principal - 3:30 - 4:00 pm

4/11 - Dress Rehearsal for Chorus Concert

4/15 - Chorus Concert 🎶🎵🎶 - 6-7:30pm🎵🎶🎵

4/18 - No School for Students

4/24 - SCIENCE - SEM SHOWCASE - 5:30-7pm, details to follow soon.

4/25 - iMoms - 7:45 in the library

May

5/1 - PTA MEETING

5/5 -5/7 - Staff Appreciation Week

5/23 - All Pro Dad's - 7:45 am Wigfall Hall

• Coffee with the Principal/SAC - 7:45 am Media Center - Specialist Presentation

5/26 - Memorial Day - All Schools Closed, enjoy the 3 day weekend!

5/28 - 🧑🏻‍🎓👩🏻‍🎓 5th Grade Graduation Social - 👨🏻‍🎓👩🏻‍🎓 volunteers needed, more information to follow

5/29 - Last day of School for Students - Whole day, not a half day, as originally scheduled due to Hurricanes. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

PTA is looking for 5th grade parents to help plan and celebrate the class of 2025! (Although, all Parents are welcome to volunteer)

PTA will provide the funding for the event, but are in need of parents to help plan, set up, chaperone and make sure the event runs smoothly. Teachers will be with their classes, but it takes volunteers to run the show! Please email president@theridgepta.org, if you are willing to help to with the event all 5th graders look forward to all year!

Current Title: First Grade General Education Teacher

Hometown: West Palm Beach, FL

Years as a Teacher: 12

Hobbies: Running my kids around town to baseball, soccer, cheer, and dance and then reading in my spare time.

What I love about Ridgecrest: Creating relationship with families and students and feeling like a family with my team.

Ala Stanford was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania to a teenaged mother, she has spent most of her life in the Philadelphia area. She is the first African American pediatric surgeon to be trained completely in the United States. She is the founder of R.E.A.L. Concierge Medicine and the Black Doctors Covid-19 Consortium. During the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, she recognized racism in medicine amongst the distribution of vaccines among lower income people. She left her position as Pediatric Surgeon and worked full-time to address the disparities in healthcare among the Black community. She has won numerous awards for her work to improve the health and care of the African American Community.

It's that time of year when some of us clean out the closets and get rid of the old towels. We need towels to dry off the playground equipment in the morning. If you find you have some old towels laying around, please donate them to Ridgecrest.

Thank you,

Mr. Derexson