Hello Ridgeline Families-- if there’s one thing I’ve learned over my nearly 50 years on the planet is that you have to really embrace the good times knowing that life will certainly present you with some tough times. My personal belief is that the bad times don’t stop us from enjoying the good ones, and they don’t stop us from moving forward in our lives. This week I notified nine Ridgeline teachers that they may not have their contracts renewed for next year. This is very personal for me as I hired all of them. They were interviewed because of their qualifications on paper, but ALL were selected because of the kind of people they are. They are teachers and coaches, but most importantly they have huge hearts for kids and truly do whatever it takes to help them be successful. So I certainly understand why our students are upset and parents too.
Dr. Parker did a nice job of outlining the big picture in his email to all last night and why we’re taking aggressive measures to immediately correct the budget.
I recognize that my emotions could potentially keep me from embracing our current reality. The reality is that we have to act. These nine teachers are in this situation by no fault of their own. The teacher contract (collective bargaining agreement) outlines how this works if we need to reduce certificated staff. Contracted teaching experience in the State of WA and years in CVSD are the first metrics used in the process. Some students did walk out of class this afternoon in support of their teachers. They staged together respectfully and did interviews with Channel 2 news.
Since we don’t have the ability to pause time, we need to plan to move forward. For the past year and half I’ve made it a point to celebrate and recognize the achievements and amazing talents of Ridgeline students. And we will continue to do that. We will continue to create traditions and provide opportunities to build our Ridgeline community.
So what did we do this week? We had a POWDERPUFF football game! If you attended, you got to see and appreciate our young people having good clean fun and there was so much joy and positive energy. Remember, when we do an event like this, it is usually all of our “first time”. Staff, students, and Ridgeline High School don’t just “do what we usually do”. So a lot of times what happens is we plan it out to a point and then the “Ridgeline Effect” kicks in and the magic happens! This is because of a staff who is invested, and because of a student body that has pride in their high school and want to make it a special place. According to the players and coaches, the only thing questionable about the evening was the officiating from Mr. Emmerson and Mr. LeGrant! Ha!
SO GREAT to see so many of our incoming freshman at the Future Falcon Family Night! We appreciated the opportunity to meet you and introduce you to people and programs you might like to experience your freshman year. Thank you for coming out to see your new home for the next four years!
See the cool things our students are doing and learning as you take a look at today’s Flyer.
One step, and one day at a time.
Make it a great weekend! --Mr. Hardt
Join us as we celebrate our students and the incredible community we live/work in! Special thanks to the local businesses who have chosen to partner with our booster club in support of the Falcons. If you see this logo, one of our talented student's made it! If you see this in the window of businesses in our community they are supporting the Falcons! Keep your eyes out for amazing deals and contributions from these generous partners! (also- if you are a business who doesn't want to miss being a part of this, please contact rhsverdeloco@gmail.com ) #shoploco #welocoyou
A Hands-on Introduction to Engineering Professions!
On Wednesday, April 12, from 4:00 – 6:00 PM, Coffman Engineering invites high school students interested in engineering professions to join them for a workshop to become familiar with various disciplines within it. Participants will be divided into small groups and will then visit civil/land survey, structural, commercial, mechanical, industrial mechanical, and electrical engineering discipline stations. This FREE event typically fills fast, so your student should register ASAP, using the following link.
Avista Energy Career Pathways Program
If your junior or senior student harbors interest in exploring an energy sector professional pathway, the Avista Energy Pathways program could be a valuable summer internship experience! The application is currently open for the 2023 summer session and will close on March 31st. Students can apply and learn more via the following link.
If you and/or your students have any questions regarding the program or the application process, email Avista at energy.pathways@avistacorp.com . The videos linked here may also be helpful!
RHS DECA
Last weekend 29 Ridgeline DECA members participated in the largest DECA conference in state history with over 4300 students competing for a chance to go to the national conference in Orlando Florida! The competition was held in a number of venues located in downtown Bellevue. Students completed competition individually or in teams in various business and marketing role-play events and planned presentations. Congratulations to Lexy Aitken and Charley Palm for placing 8th in Entrepreneurship Decision Making and earning a chance to compete at the National Conference in April!
If you are interested in joining DECA visit Mrs. Jeske in room E204!
Free & Reduced Meal Application
Free and Reduced meal application regular free and reduced-price meal program.
Want to add money to your student's meal plan? It's easy! Click the link below!
Digital Job Boards
Just a reminder to keep checking the Digital Jobs Board on our Ridgeline Web Site under Counseling and Careers for job openings and internships. New postings have been added this week! Job boards are linked in our Instagram Bio, too!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I8aJ7YAR0qw956RC22XqTnPpCYCwbBG5ad_8ygqE2Z0/edit
Do you own a business that is hiring? We would love to add your job posting to our CVSD Digital Jobs Board, all of our CVSD students have access to this! Please email the information to Kelli Demarest at kdemarest@cvsd.org and due to district email issues, please also email kdemarest@cvsd356.org!
Thank you!
Just a reminder to please call ahead for appointments and other excused absences to help make sure teachers and students are aware. Our attendance line is 24/7 so feel free to leave a message! Parent notes to request an early dismissal for an appointment can also be given to the office ahead of time
