Hello Ridgeline Families- There is an urban legend in education about the days leading up to a break, and I compare it to a full moon. People start behaving oddly. There’s no scientific data to support this theory. However, I wonder, anecdotally speaking, if we (kids and adults) get too focused on the future ahead we might have trouble attending to the day to day right in front of us? We do joke around about it a bit because it helps maintain some levity and acknowledges that these days are just like any other day and we need to stay focused! As far as I’m concerned we’ve had a very good week. The kids have been great and I’ve enjoyed many conversations with them about taking care of business and also looking forward to whatever they might have planned for their time off. I can’t have a bad day at work, and if I feel like I’m slipping all I need to do is go out into the halls or classrooms and talk with our students. They are very interesting and have thoughts on everything. They always give me a shot of energy and put a smile on my face!

This group photo here is the motley crew from the D-wing! We celebrated our Paraprofessionals this week with a Thank You and nice spider plant. “Thank you for helping our students grow” was the theme! Mrs. Maupin and Mrs. Nielsen and students started the plants and raised them in-house. Key Club members transplanted them into nice Falcon green pots. Our paras provide invaluable support and instruction to our students with significant needs. We literally couldn’t operate many of our classrooms without these people, and we’re grateful to have them on the team!

Our music programs have been busy this week again traveling to local festivals across all categories of band, orchestra, and choir. It’s a great chance to see and be seen by other schools, other educators, and adjudicators who provide them valuable feedback. It blows my mind every week when I read the Flyer and am reminded of how talented so many of our students are. Musicians, singers, performers, artists, you name it—we have kids that can do amazing things!

I was pleased to receive notification from the WIAA regarding our winter sports teams Distinguished Scholastic Awards. As a team, earning a 3.0-3.49 were our boys basketball, choir and wrestling teams. Earning a 3.5 or higher GPA were our girls basketball, band, orchestra, debate, wrestling, gymnastics, cheer, dance, and our boys swim team. High praise to our student-athletes for maintaining high academic performance while in season. There is correlation between future success and overall happiness with student-athletes after high school or after college. To me, it’s an ‘employable’ attribute because it demonstrates commitment, work ethic, time management, team work, over-coming failure, etc… These are life skills that contribute significantly to their future success.

Things will be very quiet around here next week for our Spring Break. Almost all activities are taking some or all of the week off and allowing time for our kids to decompress a bit. Not sure if I’ve shared my opinion on our revised calendar for next year, but I support it. In fact, I would support going even further to shorten the break in the summer. Spreading out the school calendar could open up new possibilities. Sometimes I compare high school to college. In college you had fewer classes per term, you may have a course that is longer than an hour. What I appreciate about that model, if it existed in high school, would be allowing students to focus more deeply on 2-3 subject areas at a time vs 6 at a time. Even this one idea has a hundred different examples of “why it wouldn’t work”. I can think of dozens of reasons myself. Opportunities that currently exist that are very good for kids and working very well, could be lost in the process. It’s true, it would take some significant “re-imagining” of how we deliver public education. Still fun to consider different ways to do things.

We’re running limited Office Hours next week: 8:00-1:00 Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Closed- Wednesday and Friday.

Stay up-to-date by skimming the Falcon Flyer weekly!

Make it a great weekend, and Spring break! --Mr. Hardt

NewTech Prep application is available now for current 10th and 11th Graders!

Learn more and apply - https://www.spokaneschools.org/o/newtech

Spokane Valley Tech Skill Center Application Available SOON!

Please check out their website to learn more about their programs https://www.spokanevalleytech.org/apps/pages/about

📚✨ Happy National Librarian Day! ✨📚

Today, we celebrate our incredible librarian, Mrs. Maxwell who inspires curiosity, fuels our love for learning, and helps us navigate the endless world of knowledge. From recommending the perfect book to preserving history and fostering community, her work is truly invaluable!

Congratulations to our Ridgeline dancers on their historic season! Not only did they take on an additional category this year, but they also ranked in the top ten for all 3! In hip hop they brought home 2nd! In Pom they took 4th. And for the first time competing in the dance category, your Ridgeline dancers took home 7th place! Congratulations dancers!

The RHS Winterguard competed their show "Rise" in Wenatchee on Saturday at the Pacific Performing Arts Association Championships. They received 2nd place in the Scholastic A division with a score of 79.54. Congratulations to the team and a special thank you to our seniors for such wonderful season!

Bethany is Ridgeline High School's very first nominee from Ridgeline to become a Princess of the Spokane Lilac Royalty Scholarship and Development Program. Bethany holds a GPA of 3.582, while working 28 hours per week in a fine dining establishment, is a National Honors Society student, and has been active in Key Club all 4 years. In her commitment to personal growth, she is a member of the Youth Leadership Spokane Class of 24 – 25. Bethany truly values giving back to her community, demonstrated by her role on the Youth Advisory Panel for the Spokane Alliance for Fentanyl Education. In addition, Bethany has volunteered 851 hours with the Spokane Police Department Explorers Program and the Police Activities League. Over the past three months, Bethany has dedicated herself to personal and professional growth, attending professional workshops to refine her character while diligently preparing a two-minute memorized speech, on how "she has used her time talents and treasures to improve her community and how it has impacted her" which she delivered at the coronation this past Sunday. Upon graduation, Bethany plans to continue her education at the University of Idaho, and major in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management and Agribusiness. She aspires to engage the workforce in the Risk Management realm, as a Property & Casualty broker once her university studies are complete.

Bethany and Ridgeline High School would also like to congratulate Queen Raegan from U-High in all her hard work for the tremendous honor for the Queen Scholarship.

The Girls Golf team started their GSL season off strong Tuesday at Meadowwood Golf Course here in Liberty Lake. The course stayed dry throughout the day but temperatures were cold under dark cloudy skies. The cold did not stop the team from placing 3rd with a season best team score of 349.

Ridgeline once again proved their depth as a team led by Senior Carolyn Rose shooting 77, Sophomore Chloe Hamilton's 89, Senior Kate Mulligan's 91, Junior Sawyer Anderson's personal career best 92, & Sophomore Morgan Quesnell's 93. Senior Jaycee Lawhead made her debut in tournament golf and played well placing 41st. Congrats to the entire team! Next up the Girls play The Gamble Sands Invitational over Spring Break before the GSL competition heats up again on Monday, April 14th at Esmeralda GC.

Congratulations to our Falcon Artists who submitted artwork to the annual Jessica Stein Holocaust Memorial Art Contest! 11th grader, Grace Brinkmann, won First Place, 10th grader, Aimee Thompson, won Third Place, and 10th-grader, Mattison Jarvis, 12th-grader, Rhiannon DeRaedt, and 11th grader, Hailee Suhl, all received Honorable Mention awards. We had ten students contribute fantastic pieces to this prestigious and meaningful competition. The winners will be recognized and their submissions will be exhibited with the other winners at the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust, which will be held on Wednesday, April 23, 7 pm, at Temple Beth Shalom. The public is encouraged to attend! Their artwork will also be on display at the Central Downtown Spokane Public Library for the entire month of May, and the Spokesman-Review will be running an article in the Serendipity Section about the contest and the winners in the middle of April. Pictured from the Top left: Kira Blake, Aimee Thompson, Izzie Olson Bottom Left: Mattison Jarvis, Cody Herrera, and Maddie McHenry. Congratulations artists!

The 2025 Historical Changemaker Madness is James Watt who impacted the industrial revolution with his coal-powered steam engine. The winner with the best bracket was sophomore Porter Richardson! Grade level winners:

9th Grade

1. Liam Gingras (114 points)
2. Carter Campbell (97 points)
3. Anatolii Burgoci (70 points)

10th Grade

1. Porter Richardson (128 points)
2. Kiki Zhu (114 points)
3. Megan Sears (97 points)

11th Grade

1. Gretchyn Carter (115 points)
2. Avery Heskett (89 points)
3. Nathan Fox (86 points)

12th Grade

1. Nolani Sorimle (111 points)
2. Joshua Ang (107 points)
3. Ruby Schmauss (88 points)

Staff

1. Mr. Rogers (108 points)
2. Ms. Gerard (68 points)
3. Mr. Schilb (51 points)

Kaila Zener, Ethan Rumpler and Sydney Barrie are the Community Service Project team who will be presenting this project at State FBLA competition in Bellevue April 23 – 26th.

The community closet is now open. Use the QR code to schedule an appointment to check out professional clothing from the closet with Jenna at the Student Engagement Center!

Ridgeline High School’s Visual Arts department has a new t-shirt design created by senior and AP Studio Art student Addi Oey! If you’re a Ridgeline artist or a fan of our Falcon Artists, buy a shirt to show your support! Also available in gray and long-sleeve versions. Students: Write that you’re a student in the “Order Note” and select “Pickup in Store” for Free Delivery to Ridgeline High School. To get this free delivery offer, make sure to order by Friday, April 18th!

https://whateversclever.boutique/collections/ridgeline-visual-arts/products/rhs-visual-arts-tee

Hear ye! Hear ye! Tickets for Cinderella go on sale Friday, April 4! Performances are May 1,2,3,7, 8 and 9th.

https://gofan.co/app/school/WA87837

Do you like to sing? If you do or aren't sure but want to give it a try, sign up for Mixed Choir next year! We sing a wide variety of music and have fun at the same time!

If you like to sing and want a bit of a challenge audition for Concert Choir! We sing everything from Mozart to Musical Theatre. We're looking for new singers to join our amazing group!

Questions? Mrs. Peterson would be happy to answer them! stpeterson@cvsd.org

• April 21-25: Grade 11 Smarter Balanced Assessment (ELA & Math)
• Any 11th-grade student who needs to take the ELA and/or Math test will test in the library.
• May 5-16: AP Testing
• May 19: Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science
• All 11th-grade students will test in their ELA classes.
• May 19-23: Grade 10 Smarter Balanced Assessment (ELA & Math)
• All 10th-grade students will test in their ELA and Math classes.
• May 27 & 29: State Testing Makeups
• Make-up testing will take place in the library.

Calling all Seniors- online store closes TONIGHT, April 4th. Hurry and get your gear today!

Class of 2025 - Grad Night Ticket

Purchase your ticket today for Grad Night 2025! A safe, fun-filled opportunity to wrap up graduation and spend an evening with your classmates. Grad Night 2025 will be held at RHS and will feature casino games, a variety of fun activities and the opportunity to win great prizes. Don't miss out on this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity!! Once your registration has been received, a representative from the Grad Night Committee will follow-up via email to collect necessary waivers.

Join us for the **Ridgeline Booster Auction** to support our amazing students!

**Date:** June 13th

More details to come soon!

If you’d like to donate to this great cause, please reach out to **lmaupin@cvsd.org**.

Stay tuned for more information, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Hey Falcons! Do you need a job? Check out our Jobs Board! It's updated regularly and there are some amazing opportunities!

There are flyers in the office to scan the QR code, too!

If you have any questions, please see Mrs. Demarest in E202 or email: kdemarest@cvsd.org

Business Office Open Hours:

7:15- 2:30pm

(Closed 12:30-1:30pm daily)