Ridgeline eNews

We are on the home stretch of our Read-a-Thon fundraiser! With just TWO days to go, we hope everyone has had the opportunity to ask others to participate this year by helping us raise money to support Ridgeline. We understand that asking for money can feel intimidating. However, family, friends, and neighbors are often eager to support students with reading initiatives, they just need an invitation!

All donations directly support Ridgeline by helping provide funding for PE, art classes, and maintenance of our school’s facilities. Our goal for this fundraising event is $7,000. Cash and check pledges can be made per tally or via a flat rate. Donations of any dollar amount can also be made directly at this online link.

Please make sure your child writes their name on the bingo card, along with their pledge packet, and turns it in at school THIS FRIDAY, December 1st.

Students who turn in a bingo card, with their name on it, will be entered to win fun prizes at our Book Swap THIS SATURDAY, December 2, from 11am - 2pm in the Ridgeline gymnasium. This event is the culmination of our school-wide Read-a-thon. Celebrate with us by:

• Bringing books and taking home new books to enjoy (there will be plenty of books if you can’t bring any)

• Enjoying popcorn and sipping warm drinks

• Reading in cozy places and mingling with other Ridgeline families

• Participating in other fun activities

At 1:30pm, we will raffle off the reading-related prizes (you do not need to be present to win). Every student who turned in a bingo card with their name on it will be entered to win gifts that encourage a love of books, including: a plush reading swing (see photo below), mugs with cocoa, fancy bookmarks, book lights, and gift certificates to local bookstores. We hope everyone can join us!

Finally, there are several ways to VOLUNTEER AND HELP with the Book Swap this weekend. Click this link in Track It Forward to sign up, or email Heather Hickcox at giving@ridgeline.org for more information. If you are not able to attend the event, but want to help, we still need 19 additional gallons of cider, half & half, an oatmilk coffee creamer, and some boxes of tea bags to serve to Ridgeline families.

Thank you for helping make this event a success and please reach out to the Ridgeline Office at ridgelineoffice@ridgeline.org with any questions.

Every year at this time, we make a special ask, collecting monetary donations for Ridgeline families who need a little extra over the winter break. These funds will be used to purchase grocery gift cards. If your family would benefit from receiving Joy of Sharing assistance this year please fill out the Joy of Sharing sign-up or contact the Ridgeline office. We invite those of you who have a little extra and the capacity to give, to donate to this grocery gift card fund. You can donate anytime between now and December 13th, at noon, by clicking on the Joy of Sharing link.

In the case of inclement weather that would make roads, school parking lots, driveways or sidewalks unsafe for travel, Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter School will be closed when the 4J school district is closed. If Ridgeline is scheduled to be in session, and no announcement is made, school is still in session as planned.

Ridgeline Montessori will delay opening when 4J schools are scheduled to open on a delayed schedule.

Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter School may be in session on a day when 4J happens to be already out of session. In this case, Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter School will make the announcement on our website, http://www.ridgeline.org.

Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter School values safety. Neither 4J nor Ridgeline can make a decision based on conditions near individual families or staff. Families and staff are encouraged to consider road and sidewalk conditions in their areas and make decisions based on safety. Ridgeline Montessori honors parents’ decisions about school attendance in these conditions. Staff members should contact the school and exercise leave options available to them when they believe they are unable to get to work safely.

Snow day notifications: Our school district communicates any decision to change school or bus schedules as quickly as possible in several ways, all well before 6:30 a.m.

• Sign Up for text-message alerts via Twitter. http://www.4j.lane.edu/weather/#texts

• Check the district website homepage: www.4j.lane.edu

• Follow district social media channels:

• Facebook: facebook.com/4Jschools

• Twitter: twitter.com/4jschools and twitter.com/4Jweather

• Tune in to local news media

No news = No change. If schools and buses are on their regular schedule, there will NOT be an announcement.

School Closure = No school for students. Decisions about afternoon/evening activities will be made by noon.

Two-Hour Delay: School starts two hours late and ends at the usual school dismissal time. If a delay occurs on an early release Friday, school will still be dismissed at the early release time.

For more information, please see www.4j.lane.edu/weather.

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. Teachers will reach out to families in their classroom communications once the six week normalization period is over in mid October. 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.

We need several volunteers to help with the Book Swap event THIS Saturday, which will be held from 11am - 2pm in the Ridgeline gymnasium. We need help setting up, serving warm beverages and popcorn, apple cider and coffee donations, and help cleaning up. Click here for a list of all the ways you could help! This is a wonderful community event that you do not want to miss!

Rake-pocalypse 2023

Bring your own rake(s), potentially a rain poncho, some gloves, and the family to this fall outdoor school clean up day! There are a lot of deciduous trees along the back fence line and they are starting to pile up. Leaf pick up for our area is that week, and we could use a lot of help clearing out both the front and backsides of the property. Many hands make light work! We need at least 4 people to help this task go quickly! Volunteers should plan to meet at Ridgeline this Sunday, December 2 from 10am - 1pm. Contact jesse.cloninger@ridgeline.org for more information.

The Barnes & Noble Book Fair was a huge success! If you have any books that you are still intending to donate, please have your student bring those to the front office. We are in the process of covering or laminating them. Thank you for your generosity and support!

Please take a few minutes to fill out the Ridgeline Community Organization (RCO) Family Interest Survey.This information helps the RCO planning committee better understand how our families would like to connect throughout the 2023-2024 school year. We want to hear from you to learn more about the ways in which we can help foster relationship building and a sense of belonging to the Ridgeline Community.

The Site Council met on Monday, November 27 from 5 - 6:30pm in the Ridgeline Library. The Site Council has adjusted its meeting schedule for the 2023-2024 school year to meet every other month, joining other key groups such as RCO, Fundraising, and Equity committees in the off months to provide support, increase connectedness, and gather additional feedback from stakeholder groups.

If there is anything you would like brought to the Site Council's attention, please reach out to your representatives by clicking here for the link to Site Council Members.

The Equity Committee will be meeting on Wednesday, December 6, from 7 - 8:30 pm. The Zoom link for all meetings is here.

Hello, my name is Mikaila Waters and my son is a 3rd grader in Room 3. I am reaching out to see if we could potentially find a carpool situation for my son Zaayden for after school. I am a student at LCC and next term my class schedule goes past 3pm. My dad does not have transportation to pick up Zaayden. He has a spot at Boys & Girls club, so if someone could help get him there it would be much appreciated! Please reach out via email at themcguires20@gmail.com, if you are available to help or just have questions. Thank you!

To register, parents must call or text 458-215-1426 or email Sina at least one week prior to the

scheduled event. A link to an online registration form will then be emailed to parents.

Registration will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis, and attendance will be capped at 30

children each month. To give other parents an opportunity for respite, parents should only RSVP their

child/ren for one respite event per month. Parents may add their child's name to the waitlist of the

second event, and if this event does not reach capacity, then The Arc staff will reach out to parents of

children on the waitlist. Questions? Contact Sina for more information.