Park Ridge ES: Parent Newsletter

March 2nd - 6th- Readathon

March 3rd- PTO Meeting - 4pm - PRES Library

March 6th- Readathon Glow Party

March 13th- Staff Work Day (No School)

March 20th- Eid al-Fitr (No School)

March 30th- April 3rd- Spring Break (No School)

April 6th- Easter Monday (No School)

April 1st-10th- PTO Nominations

Huge congratulations to Mrs. Raiza Rivera for being selected as our 2026 Service Employee of the Year! Mrs. Rivera, this honor is so well deserved. Thank you for the care, dedication, and hard work you show every single day for Park Ridge Elementary, our students, and our staff. Your hard work doesn't go unnoticed. We are grateful for all that you do!

Readathon starts this week! This is an exciting time for students to build their reading stamina, explore new books, and grow their love of reading. Throughout the week, students will track their reading minutes, raise money and even have chances to earn fun incentives along the way. We encourage families to support by setting aside time each evening for reading at home.

🚨 Deputy Smihal shared that jaywalking is no longer unlawful so, he is unable to make any reinforcements regarding parents crossing from the library. Park Ridge needs to remind parents that doing so presents a major safety hazard since traffic is not required to stop at that point. Additionally, students should always be sent to the crosswalk, at the four-way or down near the playground.

🚨 Deputy Smihal also said that parking along the side of the road is illegal and tickets can be issued. So, parents should either park and walk students across at the designated spaces or join the car rider line. We understand that weather impacts transportation some days. However, repeated drop off in these areas may lead to reporting.

Park Ridge Elementary School will be hosting Career Day on Thursday, March 26, 2026, and we are looking for volunteers to help make this event a success! Whether you are a nurse, business owner, mechanic, member of the military, or work in any other field, we would love for you to join us for the morning and talk with our students about your career. We believe it is never too early to introduce students to the wide variety of career paths available to them, and firsthand experiences can make a lasting impact.

Presentations will be approximately 25 minutes long, and you will present to students ranging from kindergarten through 5th grade. Presenters are encouraged to include (but are not limited to):

• Related school subjects

• Education or training required

• Personal skills needed in your field

• A typical day on the job

• Child-friendly games, visuals, or hands-on activities

This is a wonderful opportunity to get involved at PRES and inspire our students as they begin to dream about their futures. If you are not interested but know someone who might be, please feel free to share this information or provide us with their contact details.

Thank you in advance for your time and support. We truly appreciate your willingness to participate in this rewarding experience. To sign up to participate in the event, please complete the form, Park Ridge Elementary School Career Day 2026.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact the counseling team at 540-658-6320 or email donovanrl@staffordschools.net.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are reaching out to our PRES families regarding 2026-2027 school supply and backpack needs. Please fill out the Google Form Backpack/Supplies Needed for School Year 26-27 if your family needs help securing a book bag and supplies for the next school year. This information will be kept confidential.

If you have multiple children needing assistance, please submit a separate form for each student.

This form must be completed by WEDNESDAY, March 25, 2026.

Get your yearbook before they're sold out! Very limited quantities will be available for sale once yearbooks are delivered.

Order here:

https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/

School Code: 11020726

Order by April 17th, 2026 📸

Dear Military-Connected Families,

April is the Month of the Military Child. During the month of April, we recognize and celebrate our military-connected students in a variety of ways. This year, we will also be hosting a special assembly to honor the sacrifices and unique experiences of students in military families. Our goal is to recognize and celebrate these extraordinary students and the important role they play in supporting their families and our community.

As part of this assembly, we would love to include photos of our military students with their active duty or retired military family member(s). Photos may be taken in uniform or civilian clothing.

If you would like your photo to be included in the assembly program, please email your photo along with your student’s name and grade level to donovanrl@staffordschools.net.

Thank you for allowing us to celebrate and honor your family’s service and sacrifice.

Our annual DARE Basketball Game (Educators vs. Law Enforcement) will take place on March 19, 2026, at Brooke Point High School. Are you ready to show off those skills, Mr. Roble???? We are ready to cheer you on!

• The theme of our DARE raffle basket is a "Fire Basket". We are looking for various items (i.e.. snacks, drinks, blankets, pillows, etc.) in the colors of red, orange, and yellow. All donations are needed by March 12th.

Thank you so much for your support!

Meal Service: The federal government granted a waiver allowing school districts the option to provide take home meals to children participating in Ramadan. The meals are available to children in attendance at school from February 17, 2026 through March 19, 2026. Students may take a maximum of one breakfast and one lunch home per day. Federal regulations prohibit parent pick up or multiple day meal distribution.

If you have a student who has returned a permission slip, please send it to the front office as soon as possible so we can ensure all necessary arrangements are in place.

With so many new technologies and learning methods introduced every day, parental involvement in their child’s learning is more important than ever. To support this, our school division has partnered with Lightspeed Systems® to give parents visibility of their child’s internet usage while on school-issued devices, at home and after-school hours.

Lightspeed Parent Portal gives parents access to:

• A Weekly Student Online Activity Report. This report summarizes the student’s web browsing activity for the week. A copy of this report is sent to the parents’ email weekly.
  

• A full web-based Lightspeed Parent Portal, which delivers more detailed visibility of the student’s online activity at home.Lightspeed Parent Portal

PTO Read-A-Thon Fundraiser has been rescheduled for March 2–6, and registration begins next Friday, February 27. Please make sure to register for the event!

In the event of school closures, please find the corresponding grade-level asynchronous packet for your student(s). Physical copies were sent home with all students.

Another round of inclement weather is heading our way!

Sign Up Today!10 more days left for Kids Heart Challenge! It's not too late to sign up and earn those donations. Join our school team on the FREE & fun “AHA Schools” App or at www.heart.org/Schools and complete Finn’s Mission to learn Hands-Only CPR. We're going to make a huge impact together, Heart Heroes!

Over the next couple of weeks, all fifth grade students will learn about middle school electives, will complete a Course Selection sheet and will select their course requests in StudentVue. Counselors will be coming into classrooms to complete this task. After your student has had their class session with the counselor, please go into ParentVue to take a look at your student's electives for next year. Here is the link to ParentVue: ParentVue

Linked to this email is the Middle School Program of Studies to review the electives and instructions for how to use on ParentVue and StudentVue.

All students must be registered by March 13th. If you have any questions about middle school registration, please reach out to any of the counselors below. Thanks!

kerneg@staffordschools.net

donovanrl@staffordschools.net

koduag@staffordschools.net

Important Dates to Remember

• March 13: Registration window closes

• March 25: Parent Night at your middle school

• April 9: Student field trip to your middle school

More information will be shared soon about Parent Night and the student field trip.

Join the PRES Spirit Council in collecting pop tabs to help support the Ronald McDonald House - Greater Washington, DC.

Their Mission:

Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Greater Washington, DC (RMHCDC) provides essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare. Collection jars will be in classrooms beginning next week!