Ridgeline eNews

Full calendar: http://www.ridgeline.org/calendar

Ridgeline’s 24-25 Events Calendar

MAY

Friday 5/16 Budget Committee Meeting 8:40-10:10 am

Friday 5/16 Board Info Hour, 12-1pm (drop-in) at Hideaway Bakery

Saturday 5/17 Student Marketplace 10am-12pm at Ridgeline

Monday 5/19 Spirit Week Starts

Monday 5/19 Site Council 5-6:30 pm

Wednesday 5/21 Handel’s Ice Cream Fundraiser - all day

Thursday 5/22 Board Meeting 5:30-7pm

Monday 5/26 Memorial Day - No School

Wednesday 5/28 Budget Committee Meeting 8:40-10:10 am

Thursday 5/29 End-of-year Picnic & Celebration 5:30-7pm at Ridgeline

JUNE

Wednesday 6/4 8th Grade Promotion, 6-8 pm - Ridgeline Gymnasium

Friday 6/6 No School - Grading Day

Monday 6/9 Middle School Adventure Trip - depart from Ridgeline

Tuesday 6/9 Upper El Science Fair 3:05-4:05 pm

Tuesday 6/10 Board Meeting 6pm

Wednesday 6/11 Middle School Adventure Trip - return to Ridgeline

Wednesday 6/11 Early release at 1:05 pm

Thursday 6/12 Field Day & last day for students (AND early release at 1:05pm)

The Ridgeline Board of Directors is a group of committed, curious Ridgeline parents whose work supports the unique mission of our school. We are delighted to welcome new members who have the time, energy, and skills to support our community.

Would you like to learn more? If so, please join us for a drop-in BOARD INFO LUNCH HOUR on Friday, May 16, from noon-1:00 at Hideaway Bakery!

Whether you’re curious about what the Board does, interested in getting to know Ridgeline Board members, or thinking about applying for the Board sometime in the future, we’d love to chat with you. The best ways to understand Board work are attending several Board meetings and talking with current members. So please join us!

As always, you can reach the Ridgeline Board of Directors at board@ridgeline.org.

Join us for one of Ridgeline favorite traditions—Student Marketplace! Our amazing students will be selling their handcrafted arts and crafts, and donating a portion of their proceeds back to the school. It’s creativity, entrepreneurship, and generosity all wrapped up in one fantastic event.

✨ Don’t miss:

• The chance to pick out fun, homemade gifts. You may just find that perfect gift for Father’s Day, a special someone’s birthday, something unique for a dear friend, the holidays, or yourself! Think artsy greeting cards, hearty plant starts, freshly baked dog treats, and more.

• A fun, welcoming atmosphere open to the whole community—invite your friends, family, and neighbors to come shop and support Ridgeline Montessori.

• A continental breakfast with hot coffee, baked goods, fresh fruit, and snacks—generously donated by local businesses. All menu items range between $1-2.

• Delicious cookies, from the one and only, Ridgeline Middle School Cookie Crew! Proceeds support the Middle School Adventure Trip.

📣Important - How You Can Help

• BRING CASH to shop and for easy checkout.

• HELP SPREAD THE WORD by sharing the attached flyer (or pick up printed copies from the front office!) We can’t wait to see (and your besties) there!

******Special thanks goes to our generous hospitality sponsors: Great Harvest, Market of Choice, South Pine Bakery, Organically Grown & BigFoot Beverages.

Get ready for a week of fun and creativity! Here are the themes for each day:

• Monday, 5/19 - Rainbow Day : Dress in your most colorful outfit

• Tuesday 5/20 - Dress Like a Staff Member Day : Dress like one of your teachers or another Ridgeline staff member

• Wednesday 5/21- Nature Day : Blend in with the environment and dress like a plant.

• Thursday 5/22 - Matching Day : Coordinate with your friends and wear matching outfits

• Friday 5/23 - Class Theme Day: Each class chooses their own theme to dress up for

Start planning those outfits and get ready to join in the fun and show your Ridgeline spirit all week long!

When: Thursday, May 29, 5:30–7:00pm
Where: Ridgeline front lawn

Bring your family, pack a picnic dinner, grab a blanket, and come hang out as we celebrate the end of a fantastic school year together! This casual, community-focused event is a great way to relax, connect, and have fun with fellow Ridgeline families.

🍧 Special Treat: Sweet Bay Shave Ice will be on-site with delicious $5 shave ice available for purchase!

👕 T-Shirt Swap:

Bring gently used Ridgeline gear (perhaps your student has outgrown a t-shirt or sweatshirt) and pick up a new-to-you size for free!

🎲 Lawn Games:

Got Corn Hole, giant Connect Four, or other fun games to share? Email Bethany to coordinate!

🧡 Fundraising Fun:

Stop by the Fundraising Committee table to learn about the eScrip program and how you can help raise money for Ridgeline with your everyday shopping.

🙌 Welcome, New Families!
New families starting this fall are encouraged to join us! Let’s give them a warm Ridgeline welcome—say hi and help them feel at home.

📚 Special Invite for 3rd Grade Families:
Join us for an Upper El Open House from 6:00–6:30pm during the picnic. This is a great chance to learn more about what’s ahead—an Upper El teacher will be there to say hello!

We can’t wait to celebrate with you! 🎈

On Friday, May 30 Middle School is having a Masquerade Ball-themed dance from 6:30pm to 8:30pm in the school gym. There will be lots of fun snacks, music, and decorations!

->Check out the snack sign-up sheet here if you'd like to help contribute!

Students are encouraged to dress up according to the theme, but masquerade masks are only allowed to cover students' eyes. Masks covering more than half of the face will be removed. More information regarding Ridgeline's Dress Code can be found in the Family Student Handbook on page 17.

Let's get ready for a night of intrigue and splendor!

Thank You Spring Clean Up Folks!

Big thanks goes to Ben Callaway, Kate Cross, Sheela & Greg Hadjivassiliou, and Jennifer Horner (and anyone else that came by to help that I missed!). Thank you again for volunteering your time this past weekend to help weed, fertilize, water, and prune! These couple hours of outdoor work made a huge difference and we appreciate each of you!

Friday - Savory Snacks & Seltzer

• Thank you Rachael McEachern, Sarah Mauney, Shikha DeFazio, Kelly Hoell, Yumi Aikawa, Sarah Silverman, and Amber Lippert for treating the Ridgeline staff to a lovely savory spread, with delicious homemade bread and herbed buttered, charcuterie trays, chips and dip, fresh veggies with hummus, and relish trays.
• We also sipped on all the bubbly water we could ever dream of, thanks to Becca Lambeth-Anderson and Cortney McIntyre-Trent (and others!).

In with the New, Out with the Old - HELP NEEDED ASAP

Great news! Ridgeline received new cafeteria style tables this week! These are used every day in the YMCA before and after-care programs (in Ridgeline’s gym) for student activities and crafts.

Because we have limited storage for tables and equipment, we need quick volunteer help in these two ways:

• Disassemble (1-2 hours) - We need a volunteer to remove the wood tops and wood seats from the metal frames on these tables. This will allow us to haul them to the transfer station and recycle the materials for free as opposed to having to throw them into the dump. We also need this volunteer to bring a drill or impact driver and nut driver bits and spend a couple hours unscrewing all of the bolts and separating these.

• Hauling Away - Phase two - We need a volunteer with a huge trailer or truck to haul the disassembled tables away and recycle them (note: this is four cafeteria-size table's worth of volume). With some strategy, we may be able to break the tables down more so they fit better. A reciprocating saw might be good for this, to cut everything to pieces.

Crossing Guard Coverage - STILL NEEDED

Field Day - June 12

Volunteer sign-ups coming next week!

More Volunteer Jobs!

To learn more about additional volunteer jobs, check out Track It Forward.

There's always room for more helping hands. Click on the links below if you want to be part of one of the fun volunteer teams! These groups are a great way to connect with other Ridgeline families and get in your volunteer hours!

Event Teams

• Student Marketplace - Sign-ups available!

• Walk, Bike, & Roll to School - Done for this year!

• Middle School Events - Sign-ups available!

• Student Talent Show - Done for this year!

• Silent Auction & Rock Paper Scissors Fundraiser -Done for this year!

• Jog-a-thon -Done for this year!

Ongoing Teams

• Library Team - Sign-ups available!

• Facilities - Sign-ups available!

• Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) - Done for this year!

• Hospitality -Done for this year!

• Office Support - Sign-ups available for Office Fairy!

• Crossing Guard - Sign-ups available!

• Community Engagement - Sign-ups available!

• Parent Education Team -Done for this year!

1. Volunteers are an integral part of the Ridgeline Community and there are many different ways to get involved. Volunteers serve on committees, prepare materials at home, assist with grounds work, act as crossing guards, help in classrooms, chaperone field trips and much more.

2. Families pledge to complete 40 hours of volunteer time per school year. To fully participate in volunteer opportunities, volunteers must first complete a background check and volunteer code of conduct.

3. The School Community Coordinator will notify you via email when these 2 steps are complete and you are green badge approved!

4. We would love to get you connected in the ways that best fit your time and talents. Please visit our website for more information on volunteering. You can also reach out to Bethany Dilla, Ridgeline's School Community Coordinator at bethany.dilla@ridgeline.org for more information.

The Ridgeline Board of Directors will meet on Thursday, May 22, from 5:30-7:00 pm in the Ridgeline Library and on Zoom. We will begin with an Executive Session to discuss our annual Executive Director Performance Review; this portion of the meeting is closed to the public. We will begin our public session at approximately 6:25 pm. All Ridgeline community members are welcome to join at this time, and to make a public comment preceding the items on our regular meeting agenda.

Our meeting agenda includes hearing information regarding the Oregon Department of Education Facilities Evaluation, our Board self-assessment process, the status of a recent grant application, and approving changes to our banking procedures, among other matters.

You can find the agenda here. In order to join us via Zoom, click here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84074040106?pwd=R6PzazBjJFrxabUMtT92ZabaJ7bptn.1

Meeting ID: 840 7404 0106
Passcode: 824778

Community members can also reach the Board of Directors via email (board@ridgeline.org). Public comment may also be made in writing and emailed to the board prior to the meeting. In order to be fully considered at this meeting, comments must be received by noon on the day of the meeting. Please clearly label the email subject line as: "Public Comment." Prior to the meeting, board members will read, review, and take into consideration all comments.

Ridgeline Revealed is a monthly series of articles that offers behind-the-scenes insights into the school, providing families with information on key aspects they may not typically see. Our goal is to share timely topics and increase transparency about day-to-day operations in a short, easily digestible format.

All year, we’ve highlighted important subjects like Ridgeline's safety measures, how state testing data is used, class placement, and more. If there's a topic you'd like us to cover, feel free to reach out to ridgelineoffice@ridgeline.org and we'll consider it for a future article.

Click here to read the April article: The Three-Year Cycle: Why Students Stay with the Same Teacher

***Look for the May edition in your email inbox Friday, May 30.

Happy reading!

Current Ridgeline families: we will assume you plan to return to Ridgeline next year, unless we hear otherwise. No action is needed at this time. If you are planning to make school changes, please complete the Intent to Withdraw Form as soon as you've finalized your plans. Contact enrollment@ridgeline.org if you have any questions. We look forward to a great rest of the school year!

Hey Ridgeline families! We'd love to hear about the fun things you have been doing in the community! Maybe you’ve taken your kids to an event and thought, "This would be so much better with more Ridgeline families here!" 👫🌟

Great news! 🎉 You can now send activity suggestions to the Community Engagement Team at CET@ridgeline.org (one of Ridgeline's awesome volunteer teams!) 📧. We’ll share your ideas through grade-specific channels so everyone can join in the fun! 🙌

🏀 Planning to attend a UO game?
🥾 Thinking about a hike up Spencer Butte?
🎨 Visiting an art exhibit?

Let us know! The more, the merrier! 🎊 Just try to give us 1-2 weeks heads-up so we can spread the word through the weekly eNews, Ridgeline's Facebook page, and our fabulous Classroom Organizers. 💡 Let’s keep building community and connection through the activities we already love to do with our kids.

See you out there! 🌈💙

Marty Wilder & Laura Allen

On Behalf of the Community Engagement Team
📧 CET@ridgeline.org

Check out the Back2Youth Summer camps here!

Waka Daiko is Eugene’s Youth Taiko club. We invite kids ages 8-18 to join us for a workshop this Fall! Waka Daiko is a volunteer-run organization with no fees. Come try taiko and see if you might like to join a fun group of drummers! Please RSVP to kate.m.downing@gmail.com. See the flyer below!