VRHS PTSA News

Hello Ranger Families!

The Vista Ridge PTSA is back! Over the summer a new board took the reins, and since then we have built a new website, kicked off PTA Reflections & School of Excellence programs, and more!

Check out this first newsletter of the year to learn more about what is coming up and how you can help support our Rangers!

Together. We Rise.

Your 2026-27 PTSA Board

Ranger Nation: One Community

Vista Ridge is more than a school. It is the top of a road that starts at six elementary schools and runs through two middle schools. Since the 2024-25 rezoning, every neighborhood zoned to Henry Middle School comes to Vista Ridge, and so do six neighborhoods zoned to Stiles. Behind them stand Reagan, Rutledge and Cox, most of Reed, and parts of Akin and Block House Creek.

If your student walked through any of those doors, you are Ranger Nation. So is the neighbor whose kindergartner just started at Cox, and the Stiles family that landed here in August. That is who this PTSA works for: not one building, but the whole road from the first backpack to the cap and gown.

The chart uses the district's own 2026-27 attendance-zone data, counted in zones rather than students. Check any address at leanderisd.org/attendancezones.

Meet Your 2026-27 Board

Executive Board

President: Paul Furiani - president@vrhs-ptsa.org
Vice President of Membership: Laura Furiani - membership@vrhs-ptsa.org
Vice President of Programs: Samantha Whalen - programs@vrhs-ptsa.org
Secretary: Bethany Burnham - secretary@vrhs-ptsa.org

Committee Chairs

Reflections and Webmaster: Paul Furiani - webmaster@vrhs-ptsa.org

https://vrhs-ptsa.org/about-us/meet-the-pta

Four of us, one school of 2,460 students. The next section is where you come in.

First General Meeting: Tuesday, October 20 @ 6pm

Our first general meeting of the year is planned for Tuesday, October 20th at 6:00 pm at Vista Ridge. The executive board meets at 5:30.

On the agenda:

Meet the board and hear the plan for the year
Talk through the 2026-27 budget: dues, insurance, senior scholarships and Ridge Scholars come first
The staff events we are taking on and who is running each one
Reflections, School of Excellence and how your family can take part
Your questions, your ideas, and the open seats

We are working with Dr. Morgan on a pizza-and-chat to go with it. Ten members in the room is quorum, and we would love a lot more than ten. Details and the RSVP will come by email and on the website.

Reflections Is Open: "What My Culture Means to Me"

Reflections is the National PTA arts program, and this year's theme is "What My Culture Means to Me." Vista Ridge students can enter in six categories: dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts.

New this year, entries go in right on our website! Upload the work and the entry form, and we take it from there. If your student would rather hand in a physical piece, we will scan and upload it ourselves, so no scanner at home is needed.

Important Dates:

Entries Due: Friday, October 30
Membership Deadline: Someone in the household must be a PTSA member by October 31 for an entry to advance
VRHS PTSA Results: By November 18th, winners move on to the LISD Council of PTAs
LISD Council of PTAs Results: January 15, winners move onto Texas PTA
Texas PTA Results: March 15, winners move on to National PTA
National PTA Results: May 1st

We also need judges for the first week of November. If you work in the arts or just love them, reply and let us know!

Everything, including the official rules and entry form, is at vrhs-ptsa.org/programs/reflections.

Questions go to reflections@vrhs-ptsa.org.

School of Excellence: Community Feedback Survey

Vista Ridge is working toward the National PTA School of Excellence designation, and step one is hearing from families. The Community Feedback Survey asks how the school is doing on welcoming families, communicating, and supporting every student. It takes five to ten minutes and it closes Thursday, October 15.

Every response shapes what the school and the PTSA work on this year. Take it at:

vrhs-ptsa.org/programs/school-of-excellence/community-feedback-survey

PTSA Events

These are the staff appreciation events on the school calendar. This year the PTSA is taking them on, and each one needs a few families to make it happen.

October 28 - Trunk-or-Treat: The PTSA trunk. Decorators and candy wanted. The theme stays under wraps for now.
November 12 - Staff Thanksgiving Feast: Sides, drinks, desserts, setup & cleanup.
December 15 - Staff Chili Cook-Off: Sides, drinks, desserts, setup & cleanup.
February 10 - Soup for the Soul: Soup, sides, drinks, desserts, setup & cleanup
May 3 to 7 - Teacher Appreciation Week: A week of gratitude with Student Council

We are also hosting a Spotlight on Staff week:

November 16 to 20 - American Education Week: Appreciating our outstanding Principal, Assistant Principals and Instructional Coaches

Want to own one of these? Reply to this email and it is yours.

Sign-up sheets for each will be at vrhs-ptsa.org/volunteer as the dates get close!

Volunteer Once, Help All Year

Two things make volunteering at a high school easy:

Register as a Leander ISD volunteer at leanderisd.org/volunteering. It is an online application with a background check, renewed once a school year.
Tell us what you are up for. Reply with "feast," "trunk," "judges" or "anything," and we will match you with a date.

It takes a Village to make great things happen for our Rangers, but if each person volunteers just one time all year long, that is all it takes to make a truly significant impact. That is what it takes to be a strong Ranger Nation!

Sign-ups will be posted at vrhs-ptsa.org/volunteer as each event gets close.

Join the PTSA

You do not have to volunteer or come to meetings to be a member. Joining gives Vista Ridge a stronger voice with the district and with Texas PTA, and your dues fund the things above: senior scholarships and Ridge Scholars awards (more on those later this year), the staff events, and the insurance and dues that keep a nonprofit legal.

Family: $29
Individual: $11.50
Student: $7.50
Sponsor a staff membership: $11.50

Parents, grandparents, students, teachers and neighbors are all welcome. We are at 23 members against our Texas PTA goal of 26. Three more families gets us there this week.

Join or renew at vrhs-ptsa.org/join. It takes two minutes.

Join or Renew Today

Family $29, individual $11.50, student $7.50 -- Sponsor a staff membership at the same time!

Open Board Seats

Every one of these comes with a full board behind you, written descriptions of the job, and a president who answers email. No experience needed. Most take a few hours a month.

Executive Board

Vice President of Fundraising: plans the fall restaurant night. Last year one night raised most of our income.
Vice President of Communications: owns this newsletter and the Facebook page and group, with a website that does most of the work.
Treasurer: keeps the books, signs the checks, files the monthly report. The bank account is already open.
Parliamentarian: knows the bylaws so nobody else has to. A handful of meetings a year.

Committee Chairs

Healthy Lifestyles: programs and projects for student physical and mental wellbeing.
Hospitality: the staff feasts, the cook-off, the soup day, Teacher Appreciation Week.
Clothes Closet: our link to the LISD Clothes Closet. More on this one soon.

Reply to this email or write president@vrhs-ptsa.org with the seat that sounds like you. Full descriptions are at vrhs-ptsa.org/about-us/meet-the-pta