Ridgeline eNews

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

Ridgeline’s 24-25 Events Calendar

MAY

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

Friday 5/23 Last day of Spirit Week

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 5:30-7 pm at Ridgeline with Sweet Bay Shave Ice

Thursday 5/29 Upper El Open House for 3rd Grade Families 6-6:30 pm

Friday 5/30 Middle School Masquerade Ball 6:30-8:30 pm, Ridgeline Gym

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 6 pm

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 1:05 pm)

We’ve had so much fun celebrating Spirit Week! Here’s a quick look at the themes we’ve rocked so far:

• Monday - Rainbow Day: Students showed up in all the colors of the rainbow 🌈

• Tuesday - Dress Like a Staff Member Day: Lots of creative tributes to teachers and staff! 👩‍🏫

• Wednesday - Nature Day: We saw plants, trees, flowers—even a few mushrooms! 🌿

• Thursday - Matching Day: Friends teamed up in twinning style 👯

Tomorrow is the finale!

• Friday, 5/23 – Class Theme Day: Each class picks their own theme—ask your student what theirs is and help them get dressed up for one last day of fun!

The Ridgeline Middle School Cookie Crew will sell cookies on Wednesday, May 28 from 1:05–1:25pm, for just 50¢ each! All proceeds support their end-of-year adventure trip!

A quick reminder:
If your student plans to buy a cookie, please park and walk up the sidewalk to meet them. Waiting in the car line causes backups on the street and slows down dismissal for everyone.

THANK YOU for supporting our awesome middle schoolers!

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. We can't wait to see everyone there and to celebrate 25 years of Public Montessori education together!

🎲 Lawn Games Needed:

Have corn hole, ladder ball, giant Connect Four, or jumbo Jenga? We'd love to borrow it! Sign up here to bring your game and help keep the fun going by facilitating rounds of play.

🍧 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!

🧡 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!

🌟This year’s Student Marketplace was a success—and it wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible support of our volunteers!

A big thanks goes to: Amanda Bedortha, Jessica Lynch, Sarah Mauney, Jill Hoy, Tammy Nezol, Crystal Huskey, Aaron Dilla, Jenny Noyce, Erin Wagner, Laura Waters, Iva Vacca, Carmen Coleman, Peter Verrey, Marcus Largent, and Jennifer Horner!

Thank you for your time and energy—whether it was creating signage, picking up donations, prepping for the event, setting up, greeting families, cashiering, serving up breakfast goodies, or staying to clean up—we appreciate every minute you gave!

Despite a little rain, we had a fantastic turnout, plenty of smiles, and two solid hours of business! So far, we've raised nearly $1,100! 🎨💰

👉 Friendly reminder: If your student participated as a vendor and has not yet turned in 20% of their earnings, please drop off their donation at the front office so we can calculate our grand total!

One Final Thanks!

And finally—a huge thank you to all the Ridgeline families for supporting your students’ creative endeavors. We know how much time and effort goes into preparing for this event, and we’re so grateful for your help in making it a meaningful experience for everyone. You all made this event shine!

Due to the incredible generosity of several local businesses, we had an amazing spread at the Student Marketplace continental breakfast last Saturday morning! A big thanks goes to Market of Choice (on Willamette St), South Pine Bakery & Cafe, Great Harvest Bread Co, BigFoot Beverages, and Organically Grown Co for donating delicious pastries, cinnamon rolls, assorted baked goods, local coffee, fresh fruit, and cold beverages.

Families and community members enjoyed tasty snacks and beverages while they browsed—and every dollar from the continental breakfast went straight to supporting Ridgeline Montessori.

We’re so grateful to the generous local businesses who donated, and we encourage everyone to show them some love and shop local!

Chair Pick up for 8th Grade Graduation Ceremony

We need a volunteer to pick up 30 chairs from Spencer Butte Middle School, on Wednesday, June 4 between 3:40-4pm, and then to return them to the school the next morning before 10am (or after 1pm). This is a super easy way to get 1 hr of volunteer time! Email Bethany if you can meet this need. Thanks!

Field Day Volunteers Needed - 8:30am - Noon, June 12

Celebrate the last day of school with a gaggle of fun activities. This is a great opportunity to top off your volunteer hours for this school year! We need volunteer help at each station, a general helper, and a clean-up crew. Sign up here, and join the fun.

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 - Done for this year!

• 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. 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!