Park Ridge ES: Parent Newsletter

October 6th- Anti-Bullying Spirit Week - Wear Blue

October 9th- End of 1st Nine Weeks

October 10th- Staff Work Day (No School)

October 13th- Parent -Teacher Conferences (No School)

October 14th-17th- Anti-Bullying Spirit Week

October 20th- Diwali (No School)

October 22nd- Anti-Bullying Spirit Week - Wear Orange

October 24th- Trunk-or-Treat

October 27th-31st- Read-A-Thon Fundraiser

October 31- Surprise Assembly

There will be no school for students on Friday, October 10th due to a Staff Work Day.

School will be closed on Monday, October 13th for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Please be sure to sign up for a conference time with your child’s teacher to discuss their progress and their successes.

Students will return to school on Tuesday, October 14th.

The Fall Climate Survey for families was sent out last week. Your feedback is important, and we encourage everyone to complete the survey. The survey will close three weeks after it is distributed, and midpoint reminders will be sent to those who have not responded.

Blue Shirt Day- Monday, October 6th

Blue Shirt Day, also known as the World Day of Bullying Prevention, is an annual event held on the first Monday of October, where people wear blue shirts to show their support for bullying prevention efforts and raise awareness to combat bullying and cyberbullying. The initiative, led by the anti-bullying organization STOMP Out Bullying, encourages students, schools, and communities to stand against bullying and promote a culture of kindness.

We are looking for a guest speaker to join us in honoring the service and sacrifices of our nation’s veterans. If you are a veteran, or know a veteran in our school community who would be interested in speaking with our students during our Veterans Day program, we would love to hear from you!

Please contact Jalita Johnson (johnsonjj@staffordschools.net) by 10/17 if you are willing to participate or would like to recommend someone.

We would love to honor your service to our country in our 2025 Veterans Day Celebration. Our Veterans Day Celebration will be held on Friday, November 7, 2025. We invite you to arrive by 8:45 AM for refreshments with our assembly beginning at 9:15 AM. If you are a Veteran or active member of our armed services and would like to participate in our Veterans Day Celebration, please complete this form with your name, branch, and rank. We would love it if you could dress in your uniform if possible. In addition to completing this form, please send a picture through email to be included in our Veteran’s Day slideshow. Submit your picture to donovanrl@staffordschools.net

Sign Up to Participate

Please submit information no later than Friday, October 31, 2025.

STEAM Night at Park Ridge will be held on Thursday, November 20th from 6:00–7:30 PM. Last year, this event was a great success, and we are hoping to make it even better this year! To make that happen, we will need your help. If you are interested in volunteering or hosting a station, please let us know. Your participation is what makes this event special for our students. Whether you can attend, volunteer, or donate materials, your support is greatly appreciated and we’d love to have you involved! If you are interested in hosting, please RSVP here.

For questions or accommodations, please contact Jalita Johnson, Assistant Principal at johnsonjj@staffordschools.net/540-658-6320.

Each year, Stafford County Schools receive approximately $1,000,000 in unrestricted funds through the Federal Impact Aid Grant. These funds help offset the loss of local tax revenue due to non-taxable federal property, supporting our ability to maintain high educational standards for all students.

To qualify, we need all families to complete the annual Parent-Pupil Survey. The survey applies to children of active duty service members and children whose parents work on eligible federal property. Additional eligibility is afforded to students who live on federal property or in federally subsidized housing.

The survey, printed on green paper, will be sent home on Tuesday, October 7, 2025. Upon receipt, please complete, sign, date, and return the survey to your child’s school as soon as possible. Your information will be kept confidential. Please note that we have added a new section to this year’s survey. Now parents can include all students residing in the same household on one form!

Join the Spirit Council for our annual Trunk or Treat on Friday, October 24th. We will be having a friendly grade-level competition collecting bagged candy for Trunk or Treat. Students may deposit their candy into the grade-level Monster Boxes in the front lobby. We will be collecting sweets all the way up the day of Trunk or Treat on October 24th.