Ridgeline eNews

MAY

Thursday 5/28 End-of-Year Picnic 5:30-7 p.m. - South Field

Saturday 5/30 Volunteers: Outdoor Spring Clean Up Day - 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., at Ridgeline

JUNE

Wednesday 6/3 8th Grade Promotion 6-7:15 p.m. Ridgeline Gymnasium

Friday 6/5 No School - Grading Day

Monday 6/8 Middle School Adventure Trip - departs

Wednesday 6/10 Middle School Adventure Trip - returns

Wednesday 6/10 Early release at 1:05 (don’t forget!)

Thursday 6/11 Last day of school/Field Day (1:05 early dismissal)

For Quick Access:

• Ridgeline 25-26 Events Calendar
• One Page School Calendar
• Ridgeline's YouTube Channel

Attendance:

• Report an absence: attendance@ridgeline.org

• Planned Absence Form (at least 3 days in advance)

Click here to view the full calendar as some dates may change. Please note that Ridgeline’s calendar differs slightly from 4J elementary and middle school calendars.

We love welcoming families to Ridgeline for community events, and we want these gatherings to be joyful, safe, and respectful for everyone.

Please remember that parents/guardians are responsible for supervising their children during all school events held outside regular school hours. While students are on campus, school expectations still apply: students are expected to be safe, respectful, and caring toward our shared environment.

Active supervision includes helping children follow clear safety boundaries. Feet should stay on the ground unless children are using designated playground equipment appropriately. Students should not climb on fences, trees, gutters, retaining walls, roofs, or other off-limits areas.

During the recent Marketplace event, students were seen climbing in this area, which created a serious safety concern and resulted in damage to the gutters. This is a clear example of why active family supervision is needed during after-hours school events.

Thank you for helping keep students safe and for reinforcing care and respect for Ridgeline’s campus during community events. 💛

Join us on Saturday morning, May 30th from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., for a fun outdoor work party involving teamwork and sprucing up Ridgeline’s beautiful outdoor spaces before the 8th grade graduation, happening on June 3. Bring the whole family and watch those volunteer hours multiply!

TASKS

• We’ll be pruning, weeding, spreading mulch, and de-cobwebbing

• Bring a water bottle

• A snack (if you'd like)

• Your favorite weeding tools and gloves if you have them—and we’ll have a few extras on hand

Many hands make light work — and we’d love your help! This is a wonderful way to get your volunteer hours in and the hours multiply if you bring kids or other family members to help.

Sign up here and see you there!

Please stop by the lost & found pile on the front porch of the school and reclaim any belongings before summer break! 👀 If something looks familiar, it’s probably yours. We’d hate for favorite hoodies, water bottles, lunch boxes, or special t-shirts to disappear over the summer. ☀️

Students will have opportunities to check for missing items through Thursday, June 11. All remaining items will be donated on Friday, June 12. ❤️♻️

🌲🏕️ Outdoor School Chaperones! 💚

• A huge thank you to our incredible Outdoor School chaperones — Rachael McEachern, Joe Ramagli, Jon Krier, Katie Hankins, and Nasim Talebreza-May — for spending three days and two nights with our 6th grade students! Your time, energy, encouragement, and care helped create a memorable week full of outdoor learning, adventure, and connection.

🥾🌲 Middle School Hiking Chaperones! 👏

• A special round of applause goes to Devin Hughes, Caitlin Richardson, April Manning, and Ryan Bartlett for hiking up the butte with our 7th & 8th grade students today!

💛 Production Work Appreciation

• Special thanks to Allison Hefley and Amy Foote for helping with production work, supporting Rooms 3 & 5.

🎨 Bottle Doll Helpers

A huge thank you to all of the Lower EL volunteers who helped prepare bottle dolls this year! Your time, creativity, and support helped make this special project such a success!

• In Room 5: Jennifer Little, Emily Baran, Heather & Lowell Evans, and Angela Englert.

• In Room 4: Angela Zallen, Mica & Noora Derrington-Via, Amy Thomas, Ruth Tabak, Joan Brown

• In Room 3: Blaise Cooper, Amy Hess, Devin Monte, Lillian Groff, Kurt Thompson-Mueller, Megan Thompson, Heather Riedman, Irene Wolansky 👏

💦🎉 Field Day Fun! 🏃‍♀️☀️

Let’s celebrate the LAST day of school with a whole gaggle of games, laughter, and fun activities! 🎈

• We’re looking for 8 more awesome volunteers to help run activity stations, plus a few extra hands for clean-up afterward. 🙌

We’re looking for 2–4 volunteers to help care for Ridgeline’s campus over the summer by serving on our Summer Watering Team. With several people sharing the responsibility, this becomes a manageable and even enjoyable commitment—typically about one evening per week. Your help will greatly support and lighten the workload of our facilities team during the summer months.

Volunteers should be comfortable with communication, attention to detail, and following a watering schedule using a shared spreadsheet. If you’re interested and available to help please contact Jesse at jesse.cloninger@ridgeline.org.

Thank you for helping keep our campus thriving all summer long! 🌱

Volunteer hour reporting is important because it helps us demonstrate community support for Ridgeline when applying for grants and when reporting to our sponsoring district.

Now is a great time to look back at your calendar, jog your memory, and log any past hours. A few tips:

• Don’t worry about being exact—estimates and bulk entries are absolutely fine.
• If you volunteered in a classroom but don’t recall specific dates, you can simply log something like: “classroom volunteer – 15 hours.”

• It’s easy to get started in Track it Forward—just click on the link and follow the instructions.
• The platform is also available as an app if it’s more convenient to use on your phone!

Thank you for taking time to log your volunteers hours - every entry helps!

Below is the list of 2025–2026 volunteer teams and there's always room for more volunteer power! 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

• Spring Walk + Roll to School

• Hospitality Team (staff appreciation week ) - Complete for this year
• Stone Soup - Complete for this year
• Student Talent Show - Complete for this year

Ongoing Teams:

• Lunch Bunch

• Library Team

• Crossing Guard Crew

• Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB)

• Helping Hands Material Prep Team (book covering, sign making, etc)

• Campus Care Crew

There’s a place for everyone to get involved and make this year amazing! If you have questions or want to learn more about any of these teams email Bethany at bethany.dilla@ridgeline.org or visit Track It Forward.

***Classroom volunteer opportunities are now available. Look for these sign-ups through your classroom organizer emails.

Volunteers are an essential part of the Ridgeline community, and there are many ways to get involved!

• From serving on committees, preparing materials at home, and helping with grounds work, to assisting in classrooms, chaperoning field trips, acting as crossing guards, and more—your time and talents make a big difference.

Each family is asked to contribute 40 volunteer hours per school year and we’d love to help you find volunteer opportunities that fit your schedule and interests.

• To participate, all volunteers must first complete a background check and sign the Volunteer Code of Conduct.
• Once these two steps are complete, the School Community Coordinator will notify you by email that you are green badge approved and ready to volunteer!
• Visit our website or contact Ridgeline’s School Community Coordinator, Bethany Dilla, or learn more.

• Cookies are HALF OFF — just 50¢ each!
• Or grab a baker’s dozen: buy 12 for $6 and get 1 FREE!
• Take them home, bring them to a party, or stash some in the freezer for a sweet treat anytime.
• Banana bread and popcorn will also be available at regular prices.
• We’ll even take your pennies!

To help traffic flow more smoothly during afternoon pick-up, here are a few helpful suggestions:

✅ Arrive between 2:40–2:50pm if you'd like to find a closer parking spot for the 3:05pm pick-up time.

✅ OR arrive around 3:10–3:15pm to catch the end of the pick-up line.

⛔ If you arrive after 2:50pm, please continue circling the block and make a left on Snell. The loop takes approximately 2–3 minutes and helps keep traffic moving safely and efficiently for everyone.

💛 Thank you for your patience and for helping keep traffic flowing smoothly!

Summer of Riding

Summer break is almost here! To help families save on transportation costs and offer youth a safe, reliable way to explore, LTD passes are good through the summer. Youth K-12 can ride all LTD buses free through October 15, 2026, with the student transit pass.

Why Get a Pass?

• Endless Summer Fun: Easily get to pools, parks, museums, libraries and friends.

• Cost Savings: No need to pay for gas or parking.

• Independence: A Reliable way for students to get to summer jobs or activities.

BONUS: LTD passes will be $1 per trip in July and August, so adults/parents can ride with your student(s) for a very low cost. Contact Cynthia Friedman if you'd like a student bus pass before summer break begins.

Learn more at LTD.org/Student-Pass.

Deja que LTD maneje este verano

Los estudiantes de kínder a 12º grado en escuelas públicas, privadas, chárter y en casa en todo el condado de Lane pueden recibir el Pase Estudiantil de Transporte GRATIS. Pide tu pase en la oficina de tu escuela. Más información: https://www.ltd.org/student-pass/

Check out the March 2026 article here:

How Did Conflict Influence Montessori’s View of Education and Peace? - Peace begins in childhood, nurtured daily through empathy and responsibility.

Previous articles can be found here

If you want to know more about a Ridgeline or Montessori-related topic, please let us know. Simply email your question or suggestion to ridgelineoffice@ridgeline.org with 'Ridgeline Revealed' in the subject line.

School is out… but not for summer just yet! 😄

No need to stress about keeping the kids active, happy, and engaged during the day off. Sign them up for Kidsports’ last No School Playday of the year on Friday, June 5!

📚 Grades: 1–5
💲 Cost: $60 per day
⏰ Extended Care: +$15 per day

🕘 Program Hours: 9:00 am–4:00 pm
🕗 Extended Care Hours: 8:00–9:00 am & 4:00–5:30 pm

📍 Location:
Kidsports Fieldhouse
2054 Amazon Parkway
Eugene, OR 97405

🏀 What to Expect

Kidsports is the perfect place for children to stay active and have fun when school is not in session! Participants will enjoy an action-packed day filled with games and activities including:

🏈 Football
🏀 Basketball
🥎 Kickball
🎯 Dodgeball
🟣 Gaga Ball
🥒 Pickleball
🧩 Puzzle games
🕺 Silent disco
🏃 Obstacle courses
…and much more!

Click here for camp info & registration

Registration is now open for our Summer Emotional Regulation Camp for kids age 6-10!

Spots are limited to keep things supportive and engaging, and they tend to fill quickly.

Why families love this group:

• Builds real-life social skills through guided peer interaction

• Small group setting (max of 8) for individualized support

• Play-based approach that keeps kids engaged and learning

• Practical tools kids can use at home, school, and in the community

• Includes a parent webinar to support carryover beyond sessions

Mother’s Hollow, founded by Ridgeline parent, mother of four, developmental psychologist, and writer Dr. Jennifer Weaver, is hosting a Mother’s Circle this May and warmly invites all Ridgeline mothers to join.

Mother’s Hollow offers a safe, supportive space for mothers to explore the profound psychological shifts of motherhood—often in ways that aren’t found in everyday parenting spaces. Through intimate circles, small cohort-style classes, and one-on-one mentoring, mothers are invited to reflect, connect, and be supported on their inner journey.

Learn more at: www.mothers-hollow.com

Gathering Ferns Preschool, run by Ridgeline parent and experienced teacher Shannon Harty, is enrolling now for fall of 2026! Our program is for three- to five-year-olds and runs Monday-Thursday, 8:45a-12:45p. (Children may attend two or four days per week.) We provide a small and nurturing environment focused on community, nature, and art only a mile and a half from Ridgeline.

www.gatheringfernspreschool.com