Ridgeline eNews

MAY

Friday 5/15 Budget Committee Meeting 8:45-10:15 a.m.

Friday 5/15 Last day of Staff Appreciation Week

Saturday 5/16 Student Marketplace 10 a.m.- 12p.m., at Ridgeline

Wednesday 5/20 Handel’s Ice Cream Fundraiser - 11a.m. - 10 p.m.

Thursday 5/21 Board Meeting 6-8pm

Friday 5/22 Budget Committee Meeting (tentative) 8:45-10:15 a.m.

Monday 5/25 No School - Memorial Day

Tuesday 5/26 6th grade Outdoor School - depart at 8:45 a.m.

Thursday 5/28 6th graders return from ODS at 1:00 p.m.

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

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

JUNE

Wednesday 6/3 8th Grade Promotion 6-8 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.

Join us this Saturday, May 16, from 10:00am–12:00pm at Ridgeline for our annual Student Marketplace event!

🎉 This event is open to the community, so please invite your friends, neighbors, and family members to come shop & support our amazing student entrepreneurs! We are confident you will enjoy the many creative items made by Ridgeline students.

🍪 Our middle school Cookie Crew will also be selling:

• Hot tea & coffee - $2

• Chocolate chip cookies - 2 for $2
• Rice Krispies treats (gluten-free) - $2
• Pastries - $3
• Banana bread (by the slice) - $3

💵 Bring cash if you'd like to shop the student vendor booths and purchase treats!

❓Questions: Email Jenny Noyce at jenny.noyce@ridgeline.org.

🍦 Can You Handel It??????🍦

📅 When: Wednesday, May 20 | 11:00am–10:00pm
📍 Where: Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream

Here’s how to join the fun:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Head to Handel’s with friends or family

🍨 Pick your favorite flavors (we recommend the 4 scoop sampler!)

📄 Show the flier below (coming home in backpacks soon)

💛 Enjoy your treat — 25% of your purchase goes to Ridgeline!

⏰ No time worries — this fundraiser runs ALL DAY LONG! Swing by anytime between 11am–10pm and help us scoop up funds to close out the year strong! 🎉🍦

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 too

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!

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.

Let LTD Do the Driving this Summer

Students can pick up their free pass from the school’s main office before the last day of school. Don’t wait! Get your pass now and enjoy a summer of freedom and fun. Travel with LTD’s Free Student Transit Pass and always have a ride. 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/

🌟 Staff Appreciation Week — THANK YOU! 🌟

What an incredible week of generosity, kindness, and appreciation for Ridgeline teachers and staff! Our hearts are full after being showered with treats, flowers, cards, meals, and thoughtful gestures all week long. Thank you to every family and community member who helped make this week so special. 💛

A huge and heartfelt thank you to Ruth Tabak for coordinating this entire week behind the scenes and helping every detail come together so beautifully!

🍪 Monday — Sweet Treats

Thank you to the many generous community members who provided an amazing spread of delicious treats for staff to enjoy: Blaise Cooper, Sarah Silverman, Matt Jorgensen, Angela Zallen, Sunset Cordero, Alder Bartlett, Brittany Ambo, Patricia Wiskow, Lillian Groff, David Evans, Alison Cassin, and others who contributed goodies along the way.

✨ Special thanks to Blaise Cooper for helping receive and set up the hospitality table in the staff room.

🌸 Tuesday — Flower Power!

Many thanks to Angela Zallen, Lillian Groff, and Leda Glastonbury for sharing beautiful seed/starter bouquets, which were distributed around campus by Meredith Tufts and Ruth Tabak.

🌷 Thank you as well to everyone who donated fresh flowers from gardens and stores alike. The colorful arrangements brightened campus all week long!

🍽️ Wednesday — Staff Appreciation Lunch

What an incredible feast! Staff enjoyed a truly special lunch featuring homemade lasagna, quiche, salads, fruit, hummus platters, cornbread, seeded sourdough bread, pizza, specialty kettle corn, and more.

👏 Deep gratitude to Garret Zallen, Ruhi Rubenstein, Marty Wilder, Amber Lippert, Sarah Mauney, Meredith Tufts, Jennifer Little, Matt Jorgensen, Sarah Silverman, Cris & Sunset Cordero, Martha Morell, Jess & Gordo Wood, Jennifer Weaver, Madison McEwen, and Stephanie Boyd for contributing to this amazing spread.

✨ Special thanks also to Sarah Mauney and Amber Lippert for helping receive and set up lunch items for staff to enjoy during the all-staff meeting.

💌 Thursday — Cards, Kind Words, & Notes of Appreciation

One of the most meaningful gifts of all was the outpouring of handwritten notes, cards, and words of gratitude from students and families. Thank you for taking time to help students express appreciation in such heartfelt and creative ways. Staff truly treasure these notes and kind messages. 💛

🥨 Friday — Savory Treats & Seltzer

Thank you in advance to everyone bringing savory snacks and refreshments to finish the week strong: Sarah Silverman, Patricia Wiskow, Lillian Groff, Blaise Cooper, Ryan Bartlett, Kim Ritley, Amber Bell, Jennifer Horner, and Rachel Kinsey.

🥯 And a special shoutout to Rachael McEachern for the warm bagels and cream cheese Thursday morning!

💛 THANK YOU, RIDGELINE COMMUNITY! 💛

Thank you for making staff feel so appreciated, supported, celebrated, and cared for this week. Your generosity and thoughtfulness mean more than words can express. We feel SO seen and loved! 🌟

• Volunteer for Student Marketplace on Saturday, May 16 (shifts available from 9-12:30 p.m.)

• Pick up a morning or afternoon weekly Crossing Guard Crew shift (help is needed most on Thursday and Friday mornings!)

Field Day

• Sign ups coming next week

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.

• 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 )
• 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.

Hello Ridgeline community! The Ridgeline Board of Directors will hold a regular meeting on Thursday, May 21, at 6:00 pm in the Ridgeline library and over Zoom. All Ridgeline community members are welcome to join our regular board meetings, and to make a public comment. The designated time for public comment is at the start of meetings.

Our meeting agenda includes policy review and adopting a resolution to create an ad hoc summer facilities committee.

You can find the agenda here. 05-21-2026 Ridgeline Board Meeting Agenda

In order to attend virtually, please use this Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84074040106pwd=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.

Contact enrollment@ridgeline.org if you have any questions. We look forward to a great rest of the school year!

Check out the NEW March 2026 article:

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.

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

No School? No Problem! We have your upcoming No School days covered here at Kidsports. Kidsports is excited to offer PeaceHealth Play Days for kids when school is not in session. Your kids will get to spend the day having fun, being active, trying new sports & games, being creative and playing with friends.

Grades: 1-5

Cost: $60 per day

Extended Care: additional $15 per day

Days/Times: No-school days 9am–4pm

Extended Care: 8–9am and 4–5:30pm

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

Dates: Jun. 5

Register Now