Pleasant Ridge + Olathe

Every month we send a parent newsletter that has information about what is going on at Pleasant Ridge.

You can also visit our website at https://www.olatheschools.org/pleasantridge

Our website includes links to the lunch menus, ParentVue login, and much more. You can also find our Parent Handbook (below) on the website.

Follow us on Twitter for daily pics around the building to see some of the amazing learning happening! @PR_Patriots

Quarter 4 is such an important, busy, and fun time of year! This month, grades 3-5 will be completing the Kansas State Assessments. Please help your child do their best by ensuring they get a good night's rest and eat a good breakfast on testing dates. Please note testing dates below and try to avoid appointments on these dates.

We also have a lot of events throughout the month of April. There are a few fun PTA events as well as a PTA meeting on April 16th that will include voting for the exec board members for next school year. We are so excited for our Fine Arts Fair on April 30th, which will run open house style from 5-7PM with our Band, Orchestra, and Choir Performances at 5:30.

Help us end the year strong with meeting our attendance goal. We are currently at 87% with a 90% goal. As a reminder, absences must be due to one of the board approved reasons in order to count as excused. Chronic absenteeism (excused and unexcused absences) will require a team meeting to formulate an action plan.

As always, please reach out or schedule a time to come in for any questions, clarifications, or concerns!

Thank you,

Dr. Dondzila

lmdondzila@olatheschools.org

913-780-7590

April 1st: Yearbook orders DUE

April 2nd: 2nd Grade Musical 6PM

April 2nd & 3rd: Science Assessment 5th Grade ONLY

April 6th: PTA's Skate Night

April 7th: Kindergarten Field Trip

April 8th and 9th: ELA Assessment Grades 3-5

April 9th: No School for Kindergarten/26-27 Kindergarten Enrollment

April 11th: PTA's Me & My Guy Dance

April 13th: One School, One Book Kickoff

April 16th: 1st Grade Field Trip

April 16th: PTA Meeting 6:30

April 16th and 17th: Math Assessment Grades 3-5

April 21st: PTA's Restaurant Night: Chick-Fil-A 5-8 PM (119th & Blackbob)

April 23rd: 4th Grade Field Trip

April 23rd: 5th Grade Field Trip

April 24th: No School/ Professional Development

April 30th: Fine Arts Fair 5PM

During the fourth quarter, our school team begins planning for the next school year and student class placement. We believe the best learning environment is created when there is an equal distribution of students according to academic ability levels, social/behavioral skills, leadership skills, work habits, and gender. Other variables include instructional/learning styles, social dynamics between students, and an equivalent number of students in each class at a grade level. Classroom assignment of students for the upcoming year is accomplished with the assistance of the Principal, teachers, counselor, and Special Services Teachers.

As you can see, a large number of variables are taken into consideration. It is an important task, and one we take seriously. We want you to know that we will do our very best to provide the kind of learning environment that will help your child have a successful school year.

If you have further information about your child or if you feel that a specific kind of environment will help your child thrive and we are unaware of that knowledge, please complete the form below. A specific request for a certain teacher cannot be granted, personnel changes often occur. Describing the environment is a more accurate way to assure the best student learning conditions. If there is an instructional environment you feel would not be a conducive learning environment, you may indicate/describe this as necessary. Requests must be received prior to May 1st for consideration.

We are preparing for kindergarten enrollment for the 2026-2027 school year! Save the date for April 9, 2026 for the district-wide kindergarten enrollment event. According to state law, your child can start kindergarten if they are 5 years old on or before August 31, 2026.

To enroll, parents will need to provide:

• A birth certificate of the child enrolling

• A proof of residency (utility bill, lease agreement, etc.)

• Information about the child's immunizations and inoculations.

Bring these and your incoming kindergartener to the event to prepare for next year! More information to come. Keep up-to-date by filling out this form: Pleasant Ridge Kindergarten Enrollment Information Survey – Fill out form

May 1st: PTA's 5th Grade Celebration at CT

May 4th: Apex Fundraiser Begins

May 5th: 3rd Grade Field Trip

May 8th: Battle of the Books Field Trip

May 15th: Fun Run

May 19th: Field Day

School STARTS at 8:55 and your child should be in the building and ready for class by 8:55. Please note that 4 tardies does turn into 1 unexcused absence. Unexcused absences have to be reported to the state. Please help us get your child off to a smooth start to their school day!

If your student is going to be absent and not here by 8:55, you must call or email with the reason for the absence. There are 8 Board approved reasons for an absence that we must know from you in order to mark your child as excused. If we do not receive communication from you about your child's absence, we have to mark your child as unexcused. Please note unexcused absences must be reported to the state of Kansas.

If your child has reached the threshold for absences, you will receive a letter from the school explaining we must have a doctor's note for every absence. We have to mark the absence as unexcused if you have reached this threshold and do not send a doctor's note.

Here are a few friendly reminders:

• Please REMAIN in your vehicle at ALL times
• If you need more time or need to exit, please pull all the way forward to our loading/unloading zone
• Please REMAIN in the car lane, and do not pull out into our bus lane at any point
• Please do not park on ROSEHILL road
• Please do not turn left into PR from Rosehill

Thank you for keeping our car line safe and efficient!

Our students in our autism program bring joy to our staff each week by bringing around snacks and drinks on our joy cart. If you would like to donate to the joy cart, please reach out to Dr. Dondzila at any point. Thank you!

8:55-3:55

Please note arrival does not begin and there will be no supervision until 8:35, please do not send students to school property before that time.

School Opens: 8:35

School day begins: 8:55 - Students are expected to be in their seat ready to learn at this time, not walking in the door. Arrivals after this time will be considered tardy.

3:55- Students are dismissed

To report your child's absence please email PRAttendance@olatheschools.org and your child's teacher. Excused absences must include one of the board approved reasons including illness, doctor's appointments, and family emergencies.

If your student is eating breakfast at school it will be served in the cafeteria from 8:35-8:55.

This is a friendly reminder that we have a NO left turn from Rosehill into the school. This also means there is NO parking allowed on Rosehill during dismissal. The OPPD has designated Rosehill as an emergency thoroughfare, and we are not allowed to block Rosehill in any way.

CAR TAGS

It is also essential that you hang your car tag from your rearview mirror so we can get your child to you in a safe and efficient matter. If you need a car tag, let the PR office know.

CAR LANE

And finally, please remain in your vehicle in our car line. We have a moving car line in groups of 10. If you need to exit your vehicle or you need more time, please pull all the way forward to allow others to exit. We have a bus lane that car riders should NOT exit around and go through.

Thank you for helping us prioritize safety at all times.

The safety and wellbeing of students and staff is a top priority in Olathe Public Schools. This school year, Olathe Public Schools is transitioning to a new safety response system known as “Standard Response Protocol,” or SRP – an “all hazard” approach used nationwide to respond to a variety of emergency situations.

Previously, the district followed the A.L.I.C.E. protocol (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate), which focused primarily on active assailant response. SRP encompasses a wider variety of emergency situations, using clear, common language and is based on five standardized actions:

• Hold – keep hallways clear
• Secure – bring all students and staff inside the building
• Lockdown – secure rooms and remain quiet
• Evacuate – move to a different location
• Shelter – protect from a specific threat or hazard

SRP emphasizes quickly locking down in response to critical incidents and complements our existing safety tools, including the Centegix CrisisAlert system and Nightlock door locks.

As we begin the year, we will work with our students and staff to ensure all are familiar with the new safety protocol and practice responses regularly throughout the year during safety drills.

By using SRP, our district ensures everyone knows how to respond—no matter where they are—during an emergency. For more information about SRP, visit the Standard Response Protocol website.

Beginning June 1, Olathe Public Schools student and staff online meal accounts will be managed through SchoolCafé. MyPayments Plus is no longer active; however, all remaining balances will transfer to the correct user on SchoolCafé.

Families are encouraged to set up a SchoolCafé account with a new username and password. Make sure to have your student(s) or staff ID number(s) to get started.

Read instructions on how to set up a student SchoolCafé account, or read the Spanish instructions PDF.

Watch a video on how to make a payment in SchoolCafé

There are multiple benefits to this new software, including the ability to:

• Check the status of the application and view and print meal benefit notifications from SchoolCafé.
• View all menus with nutrient and allergen information.
• View your child's account balance anytime.
• Manage multiple students’ balances from one account.
• Money can be transferred between multiple students if needed.
• See what meals and à la carte items are being purchased.
• Set limits on à la carte purchases.
• Apply for free or reduced lunch beginning on Tuesday, July 8.

As a reminder, payments can be made in multiple ways.

• Send a check or cash to the school. There is no processing fee for this method of payment.
• Elementary: Please bring cash or check to the front office.
• Secondary: Students can bring cash or check to the cafeteria.
• If writing a check, please make it payable to: Student(s)’ School Name- Food Services. Please include your driver's license number, phone number and your student's name and ID number at the bottom of the check.
• Pay online via SchoolCafé.
• There is a minimum deposit of $20 per account and a 4.0% payment convenience/processing fee when using a credit card for either a one-time payment or an auto-payment.

For more information on SchoolCafé, including frequently asked questions, meal prices for 2025-26 and more, visit the Food Services meal payment webpage.

A great place to check out some of the amazing things happening everyday at Pleasant Ridge is on X.

Follow us at @PR_Patriots

PR website: https://www.olatheschools.org/pleasantridge

Email: lmdondzila@olatheschools.org
Website: www.olatheschools.org/pleasantridge
Location: 12235 Rosehill Street Overland Park KS 66213
Phone: (913)780-7590
X: @PR_Patriots