Ridgewood August 2024 Newsletter

We are so excited for another school year. We are thrilled to be partnering with you in your child's education. This year is full of fresh beginnings and endless possibilities. We have a dedicated team of teachers and staff committed to providing a safe, academic learning environment for all students.

Vision: Academically, socially, and emotionally preparing today's students for tomorrow's world.

Mission: Ridgewood Elementary School will work collaboratively to provide a rigorous, standards-based, student-centered learning environment for all.

Core Values: Achievement, Equity, Integrity

Each Day We Strive To:

Be Respectful

Be Responsible

Be Safe

SEL Goal: Ridgewood School will complete at least 25 paws on our school paw chart by using a level 0 voice in the hallways. When we reach our goal, we will celebrate with a popcicle party!

August 6th - Backpack Night, 5:00-6:00

August 7th - First Day of School, 1 hour early dismissal

September 2nd - Labor Day, No School

September 3rd - In-Service, No School

I had surgery a week ago on my foot. I am doing well and am home recovery. I hope to be back in the building soon. While I am working remotely from home, we will have an admin sub at Ridgewood until I return. Her name is Sheri Schultz. She was a former admistrator in Davenport and has been working as an admin sub at Wells the past two years. She is amazing and we are so lucky to have her at Ridgewood. Mrs. Schultz will be at Backpack Night so that you can meet her.

We have a new Administrative Intern at Ridgewood. Although he is no stranger to Ridgwood, he is new to this role. Mr. VonThun has been at Ridgewood for many years as our PE teacher and will be our new Administrative Intern at Ridgewood. We are very excited about him being in this new role!

We have a few new staff at Ridgewood this year that I would like to introduce you to:

Mr. Frieden - PE

Mrs. Foss - Music

Mrs. Ciss - TPI

Mr. Dassow - Counselor

Backpack Night will be held on Tuesday, August 6th from 5:00-6:00 at Ridgewood. School supply lists can be found on the EMSD website. QC Custom Tees will be at our Backpack Night for you to purchase Ridgewood apparel. We hope to see you there!

Our first day of school will be on Wednesday, August 7th. Students can enter the building beginning at 8:00 am. Breakfast will be offered to those interested at this time. Students will be considered tardy if they are not at school by 8:30 am. There will be a 1 hour early dismissal this day at 2:00.

Students that are bus riders will be dropped off at the back of the building. If your student is a walker or car rider, drop off will take place at the front of the building. If you are dropping off your student by car in the car drop off lane, please stay in your car. If you are looking to get out of your car, please park in an available parking spot or along the street. By getting out of your car, it stops traffic in the car drop off lane. We ask that all parents say goodbye to their student(s) outside the building. This helps create a healthy morning routine for all our students, especially those in kindergarten. We will have extra staff present to assist in getting students to their classrooms. Thank you for your assistance. We look forward to a great first day of school and a wonderful school year.

We will be contining our Inspire School Partnership with John Deere! Our partnership includes volunteers coming into the school to help with various activities such as coding, planting, and field trips. They also provide water bottles for all students in the school, partner with our ST Math Challenge, and help provide meals for staff on various occasions. Thank you John Deere! We are so grateful for all you do for Ridgewood.