August 22, 2014

River Ridge Elementary

Upcoming Events

August 20-27: Brigance Testing for Kindergarten August 27: First Day for Preschool September 1: Labor Day - No School September 8-30: MAP Testing September 9: Walkathon September 10, 5:00pm: SBDM Council Meeting September 18, 7:00pm: PTO Meeting with 2nd Grade Performing September 25: Picture Day October 18: PTO Fall Festival

Ice Bucket Challenge

Mrs. Harney completed the Ice Bucket Challenge to support ALS research. Check out the video here: http://youtu.be/nx1XuYTZLfw

Welcome Mrs. Stahl!

My name is Shannon Stahl. I've been teaching for 11 years the last ten in Kenton County at White's Tower Elementary. I'm very excited to be a part of the RR family! My husband, Joe, teaches kindergarten in Ohio. We have two daughters, Lainey (2) and Whitney (6 mths). I love to read, cook, travel, and garden. A surprising tidbit about me is that I studied classical opera for 15 years!

MAP Testing

Fall MAP Testing will take place September 8-30. We give students MAP tests to determine your child's instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year.

Students in grades K-1 will take tests in Reading and Math. Students in grade 2-5 will take tests in Reading, Math, and Language. Your child will take the tests on a computer. MAP tests are unique in that they adapt to be appropriate for your child's level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing. Following each testing period (Fall, Winter, and Spring), you will receive a report showing your child's growth. Teachers use data from MAP testing to differentiate instruction for students. Please contact your child's teacher for specific testing dates. Please encourage your child to try his/her very best on the MAP test! For more information on resources for parents, download the Parent Toolkit at http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/resources/ParentToolkit.pdf.

PTO News

Membership Our Mission: "To enhance the learning experience of every River Ridge student by increasing parental involvement and raising needed funds." Welcome to another great year at River Ridge Elementary! Your PTO is working hard to plan some FUNdraisers as well as some fun family events for this school year. We hope your family will support them and enjoy them as well. Our goal is to raise $50,000 this year to buy computers, library books, equipment, supplies and programs for River Ridge students. The first thing we ask for is your membership. Your membership matters! Joining PTO is a great way to support your child's education! And you will be able to proudly show your support with our "thank you" gift of a spirit magnet. Simply fill out the membership form and return it along with your $10 annual dues to your child's teacher ($10 covers the whole family). You can find the registration form at http://www.kenton.kyschools.us/docs/PTO%20Registration.pdf.

Walk-A-Thon On September 9 (rain date Sept 12) River Ridge students will participate in the second annual River Ridge Walk-a-thon. Donation sheets were sent home that your child can use to collect donations from family, friends and neighbors to support them in this all school FUNdraiser. All donations collected will be used to add to school funds for technology and instructional materials for our school. We helped fund the new ipads in the classrooms a couple years ago and are still working to see that every classroom has a smart board. We should accomplish that goal this school year. Every child gets to participate in the Walkathon and we are hoping that every child will turn in donations to make this a very successful event! This is our Fall Fund Raiser and takes the place of having to sell things as we have done in the past.

The PTO is encouraging classes to come up with a team name, make a team banner and decorate visors in their grade level's color to wear to the walk! We are very excited about the school spirit this event will provides! We will be posting the totals received by grade level outside the cafeteria daily. Let's see if your grade level can contribute the most! Each class that turns in $250.00 will receive a popsicle party provided by the PTO! This year's Walkathon goal is $15,000! Each classroom will set goals and we ask that each River Ridge Student turn in donations to support this event. Please help your child be part of this fun school community activity! If you have any questions please contact Michelle Winters, mw4rrcs@gmail.com.

Save the Date! October 18: Fall Festival

PTO Meeting Dates: September 18 with 2nd grade performing October 23 with 4th grade performing November 13 with 5th grade Amazing Math Race January 15 with 3rd grade performing February 12 with 1st grade (Bucker, Grimes, Hart, Siler) performing March 12 with 1st grade (Beiting, Blasingame, Kelly, Schwartz) performing April 16 with Kindergarten performing

River Ridge Skyline Nights River Ridge Skyline Nights are 4th Tuesday every month from 5 to 8PM. Families should tell their server they are with River Ridge! DATES: August 26 Sept 23 Oct 28 Nov 25 Dec 23 Jan 27 Feb 24 Mar 24 Apr 28 May 26

Welcome Mrs. Stammer!

I am so excited to be here at River Ridge El ementary. This is my 10th year teaching (I can't believe how time has passed). I have taught preschool, kindergarten, first, third, and now fourth grade. The University of Cincinnati is where I received both my undergraduate and graduate degree- Go Bearcats! My home life is full of laughter and chaos as my husband and I run around after our 2 ½ year old son Everett and prepare for little boy number two in early October. We enjoy playing in the backyard, boating, snowboarding, and

watching the latest animated movie. Thank you for welcoming me into your River Ridge Family.

YMCA YMCA is now enrolling for Before School, After School and Kindergarten Wrap Around. Before School Care runs on site outside the cafeteria from 7:00am until the start of the school day. Students and parents should use the door bell on the doors just past the gym doors to enter the program. After School Care runs on site outside the cafeteria from the end of the school day until 6:00pm. Parents should also use the doorbell to enter the building and sign out students.

Villa Hills Police Community Relationship

Chief Allen of the Villa Hills Police Department visited River Ridge on Monday, August 11th. Chief Allen welcomed the staff back to school, and shared a new Villa Hills police initiative for the 2014 - 2015 school

year. In an effort to encourage a collaborative working relationship, the department will be sending an officer to River Ridge for periodic visits. Officers will have a home base located in the Family Resource Center. Thank you to Chief Allen and the hardworking Villa Hills Police for being active in creating positive community relationships.

Welcome Back Ms. Neikirk!

I am excited to be back at River Ridge Elementary. I am a special education teacher. I grew up in Northern Kentucky and graduated from Western Kentucky University. When I am not teaching I enjoy working out

and being with family and friends.

Spirit Wear

On Fridays, we celebrate pride in our school by wearing River Ridge spirit wear or our school colors of red and blue. Spirit wear can be purchased from the River Ridge PTO.

FRC News

FRC Advisory Council The FRC Advisory Council will meet on the following dates: September 11, 7:45 am November 12, 7:45 am January 14, 7:45 am March 11, 7:45 am May 13, 7:45 am July 15 9:30 am All meetings are in Room 102 (The Family Resource Center) anyone is invited to attend.

ABC's of Parenting Stop the War: Positive Discipline including Strategies to Make Homework Battles Cease Parenting isn't easy... some days it's down right frustrating! If you are interested in:

Raising successful children Learning respectful discipline practices Nurturing healthy family relationships Homework without "meltdowns" Stopping the back talk Less yelling from parents and children...

Then you won't want to miss this Parents/Caregivers Program. Children are invited too! Family Nurturing Center presents: ABC's of Parenting River Ridge Elementary School Mondays, September 8,15,22,29-Oct. 6, & 20 6 pm to 8 pm Dinner: 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm Door Prizes..Free Childcare Deadline to register is August 27th Contact: Debbie Ledonne @ 859-341-7935 Email - debbie.ledonne@kenton.kyschools.us

Welcome Mrs. Jessica!

Hello Families of River Ridge! My name is Jessica Marsh. I am excited to start my adventure in the preschool classroom! I am a graduate of Northern Kentucky University with my Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education. I have a one year old daughter that is my pride and joy! For the past two years I have been a stay at home mommy and a nanny. It has always been my dream to teach in a public school setting and I am ecstatic that my dream is now reality! I look forward to being part of the River Ridge team!

What is PBIS? Learn more about the school-wide system of behavior rewards used at River Ridge! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX2ENw_Atp0&list=PL_zrxZwrmicrE4Episg8IZQAgb8BKJs3X&index=3 Use these videos to review behavior expectations for each area of school: Learn about bus expectations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snrkE0Bg-fQ&index=6&list=PL_zrxZwrmicrE4Episg8IZQAgb8BKJs3X https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52rrDMcc848&list=PL_zrxZwrmicrE4Episg8IZQAgb8BKJs3X&index=2 Learn about cafeteria expectations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GxFpisYCNY&index=1&list=PL_zrxZwrmicrE4Episg8IZQAgb8BKJs3X Learn about playground expectations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQeukPhLXJM&index=8&list=PL_zrxZwrmicrE4Episg8IZQAgb8BKJs3X

Learn about hallway expectations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMj15UR5pII&list=PL_zrxZwrmicrE4Episg8IZQAgb8BKJs3X&index=4 Learn about restroom expectations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua4OszvJ5pM&list=PL_zrxZwrmicrE4Episg8IZQAgb8BKJs3X&index=5

Market Day

Dear River Ridge families, It's back to school time and we need your support now more than ever! Did you know that Market Day has helped schools like ours raise over $500 Million over the last 40 years? It's so easy to support through Market Day, buying groceries that you would be purchasing anyway and River Ridge can earn up to a 20% profit. Every purchase you make gives back to our school. Choose from 150+ high quality foods online, plus check out the great promotions this month. Right now when you make a $50 purchase, you will receive the FREE Mixing Bowl Set! You can also save $2.00 on each of the three top sellers, Naked Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken, Supersweet Corn and French Toast Sticks! Market Day stands behind every purchase, with a 100% satisfaction guarantee on everything you buy. Ordering is easy! Simply place your online order at marketday.com or return the order form to school by Friday, August 29th . * Make sure you designate River Ridge as the pick-up location and you should always receive a confirmation # when you place your order. Pick-up: Wed., Sept. 3rd, 4:30-5:30 outside the gym (new location)

*Everyone can pull up in the car rider lane!! If you prepay, we'll bring your order out to you. If you still need to pay just come in the door by the gym and your order will be ready for you! We're moving our location to hopefully make it easier for everyone!!

New to Market Day? Get $5.00 off your $50 order as a new customer when you use the Promo Code: FALLFIVE at checkout on marketday.com. Can't make it to the sale? You can still support River Ridge by doing the following..

1. Shop at GFS - you can purchase many of the Market Day items at the local GFS. When you get to the checkout, just say you want to designate profit to River Ridge. River Ridge will earn 5% on Market Day products and 1% on all other items.

2. Market Day Your Way - order online at marketday.com through River Ridge, but choose a more convenient location for pick-up.

Any questions, please contact Laura Straeffer at 468-4171 or tstraef@zoomtown.com

Cafeteria News

Free/Reduced Lunches

If your child was receiving free or reduced lunches last year, he/she will continue to receive free or reduced lunches for the first 10 days of school. You must return a completed new form within the first 10 days of the 2014-2015 school year in order to continue to qualify for free or reduced lunches. If your child has enrolled for the first time at River Ridge, you must provide documentation to continue the free or reduced lunches for the first 10 days of school. You must return a completed new form within the first 10 days of the 2014-2015 school year in order to continue to qualify for free or reduced lunches. An application for free/reduced lunches can be completed online at http://freelunch.kenton.kyschools.us/

Breakfast/Lunch Prices

Breakfast All Grades - Full Price $1.35 Reduced Price $0.30 Adult Non - Employee $2.25 Lunch Preschool - Grade 5 - Full Price $2.00 Reduced - All Grades -- $0.40 Adult Non - Employees $3.25 Money can be added online to student accounts at https://www.mypaymentsplus.com/default.aspx August Breakfast Menu: http://www.kenton.kyschools.us/docs/Aug%20ES%20breakfast%20menu.pdf August Lunch Menu: http://www.kenton.kyschools.us/docs/Aug%20ES%20lunch%20menu.pdf

Welcome Mrs. Sabrina!

Hello! My name is Sabrina Roberts. This is my first year working with children in a public school but I have

been working with young children with and without special needs for approximately 7 years. I have a bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education and am working on my master's in

Elementary Education. I have two children of my own. One is seven, the other is two years old, and both are boys. In my spare time, I love to spend time with my family and share experiences together. I look

forward to working in preschool this year!

Arrival/Dismissal Procedures

Car Riders: Arrival: Please have your child ready to exit the car on the curb side of the car only, with their backpacks, etc. If you are the first car, please pull all the way up to the stop sign. Cars will be unloaded all the way back to the corner. It makes a much easier morning when everyone is ready to exit the car and we can make your morning experience a little nicer. Dismissal: If you are picking your child up after school, you need to get a car rider number for your car. If you don't have a number, applications are available in the main office. Car rider students are picked up on the side of the building by the gym. This is the only way to pick up your child when school dismisses. We do not permit parents to wait in the front hallway or to meet their child in the front of the building. Please have your number displayed on your rear view mirror in your car so that staff can see it. When you pull up, your child will be sent out to you. They must load from the curb side when leaving school as students may not walk across the car line to enter from the other side of the car. If you would like to walk up to the doors, park your car in a legal space, bring your number with you, and stand to either side of the doors. Please do

not block the door way. Your child may not come out the doors until their number has been called. Dismissal for car riders will move a little slow until the children get to know their numbers so please work to help your child memorize it. This will help speed up the dismissal process for both car riders and buses. Early Dismissal: If you need to pick up your child before the 3:31 PM dismissal, you will need to sign your child out of the office before 3:15 PM. Changes in Transportation: All changes in transportatoin must be made in writing via note, fax, or email. Transportation changes cannot be made over the phone. Please make all transportation changes by 2:00pm each day.

What do I do if my child is late to school?

State law requires that parents/legal guardians sign in their elementary student when arriving late to school. For your child's safety, upon arriving late to school, please walk your child into the building and sign in at the office. Teachers on car rider duty must leave the car rider loop at 8:40am to go to their first class. If you are in line to drop off your child at 8:40am, please park your car and walk your child into the main office to sign your child into school. We thank you for understanding that at River Ridge we put student safety first.

What do I do if my child is absent from school? If your child must be absent from school, please follow these procedures: 1) Call the River Ridge office at 859-341-5260 to notify the secretaries that your child will be absent that day. 2) Upon returning to school, please send a note with your child stating the date your child was absent, your child's full name, your child's teacher, and the reason for the absence. 3) Remember that 9 parent notes and 10 doctor's notes can be used each year. Please remember that it is important for students to be at school each and every day!

Parent Representatives for SBDM Council Committees

We are seeking parent representatives for our SBDM Council Committees. These committees meet for one hour on the first Tuesday of each month. Our committees include:

Program Review o This committee works on collecting data for our school's program reviews for Arts &

Humanities, Practical Living, Writing, and the Primary Program. In doing so, they work to strengthen each of these areas within the school.

Comprehensive School Improvement Plan o This committee monitors implementations of the CSIP and identifies further needs to be

addressed within the school. Curriculum

o This committee researches best instructional practices in all subject areas and makes recommendations on their implementation.

Reducing Barriers to Learning o This committee rearches, surveys, monitors and implements activities that contribute to a

positive school culture.

If you are interested in serving on any of these committees, please contact Mrs. Harney at shawna.harney@kenton.kyschools.us.

The Kenton County School District does not discriminate on the basis

of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts,

Girl Scouts of the United States of America, and other designated youth groups.

The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding

the non-discrimination policies:

Director of Student Engagement 1055 Eaton Drive

Ft. Wright, KY 41017 (859)344-8888

Due Process Coordinator

1055 Eaton Drive Ft. Wright, KY 41017

(859)344-8888

What's going on at River Ridge?

SPORTS! SPORTS! SPORTS! SPORTS! Basketball for 4th & 5th grade students: All forms are due back to school by Friday, Aug. 29. Forms must be complete with proof of insurance and check for $50.00 made payable to River Ridge. No forms will be accepted after August 29th. http://www.kenton.kyschools.us/docs/e%20flyer%200%20BasketballPacket20141.pdf Golf for 4th & 5th grade students: Forms are due back to school by Friday, Aug. 29. Forms must be complete with proof of insurance and check for $20.00 made payable to The Golf Courses of Kenton County. No forms will be accepted after August 29th. http://www.kenton.kyschools.us/docs/Golf%20Instruction%20flyer%20Fall%20%202014.pdf Bowling for 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade students: Forms are due back to school by Wednesday, September 10. Forms must be complete with proof of insurance and check for $65.00 made payable to Sports of All Sorts. No forms will be accepted after September 10th. http://www.kenton.kyschools.us/docs/e%20flyer%200%20BowlingPacket2014FallSession.pdf

Community Activities Boy Scouts http://www.kenton.kyschools.us/docs/eflyer%200%20RRE%20Scouts.pdf Midwest Xtreme Volleyball Club http://www.kenton.kyschools.us/docs/e%20flyer%202014FlyerForKentonCountySchools-0.pdf Kenton County Farm Harvest Tour http://www.kenton.kyschools.us/docs/e%20flyer%20Kenton%20County%20Farm%20Tour%202014.pdf Adopt a Highway Art Contest http://www.kenton.kyschools.us/docs/AAH%20postercontest%20form%202014.pdf