Principal’s Message:
Good evening Ridgecrest families,
The first day of school is here and we are so excited to welcome your children back to school. It was wonderful to see and to meet so many of you during our Back to School Night last Tuesday. Thank you for being an involved part of your child’s education. We can’t wait to see you tomorrow!
Lining Up on the First Day of School
Parents, you are welcome to escort your child to their line up spot on the first day of school! We will have volunteers all around to help your child find their correct line up spot.
After the first day of school, we ask that parents stay in their cars or on the island between the drive through and the parking lot. We have a lot of children to supervise and it is more difficult for our staff with additional adults in the line up area. You can help us to monitor students better by not coming into the line up areas. Thank you for your understanding and help with this.
Safe Pick Up and Drop Off
We need your help to have our drop off and pick up be safe and quick for everyone. Our main goal is child safety. Please follow these simple guidelines.
- First, when using the drop off and pick up lane, please have your child exit out the right hand side of your car once you are next to the sidewalk. You may need to move a car seat or other items out of the way to accommodate this. Parents, please do not exit your car or let your child out on the traffic side. This is very dangerous.
- We prefer that you use our drop of lanes for drop off. However, if you choose to use the parking lot to drop off your child, you must walk your child to the crosswalk. Children are too small to be easily seen by drivers without an adult and we have had too many near misses. Also, if you are late, there may not be an adult to help at the crosswalk and you will need to help your child to safely cross.
- Antczak park is not on school property. If you have your child leave campus to wait for you, there isn’t supervision and we can no longer be responsible for their safety.
Please see the attached diagram to help you understand how our drop off and pick up should flow.
A Happy First Day of School
Help us to make the transition back to school the best it can be. Most children are excited and nervous on that first day. This is normal! If your child is more anxious than usual, please consider the following tips:
- Get plenty of rest the night before
- Create consistent bedtime routines and practice them before the big day comes.
- Eat a healthy breakfast
- Be prepared to show excitement with your child rather than concern. Children will pick up on your cues and respond accordingly.
- When the bell rings and it is time to enter the building, give your child a quick hug, tell them you can’t wait to hear about their fantastic first day, and then walk away quickly. If you linger, you are unconsciously communicating concern and it will make the separation more difficult.
- Trust that we will love and protect your child. We want their time at school to be wonderful. If they are truly struggling, we will contact you. Children are rarely upset for more than a couple of minutes after you leave.
Personal Technology at School
As a reminder, our school policy states that all internet enabled personal technology must be turned off and remain in student backpacks through the school day. This includes all cell phones and smartwatches. These items may not be worn or used during the day. If a child needs to contact a parent, we ask that they do so in the front office. This is in alignment with the new state law SB178 and our district policies. Thanks for helping us with this.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten First WeekNew This Year: Kindergarteners start school on Wednesday, Aug. 20th and will attend the full day from 8:40 AM – 3:30 PM. Transportation will be provided for students who are eligible to ride the bus.
Please remember that all students are dismissed at 1:40 PM on Fridays. The following week, our regular bell schedule will apply for all students Monday – Friday, including our kindergarteners.
Kinder KEEP Assessments – Monday 8/18 and Tuesday 8/19 will be used by kindergarten teachers to complete individual assessments, known as KEEP, with each kindergarten student. Kindergarten families should receive notice to sign up for a time to come to the school for this assessment from your kindergarten teacher soon. Please watch for this and sign up for your child’s assessment time ASAP.
Kindergarten Parent Social – Our PTA wants to welcome you all to join us in the library for a treat to meet other kindergarten parents after you send your child with their teacher. This is a chance to meet other families here at Ridgecrest and enjoy a treat with us from 8:45 – 9:00 AM. This is not required but we hope you will join us.
Bell Schedule
Set your alarms and get ready! Our bell schedule has not changed from last year. For those of you who are new, please note, our bells will ring at the following times:
ARRIVAL
- Welcome Bell – 8:40 AM
- Tardy Bell – 8:45 AM
*Breakfast will continue to be served daily at 8:15 AM.
DISMISSAL
- Monday-Thursday – 3:30 PM
- Early Release Friday – 1:40 PM
Being on time each day makes a difference for your child and their teacher. Please make every effort to arrive by 8:40 AM each day.
Parent Square
Our school will be using Parent Square again this year as its primary form of communication with families. This platform provides many options that facilitate communication with families of all languages. You are not required to sign up or download the app to receive communication from Parent Square, but it will improve the features for you if you do. More information about Parent Square is linked below.
Overview video of Parent Square
SCC Nominations Open
School Community Councils are composed of elected parents and/or guardians whose children attend the school, elected employee representatives, and the school principal. As directed by state law, School Community Councils (SCC) review achievement data, help identify academic needs, provide input on school improvement plans, and assist in evaluating the success of the plans.
The SCC is also responsible for determining how the LAND Trust funds are used in our school. When Utah was granted Statehood, parcels of land were placed in a perpetual Trust with the children of Utah as beneficiaries. Revenues from these lands go into the Permanent State School Fund. The dividends and interest of that fund are distributed annually to each public school in Utah.
Serving on the School Community Council is an excellent way to be part of school improvement and supporting your child’s educational experience. Each fall parents and teachers are invited to submit a Declaration of Candidacy to serve on the SCC. Elections are held each year before the start of the school year.
Ridgecrest has openings on our SCC for the upcoming school year. If you are interested in being a member of the School Community Council, please email Sara Allen (sara.allen@canyonsdistrict.org).
From Our PTA
Hello Ridgecrest Families!
It was great to see so many of you at Back to School Night. Monday morning PTA volunteers, wearing blue lanyards, will be around the outside of the building to help everyone find their line up spots.
We are preparing for our Fun Run Fundraiser and part of that is collecting students’ t-shirt sizes for their FREE Fun Run shirt. Here’s a digital form: https://forms.gle/Y6wXdTTNnXgkPhft6. We need one for each student. Teachers will be sending a paper form early in the week. Sizes are due Friday 8/22. Thank you in advance for your help with this.
PTA Memberships and Spirit Wear can be purchased here: https://ridgecrest.givebacks.com/shop. You can see our Backstreet Boys style video inviting you to join on Instagram @ridgecrest_pta.
Kindergarten Families: PTA is hosting a parent social/Cheers and Tears after kiddos line up Wednesday, August 20th. Come to the library at 8:45 to learn more about Ridgecrest and our amazing community. (Invitation attached)
We got your feedback and heard you loud and clear! You want more community meet ups. Our first Community Night Picnic of the school year will be Tuesday, August 26th from 5-8pm at Anctzak Park. Bring a picnic or grab Dominos on your way to play/visit. Kona Ice snow cones will be available for purchase at the park. Dominos and Kona Ice donate a portion of sales to PTA. Don’t plan to buy pizza/snow cones? Come anyway and play. All community members welcome.
8/20: Kindergarten Parent Social 8:45
8/26: Community Night Picnic at Antczak Park 5-8pm
Can’t wait to welcome students on the red carpet,
Carrie Christensen
(Hablo Español)
Important Dates
August 18: First Day of School for 1 – 5th grade
August 20: First Day of School for kindergarten and Kinder Parent Social
August 26: Community Night at Antczak Park
August 29: Vision and Hearing Screening
September 1: Labor Day – No School
September 2: Fun Run Fundraiser begins
September 5: Acadience Assessment 3-5th grade
September 8: Acadience Assessment K-2
Contact Info
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us at:
- (801) 826-9250
- sara.allen@canyonsdistrict.org
- www.ridgecrest.canyonsdistrict.org
Sincerely,
Sara Allen
Principal, Ridgecrest Elementary
