RIDGECREST ROAR August 7, 2022
Good evening Ridgecrest families,
We are one week away from the return of students to our classrooms! We already have teachers working hard to be ready for a great year with your children. Our Building Leadership Team met on Friday to solidify plans and our next steps toward reaching our school goals. Teachers, who are new to our school, worked through training all last week. Our PTA is already busy at work as you will see in their portion of the Newsletter below and our School Community Council is still looking for a few members to help guide our school. What a great group of people we have at Ridgecrest. Excitement is in the air!
School Information
Back to School night: Back to School night is on Wednesday, August 10th from 6 – 7:30 PM. We will hold a general parent meeting at 6:00 PM in the gym followed by an Open House in the teacher’s classrooms. This is a change in response to feedback received after last week’s ROAR and from our Building Leadership Team. This is a less formal structure that allows for more interaction with students and families. Classrooms and teachers will be available to you from 6:30 – 7:30.
The general sessions will include information about our school processes and procedures as well as messages from the PTA and the SCC. We will also have a pre-recorded version of the general meeting that will be sent out on Wednesday, August 10th. If you are concerned about the large gathering in the gym, this may be a good option for you. Please come in, meet your teacher, and see the school!
Back-to-School registration for the 2022-2023 school year is in full swing. Registration is the process we use to update information each year and is done every year for all students. This process is completed online using Skyward. Each family who is enrolled at Ridgecrest should have received an email from Canyons School District with instructions and access information for this process. We will offer registration help, if needed, at Ridgecrest during the following dates and times:
- Aug. 8th, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Aug. 9th, 7:30 AM – 1:00 PM
- Aug. 10th, 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
We are asking families to complete the registration process as soon as possible and make personal identification updates as needed. Here is a link to more information: https://www.canyonsdistrict.org/general-news/ready-set-school-register-for-the-2022-2023-school-year-starting-aug-1/
Parent Square: Our school will be using Parent Square this year as its primary form of communication with families. This platform provides many options that will improve 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 attached here.
Overview video of Parent Square
Parent Square Training Modules
Ridgecrest’s Return to School Plan: As the school year begins, we know there may be an increase in concern about the overall safety of schools because of recent events in our nation. To help ease these concerns, we are attaching a Return to School Plan that is focused on safety in the hope that we can ease some worries. Canyons has partnered with local cities, including Cottonwood Heights, to review our overall safety plans and is working in strategic ways to make these plans even better. This document is an overview. The safety of our Ridgecrest community is really important to us. If you have more questions, please reach out to me at sara.allen@cayonsdistrict.org, or call me at (801)826-9250 and I would be happy to talk with you. 22-23 Ridgecrest’s Return to School Plan (1).pdf
Ridgecrest is Hiring – Ridgecrest has some opportunities for a great part-time job. The District has recently raised hourly wages for these positions and we offer training. If you know any parents who are looking to work during the hours their children are in school, or have friends seeking employment, tell them to check out our jobs! Right now we are hiring interventionists to help small groups of struggling students, a part time health aid, and sweeper positions to help clean classes after school. Appropriate training is provided for each of these jobs. Here’s a link: jobs.canyonsdistrict.org. We have a truly great group of people at Ridgecrest that would love to work with you.
Class Structures: There will be a change to the structure of classes this year. The past couple years, Ridgecrest has had the 2 teacher model for all students in 1 -5 grades. This meant that each student had 2 teachers and their class rotated between these two teachers each day for different subjects. This year, Ridgecrest has moved back to the 1 teacher model for our general education classes. This was done for many reasons. The primary reason is the implementation of our new ELA curriculum in conjunction with a learning initiative for teachers, directed by the state school board, about the science of reading. We believe our teachers will better benefit from this training if all teachers are instructing reading and applying what they learn throughout the day with their students. This change does not apply to our DLI classrooms who have their own state requirements that are different.
Nominations are now open for the Ridgecrest School Community Council (SCC). School Community Councils are composed of elected parents and/or guardians whose children attend the school, elected employee representatives, and the school principal. The SCC is a way to have an impact on the school community without a large time commitment.
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. Candidacy forms are available in the spring in the front office and positions are advertised through the Ridgecrest Roar, the school’s weekly newsletter. Elections are held each year before the start of the school year.
If you are interested in being a member of the School Community Council (SCC), please email Sara Allen (sara.allen@canyonsdistrict.org) by Sunday, August 14th, 2022.
School Lunch: School lunch this year will be served with a smile, and cooked with care. But there are a few changes for families to keep in mind:
- When families replenish their meal accounts this year, they’ll do so online. You can find a tutorial on our website.
- There will be no price increase in 2022-2023.
- Families can apply to receive free or reduced-price meals. This is done during back-to-school registration, which starts Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. We encourage families to apply even if they aren’t sure if they’re eligible.
Read more at canyonsdistrict.org.
Champions – Give your kids a boost with Champions!
We’re at Ridgecrest before and after school to give your kids help with homework, STEM projects, all sorts of crafts and fun activities. Unlike other daycares, we’re inside the school so drop off and pick up is so much easier. And your child is already in a place they’re familiar with.
You can sign your kids up for just remote learning days, in-service days, or 1-5 days a week. You aren’t stuck to a schedule; it can change every week if you need it to.
Contact Jessica Nelson (Site Director) at 385-233-1900 or ch002152@discoverchampions.com with any questions or simply go to DiscoverChampions.com to learn more! See more information on the attached flier.Join us at Champions.pdf
Road Closures: We have many families who commute to our school every day from outside our school boundaries. We want to make sure you are aware of some construction projects near us that may impact your commute. Please plan accordingly so your child can arrive and leave school on time.
- Road and intersection construction near Brighton High School on Bengal Blvd.
- UDOT closure of the freeway onramp for west bound traffic on to I215. UDOT Highland Drive Bridge Restoration – Flyer.pdf
Bussing and Space-Available Permits – Please be advised that some bus stop times and locations may have changed this year. Before classes start on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, Canyons District families are urged to check their bus eligibility and bus-stop places and times using this online tool. Just type your home address into the search field and press “go” for a list of schools for which you’re eligible for busing. Then, click on the highlighted school for bus stop information.
Transportation services are provided to qualifying students. Canyons District receives funding for busing provided to students enrolled in kindergarten through sixth grade who live at least 1 ½ miles from school and students enrolled in grades seven through 12 who live at least 2 miles from school. Don’t qualify for busing? Non-qualifying students may submit a space-available request for transportation services starting Monday, Aug. 1 at 8 a.m. These permits are awarded when space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here if you want to submit a space-available bus permit for your child. Please note that students who attend a school other than the one assigned to them by geographic boundary do not qualify to be considered for space-available permits. Families will be notified about whether they have received a space-available bus permit by Friday, Sept. 8. During the first few weeks of the school year, bus services will not be provided to non-qualifying students, even if they have submitted a space-available permit request.
PTA News:
Hi Ridgecrest Families!
We are excited to be heading back to school soon! We cannot wait to see you all at Back to School Night. We have a fun Scavenger Hunt planned to help get everyone familiar with the navigating the school as well as sharing some important information. We will also go over our budget for this year.
Our Ridgecrest Elementary PTA theme this year is “Tigers Together”, because we all are better together. We are working on providing kindness, not only in being kind, but noticing other’s kind acts.
PTA memberships are now available for the 2022-23 school year. Please remember, PTA memberships must be renewed each school year. Please visit our MemberHub store or come see us in Back to School Night to sign up for your PTA membership. Volunteering is not required to be a part of the PTA. https://ridgecrest.memberhub.com/store
Make sure to check out our social media accounts or website for a calendar of upcoming events.
We look forward to meeting you all this year!
Your 2022-23 Ridgecrest Elementary PTA Board
DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR:
August
10 Back to School Night 6:00-7:30
15 First day of school 8:40 AM -3:20 PM
18 First day of Kindergarten 8:40 AM
Kinder parent treat 8:45 AM Media Center
22 PTA Meeting 12:00PM Media Center
23 First Fire Drill 2:30 PM Outside
26 Room Parent Social 2:00 PM Media Center
-Sara
Sara Allen
Principal, Ridgecrest Elementary School
(801) 826-9250
