Ridgetop Family Weekly: 2/27/26

Posted Date: 02/27/26 (04:00 PM)

Families,

Thank you so much for taking the time to fill out the Family Climate Survey. We really do read all of the feedback and take some time to see how we can continue to improve. We will do the same when we get the results given to us.

Things are rocking and rolling here at The Ridge. Conferences are on the horizon and there is more info below.

Have a great weekend!

Shaun Takenouchi

Upcoming Events

3/2: 6th Grade SOM Assembly (Lower Gym)
3/3: 7th Grade SOM Assembly (Lower Gym)
3/4: 8th Grade SOM Assembly (Lower Gym)

View the full events calendar 📅

Raider Staff Spotlight 🔦

Each week we will feature staff members at Ridgetop so that families get to know OUR Raider family better.

Mrs. Green

What is your role at Ridgetop?

- U.S. History Teacher and IEP Case Manager

What do you love most about working at Ridgetop?

- I love working with and giving back to the community that raised me. Ridgetop is a special community built on the kind of respect, pride, and sense of belonging that make it easy to WANT to come to work. Plus, there is never a boring day in middle school!

What is your favorite snack food and why?

- Anything SPICY, both because I myself am spicy and because these middle school germs make me need to clear out my sinuses year-round. Also avocado because it's avocado.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

- JAPAN!!! There might be lots of other answers for me if you asked me another time, (D.C., South Africa, India, Australia, Syria, Korea etc.) but I am BEYOND EXCITED to travel to Japan this summer with Mr. Booth and the students who have signed up to join our educational/cultural adventure!!! I'm so hyped for that trip that I can't possibly pick another destination

Tell us how you either LEARN, LEAD, or GROW in your life, in your personal life or as an educator.

- I LEARN by listening to my students. I am still in the first few chapters of my teaching career, and I find the best things I've learned about how to be a better teacher have all come from middle schoolers.

I LEAD from a place of both authority and empathy. I was born bossy, but it's only as I've gotten older and wiser that I've learned that true leadership comes from understanding, appreciating, and honoring the people you want to lead. True leadership should look like partnership!

I GROW by setting goals. Just like I recommend for my students: I set new achievable goals for myself every year, every quarter, and every month. This year I am working on my systems for grading, this quarter I am working on building more consistency in my lesson planning routine, and this month I am working on getting my personal email inbox reorganized. We all have stuff to work on, but it only works if you work it!!

Spring Conferences

We will be doing Spring Conferences on March 18th from 4 - 7:30pm and March 19th from 7am - 3pm.

On March 18th, we will continue our traditional arena style conferences where teachers will be located in the cafeteria and upper gym. You will be able to go around and meet with teachers for brief conversations about your student's progress.

On March 19th, we are going to try something a little different for us. We will be doing scheduled conferences. This is where you will be able to schedule a 10 min conference with your student's teachers and the conference will be in their classroom. This is similar to what families do in the elementary school.

Sign ups will start next week Friday. More info to come. Thank you.

Classified Staff Appreciation – Help Needed! 🧇

The Ridgetop PTSA is celebrating our incredible Classified Staff, including paraeducators, maintenance, bus drivers, front office staff, and more, with two appreciation events:

• Waffle Stop Breakfast Bar – Tuesday, March 11

• Granola & Yogurt Bar – Friday, March 13

We’re seeking donations and volunteers to help make both events a success.

Sign up here:

👉 tinyurl.com/RMSClassified26

👉 tinyurl.com/RMS26Classified

Thank you for supporting the staff who support our students every day!

Questions: ridgetopmiddle.ptsa@gmail.com

World Language Proficiency Test 🌍

Hey 7th and 8th graders - Can you write, read, speak, and listen in a language other than English? If so, you could qualify to earn high school credit for your language other than English, and you can qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy on your diploma! See your counselor about taking the World Language Proficiency Test on April 1! Registration closes on March 11.

Morning Drop Off 🚗

With the increase in our student population and through parent feedback, we have been working on our morning drop off procedure to help with the safety of our students and families. There are a couple of things that we are seeing that we would like to fix.

Dropping off on Hillsboro Dr.: We have a decent amount of families that are stopping on Hillsboro Dr and dropping off their students. While we understand that this can be convenient, it is definitely not safe. Hillsboro Dr is not a drop off area and we have to stop using this as such. Please either use our parking lot or Silver Ridge Elementary as places to drop your students off for school in the morning.

Dropping off in the Parking Lot: The easiest way for me to explain this process was to create this video for families to see. Please take a min. to watch this to help with our parking lot process for dropping off.

My hope is that by working on both of these things, our drop off process will become better. We are also in the process of looking into crossing guards to help with both of these areas.

Thank you in advance for your help with both of these issues.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Families, we wanted to share this virtual opportunity from our Student Assistance Professional.

I wanted to share an exciting opportunity coming up on March 12th from 6:00–8:00 PM: Hidden in Plain Sight. This is a virtual event designed for parents, caregivers, and other adults to learn about current trends, how to spot common warning signs, and how to start important conversations with youth.

February Focus ☺️

This year, every month we are going to have a specific character focus that we are working on as a school. Each week, we will be focusing on different aspects of being a professional student.

For the month of February, we are focusing on Kindness. We are working helping students understand that everyday, students have the opportunity to make a big difference by doing the small things well. Kindness is something that doesn't take a lot of work or money, and just a little of it can go a long way!

Sports Weekly 🏀

Here is a link to our sporting events for the coming week.

Would you like to be an Adult Mentor for our students? 🙋🏼‍♂️

Ridgetop is in need of adult mentors. All it takes is 1 hour per week to make a difference in a student's life. The goal of the mentoring program is to develop positive relationships between schools and students, parents, and community. All mentors receive training on how to support students with goal setting, and peer relationships.

Mentoring takes place on school property. Mentors may play board games, draw, practice flashcards, read, discuss grades and study habits, or just spend time talking. If this sounds like something you can do, please get in contact with our building coordinator Jeff Kahler@ jeffreyk@ckschools.org. Adult mentors make a huge difference in a youth's life.

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