Spring Ridge Review - Elkhorn Public Schools

January 2015
Spring Ridge Review
Spring Ridge Elementary
Calendar of Events
 January 1-2
No School - Winter Break
A Message from Mrs. Petersen
Dear Spring Ridge Families,
Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous new
year. It is hard to believe that we are entering 2015!
As we take a few moments to reflect on the first semester, we realize that the dedicated staff, outstanding students, and supportive parents are responsible
for the success we enjoy at Spring Ridge. We have a
fantastic team! As we look towards 2015 may we
truly appreciate the challenges and opportunities that
lie before us as we continue to help our students
“soar to reach our goals”!
 Monday, January 5
No School—Teacher In-service
 Wednesday, January 7
Report Cards
 Tuesday, January 13
Family Night—Spaghetti Feed
5—7 pm
Inside this issue:
Hy-Vee Receipts Wanted
2
Carnival Raffle Items Needed
2
Valentine’s Party Volunteers 2
Since the winter months are known to bring illness,
please encourage your children to wash their hands
often, as well as cover their mouths when coughing or
sneezing. This will help reduce the spread of germs.
Best wishes to you and your family in the year 2015!
Laurinda Petersen
Spring Ridge Principal
2014-2015 School Theme:
Soaring to Reach Our Goals
Drama Club
3
Cold Weather Guidelines
3
Spaghetti Feed
3
Hy-Vee Fundraiser
4
Fundraising Thank You
4
Celebration of Giving
4
PTO Presidents’ Message
5
Marcus Theater Fundraiser
5
Kindergarten Round-Up
5-6
Student Safety
8
Visitor Guidelines
8
2nd and 3rd Grade Musical
Program
9
NeSA and SAT 10 Testing
10
Book Swap
10
School Sponsors
13
Spring Ridge Review
Page 2
WANTED:
FREE MONEY!!!!!!
LAST CALL………………FOR HYVEE RECEIPTS!
Turn in all HyVee receipts (dated no later than December 31) to
the office by :
FRIDAY January 9th
Carnival
Donations
Spring may be nowhere in
sight, but we are already planning for another fantastic
Spring Ridge Carnival. Your
raffle shoppers have already begun looking for
exciting new prizes for our students. Last year’s
raffle was a big success thanks to the many generous donations made by our raffle sponsors. If
your business would like to sponsor a raffle item,
now is the time to let us know! If your business
donates $100 or more toward the purchase of a
raffle item, we will place a sign next to our raffle
table or the item you donate with your business
logo on it as a way to thank you for supporting
our Spring Carnival, the school’s largest fundraiser of the year. If your business would like to donate this year, please contact Teresa Svoboda
at ttsvoboda@att.net.
Valentine’s parties will be Friday, February
6, at 2:00 pm. If you would like to help
with your child's Valentine's Day party,
please contact Laurie Webb @ tastefullylaurie@cox.net with the following information:

Name

Child's Name

Grade
Spring Ridge Elementary
Page 3
Calling All Actors and Actresses!
Spring Ridge Drama Club sign-up coming in January
PTO and The Rose are partnering to bring Drama Club to Spring
Ridge once again. Drama Club is for 4th and 5th grade students who sign up and are interested in learning dramatic skills
and putting on a final sharing performance at the end. Sign-up sheets were
sent home in the Friday Folders before break. The club will start the last week in January and run for 7 weeks. The participants in the Drama Club will put on a final sharing
performance mid March. The club will meet one day a week (one group on Mondays,
and one group Wednesdays) immediately after school, and will be lead by The Rose
Theatre educational staff.
Parent Volunteers will be needed to "chaperone" each rehearsal; a sign-up for volunteers will be posted in January. No acting experience required!
Brrrr! It’s Cold Outside!

Cold weather is still with us. Coats, hats, mittens are needed most
days for walking club and recess. It is helpful if you put your child’s
name in coats. We can easily return items to your child if there is a
name on the tag.

Students will be going outside for recess and walking club if weather
permits. Please make sure to dress your children appropriately so that
he or she can enjoy his/her time outdoors.

Inclement weather—school closings will be announced on radio KFAB
and local television stations. You should also receive a message from
the district AlertNow notification system.

Please remember that school doors do not open until 7:55 a.m. for
walking club. Please do not drop off your children before 7:50. There
is no supervision until 7:55 a.m. Thank you.
Save the Date…
January 13th is Spaghetti Feed at Spring
Ridge! Featuring pasta from Sgt Peffers .
Please join us from 5-7pm in the school cafeteria for a yummy dinner! Pre-sales will be
coming home after break as well as an e-mail .
Questions? Contact
melanienielsen5@gmail.com or
christycroom@yahoo.com
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Spring Ridge Review
WANTED: FREE MONEY
(For Spring Ridge Elementary)
The Hy-Vee Cash for Students program is drawing to a close.
Please send in any remaining Hy-Vee gas or grocery
receipts with your child by January 10th. The cubby located in the Pacific Street Hy-Vee will be removed after December 31st. Please remember that receipts dated after January 1, 2015 are not valid.
We get $1 for every $200 in receipts (max of $2,000 for the
school)!
We need $400,000 in receipts to reach the $2,000 maximum.
Many Thanks!!!!
We want to say a huge thanks to all of the Spring Ridge families who participated in
all of our many fundraisers this year. The PTO is able to provide so many wonderful
things for the students and teachers at Spring Ridge. Without your support none of
this would happen. Give yourselves a pat on the back for our most recent fundraising
numbers:
Nothing Bundt Cake $438.60
Marcus Theater $730.88
Hy-Vee Shopping Day $353.34
Freddy’s Donations $255.00
Grand Total of $1777.82!
Melanie Nielsen & Christy Croom
Celebration of
Giving
Thank you Spring Ridge families for your commitment to the Womenade of Elkhorn 2014 Celebration of
Giving Mitten Program. Womenade was extremely thankful for the wonderful donations to assist families
in need this season. Your above and beyond response was an integral component to the success of this
program!
Also, thank you to the volunteers who assisted in the mitten check-out process and gift check-in – the
time given was truly appreciated!
Spring Ridge Elementary
Page 5
Good-bye 2014, let 2015 begin!
Hello Parents,
Hard to believe that 2014 is over already and as everyone always says: “It went by so
fast!” I hope you are enjoying the holidays and time with your families.
We will not have a January PTO meeting, but PTO is still in full swing and open for
business! We will kick off 2015 with a NEW Family Fun Night at Spring Ridge on Tuesday, January 13th. Our first annual Spaghetti Night will take place in the school cafeteria/gym. Look for details in your child’s backpack, the newsletter and via email.
A huge thank you to Donna Larson, Jennifer Read, Jennifer Shatel and Jackie Warren
for organizing the Celebration of Giving project this year! The Executive Board is proud
to represent such a giving and generous parent population- thank you for your support
of this very important project
Speaking of how time flies, it’s already time to plan ahead and start looking for next
year’s PTO Executive Board members and committee chairs. Self-nomination forms will
be coming home in backpacks soon. If you would like to become more involved in PTO
for next year, or if you have any questions, please contact Melanie Nielsen at
melanienielsen5@gmail.com or Christy Croom at christycroom@yahoo.com. Becoming
more involved in the PTO is a great way to feel more connected to the school, teachers, administrators and other parents, and we have a lot of fun, too!!
Thank you for all you do for Spring Ridge and here’s to a wonderful 2015!
Jenny Haase
PTO President
Springridgeelementarypto@gmail.com
Like us on Facebook at Spring Ridge Elementary PTO
Marcus Theater Fundraiser
A huge thanks to all of you who purchased Marcus
Theater tickets and gift cards through our Spring
Ridge Fundraiser! We
raised over $1500!
We will have another
Marcus Theater fundraiser in the spring before school lets out. It
will be a great time to
stock up for summer!
Spring Ridge Kindergarten
Round-Up
Spring Ridge Elementary is seeking to identify
children who are eligible for kindergarten during
the 2014-15 school year. Spring Ridge Kindergarten Round-Up will be held on Friday, February 20.
A parent meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 16 at 6:00 p.m. in the cafeteria. Please see
the attached Spring Ridge Kindergarten Round-Up
form attached to the newsletter for more information.
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Spring Ridge Review
Spring Ridge Elementary
Page 7
Student Safety
Student safety takes priority over any vehicle and driver at Spring Ridge Elementary.
Please take a moment to ask yourself these questions. If you answer yes to even
one of these, you may be placing a child at risk.
Are you driving too fast?
Are you in too big of a hurry?
Are you parking illegally?
Are you asking a child to cross through traffic?
Do you allow your child to ride without a seatbelt?
Please remember to follow our Spring Ridge Drop off and Pick up procedures. Pull as
far forward as possible. Always have your child enter and exit curbside. And finally,
never ask a child to cross through traffic to meet you.
Morning Drop-off Procedures
Afternoon Pick-up Procedures
1. Students may be dropped off curbside between the
designated orange cones at the front of the building.
Always enter the drive from the east and remain in
the right lane (curbside). Keep moving forward as
far as possible. Please stop only once between the
orange cones.
1. Students are to be picked up curbside at the front
entrance of the building. Always enter the front drive
from the east and remain in the right lane
(curbside). Keep moving forward as far as possible,
picking up children between designated cones.
Please do not use the drive-through lane for picking
up children. Students are not allowed to walk
through traffic. Please do not leave your car unattended if you are parked curbside as this disrupts the
flow of traffic.
2. Students may be dropped off along the west curb of
178th Street. Note 178th Street is a one-way north
between the hours of 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. and
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Students may use the sidewalk along the staff parking lot or the sidewalk along
the front of the building to bring them to the appropriate entrance. Please do not use the staff parking
lot to drop off or pick up students.
2. Student may be picked up along the west curb of
178th Street.
Please do not park in front of a safety cross walk. This places our safety patrol students in a dangerous position. The parked cars can obstruct the view of on-coming
traffic.
Please be considerate of our Safety Patrol students. They are doing a great job and are
truly interested in the safety of their fellow peers. Thank you for your help in maintaining order and safety during the drop off and pick up times. Please thank these school
leaders when you see them!
Visitor Guidelines

All visitors are required to sign in/out when arriving and leaving the building.

Visitors will be asked to wear a visitor’s badge while in school.

All visitors must use the front entrance. Please do not go to the classrooms without checking in at the office. If
you have brought something that your child has forgotten, please drop it off at the office and we will be happy to
take it to your child.
Page 8
Spring Ridge Review
NeSA Testing Timeline
Each spring all students in grades three through eight, as well
as 11th grades, complete the Nebraska State Accountability
(NeSA) assessments. Results from the NeSA assessments are
used to identify strengths and areas of need across the district,
as well as for each individual student. It is important that your
student(s) be present during these assessments in order to get
an accurate snapshot of their level of mastery in relation to
state standards. These results will also allow our teaching staff
to guide classroom instruction based on areas of need. Listed
below are the scheduled dates for the NeSA assessments at Spring Ridge. Please be mindful
of these dates when scheduling appointments, vacations,
etc. If you have any questions regarding NeSA assessments or scheduled testing dates, please feel free to contact Laurinda Petersen at 402-637-0204.
NeSA Writing for 4th Grade students is scheduled for the
week of January 26-30.
NeSA Reading & Math for 3rd through 5th Grade Students &
NeSA Science for 5th Grade Students is scheduled during
the weeks of March 23-May 1.
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Spring Ridge Elementary
The Spring Ridge Review is a
monthly newsletter published by
the staff and volunteers of
Spring Ridge Elementary School,
- Elkhorn Public Schools in Omaha, Nebraska. Article submissions are due on the 20th of each
month.
17830 Shadow Ridge Drive
Elkhorn, NE 68130
Spring Ridge Principal
Laurinda Petersen:
lpetersen@epsne.org
Secretary
Muriel Manske:
mmanske@epsne.org
Editor
Rebecca Barnes:
rbarnes101@gmail.com
Contact: 637-0204 for
more information.
www.elkhornweb.org