Dear Ridgewood Families,

I can’t believe we are so close to the end of 2025. This first part of the school year has been filled with so many wonderful accomplishments by our students. Our students, teachers, and families make our school the exceptional community that it is, and I am truly grateful for it every day.

I hope that everyone has a restful winter break. Soon after our return from winter break, students will be taking benchmark assessments such as iReady and DIBELs. January also brings the end to first semester, with family conferences not far behind in the month of February.

On January 15th, you are invited to join me for coffee from 9:00-9:30am. Parents and guardians are invited to come into the school for information & provide feedback, while enjoying a cup of coffee. This month, Mrs. Alyssa Tabolsky will be joining us to present, along with our family liaison, Mrs. Ithzel Moreno-Romo. We hope you can make it!

Thank you again for your ongoing support and partnership. I look forward to these final few days of 2025 together & seeing everyone in the new year! I know that 2026 will bring many exciting opportunities and I’m already excited to be thinking about starting the 2nd part of the school year together.

Sincerely,
Ms. McBride, Your Proud Principal

Dec 5 – PTA Popcorn Friday

Dec 10 - Choir Concert at Kentridge HS

Dec 12 – Northwood Winter Festival 5:00-7:00pm at Northwood MS

Dec 17 - SPIRIT WEEK Sports Day

Dec 18 - SPIRIT WEEK Beach/Tropical Day

Dec 19 - SPIRIT WEEK Pajama Day

Dec 22 to Jan 2 – NO SCHOOL Winter Break

Jan 5 - Welcome back to School

Jan 9 - PTA Popcorn Friday

Jan 15 - Morning Coffee 9:00-9:30am

Jan 19 – NO SCHOOL Martin Luther King Day

Jan 23 – NO SCHOOL

Don’t be late! Please allow extra time to arrive at school, especially on bad weather days. School starts at 9:00am. Students may begin arriving at 8:45. Students should be in line, ready to be greeted by their teacher, before 9:00am. Students arriving at 9:00am or later are tardy and must stop at the office for a tardy slip before going to class. Any time a student arrives late to the classroom it causes an unnecessary disruption to everyone in the learning environment.

Parents, please try to schedule routine dental and doctor appointments after school hours, or on non school days. When students leave school early they often miss last minute instructions and homework assignments, and it can be a disruption to the class.  If possible, take family vacations during school breaks.  Remember, students cannot learn if they are absent, tardy, or leave class early. Making school a priority is important. 

Please say your goodbyes outside the gate. For the safety of everyone on campus, only students and staff may go through the gate and into the playground.

The Petrovitsky gate is closed and locked at 9:00am! If you will arrive too late for your student to be inside the gate before 9:00am, please drop your student off in front of the school.

With cold and wet weather upon us, please remind your children to dress for the weather. Recess is outdoors rain, snow or shine. Please make sure students wear coats and proper shoes to keep warm and dry. You may want to pack a change of clothes in your child's backpack if they get wet or muddy during recess.

The OneKSD Art Contest returns December 1! Students and staff are invited to show what equity means to them through original artwork celebrating opportunity, belonging, and helping everyone thrive in our diverse community. Check out all the details and start dreaming up your design: www.kent.k12.wa.us/oneKSDart

Please notify the office by 8:50 a.m. each day your child is absent. Notifying your teacher does not excuse your student's absence, you must notify the office. Use one of the following methods to contact the office:

Did you know?
Our Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) staff team has been hard at work this year to ensure that Ridgewood continues to maintain a positive and supportive learning environment for all students with community building at the forefront. Classes have also engaged in thoughtful discussions surrounding gratitude. Students continue to enjoy weekly classroom drawings of Raven RAVES to earn a prize! As we move into January, students will continue their daily social emotional learning along with continuing to build their understanding of our Raven RAVES schoolwide expectations by digging into underlying and overarching qualities like kindness, empathy, grit and growth mindset!

Did you know that reading just 20 minutes a day exposes children to 1.8 million words each year—compared to only 282,000 words for five minutes a day?

Regular daily reading offers many powerful benefits:

If your child is reluctant to read, don’t worry—there are lots of ways to help them get started! Let them choose topics they love, explore magazines or graphic novels, enjoy audiobooks, or dive into a book series that keeps them coming back for more. Reading together in the evening can also create a calm, cozy way to wind down the day. 

Helping your child discover the joy of reading is one of the best gifts you can give. Even a short daily reading routine—before bed or after school—can make a lifelong difference.

December is Hour of Code Week, a worldwide initiative that invites students to explore computer science in fun and accessible ways. Coding helps children build critical-thinking skills, strengthen problem-solving abilities, and spark creativity. Our 3rd–5th graders will join the celebration by diving into hands-on coding with Ozobots in the library — learning to program tiny robots using color codes.

If your child would like to continue exploring coding at home, here are a few excellent free resources to try:

Between November 12–21, we collected nearly 1,000 items and $150 in grocery gift cards, enough to provide more than 900 meals. That’s food on the table for kids and families who need it most, and a powerful reminder of what happens when our community comes together.

A huge round of applause goes to our hardworking 5th graders, who stepped up as leaders to pick up, sort, and count every donation with energy and smiles. Thanks to their efforts, and the kindness of our entire community of families, staff, and teachers this drive was a true success.

Even better, we now have enough food set aside for the December break to support kids who need it most.

And for turning generosity into action and making this food drive a true celebration of giving, WE THANK YOU! 

RAVEN NEWS
December 2025

Ridgewood Elementary
18030 162nd Place SE
Renton, WA  98058
Main (253) 373-7482
Fax (253) 373-7483
Principal Julie McBride

Kent School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. For more information: https://www.kent.k12.wa.us/page/discrimination