Ripona School Newsletter

Ripona School Newsletter

December 2013

Inside this Issue:

Principal’s Corner 1

Mustang Safety Patrol 2

Perfect Attendance 3

7/8 Honor Roll 3

Kinder News for 2014/15 4

PFC News 5

Character Counts 5

Ripona’s Annual Sock Drive

Our annual Sock Drive, sponsored by the 8th grade class, will take place December 9 – 13. Several years ago our 8th grade teachers wanted to sponsor a drive to help our students focus on needs in our community. The Stockton Gospel Mission let us know they needed socks of all sizes for the homeless families they serve. Each year Ripona students and families have come through and donated over 2000 pairs of socks each year! We are happy about continuing this event this year. There will be a special “sock theme” each day. Names will be drawn daily and participating students will receive a treat. Themes are: Monday- Winter Socks; Tuesday-Toe Socks; Wednesday-Sport Socks (wear your favorite team); Thursday- Matching/Twin Socks (you and a friend wear matching socks) Friday is Create-Your-Own Socks. A contest for K-3 and 4-7 will be held for the most creative socks. This is for fun but also to help those less fortunate.

Mustang Patrol

It is 7:45 a.m. on a Monday and the safety patrol is on duty at curbside, while hundreds of Ripona Mustang students are still getting ready for school. You can see the students from afar, wearing their bright vests and hats as they guide the cars with their wands.

Fourth grader, Regan Castoe, Captain of the first squad that will be known as the Mustang Patrol, is the first one to arrive. “I’m very excited to be the first one,” said Castoe. As the rest of the squad arrives, the team sets up and prepares to assist in making the Ripona Elementary School parking lot safer.

The safety patrol was started by Mr. Galvan, School Psychologist as a request from parents and Dr. Alvarez, Principal, to make the school safer.

“The Mustang Patrol” is a position of leadership and responsibility,” said Galvan. “Student volunteers were trained to be curb side assistants, peer mediators, and soon to be trained to be safety patrollers.”

The duties for The Mustang Patrol are to take the role of curb side assistants, both before and after school, and to be peer mediators and use conflict resolution strategies to assist peers on the playground.

The Mustang Patrol is open to students in grades 4-8 and is for students who demonstrate positive behavior, earn average grades, and maintain good attendance throughout the school year. These students are to be considered as the role models of Ripona Elementary School.

What to do when your child is absent from school…

Please call the school office at (209) 599-4104 the day of their absence. If we do not hear from parents the day of the absence you will get an automated call that evening and can leave a voice message at that time. Absences must be cleared by the parent within three days of the child returning to school. Unverified absences could result in a referral to the School Attendance Review Board.

Ripona School Newsletter

Perfect Attendance – 1st Trimester

Ripona School Newsletter

Aguilar, Gibson

Aguilar, Seth

Aguilar Torres, Cesar

Alberti, Preston

Avila, Kaitlyn

Baker, Jolie

Baker, Nathan

Baldwin, Elizabeth

Barner, Ryan

Benzinger, Mia

Blancarte, Mia

Bowden West, Ethan

Campa, Gabriel

Carrillo, Adrian

Castaneda, Emily

Castaneda, Felix

Castaneda, Giselle

Clark, Xzavier

Dougherty, Dorian

Fisher, Annastacia

Fisher, Nicolas

Franco, Alixzander

Franco, Justice

Franco Carreno, Elisabella

Garcia, Alondra

Garcia, Sergio

Gill, Jacob

Gomes, Dylan

Gonzalez, Gabriella

Gonzalez, Jocelyn

Goodspeed, Andrew

Guinan, Jacob

Halley, Reid

Hansen, Ashton

Hansen, Brenna

Hasten, Gracie

Hasten, Jacob

Jauregui Gonzalez, Cuauhtemoc

Johnson, Kenneth

Kinsey, Rylie

Lopez, Dominic

Lummus, Camryn

Lummus, Whitaker

Lyons, Sarah

Macaraig, Hariett

Macaraig, Haskell

Martin, Saige

Martinez, Jimena

Martinez, Lanai

Maurice, Genevieve

McCovey, Payton

McGinnis, Ariana

McGinnis, Sabrina

McGinnis, Trinity

McGinnis, Zaida

McKeon, Evan

McKeon, Shayla

Medina, Aidann

Medina, Elysia

Medina, Sophia

Newkirk, Alexander

Nguyen, Austin

Ochoa Diaz, Andrea

Ochoa Diaz, Yoselin

O'Connor, Kayla

Officer, Brooke

Olmos, Austin

Ortmann, Gabriel

Ortmann, Joseph

Pali, Christian

Pena, Dylan

Perez, Alberto

Perez, Benjamin

Plata, Edwin

Ramirez, Alexis

Ramirez, Leslie

Raygoza Romero, Jose

Reyes, Sandra

Rosado, Daymion

Rosendin, Jenna

Schwertfeger, Natalie

Stum, Noah

Vasquez Boyce, Brandon

Vasquez Boyce, James

Verduzco Baltierra, Edith

Wheeler, Samantha

Whiteside, Danika

Whiteside, Kaydon

Willey, Jeremiah

Willey, Katie

Winchester, Dejia

Winter, Christopher

Winter, Tyler

Ripona School Newsletter

Ripona School 7/8 Honor Roll – 1st Trimester

Ripona School Newsletter

Benzinger, Mia

Campos, April

Carlson, Philip

Castaneda, Giselle

Clark, Savannah

Coleman, Gabrielle

Cordero, Emma

Escobar, Tyler

Eskes, Abigail

Haney, Liam

Harlan, Jessica

Hernandez, Roberto

Hix, Matthew

Lehman, Mary

Leslie, Nathan

Loa, Ariana

Lummus, Carson

Maurice, Genevieve

Mc Kibben, Cyanne

McCrory, Barbara

Miller, Felicia

Mulder, Thomas

Nicolosi, Hayley

Officer, Brooke

Olmos, Austin

Ramirez, Alexis

Reyes, Sandra

Rocha, Jordan William

Rosendin, Jenna

Rowe, Nathaniel

Rumble, Peter

Sands, Adam

Shaw, Sophia

Wilkins, Madeline

Willey, Katie

Williamson, Brandon

Ripona School Newsletter

Getting Ready for

Next Year's Kindergarten

***Age Requirement for 2014-15 Kindergarten enrollment - Children must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2014***

Kindergarten (and Transitional Kindergarten) Orientation will be held on Tuesday, February 25th beginning at6:00 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose room at Park View Elementary School. Topics to be covered at the orientation include district placement and attendance policies, transportation, immunization requirements, and documents required for Kindergarten Registration.

Kindergarten and Transitional Kindergarten Registration will be held on Tuesday, March 11th, 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose room at Park View Elementary School. Children are eligible to begin kindergarten if they will be five years old on or before September 1, 2014. Children, who turn five between September 2 and December 2, will be eligible for Transitional Kindergarten. Prior to registration, forms will be on-line and available for parents to complete and bring with them to registration. Forms will also be available for completion at the registration on March 11th. All registration forms must be completed and turned in by 4:00 P.M. Friday, March 14th to be in the first placement round. Completed registration packets may be turned in at any elementary school office.

Parents enrolling their child in Kindergarten will be given the opportunity to request a school of attendance. Children with siblings already enrolled in the requested school will be enrolled first. The remainder of the requests will be prioritized by a random drawing. Children will be enrolled in the requested school in the order determined by the drawing until the school's capacity is reached. Remaining children will be placed on the transfer list for the requested school by random selection and then assigned to schools below capacity. Parents who enroll their child after the March 14th deadline will be given the opportunity to request a school of attendance. If the requested school has capacity and there is not a prioritized list for the requested school, the request will be granted. If there is a prioritized list for the requested school, the child will be placed at the bottom of the priority list and assigned to a school with capacity.

We are frequently asked the question, "Do you think my child is ready for school?" Ultimately, you as a parent must decide, as you know your child better than anyone else, but there are a few guidelines which may help you decide if your child is ready to come to school.

Ideally, the child who comes to kindergarten should be happy, creative, assured and verbal - eager to be at school. The child should be able to separate from his/her parent without anxiety. (Parents also need to be ready to separate from their child.) Children should be independent dressers and be able to attend to bathroom functions and personal necessities. They should know and respond to their name, listen to and enjoy stories, use basic manners, speak to and listen to others, and play cooperatively with their peers.

A question frequently asked is, "What about academic skills?" It is helpful if the child knows colors, shapes, positional terms (over, under, beside) and can count and associate objects with numbers. The child should be able to write their name with one capital letter and the rest in lower case. Social and emotional readiness to be at school and engage in the learning process, are perhaps the most critical factors.

Research has shown that children whose parents are interested and involved in their child's education are, in general, more likely to enjoy a positive school experience. Therefore, we encourage parents to be as involved as possible. Depending on your family structure and commitments, this could include working in the classroom on a regular basis, working on projects at home, accompanying the class on a field trip, visiting the classroom once or twice a year, and/or attending regularly scheduled parent conferences.

Our mission is to provide the best education possible for all children. The Kindergarten experience will provide each child with a positive first year in school. We look forward to working with you to meet your child's educational goals.

Christmas Season is coming! Don’t forget to purchase SCRIP. It is a great quick gift idea or a way to purchase those special gifts for your family and friends. If there is something you want us to see if we can get or to have on hand stop by the SCRIP cart and find out!

SCRIP Program

Christmas Shopping

& Gift Giving Contest

November 25, 2013 – January 7, 2014

For every $10.00 you spend on SCRIP you will receive a raffle ticket towards three baskets: a merchant (gift cards) basket, dinner & a movie basket or a surprise basket.

SCRIP is money issued from a vendor in the form of a gift certificate or gift card. Ripona PFC participates in a program that gives us a percentage of your purchase from the vendors. You get full spending value and Ripona PFC earns money at no extra cost to you! You can also shop online at www.shopwithscrip.com and use enrollment code: 62BEE12411383

SCRIP Hours: Monday/Wednesday/Friday near the office at 2:00pm and Friday at 2:50pm outside the cafeteria near the back parking lot.

Create-A-Gift Night

Coming December 6th to Ripona School! This is a great time of fun for Ripona Families. There are crafts, cookie decorating, cake walk and a fun picture with Santa! Watch for more information coming home.

Character Counts Winners

November 2013

Responsibility

Mrs. Machado

Alejandra Hernandez & Madison Reichley

Mrs. Webb

Tatiana Perez & Andon Reis

Mrs. Wood

Logan Hargis & Danika Escola

Mrs. Visser

Addison Chavez & Mackenzie Turner

Mrs. Evans

Alixzander Franco & Angelica Aguilar

Mrs. McClure

Zaida McGinnis & Diego Montoya

Mrs. Chakraverty

Nathan Baker & Gracie Hasten

Mrs. Otten

Lanai Martinez

Mr. Webb

Kenneth Johnson & Mackenzie Jautaikis

Mrs. Johnson

Jeremiah Willey & Mia Culver

Mrs. Merrill

Elizabeth Baldwin & Addie Azevedo

Mrs. Finley

Kaitlyn Avila & Brooke Officer

Mrs. Bergquist

Abby Eskes & Nathaniel Rowe

Mr. Voortman

Nathan Leslie & Giselle Castenada

Spirit Winner for November

Mrs. Webb’s Class

Accelerated Reading Winners

For November:

Mrs. Wood’s Class

Elias Ramirez, Vincent Powell, Shayla McKeon, Danika Escola, Gabbi Gonzales

Mrs. Visser’s Class

Allie Camara, Xzavier Clark, Anthony Gomes, Seth Van Dyk

Mrs. McClure’s Class

Emily Sesser, Bella Franco-Carreno, Daniel McCrory, Tori Scearce, Diego Montoya, Kaitlyn Cadruvi, Keiki McGowan

Mrs. Chakraverty’s Class

Nathan Baker, Jaden Clark, Dominique Downey, Caleb Eskes, Nicolas Fisher, Harriet Macaraig, Brody McDaniel, Evan McKeon, Megan Reichley, Natalie Schwertfeger, Brandon Boyce

Mrs. Otten’s Class

Seth Aguilar, Makayla Bills, Matthew Copenhaver, Daniel D’Angelo, Alex Hix, Rhylee Magazinovic, Lanai Martinez, Trysta Nicolosi, Jacob Ramirez

Mr. Webb’s Class

Adam Cadruvi, Claire DeKruyf, Trevor Eskes, Mackenzie Jautaikis, Kenneth Johnson, Sarah Lyons

Mrs. Johnson’s Class

Michael Echelberger, Micah Rowe, Haskell Macaraig, Felix Castaneda, Elijah Dominici, Mason Terry, Camryn Lummus, Lilian Kutzleb, Issac Clark, Jeremiah Willey, Deanna Carrizo, Caryssa McKeon, Amalya Culver, Aiden Benzinger, Jacob Gill, Jose Leon, Trinity McGinnis

Mrs. Merrill’s Class

Aderyn Azevedo, Elizabeth Baldwin, Adrian Carrillo, Dorian Dougherty, Elias Flores Gonzales, Andrew Goodspeed, Daniel Hernandez, Sahara Hernandez, Matthew Jautaikis, Payton Johnson, Rylie Kinsey, Alexander Newkirk, Trevor Pedersen, Angela Russell, Kaydon Whiteside.

Mrs. Finley’s Class

Philip Carlson, Felicia Miller, Brooke Officer, Alexis Ramirez

Mrs.Bergquist’ Class

Jessica Cruz, Mary Lehman, Karlos Marquez, Vanessa Medrano, Sandra Reyes, Tala Tinsley, Savannah Clark, Gabrielle Coleman, Abby Eskes, Samantha Fox, Victor Gonzales, Jessica Harlan, Shane Hunting, Genevieve Maurice, Jenna Rosendin, Nathan Rowe, Brandon Williamson, Chris Winter

Mr. Voortman’s Class

Christina Aughe, Adriana Beeler, April Campos, Giselle Castaneda, Desiree Cruz, Nathan Leslie, Arianna Loa, Cyanne Mc Kibben, Barbara McCrory, Hayley Nicolosi, Austin Olmos, Benson Pali, Katie Willey.

Ripona School Newsletter

CREATE-A-GIFT NIGHT FEATURING

SANTA AND MUCH, MUCH MORE…

Save the date for a fun filled

Holiday Family Night for all ages!

When: Friday, December 6th

Time: 6:30 – 8:00 P.M.

Place: Ripona Multi-Purpose Room

The evening will include:

v Pictures with Santa - $3 Donation, Picture will be provided

v FREE - Craft Activities – Can be kept for the home or given as gifts

v FREE - Cookie Decorating & Hot Chocolate

v Bake Walk – Your chance to win a fabulous dessert to take home & share!

v Bake Walk - cost $1.00 per entry. Tickets will be sold on the night of the event and presold on Dec.2 nd and Dec. 4th after school.

Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Each person gets a ticket to use just for attending the event!

8th Grade Sock Drive will have a box at the event and if you bring a package of socks you get an extra raffle ticket free!!!

Hope to see you there, Kick off your Holidays with Family Cheer!