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Ridgetop Middle School

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Ridgetop Family Weekly: 10/31/25

Posted Date: 10/31/25 (03:00 PM)
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Families,
 
What a great week! It was so much fun to see our students participate in dress up days during the week. It was also fun to see our Raider Family together this afternoon for our first pep assembly of the year.

As we start to close the book on October and move onto November, it also means that we are a week away from being halfway through the semester. Wow, time is flying by! I hope you have a great Halloween weekend, and don't forget to set those clocks back too!


Shaun Takenouchi

Upcoming Events


  • 11/3: 6th Grade Student of the Month Assembly
  • 11/4: 7th Grade Student of the Month Assembly
  • 11/5: 8th Grade Student of the Month Assembly
  • 11/3: Start of Winter I sports ( Girl's Soccer, Boy's Basketball)


View the full events calendar đź“…
 

Raider Staff Spotlight 🔦

Each week we will feature two staff members at Ridgetop so that families get to know OUR Raider family better.
Raider Staff Spotlight featuring Mrs. Debbie Tebo, a teacher, with her family at the beach.

Staff Spotlight (Mrs. Tebo)

What is your role at Ridgetop?
- 7th Grade ELA & 6th Grade Social Studies teacher

If you had to eat the same thing for lunch for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- I'd eat massaman curry, chicken phad thai, or Tom Yum soup...I LOVE Thai food! 

If you could have another career, what would it be and why?
- If I had another career, I would be a labor and delivery nurse because I am fascinated by medicine, love helping people, and I would get to help deliver babies! 

What is the best advice you've ever received?
- I've received a lot of great advice in my life and probably one of the best has been, "keep the promises you make to yourself." If we can't keep the promises we make to ourselves then it will be even harder to keep promises to those we care about. This applies to my daily life personally and professionally. 

Tell us how you either LEARN, LEAD, or GROW in your life, in your personal life or as an educator. 
- In my personal life, I am always growing and learning as a person. My family is my world and I strive every day to be the best mom I can to my 3 boys. My husband, Mr. Tebo and I love traveling with our family and learning about other cultures and places, too.  


Raider Staff Spotlight featuring Melissa Velarde, a smiling paraeducator.

Staff Spotlight (Mrs. Velarde)

What is your role at Ridgetop?
- I am a paraeducator.

If you had to eat the same thing for lunch for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- I could eat noodles for lunch for the rest of my life. 

If you could have another career, what would it be and why?
- If I could choose another career it would be a flight attendant because I would love to travel and have adventures. 

What is the best advice you've ever received?
- The best advice I've ever received was, "The worst they can say is no."

Tell us how you either LEARN, LEAD, or GROW in your life, in your personal life or as an educator. 
- Since I'm new to Ridgetop Middle School this year, I learn new things everyday. I've learned a lot about myself and what a day in the life of a Ridgetop middle school student looks like.

Fall Conference Feedback 🗣️

Thank you again for those that were able to join us for conferences this week. We would love it if you could complete a quick 3 question survey about conferences. This will provide us with valuable feedback as we shift gears and prepare for Spring Conferences. Here is the link to the survey. Thank you!

Resources for Families

We handed this Resources document out during conferences, but in case you didn't get it or need it again. Below are links to our district community resource page, along with different languages as well.

November Focus

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

For the month of November, we are focusing on gratitude. We are working on appreciating others and showing kindness.
An invitation to a Veterans Day celebration at Ridgetop Middle School, with an American flag background.

Veteran's Day Assembly 🇺🇸

We would like to invite any and all to our Veteran's Day assembly. We take great pride in honoring and celebrating the men and women who serve our country. Please join us in this special occasion.

Veteran's Day Assembly Slideshow

Do you have a veteran in your family or friend circle that you would like to recognize during our annual Veterans Day slideshow? 

Please send Mrs. Payfer the following by November 5. Her email address is melissap@ckschools.org

A photo of your servicemember (preferably in uniform)
Name and Rank and/or Rate of the servicemember
Your relationship to the servicemember
Branch of service

We’re Looking for a Head Wrestling Coach! 💪

Do you (or someone you know) have a passion for wrestling and a heart for developing middle school athletes? Ridgetop Middle School is seeking a Head Wrestling Coach to lead our program during our Winter 2 season.
Season Dates: January 5 – March 6
Practices: Monday–Friday
Competitions: Begin January 21 (approximately two per week), including 9 regular-season meets, 1 “JV” tournament, and 1 championship meet
Role: Lead and oversee the RMS Wrestling program. This includes communicating proactively with families, upholding our CKSD athletic policies, and supporting and mentoring student-athletes in both skill development and character growth alongside a team of two assistant coaches.
We’re looking for someone who brings energy, integrity, and a passion for helping students grow, on and off the mat! 🏆
Interested? Apply on the district website (linked here). Interviews will be scheduled on a rolling basis. 
Questions? Contact Mrs. Kayla Frank, Athletic Director, at kaylaf@ckschools.org.
Image promoting Cherrydale with text: 'We need you now more than ever! We love our supporters. Shop online.'

Last Call for our All-School Fundraiser!

 Our fundraiser ends Monday, November 3rd. Thank you so much to everyone who has shared our fundraiser with family and friends. It’s not too late to register online and support our students. We’ve almost reached our goal of 50% participation, so your support would be very much appreciated! Visit www.shopfund.com to register your student(s) and share. It’s super EASY!
 
Students who have qualified for the Week-to-Win prizes may turn in their coupons to Ms. Lauth at the ASB window to receive their prize. Reminder, the advocacy class that sells the most items will win an ice cream party! Students who sell at least 15 items get to silly string Mr. Takenouchi!
 
If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Lauth via email: KenzeeL@ckschools.org. 
 
Thank you so much for supporting our school, students, and community!

Ridgetop Cares — Together We Make Sure Every Raider Can Thrive.

Ridgetop Cares helps bridge the gap for students and families — providing essentials like food, school supplies, clothing, and fee assistance through a partnership between the Ridgetop PTSA and RMS Counseling Team.

If you could use a little help, reach out to your RMS counselors.
If you’d like to donate to help Raider families, please visit ridgetopptsa.org

Impact Aid

If you haven't turned in your Impact Aid forms electronically, please do so as soon as possible. Here is a post about how to access this form online. Thank you!

Also, today, students who did NOT turn in their forms were given a paper copy of the Impact Aid form. Please either fill this out and turn in, or do it electronically.

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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