Originally delivered on 2/18/2024 1:56 pm

SUBJECT: RH Pony Post: Week of February 18

A Note from Our Principal

Happy Sunday Everyone,


We survived a busy week with fun filled activities!  We went from smiling for pictures to watching our 2nd annual Hotdog Supper eating contest! It was a sight to see our parents eating a ton of hotdogs in 5 minutes to support our school! 


I want to thank everyone that participated and attended Hotdog supper!  It was an amazing event for our families!  Special thanks to Lauren Diaz and the hotdog supper committee for this special outing!  


Parents, we are beginning a new six weeks on Tuesday. Our students will be focused on working hard to achieve their academic goals! Please encourage your child to work hard, stay focused, and make the effort to see their academic progress to the finish line!  We value you as a shared partner in your child's education and look forward to celebrating your child's success at the end of the school year!


Sincerely,

Mrs. Cotton 

Fine Arts Day - Friday, March 1st
Let The Games Begin!

Fine Arts Day is an extraordinary day where our students experience art in many forms with over 40 local artists, musicians, and performers at Ridglea Hills! This year's theme is Let the Games Begin! 

At this point, all volunteer slots have been assigned.  If you have signed up to volunteer, you will soon hear from the committee on any details needed for your role.  Thank you for helping make this day such a success! 

If you have any questions, or need anything Fine Arts Day related, feel free to email our Fine Arts Day Chair, Amy Burch (amymarieburch@yahoo.com).

Save the Date! Mustang Round-Up!
Round-Up 2024

Save the date! This year, RHE will host our annual Round-up on Wednesday, March 20th, 2024. This annual event is geared for incoming Pre-K and Kindergarten students who will begin in the fall of 2024. Families are welcome to attend with their future Mustangs to learn about our wonderful school and take a tour!

More information and a link to RSVP will be available soon. Please pass along the date to friends and family so they can save the date!

That's a Wrap on Hot Dog Supper!

Hot Dog Supper was such a fun night for our RHE family!  We hope you all had as much fun as we did!

Thank you to everyone that donated to the raffle baskets, bought tickets, volunteered their time to help the event run smoothly, and helped with set-up/clean-up. And an extra special thanks to our Hot Dog Eating contestants! (And a happy Birthday to Mr. Cotton who spent his birthday stuffing his face with hot dogs and hanging out at Hot Dog Supper!) We appreciate everyone that helped make the evening a success! 

A HUGE shout out to our Hot Dog Supper chair, Lauren Diaz, and her committee (Michelle Teel, Sara Slesinger, Stephanie Putnam, Blair Dietrich, Robin Edwards, Sara Wilborn, Ivy Ellis, Caroline Kirkpatrick, Elora Moore, Alice Hoeft, and Sara Etter). We appreciate the countless hours of hard work, creativity, and love given to this event and our school. 

There are also still some spots at kid parties available! Click the button below to see what parties are available! 

Buy a ticket to a Kid Party!
Library News
Spring Book Fair! February 26-March 1

The final Literati Book Fair of the year will fill the Ridglea Hills library February 26th-March 1. All students will be able to preview the fair, and make their wish lists, on February 22nd and 23rd. If you just can't wait, get a head start and shop online NOW! (click button below)


To push us towards our goal of new library tables and chairs, out of dress bands will be sold before and after school on February 22nd and 23rd, and before school on February 26th. For just FIVE DOLLARS, you can be out of uniform the entire week of book fair (Feb. 26-March 1)!


Book fair is made possible by volunteers. There are still many opportunities to help! Over, and over again, our school community donates their time to make Ridglea Hills such a special place. If you are able to join in on the fun, and volunteer at the book fair, please see available time slots on Sign-up Genius. Background checks must be completed to volunteer. (click button below to sign up!)


If you have any questions, please reach out to Bonnie Gipson at bongipson@outlook.com

Shop Book Fair Online
Volunteer with Book Fair
5th Grade Fundraising
School Wide Snack Shack


Snack Shack will be open on Friday, February 23rd! All items are $1. Stop by to buy a fun treat (or two!).  All proceeds benefit 5th Grade Fundraising.

Mustangs Helping Mustangs
Donations Needed!

Our weekly snack packs need a restock! If you are interested in helping, grab some shelf stable snacks (ramen/easy mac, granola bars, fruit snacks, chips, crackers, oatmeal or cereal, etc) and drop off to the big blue bin out front! Thank you!!

A Few Notes from Mrs. Harris

4th & 5th grade parents/guardians:

If you gave permission at enrollment for your child to participate in Exploitation Prevention Education Lessons this year, please check out the parent overview for the upcoming lessons at the link below.

4th & 5th grade lessons will be focused on "Safe People, Safe Places, Safe Choices". There will be 2 lessons total completed during Double Specials time in February.

Please reach out to the School Counselor with any questions.

https://www.fwisd.org/protect

Early Dismissals are Now Electronic!

“The process” itself hasn’t changed - we are just helping to expedite the process. The early dismissal sign-out is in the office and will still be used as needed. We have created a google doc that parents may complete in advance for early dismissals. This is an effort to alleviate parents having to reach out to teachers directly during instruction time and eliminate a long wait for your student to come up to the office, especially when time is critical. We will call the student(s) a few minutes before the requested dismissal time and have them wait for pick up. If the students have not been picked up within 5 minutes of the requested dismissal time, we will return them to class. The form is available below, or on the PTA website - rhpta.com

Here are answers to a few FAQs:

Q: Who can submit the early dismissal request form?
A: Only contacts listed in FOCUS can request an early dismissal.

Q: Are IDs required?
A: Yes. Authorized contacts MUST present a valid, government issued ID before the student will be released.

Q: What’s the earliest I can request an early dismissal?
A: Electronic requests can be made as early as parents would like for the same day. Students will be marked absent if they are not in class at 10am.

Q: What’s the latest time for early dismissals?
A: 2pm for Pre-K, 2:45 K -5 


If there are any other questions, please contact the main office (817) 815-1700.

Early Dismissal Request Form
Celebrate your child's birthday in style!

Mustang Stampede is back and ready to thrill your kids with a surprise appearance on their birthday or any special occasion!

 Your $30 donation (which goes to support the 5th grade field trip) includes 12 mustang signs and a Ridglea Hills sign. Happy Birthday signs can be included as well! Just let us know!

Reservations must be made at least a week in advance.

Reserve your special day now! What a fun way to support your 5th grade families and show the neighborhood your RH spirit!

We are now taking reservations for the month of February and March.

Please email rhstampede@gmail.com to make your reservation. Include the date and address. You will receive an email reply to confirm your reservation (we have 2 sets of signs, so we can make 2 reservations per day). After your reservation is confirmed, you can pay via Venmo, via Membership Toolkit or cash or check. Information will be sent to you regarding payment.

Save the Date
Upcoming Events

Feb. 19 - No School - Staff Day

Feb.23 - Report Cards Posted, Snack Shack Open

Feb. 24 - Run Club runs in the Cowtown (if registered)

Feb. 26 - March 1 - Spring Book Fair & Out of Dress (with purchase of $5 wristband - good all week - benefits Library fundraising)

Feb. 27 - PTA General Membership Meeting (6:15) & 2nd Grade Music Program (6:30)

Feb. 28 - PTA Board Meeting (12pm)

March 1 - Fine Arts Day! 

March 11-15 - Spring Break! No School!

March 20 - Kindergarten Round-Up

March 25 - No School

Get Involved
Membership Has Its Privileges

Want to know when events are happening and get live updates to calendar changes? Want to stay informed on class activities? Need to connect with another parent? Membership Toolkit is the program the PTA uses to keep you informed and connected! Download the Membership Toolkit app or go to the website and sign up today! 

It's free and you will have access to the calendar of events, family directory (you choose what information you share and you must be a parent or staff member to have access to this feature) and more! Additional features like volunteer sign-ups are coming soon! 

Already on Membership Toolkit? Log in and update your family's information! NEW this year - from the mobile app, you can sync the calendar to your phone! 

Stay in the know!
  • If you're not signed up to receive our weekly Pony Post, email rheponypost@gmail.com with your child's name, grade and teacher and we'll get you signed up!  



  • Get involved by joining the PTA! We have many jobs, large and small, and all make a huge difference in helping to show our Mustang Pride! 


  • General information regarding Ridglea Hills Elementary School is available online at our PTA-sponsored website – www.rhpta.com. Please get familiar with this website and bookmark it on your browser.


  • For specific questions regarding school-administered matters not addressed on www.rhpta.com, including but not limited to academic affairs, school registration, testing, campus security, school programs, Fort Worth ISD policies and procedures, etc., please contact the school office at 817-815-1700.


  • For non-PTA-related posts (i.e., selling uniforms, looking for a carpool group to join, etc.), please head over to the Ridglea Hills Elementary Parents Facebook group.


  • Other helpful Ridglea Hills Elementary School-related Facebook pages include the following:

    • Ridglea Hills Elementary

    • Ridglea Hills Elementary School’s Counselor

    • Ridglea Hills Mustang Muscle (for those RHE dads interested in getting involved with school service projects)

    • RHE Run Club

 

Sign up to receive the weekly e-newsletter by emailing Julie Dore at  RHEPonyPost@gmail.com




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