Blake Bowman - Principal
bbowman@rockfordschools.org
Michelle Smyth - Administrative Assistant
msmyth@rockfordschools.org
Tania Gordon - Administrative Assistant
tgordon@rockfordschools.org
Address: 8100 Courtland, Rockford, MI 49341
Phone: (616) 863-6342
april character trait: Courage
Definition: The ability to do something that frightens you.
Challenge: Talk with someone who you have never talked with before.
Reflection: Embrace the journey, remember practice makes progress.
tree legacy project
On April 22nd (Earth Day), Meadow Ridge 5th Graders participated in a native tree planting. This was the grand finale to a year-long project of understanding the value of native plants, research, and planning. Our Outdoor Learning teacher, Mrs. Dzirbowicz, is proud to be a part of this district-wide project that is supported by Justin and Kristina Munsters (Belmont Parents) and Shaner Nursery through donations of trees and planting supplies.
Relay for Life Donut Sale
Support our Meadow Ridge Relay for Life team with delicious Krispy Kreme donuts! Student council members will be handing out preordered donuts at student drop-off the morning of Thursday, May 8.
We are selling donuts for $13 a dozen. We are also selling a BOGO card for $24. The BOGO card gets you a free dozen donuts, WITH the purchase of a dozen donuts, 10 different times. This is the best bang for your buck if you love KK donuts!
We will also have single donuts available for $1 the morning of Thursday, May 8 – no need to preorder these. Singles will be available while supplies last.
*If you would like to purchase a dozen but can’t pick up the donuts that day, we can send home the box with your student at the end of the day.*
Please use the link or QR code below to preorder donuts or BOGO cards! All orders and money (cash or Venmo) will be due by May 2. Thank you for supporting the Meadow Ridge Relay for Life team!
Slushy Sale
Friday, May 9th Meadow Ridge is partnering with Kent ISD Empower U program for a slushy sale! Slushies will be $1.00 each and sold during all lunches. The money raised will support the various community outings/experiences the Empower U program participates in.
Early Release Days & No school
- Wednesday, May 7th: Early Release - 1:30pm
- Friday, May 23rd & Monday, May 26th: No School - Memorial Day Weekend
Field Day
Thursday, May 22nd is field day! Volunteer forms were sent home this week and are due Friday, May 16th. Please contact Mr. Kooiker kkooiker@rockfordschools.org with any questions.
3rd-5th grade: 9:30-11:10am
K-2nd grade: 1:00-2:40pm
Hopper's Happenings
Hop Shop is Back!
Hopper's Birthday is Thursday, May 1 and to celebrate his birthday, we like to do something special to celebrate! He will be running his annual "Hop Shop" where he will be selling different Hopper related and Hopper specific merch to students! With the money he raises, he is going to pour it back into our Meadow Ridge community and work towards supporting more of our students, staff, and families.
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday May 19-21, the shop will be open and running during morning arrival (8:25-8:40) while supplies last. Hop's Shop location will be by the green chalkboard in the lobby.
office Reminders
Annual Placement Forms
Placement forms were sent home last week; please complete and return to the office by Friday, May 9th.
Hand2Hand Food Drive
Rockford Public Schools is teaming up with Hand 2 Hand to help raise awareness for the support needed by hungry kids in our district!
Nearly 65,000 children in West Michigan are at risk of hunger. That's roughly 834 school buses filled with kids being dropped off at home each weekend, who are at real risk of having little to no food for 68 hours!
Hand 2 Hand:
h2hkids.org - (616) 209-2779 - 306 Chicago Dr. Jenison, MI 49428
Hand2Hand exists to eliminate that 68-hour gap so every kid has an opportunity to thrive. They do this by mobilizing schools, churches, businesses, foundations, and individuals to provide a backpack of nutritious food over the weekend and extended school breaks. Beyond physical nutrition, this food provides hope for students who are experiencing hunger. RPS wants to do our part and join volunteers across West Michigan who drive the Hand2Hand grassroots movement to eliminate child hunger ... because a hungry child hurts.
• RPS has 129 students getting H2H assistance.
• Each Friday, H2H delivers backpacks of food to each of these students for the weekend to keep them from going hungry.
• A backpack with 2 days' worth of food is approximately $4.00.
• RPS students utilize $18,576 a year of H2H resources.
• H2H helps over 15,000 students across 280 schools and 145 churches throughout West Michigan.
HOW TO HELP: May 5th - 9th
Drop off your grade-level selected food items in the Rams Care box by your school's office. Boxes will be collected and sent to H2H after school on Friday, May 9th. Please provide individually wrapped, prepackaged, unopened items. These food items will be used by H2H to fill backpacks for our students in need this summer and next school year.
Kindergarten: Popcorn
1st grade: Fruit Snacks
2nd grade: Chewy Granola Bars
3rd grade: Breakfast Bars
4th grade: Instant Oatmeal
5th grade: Sweet Treats (Rice Krispies)
6th, 7th, 8th grade: Fruit Cups & Crunchy Granola Bars
9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grades: Mac & Cheese Cups & Rice/Potato/Pasta Instant Sides (Knorr or Pasta Roni)
Whitecaps Family Night
Tuesday, May 20th support Rockford Public Schools and kick off your summer with the West Michigan Whitecaps! A portion of each ticket bought will be donated directly back to the schools.
STEAM Wish List
Our STEAM classes are looking for shoe boxes, plastic containers, cereal boxes, and fabric. Clean & dry recycled items, left over party supplies, and paper towel/toilet paper rolls are always welcome!
Playground Pals
Our “Playground Pals” Program is designed to support our playground staff with extra supervision during lunch recesses.
Playground Pals will take place every Tuesday & Thursday December 3rd – May 29th from 11:30am-1:00pm. As a volunteer your role will be to ensure safe play for all students on the playground, encourage positive interactions, and promote positive sportsmanship. You will receive a quick training of playground rules and procedures beforehand.
For this program, you MUST have an active Volunteer Consent Form on file for the 2024-2025 school year. Once you have completed it please email Michelle Smyth msmyth@rockfordschools.org.
This program allows for lots of parent volunteers so please sign up for a day or two!
Volunteer in our STEAM Classroom!
Kindergarten & 1st Grade with Mrs. Anderson (eanderson@rockfordschools.org)
2nd & 3rd Grade with Mrs. Brown (sbrown@rockfordschools.org)
4th & 5th Grade with Miss Fowler (tfowler@rockfordschools.org)
Library Book Due Date
All library books are due Friday, May 9th
Summer Tutoring
There are several opportunities for summer tutoring! See the list below for more information.
SchoolStore
SchoolStore is a fundraising opportunity that Meadow Ridge was presented with for 2025. It is not through the PTO.
How does it work?
Families can choose to participate as much as they want. The first step is signing up at SchoolStore.net using our School ID: 309230 and then sending emails to family members and friends. This email allows participants to purchase gift cards that go directly to teachers to use on books and materials for their classroom. There is also a code friends and family can use when shopping online at hundreds of retailers and a percentage will come back to the school to use for student activities not funded by the PTO such as materials for classroom instructional experiences.
Every student will receive a "Book Buddy" for signing up and sending 6 emails. Students can earn additional prizes as they earn points (points are based on purchases, families do not need to participate).
Once we reach our participation goal (a percentage of students registered) Meadow Ridge will be entered into a weekly drawing to win a Book Vending Machine!
Information packets are available in the office. If you have any questions please contact Michelle Smyth msmyth@rockfordschools.org
Meadow ridge Elementary PTO Updates
Carnival
Thank you to everyone who attended, donated, volunteered for, and purchased raffle tickets for last week’s carnival. We loved seeing all of your smiling faces on Friday night! Raffle winners have been contacted. We are also looking for someone to chair the Carnival committee next year. If you are interested in being a chair or helping in the preparations for 2026, please email us at mdrmonarchs@gmail.com
Feed the Paper Gator
Meadow Ridge placed in the top 10 of organizations in Paper Gator’s Earth Day contest and will receive double credit for all pickups through the end of 2025. The gator is still hungry, so keep bringing all of your recyclable paper!
Mileage Club
In the first two weeks of Mileage Club, 93.5% of our Monarchs have participated and have run a total of 692 miles! Mr. Frazier’s class is leading the pack!
General PTO Meeting
Thursday, May 8th at 6pm in the MDR Library.
Snack Pantry Donations
We are in need of donations for the student snack pantry. Individually wrapped crackers, granola bars, fruit snacks, raisins, pretzels, etc. (please be conscious of allergies). Snacks can be dropped off in the office with a note "snack pantry". Thank you!
Meet the Team!
- President: Lacey Jonassen
- Vice President, Fundraisers: Beth Zelski
- Vice President, Non-Fundraisers: Whitnie Snodgrass
- Treasurer: Samantha Huitema
- Secretary: Kristin Morrison
We are here for you!
Donuts with Grownups
Join us for donuts and coffee! This is a great opportunity to have breakfast with your kiddos and chat with other parents!
Meadow Ridge Cafeteria – 8:00 to 8:30am
May 15th for last names A-K
May 16th for last names L-Z
Thank you to our 2024-2025 Walk-a-thon Platinum Sponsors!
Upcoming events
- Friday, May 2nd: PTO Popcorn Friday
- Wednesday, May 7th: Early Release Day - 1:30pm dismissal
- Wednesday, May 7th: Developing Healthy Kids Presentation - Livestream 7:00-8:00pm
- Thursday, May 8th: Krispy Kreme Donut Sale
- Thursday, May 8th: PTO Meeting - 6:00pm @ MDR Library
- Friday, May 9th: All Library Books Due
- Friday, May 9th: Empower U Slushy Sale
- Thursday, May 15th: Donuts with Grown-Ups (Last Names A-K)
- Friday, May 16th: Donuts with Grown-Ups (Last Names L-Z)
- Friday, May 16th: PTO Popcorn Friday
- Thursday, May 22nd: Field Day
- Friday, May 23rd & Monday, May 26th: No School - Memorial Day Weekend
Developing Healthy Kids
Alisha Meneely, Government and Community Outreach Director for The MI Child Protection Registry will be presenting on Social Media Safety. This will be a live stream on May 7th from 7pm-8pm.
School assistance program (SAP)
Access support today!
Say “I have an SAP with Rockford Public Schools” when you call 800.442.0809 and press “1.” Every RPS family member in your household is eligible. The Rockford Education Foundation (REF) has proudly partnered with Rockford Public Schools to provide expert counseling, therapy, and resources through Pine Rest’s School Assistance Program (SAP).
Rockford Eats
Support Rockford Schools and our community during Rockford Eats!
The Rockford Education Foundation (REF) is excited to announce the Rockford Eats Gift Card Fundraiser, running from April 21 to May 2, 2025! This unique opportunity supports Rockford students and lets you savor the best of our local dining scene. With each $100 donation to REF you’ll receive a $50 gift certificate to one of our fantastic restaurant partners of your choice!
Your generosity fuels local education initiatives and helps sustain the vibrant restaurants that make our community special. Gift cards will be mailed by REF the week of May 12, 2025.
Visit rockfordEDfoundation.org to donate and select your restaurant with Rockford Eats.
Kids night out
Students K-6th grade are invited to Kids Night Out at That STEAM Space on Fridays in May.
