December 2021

Ms. Paynter was able to present a donation to Utah Valley Refugees this week from our Maple Ridge penny wars. Utah Valley Refugees is an organization that is currently helping 150 refugee families, some of which have up to 12 members in their family. Due to the AMAZING generosity of our Maple Ridge students and their families, we were able to donate more than $6,400.00! Thank you so much to all those who donated! We are truly grateful and so happy to be able to do our part to help those in need. We hope you have a wonderful break and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

We have had a lot of fun this month at school! Please click the link to enjoy our Christmas video. We hope you have a wonderful holiday break and we will see you on Monday, January 3rd.

https://youtu.be/dJemcS76SXQ

Our art teacher, Mrs. Stonehocker, is retiring. She has taught hundreds of students during her 6 1/2 years at Maple Ridge and they have learned so many fun art techniques from her. Thank you for all your hard work and effort at Maple Ridge, Mrs. Stonehocker! We are going to miss you but we send you off with best wishes for your new adventures ahead!

Let's have some fun this week before the break! See the picture for this week's dress up days!

Maple Ridge second graders have been learning about holidays around the world. In Ms. Jordan's class they got to learn about and celebrate Chinese New Year! Students made dragons to represent good luck and good fortune. 

Author, Vaughn R Cook, donated a hard bound copy of his book, The Littlest Jingle Bell, to every student at Maple Ridge! Students will be receiving a copy before the Christmas break from their teacher if they have not received it yet. Mrs. Steen's class enjoyed taking time time to read their new Christmas book during the first big snowstorm this school year! Thank you Mr. Cook for your generous donation!

Congratulations to these Maple Ridge students for being selected as our students of the month for November! They were recognized for demonstrating initiative. We are proud of them! (Not pictured: Chenoa Stoker, Kenna Matsuoka, Sloan Swanson, Danaka Watts, Dylan Russell, Jacob Hildreth, Logan Miser, and Lilly Houghton)

Altabank and the Spanish Fork Rotary Club recently donated dictionaries to every third grader at Maple Ridge. A big thank you to them for the wonderful donation!

This month we will be collecting loose change for a good cause! Starting on Monday, December 13, we will be having a penny war! A penny war is where students try to get the most pennies (or points) for their class. Each class will have their own coin jug for collecting money in their classroom. Add points to your jug by adding pennies and dollar bills. Subtract points from other classes by adding silver coins to their jug. Students may only add money to other classes in their own grade level BEFORE school starts. 

Mrs. Jane Olson was recently honored as the Maple Ridge Crystal Apple winner for this year. Mrs. Olson has taught sixth grade at Maple Ridge is now teaching fourth grade. Mrs. Olson is a consistent source of positivity and joy for students, teachers, and staff alike. She has a smile and kind word for everyone she comes in contact with and is always ready to step in and help whenever she can. She is a talented teacher and is well-loved by all. Congratulations Mrs. Olson!