Our Mission Statement:
Ridge is a community that celebrates and honors every unique individual member and the multifaceted experiences that they bring to the school. Our diversity is a source of strength, excellence, joy, and creativity.
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Diversity may include, but is not limited to, race, age, gender identity and expression, ethnicity, nationality, family composition, ability/disability, learning styles, religion, sexuality, language, and socioeconomic status.
The Ridge DEI committee is part of this diverse community, dedicated to supporting resources and opportunities for communication, storytelling, engagement, and education related to equity for all.
DEI Updates and Events
Heritage Day
Heritage Day is back! The Ridge community is celebrating the heritage that makes each student an individual - and that together, makes a wonderful tapestry of unique and shared experiences. By sharing different heritages and backgrounds, students will have the chance to hear from Ridge parents and to share their own stories with classmates and friends.
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Sign up to volunteer here:
Heritage Day: Ridge Elementary Heritage Day Volunteers (signupgenius.com)
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Parents have been asked to give the same 10 minute presentation a number of times to the same grade level. Only parents who are presenting are invited to attend/participate. We can't wait to see you there!
School House Museum (About us - Ridgewood Historical Society)
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The mission of the Ridgewood Historical Society, which operates the historic Schoolhouse Museum building, formerly one of the first public schools in Ridgewood, is to preserve the building, as well as maintain, interpret, and exhibit the collection of artifacts representing the history, culture, and lives of ordinary people from the Ridgewood area from the period of Native America.
Ssuuna (Ssuuna - Young Audiences NJ & Eastern PA (yanjep.org))
Ssuuna is a dancer, drummer, singer, songwriter, and reggae artist from Uganda with a wide range of performance experience. Raised in a small village by grandparents, SSUUNA found comfort in the Ugandan traditional music that was played at school. As a result, his interest in music was born. This interest was then encouraged, nurtured and reinforced by his grandparents and elders through proverbs, stories, songs, dances and instrumentation. Ssuuna’s musical background is a priceless cultural glimpse of Uganda. This music helped to alleviate the poverty, hunger, hopelessness and suffering that SSUUNA and millions of Ugandans experienced during the years of civil wars and political turmoil.
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In 1988 SSUUNA embraced the opportunity to further his education in the United States. He has continued to spread the teachings of his elders through his performances. SSUUNA takes his audience on a cultural extravaganza with a combination of traditional and contemporary songs, dances, instruments, stories, games, and costumes.
StoryWalk
Come enjoy a story and a stroll! We invite you to drop by the Castle Playground for StoryWalk at Ridge, an outdoor self-guided reading path of the book “All Are Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman. Displayed along the fence on the edge of the playground, our StoryWalk encourages literacy and physical activity for all ages.
Heritage Day StoryWalk
“I AM” Project
The DEI Committee presented a community wide activity at our Ridge Back to School Picnic, called the “I AM” project. Students spent time on their “I AM” statements and posted them on our display. The “I AM” project is now on display in our front hallway at Ridge.
Holidays and traditions
The wide array of holidays and traditions celebrated across the Ridge Community this time of year highlights our rich diversity. On Friday, the students celebrated their diverse traditions at the Holiday Sing A Long. As part of the program, students told stories about how their families celebrate Divali, Ramadan, Christmas, Norwuz, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa & Lunar New Year.
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The school shared the slides from the Holiday Sing A Long - available here!
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We encourage our community to engage in conversation with friends and neighbors to learn what they celebrate or how they honor family traditions, sample food from different cultures used to celebrate during the holidays, or read books together introducing holiday celebrations and customs around the world.