Windy Ridge Families, 

Welcome to November! Just when I thought I had done everything in my career, I had the opportunity to kiss a pig at work! Thank you to all of the families that helped organize the event and those who helped us raise for the PTSA this year.  That money will be used to support teacher projects, teacher appreciation events, and student events on campus throughout the year. 

As usual, there is a lot going on at the Ridge this week, please take a look through our entire newsletter.

Thank you to all of our Silverhawk families who have already completed the Quarter 2 Parent Consent Form! We appreciate you taking the time to help us prepare for our upcoming school events.

Our next event is Teach-In on Thursday, November 19th! 📚🍎

We have not yet reached 100% completion across our school, and we need your help! If you have not completed the Q2 Parent Consent Form for your student, please take a few minutes to do so.

📝 Complete the Q2 Parent Consent Form here: https://tinyurl.com/WRK8Q2

Thank you for your continued support in helping our Silverhawks participate in these exciting school experiences!

This Thanksgiving season, let's spread a little gratitude! We invite our Silverhawk students and families to submit a special message of thanks to a Windy Ridge faculty or staff member who has made a difference. 💌 All messages will be printed and shared with the recipients before Thanksgiving Break!

🗓️ Messages are due by November 17th!

💙 Submit your message here: https://tinyurl.com/WRThanks

Let's show our amazing Silverhawk faculty and staff just how thankful we are for all they do! 🍁

The regularly scheduled SAC meeting will be moved to Mrs. Salgado's art room this month due to the Book Fair in the Media Center. 

Please scan the QR code or complete this Google Form  if you would like to present at Teach In. This is a reminder you must also be ADDitions approved. Please email Mr. Ly if you have any questions about being a Teach In presenter. We are excited to have you on campus sharing your careers or reading stories to our Silverhawks.  

The Week 1 results are in, and Windy Ridge K–8 is ranked #13 in OCPS in the Combined Secondary ChessKid Competition! 🎉

Our Silverhawks have earned 204 points with 62 students participating! What a great start to the competition!

👏 Let's keep the momentum going! We encourage all our Silverhawk chess players to continue playing, practicing, and earning points on ChessKid. Every game counts, and together we can climb even higher in the rankings!

♟️ Keep up the great work, Silverhawks! Let's make Week 2 even better! 

We wanted to share some important information and clarify the application process for the Windy Ridge K-8 Middle School Academy for the 2027–2028 school year.

🏫 Who Can Apply?

Windy Ridge Middle School Academy is not a traditional magnet program or scholastic academy. Applications are limited to:

Current Windy Ridge K-8 fifth-grade students.

Middle school-aged students who are zoned for Windy Ridge Elementary.

📝 How to Apply

Although our academy is not listed on the OCPS Magnet Programs information page, our application and lottery process is managed through the OCPS Magnet Programs Office.

Families must complete the Magnet Schools & Programs Application to apply for our middle school academy.

🔗 Application Link: https://schoolchoicemagnet.ocps.net/

Helpful Tips When Applying:

✅ Select the Magnet School Application.

✅ Have your child's OCPS student number ready.

✅ Enter your child's name exactly as it appears in Skyward.

✅ When selecting a school, scroll all the way to the bottom of the school list to find Windy Ridge K-8

📅 Application Deadline: December 18, 2026

⚠️ Experiencing Issues with the Application?

We know several families have encountered red error messages while completing the application for various reasons. If you receive an error message, have difficulty finding Windy Ridge K-8 on the school list, or need assistance with the application process, please reach out to us. We are happy to help!

We hope this clears up any confusion and helps make the application process easier for our families. Thank you for your patience as we work to assist everyone through this process!

Our Silverhawk Volleyball teams kicked off their season on Wednesday, October 28th, against Robinswood Middle School! Our girls' team brought home a win, while our boys' team lost but showed great effort and teamwork in their first game of the season!. We are proud of both teams for their hard work and determination!

🏐 This Week's Games:

💙 Let's wish both of our Silverhawk teams the best of luck this week! We encourage our Silverhawk families to come out, cheer loudly, and show their support!

Let's go, Silverhawks! 🏐💙

Silverhawk Athletic Gear: https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/QP7ZdSG5j7

You know that cabinet under your sink that's overflowing with plastic grocery bags? Well, Nurse Jones would love to help you reclaim that space! 

Our school clinic is in need of clean plastic grocery bags to help with student accidents, wardrobe emergencies, and other unexpected situations throughout the school day.

🛍️ Have extra bags? Please consider donating them!

📍 Donations can be dropped off at the front office. 

Thank you, Silverhawk families, for helping Nurse Jones keep our clinic stocked and ready to care for our students!

Our Fall Book Fair will be November 9-13. Students will go with their classes to preview the book fair and make wishlists. Students who wish to purchase items from the fair will be able to do so during school hours, during designated times. Items may also be purchased online through the Literati Online Shop (QR code above). 

✨ Special Hours ✨

Want to shop with your child? Windy Ridge families can shop the book fair during Movie Night on November 6 from 4:30pm-6:30pm. (More to come on Movie Night soon!)

We need volunteers to help make this book fair run smoothly! You must be ADDitions approved. If you are able to help, please sign up here: 

This week, the Media Center was open for small-group book check-in and checkout only. This schedule will continue into next week as we prepare for our upcoming Literati Book Fair! 📚

✨ Book Fair previews will also begin, giving our Silverhawks a sneak peek at all the amazing books coming their way!

🎃 Great Pumpkin Contest Winners! We announced the winners of our annual Great Pumpkin Contest! Our students did an incredible job showcasing their creativity, and we loved seeing all the amazing pumpkin designs. Congratulations to all our winners, and thank you to everyone who participated!

This year, we were especially excited to welcome our Silverhawk families to campus to watch our Elementary Book Character Parade! So many favorite book characters came to life during the parade!

Mark you calendars the next PTA meeting is on Wednesday, November 11th at 9am in Cottage 70. 

A huge thank you to our wonderful Windy Ridge PTA for treating our faculty and staff to the monthly Treat Trolley! The creative themes each month have been absolutely amazing and bring so much joy and excitement to our Silverhawk staff! We truly appreciate the time, effort, and thoughtfulness that go into making these special treats happen. Thank you for always finding fun ways to make our faculty and staff feel appreciated! 

For more information about Astronomy Club, please email Dr. Strawser at: corydon.strawser@ocps.net. 

December testing is right around the corner! Please take a moment to review the important upcoming testing dates and plan accordingly. 📝

⭐ Additional FAST STAR testing dates for our K–2 students will be added soon!

If you have any testing-related questions, please contact our Testing Coordinator, Ms. Wendy Setzer, at wendy.setzer@ocps.net.

We have officially wrapped up the delivery of our Quarter 1 Silverhawk Shoutouts! 🎉 We were excited to recognize and celebrate even more of our amazing faculty and staff, including Mrs. Steele, Mrs. Tucker, Ms. Rasmussen, Mrs. Johnson, Ms. Thacker, and Mrs. Lucas!

💙 A HUGE thank you to our wonderful Silverhawk community for taking the time to submit shoutouts and recognize the incredible work our faculty and staff do each day! Your thoughtful words and appreciation help spread kindness, positivity, and Silverhawk pride throughout our school!

✨ Be on the lookout for our Quarter 2 Silverhawk Shoutouts coming soon! We can't wait to continue celebrating the amazing people who make Windy Ridge K-8 such a special place!