Ridgefield school board names employee, students of month for December

Ridgefield — The Ridgefield School District board named the December employee and students of the month at the board’s Dec. 12 meeting. View Ridge Middle School science teacher Kathryn James was named employee of the month for her ability to collaborate with her colleagues. After discovering class rosters with significant amounts of struggling students at the beginning of the year, she collaborated with the principal, a special education teacher and a paraprofessional to brainstorm and implement some solutions to help improve the learning experience for those students. Kinnley Veitenheimer, a first-grader at South Ridge Elementary School, was named student of the month at that school for her generosity, including her recent donation of a walking stick insect to her classroom so her classmates could observe how an insect thrives. Union Ridge Elementary School’s student of the month is fourth-grader Ava Gillett, who was honored for taking ownership of her learning by challenging herself on class assignments and emailing her teachers about her school work when she is away from school. Uruwa Abe, who is in seventh grade, was honored at View Ridge for her asking great questions in class and demonstrating leadership among her peers as she facilitates group activities. Ridgefield High School’s student of the month was freshman Kyera Jones, who has been nominated three times for the honor this year and has been described as dedicated, studious and focused.