Green Ridge R-8 School District

Congratulations to our October students of the month! We are very proud of how these Tigers show their stripes and are great models for others to follow. Lizzy Orlov (3rd)- Lizzie is a great student who tries her best on all we do. She has wonderful handwriting, and is an amazing artist. If she does not understand, she takes the time to ask questions to help her increase her understanding. Her willingness to follow directions and be a great leader are important for our class. Eleanor Kratzer (4th)- Eleanor Kratzer is a student well deserving of Student of the Month. She is new to Green Ridge this year but has jumped right in and put in the hard work. She is thriving and making so much progress in her academics. She is always so positive and kind to others. She is constantly cheering on her peers and willing to do anything asked of her. She is truly a shining light and joy to work with! She has been working so hard! She ALWAYS tries her very best on her work in both ELA and math. She faces each challenge with determination! Eleanor has shown growth on both her reading and math STAR scores!! Not only is she a great learner, she is also a great classmate and friend! Eleanor is kind to everyone and always has a smile on her face! Abigail Burnett (7th)- Abi moved to Green Ridge the summer before her 7th grade year. Sometimes that can be a little daunting and overwhelming, but Abi has done well to adjust and settle into the Green Ridge community. She immediately got involved with Band (connected with Mrs.Bates), learning a new instrument (she played violin at her previous school), Cross Country with Coach Donaldson, and made sure to get in the Lasers program with Mrs.Dove as well. Learning a new instrument, making new friends, and getting involved with new programs come with their own set of challenges, but Abi has taken all of it in stride and been successful with everything. She was doing all of this while continuing to maintain her positive attitude and academic success in the classroom. Hunter Nguyen (11th)- Hunter is always respectful to his peers and teachers. He puts forth a great amount of effort in his schoolwork and makes sure to communicate with his teachers when he is gone from class. Hunter also helps with tasks that need to be done without the teacher having to ask him. These are just a couple of examples that demonstrate the level of responsibility he has. I feel like Hunter is an outstanding positive example for his fellow peers and the younger students in our building.

The character word for the month of October was Tolerance. One definition of tolerance is seen as the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with. These GR8 students were caught showing tolerance and were nominated by their teachers to receive recognition.

We read Peyton Picks the Perfect Pie in second grade this week! 🍂🥧
In the story, Peyton learns that trying something new can lead to sweet surprises… so we decided to do the same!

Ms. Kratzer and Mrs. Shoop’s classes made pumpkin pie in a bag. Some students were a little hesitant at first, but most ended up loving the treat! Everyone took a turn mixing and crushing the ingredients, and it turned into such a fun, hands-on experience with plenty of willing taste-testers!

Trying new things can be pretty delicious. 😄🍁

✨ Hands-on math fun in 4th grade! ✨
Today our students practiced multiplication and division using a super engaging “equal groups” activity. They drew groups on their desks with dry-erase markers and used colorful counters to model different equations. It was amazing to see them talking through their thinking, checking their work, and proudly explaining how they knew their groups were equal.
Love seeing math come to life like this! 💛📚

Board Agenda for November 19, 2025 Board Meeting.

What a great night of vocals! Congratulations to all the Kaysinger performers but especially to the GR8 singers and dancers!

Mrs. Donaldson's 8th grade science class enjoyed their speed, velocity and acceleration lab outside in the beautiful fall weather!

Mrs. Donaldson's 7th grade science class worked hard to create posters presenting information on the 11 organ systems of the human body.

SFCC Lady Basketball Roadrunners greeted all students at Green Ridge today. They gave smiles and high 5's as students entered the school. The GR 3-6 grade students will be attending Madness at the Multi later this month to cheer on the Lady Roadrunners. Thank you SFCC Roadrunners for starting our day off right!

🚌 NOW HIRING: Substitute Bus Drivers! 🚌

The Green Ridge R-VIII School District is looking for dependable substitute bus drivers to help with morning and/or afternoon routes.

✅ Routes take about 1 hour each (AM or PM)
✅ Earn $30 per route
✅ Enjoy flexibility with an as-needed schedule
✅ Be the first and last friendly face our students see each day!

Requirements:

Class B CDL with S and P endorsements

A positive attitude and love for working with kids

If you’re looking for a rewarding way to support our school community, we’d love to have you on our team!

📧 Petersenj@grtigers.net

📞 660-527-3315

#GreenRidgeTigers #NowHiring #BusDrivers #CommunityStrong #JoinOurTeam

The Lady Running Tigers had a successful end to their cross country season at the Class 1 State Championship at Gans Creek Saturday. As a team they placed 12th in the State. Freshman Mya Edington placed in the Top 30 (16th) to secure herself a medal and the title of All-State. Mya PR'd by a minute and ten seconds (21:19) on the State course which is no easy feat! Senior Rylee Donaldson finished in the upper third of the field at 55th, also running the course in a career PR of 23:05. Senior Callie Knoernschild ran a career PR as well at 24:43 and finished 113th. We're SO proud that both our Seniors ran with all their heart - making the last race of their high school careers their fastest! Freshman Angelica Georgiyev also ran a PR of 25:31 finishing 129th and freshman Natalie Demshick finished 149th at 29:29. We're so proud of all five of these ladies and their achievements this season. We'll dearly miss Callie and Rylee next season but thank them for their contributions to this program. We also want to thank everyone who supported us this season!
Coach Donaldson

Congratulations Mya for making it onto the podium. Finishing 16th in the State is an awesome start to your high school XC career! We're proud of you!

WCMMEA All-District Band auditions were held today. I am beyond proud of my students today. Out of the 4 we had audition today, 3 did so well that they were chosen to be in the performance groups and our 4th missed it by 1 seat! GR8 things are happening at Green Ridge and in our Music Department! Evee Porter, sophomore, 1st chair Flute Honorable Mention Band Miles Porter, sophomore, 1st chair Baritone Saxophone All-District Honor Band Callie Knoernschild, senior, 2nd chair French Horn All-District Honor Band (this was after she ran her best season time at the State Cross Country meet in Columbia). Callie and Miles will go on to audition for the All-State band on Saturday, December 6th and all 3 will rehearse and perform on Saturday, January 10th at UCM.

Let's hear it for Hunter and Alex! These boys were caught being GR8! They have been following directions, being respectful and kind to teachers and friends, and working hard on their learning. Keep up the good work boys!

First grade had some fun at our fall family night!

The Running Tigers regular season wrapped Saturday at our District meet at Van-Far High school. Both the boys and girls took complete teams to Districts which is a first since the cross country program began 9 years ago. As shared in a separate post, Rylee Donaldson (15th) and Mya Edington (7th) both qualified individually for the State Championship. Our girls team also brought home the second place plaque and earned a spot at the state race as a team as well. This means Green Ridge will be sending FIVE runners to the State meet this year! Callie Knoernschild ran the fastest time of her high school career setting a personal record (PR) of 25:29. Despite not feeling well Angelica Georgiyev absolutely dominated setting a new PR by over a minute and a half at 25:48. Rylee Donaldson, Natalie Demshick and Mya Edington all ran their second-fastest times of the season as well helping us earn the 2nd place plaque!
The boys also finished their season strong. As a team they placed 8th overall. Again, a team placement at Districts is a first for the boys! Evee Porter ran a season's best at 21:15. Keagen Frederickson and Gage Devorss were both just seconds off their PRs. Gage finished a fraction of a second behind Trenton Sawyer for times of 20:30.09 and 20:30.05 - both impressive runs. Jaxon Atwood finished out his rookie year with some aches and pains but managed to finish the race and finish it strong. Although none of our boys were able to move on to State we are very excited about what the season holds for them next year.
We’re so very proud of the hard work these athletes have put in both on the course and in the classroom this season. They’ve grown tremendously as runners and young adults and we’re so very proud of them!

Varsity soccer concluded the season with a loss to Smithton in the second overtime period Monday night. Smithton got on the board first with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half. The score remained 0-1 into the second half. With just over 20 minutes to play Rylee Donaldson sent a ball through the defense to Jack Hoos who sent the ball on a cross. Trent Sawyer was there to put the cross in the back of the net to even things up. With some momentum back on their side the Tigers kept the pressure on Smithton. With just over 18 to play Smithton was called for a handball at about he 25 yard mark. Jaden Xiloj capitalized with a perfectly placed ball in the upper right corner to give the Tigers their first lead of the night. Smithton was not finished however and came up with an equalizer just under 4 minutes later. The Tigers continued their fight and Jordan Dixon fought through the defense with just over 2 minutes to play and sent a ball into the box which Reid Hagedorn cleaned up to give the Tigers the lead 3-2. Smithton answered once again with just under 20 seconds left and sent a ball over the defense and goalie to tie the game. The game remained tied through the first overtime period before Smithton hit a shot with just under 8 minutes left in the second overtime period. Goalie RJ Hampton got a hand on the shot over his head however a Smithton player was there to put it in the net when it hit the ground and end the game. Thank you Tiger Nation for your support this year.

Green Ridge Soccer starts the postseason this evening in Smithton, against Smithton. Kickoff starts at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $6/adult and $3/school age children. Good Luck Tigers!

HS Basketball practice starts this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The boys and girls teams will both practice at 4:00.