River Ridge High School, Lacey, WA, Home of the Hawks

It was a busy weekend for River Ridge students!

On Friday, students performed at the Meadows Elementary School multicultural night, and students in our Native Studies program sold fry bread.

On Saturday, students had a successful event at the school including:
- A garage sale to fund field trips for the River Ridge AVID Club
- A craft fair where student and staff vendors sold their unique goods
- The annual plant sale from the River Ridge horticulture class.

River Ridge senior Aidan McNeil has been selected as one of five finalists nationwide for the 2025-26 FCCLA Member of the Year award! 👏 Aidan is being recognized for outstanding leadership, strong service to state and local FCCLA, academic achievement, and a commitment to community impact. Way to go, Aidan!

Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America is a national student-led career and technical student organization.

Our Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) students competed in and hosted the Region 3 Regionals competition on Friday!

👏 Gillian Angeles - Career Investigation - Gold & State Qualifier
Gillian researched a career as a fabric store owner-operator and is working on promoting a new college in the high school sewing course that will be offered next school year.

👏 Ayler Britton - Focus on Children - Silver & State Qualifier
Ayler led an activity at FCS/STEM Night, teaching students about nutrition, with plans for future events.

👏 Emmeline Fischer - Job Interview - Silver & State Qualifier
Emme researched a career in ceramics, created a portfolio, and participated in a 15-minute interview.

👏 Tucker Chastain - Repurpose & Redesign - Silver & State Qualifier
Tucker created a spot welder from repurposed supplies, including microwave parts.

Thank you to our volunteers, who evaluated student projects: Olivia Perez, Bella Garcia, and Sabrina Bello-Medina.

Lastly, Aidan McNeil, who is serving as the Washington FCCLA State President, was the main student in charge of the event. The event went very smoothly and ended on time thanks to his leadership.

Heading to state in March!

Congratulations to 11th-grade student Isabella Valerio, who is representing River Ridge on the 2026 Lakefair Court! Isabella also serves on the Lacey Youth Council Student and is a member of the National Junior Honor Society.

Congratulations, Isabella--we are proud of you!

We welcomed the NTPS School Board to River Ridge's new library for their January 13 meeting! Kudos to The River Ridge High School Chamber Orchestra, which performed several songs at this week's School Board meeting, and students Makayla Lesane and Normanda Moran, who provided an overview of the school's Black Student Union Club. The club aligns with the NTPS Strategic Plan's focus on increasing the percentage of students open to and accepting cultural diversity and increasing the percentage of students participating in at least one positive school- or community-based activity. Great job, Hawks!

River Ridge Robotics competed at the SkillsUSA Urban Search & Rescue! They had a great showing and learned a lot! Teams moving on to the state competition will be announced later.

This weekend was River Ridge High School’s first powerlifting event of the 2026 season. Alaina Hottel was spotlighted for her outstanding deadlift performance, and Julie Elkins placed third in her weight division. Great job to all the students who competed!

River Ridge Robotics competed alongside 27 teams and delivered a strong showing across judging and competition!

Playoffs
🔹Silly Goose Robotics earned 5th Alliance Captain, advanced deep into playoffs, and finished 8th overall.
🔹Furious 5 earned 6th Alliance Captain, partnered with The Serpents, and advanced to Round 5 of the playoffs.

Awards
🔹The Serpents: Judges Choice Award
🔹Furious 5: 2nd Place Innovate Award
🔹Silly Goose Robotics: Control Award

Silly Goose Robotics advances to the Asimov Super Qualifier in January! We’re proud of all River Ridge Robotics teams for their excellence, teamwork, and commitment!

Congratulations to River Ridge students who competed and placed in the Voices of Democracy essay competition for the VFW Lacey/Tumwater post! The students wrote about patriotism and democracy. Go Hawks!

👏Devora Murziankova (1st place)
👏Zoe Carney (2nd place)
👏Jenneth Dando (3rd place)

Congratulations to River Ridge senior Heather Hunt, who has been selected to be a member of the Bands of America Honor Band at the 2026 Rose Parade! Heather is a member of our jazz band and wind ensemble as well as senior drum major.

Watch for Heather during the parade on New Year's Day! 🌹💙