5TH GRADE PROMOTION - At 12:30 this Monday, we will have an All-School Assembly in the gym, where we’ll celebrate the end of the year. After a short ceremony, we’ll excuse all of the students except for the Fifth Graders and their parents/guests, who will stay in the gym for a promotion ceremony and some group pictures. 5th Grade Talent Show will be held on Tuesday, the 14th at 10:00 a.m. All classes and community are invited to come for some or all of that show.
MAPLEWOOD T-SHIRT ORDERS – If you have paid for but not yet received a Maplewood T-shirt, sweatshirt, etc., please contact Amy McCleskey at 503.244.0558 or amyj6157@comcast.net or Janet Metz at 503.245.1650 or pdxmetz@msn.com by June 14, 2005.
FIELD DAY AND JUNIOR ROSE FESTIVAL PARADE – Thanks should go to Kim Nadeau and her committee of parents who helped pull together a fun day of games and recreation for the students. They were helped a great deal by the well-documented organization provided by Fran Kincaid, who coordinated this event in the past. The Field Day was especially fun for the students visiting here from Smith, who had this fun way to get to know some of the students who will be their classmates next year. The weather managed to hold out for us that day, as well as on the Parade Day! Our wonderful Music Teacher, Kathie McNett, organized our students into a bright green, cheery sea of musicians who marched with the help of the 4th and 5th grade teachers and parent chaperones.
READ ALOUD-A-THON AND PTA HELP TAKE OUR CAMPAIGN TO REACH THE GOAL! – This community should be very proud of their efforts and their donations to the Annual Campaign, which has now reached its goal!!!! Recent assistance in reaching this goal was done through the Read Aloud-A-Thon, which raised $1000! Very warm thanks should go to Lynn Barkley, who took on the task of resurrecting this activity, and did a great job (in a short amount of time) of designing this event to help us reach our goal! The PTA also donated funds at their last meeting to help us as well. I hope that I have let people know that the $40,000 raised (with about 60% of our families contributing) was a remarkable achievement, coordinated by a dedicated, caring committee led by Lisa Sloan. When I first came to Maplewood, there was essentially no “large scale” fundraising efforts of this kind, and we could all see the writing on the wall – that schools would all need to add fundraising efforts to keep their schools staffed as much as the students deserved. This money makes a remarkable difference in Maplewood’s programs! Thanks to all who contributed their time or money or support for a job well done! (If you’d like to receive this electronically, e-mail the address above and I’ll add you to the list.)
PTA DONATES TO FOUNDATION AND PLAYGROUND – In addition to the support PTA gives our school, their contributions in the June meeting are very appreciated - $2000 to the Campaign Foundation, and $2000 to add to the “seed money” to replace the playground structure. Look for increased efforts next year to design and raise money to give our students a new, safe, and enjoyable playground!
CELEBRATION IN MULTNOMAH VILLAGE – Looking for a terrific community event this summer? Bring the entire family to Multnomah Day on August 20th, the SW Portland celebration that draws thousands of families, kids and – yes – dogs to this annual event. Things kick off with a Kiwanis pancake breakfast at the Key Bank parking lot at 8:00 am. The two-band, two hundred-dog Parade winds through the center of the village starting at 10:00 am. The rest of the day features carnival games, kid bouncer-rides, live music, food and more. Consider entering in the parade, which is a great way to introduce your neighborhood or youth group to the larger community. Please call Joan Steinbach at 245-3936 for more details.
COMMUNITY CARE DAYS ARE COMING IN AUGUST! MARK THIS DAY ON YOUR CALENDAR! - On Sunday, August 28th, is our Community Care Day, coordinated by West Hills Friends Meeting Church for the second year. They will help us get many mowing, painting, trimming and repair jobs done by having their church members join our families early that afternoon. Plans again include live music and a wonderful pot luck. Mark your calendar to be there (will not conflict with the Multnomah Days celebration); we will have lots of interesting friends to help us, and the work goes so much easier and quicker and lighter when we have a group at least as large as last year!
SOME PREVIEWS OF NEXT YEAR – ATTENDANCE AND TARDIES EXPECTATIONS – Part of the district’s “Vital Signs” are the attendance and tardy rates. There will be a definite effort and expectation from the district and Maplewood to have students attend school as much as possible, and on time every day. In fact, there will be published lists in newspapers next year reporting each schools’ rates. What this means is that we will have to ask you to make sure that your children are “Ready at 8” every day, and that students not take family vacations during school days, unless there are clear academic tasks for the children to work on during that time; Character Ed. Specialist We will happily welcome Jennifer Pitts to our staff, who will work half-time as a Character Education Specialist for two years under a grant. She will conduct counseling groups, teacher character education in classes, and coordinate our Student Council; Math Information for Parents – We are planning several events and methods to help you understand the teaching of Math through the District Curriculum, which stresses mathematical thinking through problem solving. We know that helping students with their math homework can be tricky, but it is paying off with less students being “math phobic”, and we want to provide you folks with as much help in this important subject as we can; Annual Campaign in the fall – Next year the plans are to again hold an Annual Campaign, but to again shift it to the most logical time of the year, in the fall. This will help to meet tax time deadlines, and to make it more predictable for you as to when it would happen. This Campaign is a vital part of Maplewood’s programming, as it pays for staffing for our children.
END OF ANOTHER YEAR! – It is hard for me to believe that another school year has come to a close. I personally can vividly recall my first days as Principal here, when our present Fifth Graders (now moving on to Middle School) were just leaving Kindergarten! In addition to watching all these students grow and participate this year, we also worked hard this year to respond to the continuing difficulties with school funding, including the closure of our neighbor school, George Smith Elementary. This meant working with our community by hosting numerous tours, meeting with area schools and parents, and hosting visits from the students and families whom we will welcome as wonderful additions to our community next year. I believe Maplewood continues to be in a solid position as a high-achieving school with enrollment predicted to stay high and even grow. We will continue to make sure that parents and community feel valued and appreciated for their contributions to the lives of our children. As I’ve mentioned several times in the past, students who have caring, interested adults in their lives (in addition to their families) end up richer in their assets, and therefore more successful in their lives. So as money and school resources shrink, I am sure we will continue to find ways for us to pitch in as a community to keep nurturing and encouraging our children. “It takes a community to raise a child.” is still so very true today, and Maplewood will continue to be a wonderful example of that. The families coming to us from Smith will be a welcomed addition to this effort, as they have always shown themselves to pitch in and work to help all the children in their community. So next year, we will continue to find ways to have you all involved in the Maplewood Community, through expanded ways to help, such as beginning a Math Friends tutoring program, keeping our Wild Woods and Garden groups active, keeping our children physically active in spite of last year’s loss of a P.E. teacher, and continuing our fund-raising efforts. Many of us will be meeting and planning over the summer to make every second of our next school year be even more exciting and rich for the children! Have a great summer, and stop in and see me (I’m here most of the summer!)
Upcoming Events: June 13 - 5th Grade Promotion/All School Assembly
June 14 - 5th Grade Talent Show @ 10:00 a.m.
June 14 - Last Day of School for Students
Aug. 20 - Multnomah Days
Aug. 28 - Community Care Day at Maplewood
