Principal Notes Oct. 17, 2008

NO SCHOOL NEXT FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24TH
This is a District-wide Professional Development Day, and school offices will be closed!

GRANDPARENTS/SPECIAL FRIENDS - WHEN: Grandparents or special friends can come to Maplewood on Thursday, Oct. 23rd. A ceremony will be held starting at 12:30 p.m. in the gym. WHO: Grandparents or Special Friends of your child. Space is limited for the performance and in the room, so it is usual to have one or two people come (but we don’t have room for the “whole family”. WHAT: The student musical performance will be in the gym, and we ask all attendees to stay until the end; after the program in the gym is finished, the adults can go back to the classroom with the students to visit there and see the classrooms; hint: we’ll let our guests all leave school by 2:00 p.m. to avoid the usual traffic jams at the dismissal time at the end of the day. (If you want your child to leave school with someone different than we have on file, or to leave early, we must have a note from you or the hot pink permission slip turned in!) Come enjoy the children, and hear praises for you as their Special Friends or Grandparents! The kids love to see you here!

MAPLEWOOD AWARDED FUNDS FROM INTEL - I received this message today from Intel: I am pleased to inform you that Intel volunteers invested 259 hours at Maplewood Elementary during the 2007-2008 school year, earning your school a $2590 grant from the Intel Foundation through the Volunteer Matching Grant (VMG) program. I want to congratulate you and your volunteers on this wonderful investment of time. A big thanks goes to Scott Noble, Christina Foulger, and Slobodan Mrdjan who donated a great amount of volunteer time, which earned us this funding amount which I’m putting in a discretionary account until we decide where to allocate these funds! If you know of other Intel employees, please remind them.

COSTUME PARADE - FRIDAY, OCT. 31ST - again be the day when children can bring costumes to school to wear in an afternoon parade. Students will put on costumes after lunch, and begin the parade at 12:45 p.m. on the playground (in the gym if poor weather). To make this a safe, enjoyable event for everyone, make sure that the costumes are: SAFE (they shouldn’t restrict vision or trip them up; also, absolutely no fake or real weapons should be brought for this school affair) and APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR AGE (no revealing, bloody, or violent costumes) and CONVENIENT (so the student doesn’t have to be stressed about the time limits to get dressed; they will not be allowed to put on costumes until right after lunch).

LIFESKILLS - The Lifelong Guidelines are the behavior guidelines that our school community will be practicing this year. These five guidelines (Trustworthiness, Truthfulness, Active Listening, No Put-Downs, and Personal Best) are based upon a respect for others and self and provide a safe environment in which learning can take place. The specific Lifeskill that our school focused on in October was Active Listening. Some of the ways that we can explore the Lifeskill of Active Listening include:
• Practice note-taking skills
• Listening to different forms of music
• Listing the characteristics of an active listener
• Attending an in-school or community performance and practicing active listening skills
In addition to modeling Active Listening for your child, there are ways that parents can help improve their children’s listening skills. You can support your child by:
• Reading aloud increasingly longer stories, staring with picture books and working up to chapter books and asking him/her to share what pictures come to mind as the story progresses
• Asking him/her to retell and evaluate TV programs
• Providing opportunities for your child to remember and follow increasingly difficult, multi- step instructions
• Identifying nature sounds during a walk in the woods, park, or while strolling along the beach

TAG PARENT INFORMATION SESSION - On Weds. Oct. 29th, from 7:00 to 8:00 at Wilson High School, I will be hosting an informational meeting for parents wanting to learn more about TAG identification and instruction. We will be meeting at Wilson with the parents from all the other Wilson Cluster Schools for a joint meeting, and then we’ll follow this with “bread-out” sessions for each individual school to meet with the Principal and ask more specific questions. Roxanne Coleman, a representative from the district’s TAG office, will be present to offer information and answer questions.

DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS TO YOU - It is the policy of the Board of Education to allow organizations that provide educational, athletic or training services or opportunities for children to send information home to students on a schedule established by the school. The Board adopted this policy and the Superintendent has developed an accompanying administrative directive because there is a vast array of excellent community opportunities available to supplement your child’s education, and we want you to be aware of these opportunities.
However, once we decide to allow this type of information to be distributed, state and federal law prohibit Portland Public Schools from restricting certain information based on the viewpoint of the group distributing information. This means that from time to time you may receive materials from a group that holds values that may offend some of our families. You will want to review this material closely to determine if it presents an opportunity in which you want your child to participate.
The organizations providing this information are not endorsed or sponsore6308d by Portland Public Schools. District policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation (BP 1.80.020). Not all outside organizations comply with the District’s non-discrimination policy. Again, families are strongly encouraged to review all materials closely (3.30.038-AD).
Maplewood has made the decision to distribute materials on Fridays.
From time to time, items may be placed on the Community Information Display Area, where items will be available to students and families. Organizations that choose this mode of distribution will have the opportunity to display their items in this designated area for two months.
If you have any questions regarding this policy or the administrative directive (3.30.038-AD), it is available on the web at www.pps.k12.or.us (click Board of Education, then Policies). You may also contact our office at 503-916-6308.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULING OR RE-SCHEDULING – I have become worried again this year that an unusually high number of parents may have scheduled family vacations during the days that school is cancelled for parent/teacher conferences and Thanksgiving Holiday Nov. 24 through Dec. 1st. I have requested that if a conference is not held that week due to family vacation plans:
• that the conference not be re-scheduled, but
• that any conference information be sent home after the conference week for parents’ information.
My concern is that re-scheduled conferences take more teacher time, which affect teachers’ planning time (the time that they use for valuable curriculum and lesson planning that affects all students). If the conference can’t be held for unavoidable reasons, please contact the teacher for re-scheduling; however, if it is for avoidable reasons such as vacations, please do not request a different meeting time.
Also, because of the high numbers of students here and the limited times for conferences, I’m also asking that conferences with divorced/separated parents be held when both parents can attend at the same time. It helps with healthy communication to have both parents discuss the child with the teacher together.

LOST AND FOUND - We are setting a record for number of clothing items that are “lost” and then put in our “Found” area (at the top of the cafeteria stairs near the Kindergarten room in 101). It is a huge pile, and usually if filled with clothes that the kids forget somewhere, and with clothes that don’t have any name written on them anywhere. I would strongly suggest that you put your child’s name on the clothing somewhere (on the label, e.g.); also, please make sure you or your child check there for any lost clothing items.

Upcoming Events:
Oct 17 - Maplewood Carnival!
Oct 21 - Kindergarten Vision/Dental Screening
Oct 23 - Grandparents/Special Friends Day at 12:30 pm
Oct 24 - NO SCHOOL – Professional Development Day
Oct 28 - 1st grade Vision/Dental Screening
Oct 29 - TAG Parent Meeting at Wilson High School 7 to 8 pm
Oct 31 - Sally Foster Orders Due
Oct 31 - Costume Parade 12:45 pm
Nov 10 - NO SCHOOL – Teacher Planning Day
Nov 11 - NO SCHOOL – Veteran’s Day

SOME SCHEDULED EVENTS FOR '08-'09

Dear Community, We have not yet scheduled ALL the events as yet, but here are ones that I know about at this point:

Future Events

October Lifeskills Theme – Active Listening

10/2 Picture Day.

10/08 Walk/Bike to School Day.

10/10 NO SCHOOL - Statewide In-Service Day

10/17 Carnival.

10/23 Grandparents/Special Friends Day.

10/24 NO SCHOOL - Professional Development Day

10/29 TAG Parent Meeting (to be held at Wilson H.S. 7 to 8 p.m.)

10/31 (Friday) Costume Parade.

November Lifeskills Theme = Effort

11/10 &11/11 NO SCHOOL - Planning Day and Veterans Day

11/17-Nov. 25^th Scholastic Book Fair.

11/24 and 25 – NO SCHOOL - Parent Teacher Conferences, day and evening

11/27and 28 – Thanksgiving Holiday

11/26 – Deadline to turn in TAG Nominations to John

12/1 NO SCHOOL - Planning Day

December Lifeskills Theme = Organization

12/19 Winter Sing-a-long in afternoon

12/22 Begin Winter Break

January Lifeskills Theme = Initiative

1/5 – Return from Winter Break

1/19 NO SCHOOL Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

1/30 NO SCHOOL - Professional Development Day

FEB. Lifeskills Theme = Patience

Feb 4 – Matt Holm Author Visit

Feb. 16 – NO SCHOOL - Presidents Day

March Lifeskills Theme = Perseverance

March 2 – Read Across America

March 6 Friday – Planning Day

March 23-27 – NO SCHOOL – Spring Break

April Lifeskills Theme = Problem Solving

April 10 Professional Development Day April 22 Secretary Day.

May Lifeskills Theme = Responsibility

May 2 – School Auction

May 7 – Spring Sing Celebration?

May 4th-8th Teacher Appreciation Week.

May 25 – NO SCHOOL Memorial Day

June 3 (Weds) Junior Rose Festival Parade

Summer Reading Ideas

Dear Community, I was looking at the last PTA newsletter for June, and thought there were many pieces of great information there, including several lists/recommendations for summer reading - whether your child is in kindergarten and just learning to read, or in the intermediate grades and wants to compete in the "Battle of the Books" competition next fall. If you don't have the June issue, email me at jblanck@pps.k12.or.us and request to have a .pdf of the issue sent to you. Happy Summer, and Happy Reading! - John

Principal Notes May 22, 2008

NO SCHOOL MONDAY! – Monday, May 26^th is Memorial Day – have a great 3 day weekend!

TEACHER APPRECIATION – Thanks to all of you who contributed (with kind words, time, treats, notes, flowers, or special thoughtfulness) to the week’s activities. We (staff and families) lead very busy lives when it comes to raising and nurturing children, and taking the time to express appreciation can be so encouraging. The community continues to be such a warm, generous one that all I can humbly offer is my deepest appreciation!

FIELD DAY RE-SCHEDULED??? - Last Tuesdays Field Event was cancelled due to weather, but aside from that, the parent volunteers almost had to cancel anyway due to barely enough volunteers. But they are considering re-scheduling this event to happen on Thursday, May 29^th.
This will happen ONLY IF 2 THINGS HAPPEN:

1) - If weather cooperates that day, and

2) - If they get the volunteers to sign up for it by 1:30 pm on Tuesday, May 27^th.

If these two things don't happen, they won't be able to host this event. I therefore caution us to not make a big deal about this with kids, but keep it in your planning and volunteer, if possible, as mentioned below.

VOLUNTEERING: By 1:30 pm on Tuesday, May 27^th, volunteers will need to email Kimmy at kimmy@easystreet.net and indicate when they can help as scheduled below:

1. We need 16 volunteers from 9-11 and 16 volunteers from 12-until the

games are done and their stations are put away (Probably 2:30ish).

2. We need 5 volunteers to help gather all of the items for the games on Wednesday at 2:15 until complete.

3. We need 4 volunteers to help with set up on Thursday, May 29^th at 8:00 am

4. We need all of these volunteers committed by Tuesday, May 27^th by 1:30 pm

PLEASE EMAIL KIMMY NADEAU AT KIMMY@EASYSTREET.NET .

YEAR END CAFETERIA ACCOUNT BALANCES -

· Any remaining account balances (positive or negative) on students’ meal accounts at the end of the year will be automatically held for students at their current school or transferred to students’ new schools within the district.

· If your student is leaving the district, then you may call Marci Jenkins, Cafeteria Lead at 503-916-5219 to arrange for a refund.

LIBRARY MATERIALS DUE BY MAY 30^TH – Please make sure that all books, magazines, or reference materials from the school library are returned by then. Fees for lost books should also be turned in by then as well. Thank you!

MEDICATION IN THE OFFICE – Medication left at school must be picked up by the parent or it will be destroyed at the end of the school year per district policy. If your child has any unused medication in the office please make arrangements for picking it up before the last day of school.

P.T.A. USED BOOK SALE - We had our best used book sale ever, thanks in part to being able to keep the books out for over a week after the sale. The final total was $886.40!! Thank you so much to all who helped, whether it be sorting, setting-up, cashiering, or clean-up: Kelley Callais, Teri Carlson, Renae Conkle, Cathie Dainton Piacente, Tawnia Emerson, Kris Franca, Melissa Gagliano, Marie Gettel-Gilmartin, Betty Girsch, Sandi Hildreth, Renee Lee, Jelena and Dan Mrdjan, Jolie Russo, Diane Smith, Joan Stein, Joan Wallace, Susan Wickstrom, and Evelyn Wilkins. As always, we were hugely supported by John Blanck, Kathy Shimizu, and Craig Gintz, our custodian, as well as P.T.A. treasurer, Lori Hesse. Finally, Bob and Shirley Gettel, grandparents extraordinaire, I could not do any of this without your constant willingness to look after "the boys." (Phew! I feel like I just won an Oscar.) Thanks! Mike Gettel-Gilmartin

REMEMBER “HILL STREET BLUES” T.V. SERIES? – Just before the Day Sergeant finished their daily meeting and sent out the officers for their duty, his last words were: “And Hey - let’s be careful out there.” I was thinking to myself that I’d like us all to “be careful out there” with ourselves, and with our children, at this stressful time of year.

This year as in all school years, during the last 3 weeks of school, we remember that: parents are stressed getting ready for summer; teachers are stressed trying to balance keeping the children engaged in learning and yet getting ready to say goodbye to their students (and trying to deal with the demands of their Principal and District); and the students themselves – well, that’s a longer story.

The best description for some of the emotions for the students is similar to that seen in teenagers getting ready to leave home: they are excited about going on (to summer, or to another teacher or another school in the fall), and yet they feel partly sad and afraid and also a little guilty. As one psychologist put it, the kids feel guilty that they are excited to move on, but also think: “Why would I be excited to move on from the people who have loved me and cared for me for the past (one, or several) years?” So some teens will actually “act out” and in a sense try to “pick a fight” or find flaws in their parents (teachers) to justify their guilt. I know that this doesn’t apply to all students, but I do believe that it makes sense that kids’ (and adults’) behaviors sometimes are actually more complicated than what shows on the surface.

Because emotions might be running high for people now, and because of the pressures to do so much at this time of year, I just want to advise students and parents and staff to “be patient with yourselves and others”; enjoy these last 11 days of school and appreciate each other; be kind when you see others feeling some stress and know that they might be doing the best they can with what they’ve got; and take care of yourselves and others (or….. “Hey, lets be careful out there”).

Upcoming Events:

May 26 - Memorial Day – NO SCHOOL

May 28 - 5^th Grade to visit Robert Gray Middle School

May 29 - Reading Friends Pizza Party – 11:15 am

May 30 - 2^nd grade Picnic at April Hill Park – 11:30 am

May 30 - Student Council Party – 11:15 am

June 2 - 5^th grade Jet Boats

June 3 - Staff vs 5^th grade Basketball Game – 12:45 pm

June 5 - PTA Meeting - 6:15 pm

June 6 - 4^th grade Play – 1:00 pm

June 9 - Year End All School Assembly – 12:30 pm

June 10 - 5^th grade Talent Show – 10:00 am

June 10 - Last Day of School!

Principal Notes April 21, 2008

Dear Community, I haven't put in a post in too long! My apologies! Here is the current Principal Notes!

KINDERGARTEN - Once again, I would like to request that if you know anyone interested in enrolling their child for Full or Half-Day options, please encourage them to register their child as soon as possible. This will help us make sure that we have the right resources ready for another world-class year of Kindergarten here!

STUDENT COUNCIL ADVISOR - Debra Wisniewski, our part-time Character Education Specialist, has been the advisor for our Student Council the last two years, but will be leaving us, as the Character Education Grant will be expiring at the end of this year. Prior to these Specialists helping us, the advising of Student Council had been done by parent advisors; we will need to have a parent advisor once again. If you would like to be that person, please contact Debra Wisniewski by leaving a message for her in the school office or by emailing her at dwisniew@pps.k12.or.us. There will be 3 more Student Council meetings this school year; if you contact her soon, you could attend some or all of these meetings with her to help you understand the process and get information and resources from her (On Mondays; April 28, May 5^th and 19^th).

LEAVE PLAYGROUND AFTER SCHOOL - As the days become nicer (keep your fingers crossed), please remember that children by policy must leave school at 2:15, unless they are in Art4Life, or have an adult responsible with them on the playground. I and the staff cannot be responsible for the safety of the children after school (see page 6 of “Maplewood’s Handbook and Calendar”).

GREEN SUMMIT - I accompanied four of our students to the Green Summit in Salem on March 13^th, to represent what we, as a Green School, have been doing, and to learn about other ways to help our environment and human community. We went with representatives for 5 other PPS Schools, and spent the day sharing what we have been doing. There is great interest from the students in making sure we are conserving and “being green” whenever possible.

SITE COUNCIL NOMINATIONS SOUGHT - Maplewood’s Site Council is set up by Oregon State Law, that mandates that 3 parents serve on the committee of 10, along with staff and the Principal, to meet monthly. There will be one opening for people to serve a two-year term beginning in the fall. Why is this important? This committee represents our school community in setting the direction for the educational focus of our school, including helping decide and write the annual School Improvement Plan. They also give guidance on what types of Professional Development should happen for staff; and approve some important decisions (e.g., in the past such as offering both full- and half-day kindergarten, and scheduling on a Trimester calendar.)

Lisa Sloan and Laura Shier will continue in their second year, but we will need nominees to replace parent Darryn Sikora, who is finishing her second year of work on this Council. Please let John know immediately if you have interest in serving on this monthly Council meeting or want to nominate someone to provide this important input to our learning.

Once we get the nominations, we’ll hold an election in early May to select that person. Thank you for your interest and involvement!

SPELLDOWN - The following students from grades 3 - 5 will represent Maplewood at the district Spelldown on April 23^rd: Eleanor Solomon and Jordan Samuel (3rd), Gavin McMinn and Brook Bateman (4^th), and Carly Campbelll and Zoe La Du (5th).

SPRING SING - You are invited to a singing and dancing performance in our gym on the evening of Thursday, May 1^st. The instrumental students will begin playing at 6:15 p.m. for the parents in the gym and the other students should report to their classrooms by 6:20 p.m. the program will start at 6:30 p.m. This year’s theme is, “A Land of a Thousand Dances!” Every grade level will share with you songs and dances from different places. The fifth grade students will narrate the program with the help from the “Maplewood Jukebox Time Machine” to take you to these different lands. Please don’t’ miss these outstanding students!

In addition, The PTA has set up two additional features for that night: Their Annual Used Book Sale which will start at 5:15 p.m. (see below) and they will be offering you a chance to have the Yearbook photographer take individual or group portrait photos.

MAPLEWOOD USED BOOK SALE

Please bring your gently used books, CDs, videos/DVDs, and CD-ROMs from Wednesday, April 23 to Thursday, May 1st. Take them to the hallway by the elevator (first left past the library).

Sale will be on Thursday May 1st, part of the Spring Celebration. Cash or check only.

“Many Bookworms make light work”

Cashiers and sorters needed!

Call Mike Gettel-Gilmartin at 244-7759 or e-mail gilmartin_michael@yahoo.com if you can help.

All profits go to the Maplewood PTA

(We’re hoping to have the sale outside, like we did last year, so if you have a canopy please let Mike know.)

RUN FOR THE ARTS - From Fran Kincaid, (Run for the Arts Coordinator): Thanks to all the parents, teachers and kids who make Run for the Arts such a great event! I am amazed each year at how hard so many of the kids work to get pledges and to keep moving for 30 minutes. A very special thanks to the many parent volunteers who make this event happen. We had so many volunteers we were able to have official cheerers! We also had several parents who ran with their kids. Be sure to thank our 5th grade team leaders who worked extra hard this year! It was a cold event this year but fortunately it didn't rain except for briefly during one of the afternoon sessions. I don't yet know how much money we raised but will keep you posted. I will also let you know how many miles we covered! If your child was absent and would like to participate in the Make-up Run, it will be on Tuesday, April 22^nd!! Thanks again for a great RUN!!

NIKE 5K FUN RUN FOR MAPLEWOOD - You have likely received information about a fund-raiser sponsored by NIKE – a 5K Fun Run on their world headquarters campus in Beaverton. If you would like to participate please turn your registration form into the office by Tuesday, April 22^nd. If you prefer to register your child or your family on your own, you may do so two ways. You may mail in your own application form with payment directly to NIKETOWN at the address on the entry form by May 28^th. Or, you can register online at www.nike5Kforkids.com by May 30^th. For more information go to www.nike5Kforkids.com – the Official Race website – or see our NIKE 5K For Kids School coordinator Maggie Vanderbeek.

SHARE YOUR IDEA ON NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS AND BOUNDARIES - Superintendent Carole Smith is reviewing a draft policy to clarify how Portland Public Schools assigns students to neighborhood schools. The policy, prepared by district staff, also offers guidelines for changing neighborhood school boundaries, using criteria including school feeder patterns, student body diversity, proximity and sense of community, optimal use of facilities, resource conservation stability at nearby schools and limiting the number of students affected. A board committee will take up the policy in late April, with school board consideration and a vote slated for May and June. To read more including the draft policy text, go to: http://cms9.pps.k12.or.us/.docs/pg/12484. Also to complete a survey go to the main PPS web page and go to "Click here for they survey" at http://www.pps.k12.or.us/.

OUR ENERGY CHALLENGE - Did you know that last year Portland’s public schools consumed over $3 million worth of electricity? Lucky for the district, which pays those hefty bills, this past spring we began this year’s “Energy Challenge”! The Energy Challenge is a Portland Public Schools program currently in its third year. The Challenge is a great opportunity for schools in the district to address their energy consumption and its inherent costs – both financial and environmental - and to reduce this consumption. In Oregon, where roughly forty percent of our electricity is produced by hydroelectric dams and another forty percent by burning coal, reducing our consumption of electricity can reduce our negative impacts on local salmon populations, while at the same time preventing air pollution and additional CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming.

This year, 15 schools participated in the Challenge, a three-month campaign from January through March. The campaign involved a wide range of awareness-raising activities as well as weekly classroom audits to monitor progress. Each school, including Maplewood, had a student team that champions the Challenge at their school. This team of students – which was made up of Student Council representatives and which we called the “Power Patrol” – performed the weekly energy audits and was responsible for raising awareness throughout the student body. To reduce energy consumption at each school the Challenge focuses on eliminating wasted energy, specifically where lights and computers are left on when not in use. In the past, schools have reduced their consumption by over ten percent during the Energy Challenge. With 15 schools participating this year, that could mean big savings for the district – and for the schools. To reward schools for their energy savings, each participating school received $150 at the start of the Challenge, and an additional $350 at the conclusion of the Challenge.

NEXT YEAR FOR YOUR CHILD - Believe it or not, I am needing to make some plans for next year, and some of those plans require your input! You will soon see requests coming home from me for two things:

• Your plans for next year (staying here, moving, waiting for transfer possibilities, other?)
• Your thoughts on the type of approaches/environment your child performs best in, and 2 or three main goals you would have for your child next year.

Upcoming Events:

Apr 21-27 - T.V. Free Week

Apr 22 - Earth Day

Apr 22 - Run for the Arts Make-up Run

Apr 25 - Bookbaggers Overnight Event

May 1 - Spring Sing! - 6:30 pm

May 5 - Cinco de Mayo

May 11 - Mother’s Day!

May 12 - Yearbooks due to Arrive

May 19-23 - Teacher Appreciation Week! Note new date!

May 20 - Field Day

May 26 - Memorial Day – NO SCHOOL

June 5 - PTA Meeting - 6:15 pm

June 10 - Last Day of School!