Principal Notes 05-28-10

NO SCHOOL MONDAY – Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend!

LIBRARY RECORD NUMBERS REPORTED BY MS. KORDAHL - “Warning: this may only interest my diligent library parent volunteers…”
10,893 books have been shelved by parents September 2009 - April 2010
12,068 books were checked out this school year (Sept. - April)
477 holds were put on books (sophisticated library patrons!)
     I’m not sure what is going on this year. Parent and teachers must be encouraging reading more than ever. Yea!
Total library items checked out through April of the past 4 years:
7,883 -     2007       10,801 - 2008       10,870 - 2009       12,131 - 2010

Hearty thanks to the parents who shelve books every week. It makes a difference and you’ve clearly been working very hard!

SUMMER READING PROGRAM - Maplewood students have been signed up for the Multnomah County Summer Reading Program. Information and game cards will be distributed shortly!  Maplewood Library Books due June 1st!  The year is ending! The last week for checking out library books was May 24-28. All library books are due June 1. Dig through backpacks, look in your cars, scour the house, clean-out desks…  Thanks, Elin Kordahl.

READING FRIENDS PARTY/CELEBRATION - This Tuesday, June 1st, between 11:15 and 12:00, the Reading Friends and their students, will be having Pizza to celebrate their year of working together. If your child has been receiving this weekly help, you can help your child show appreciation to their Reading Friend (helping them write a note or a card or whatever?). Our Reading Friends volunteers are such an important, vital part of supporting our students by being with them at least weekly to help them enjoy their reading! I am so grateful to them for their warm, dedicated, thoughtful work here!

FAMILY SCIENCE & MATH NIGHT A FUN, EDUCATIONAL EVENT! -  Maplewood parent Tracey Scherban, accomplished scientist and chemist, and her many volunteers, hosted a wonderful  night of activities in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Math, and Environmental Science. The activities and displays were educational, engaging, and fun for a large crowd of science enthusiasts!

ELECTRICITY CHALLENGE IS OFF TO A GOOD START! - As you may remember, we are challenged to reduce our electricity usage by an average of 3% each month for a year. In our first month’s calculations (March of 2010 compared to March 2009), we reduced it by 12% - from 18,546 to 16,282 kw hours! This is a great start toward winning the $2000 challenge bet!

SITE COUNCIL - We are happy to announce that Dan Brown, father of Bridget in first grade, will be beginning a two year term on our Site Council. He will be replacing Brian Conkle, who is finishing his term as his daughter, Maddy, leaves us soon for Middle School. The other two parents on Site Council will be continuing next year (Lisa Sloan, parent of Amy in third grade, and Alexander Ben-Israel, parent of Zev in third grade).  Our Site Council is defined by State Law, that gives them the responsibility for looking over our annual School Improvement Plans.

LOST AND FOUND - Please check our Lost and Found in the main hallway now, (either yourself, or remind your child) as we have many items in it, including a sideline flag for soccer, shoes, water bottles, and many coats/sweatshirts. Our teachers show it to students, as well, but please come to look it over if you are missing some clothing! At the end of the year, any unclaimed clothing is taken to the Portland PTA Clothing Closet.

BE AWARE OF DANGER OF “BREATHING GAME” -  I wanted to make sure that parents are aware of a game here, and a much more dangerous game in Keizer, that involves students using “breathing” for physical effect.   Recently at our school, a student was “playing a game” that resulted in her fainting; she said that she and some other 2nd grade girls had been playing this game for the last couple of days where they try to hold their breath intently to make themselves red in the face; this particular girl did it so hard that she ended up fainting and falling down. I immediately let teachers know about this, but wanted to make sure you were aware, too.
    I just wanted to make you aware in case you see or hear of kids trying it. I was reminded today about a very recent, escalated type of game with some middle schoolers in Keizer, that has them trying to choke each other until passing out and then awakening with a "high" feeling - but it resulted in a middle schooler's death.  I’m not trying to unnecessarily alarm you, but to have you monitor this, or have you consider your child’s need to be cautioned about the risks of any type of unusual breathing games.

Best Regards,   John

Your Input on Class Placement for Your Child

At this time of year, I begin gathering information to help with the best placement of every child in a classroom/teacher assignment for the fall. The final decisions are made by me over the summer.
    You can get a link to the form that I use by going to the Maplewood website, and clicking on Placement and Goals Letter at http://cms5.pps.k12.or.us/.docs/pg/11619 .

Principal Notes 4-28-10

CELEBRATE NATIONAL POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY ON THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2010 AT MAPLEWOOD! - Poems from pockets will be unfolded throughout the day at school. Please remind your child to wear clothing with pockets. There is a busy exchange of poems all day! Encourage your child to write their own poem. Original hand-written and decorated poems are the most swapped and prized exchange item. Poems will be available in the library, too. Questions? - contact Elin Kordahl in the library!

FAMILY SCIENCE & MATH NIGHT, THURSDAY, MAY 6th, 6-7:30 PM, MAPLEWOOD GYM - Be sure to mark your calendars for this fun, and educational event. Maplewood parent Tracey Scherban, accomplished scientist and chemist, is coordinating a night with activities in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Math, and Environmental Science. She has truly enlisted knowledgeable people to lead an impressive list of activities. “I am very much looking forward to this event and think this will be a great opportunity to inspire and enthuse our students about science and math. Please feel free to contact me any time with questions or ideas. For questions, you may contact Tracey Scherban at 503-244-2990”. “Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple, and may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to everyone.” Albert Einstein

WASHABLE TRAYS AND SILVERWARE COMING MONDAY, MAY 3RD! - The most recent update to me is that we’re targeting that day to begin the use of washable, permanent trays and silverware in the cafeteria. We are also going to eliminate the use of straws, and have students drink out of the cartons. I’ve asked the nutrition services people to come out and help staff with the planning and training of students/staff. We’re happy that we’ll be able to cut down the waste from using throw-away articles each day!

SITE COUNCIL NOMINEES SOUGHT - By Oregon State Law, each school must have a Site Council that is represented by 3 parents, 5 staff, and the Principal. Here at Maplewood, we have an active committee that meets monthly with me to discuss our School Improvement Plan, our professional development, and how our Foundation money is spent. We have two parents whose term is continuing for another year: Alexander Ben-Israel, and Lisa Sloan. But we are looking for a parent to take over for Brian Conkle, whose term is ending. This is a two year term, and we’d love to hear if you, or someone you’d like to nominate, would be interested. Please watch for a separate flyer, if you’d like more details. If you’re interested in nominating someone (or yourself), please contact me.

LOST AND FOUND HAS EXPLODED AGAIN - Please check our Lost and Found in the main hallway now, (either yourself, or remind your child) as we have many items in it, including a sideline flag for soccer, shoes, water bottles, and many coats/sweatshirts. Our teachers show it to students, as well, but please come to look it over if you are missing some clothing! At the end of the year, any unclaimed clothing is taken to the Portland PTA Clothing Closet.

SUPERINTENDENT RECOMMENDS PLAN FOR HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM

Superintendent Carole Smith has recommended a plan for Portland Public Schools’ High School System that would provide “equitable access to a well-rounded education” as well as offer personalized learning options.
     "Together, we must work to improve outcomes for students throughout our system, in particular those students who have been left behind for too long,” the superintendent wrote in her plan. “This plan alone will not resolve these issues, but it is a strong and clear movement in the right direction and a necessary precondition to our success.”
     Major changes to the current system under the superintendent’s proposal follow.
Focus schools

• Marshall Campus schools - Renaissance Arts, BizTech and Pauling - would close at the end of the 2010-11 year. In fall 2011, a focus school would open. The school, whose focus has not been determined yet, would be available to all PPS students.

• Benson Polytechnic High School would, in fall 2011, become an advanced learning center for career-related and technical learning experiences. Juniors and seniors across the district could apply to spend half their school day or week at Benson and the remainder at their home school to pursue an in-depth career or technical program.
Community schools

• Eight current schools would become community high schools: Cleveland, Franklin, Grant, Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison, Roosevelt and Wilson.

• Each community school would offer a guaranteed broad core curriculum, including advanced classes, support classes, music, visual, theater or dance, two world languages to the fifth year, increased counseling staff and libraries staffed with media specialists.

• Because of Marshall’s conversion to a focus site, high school students living within the current Marshall Campus boundary will be assigned to Franklin or Madison High School beginning in fall 2011. Those living in the Harrison Park K-8 School neighborhood will be assigned to Madison: students living in the Lane Middle School and Bridger, Lent and Marysville K-8 school areas to Franklin.

• Other high school attendance boundaries also would change beginning in fall 2011, affecting that year’s incoming ninth-graders (now in seventh grade). Four elementary neighborhoods would move to new high school assignments: Boise-Eliot PK-8 School neighborhood to Jefferson High School; Creston K-8 School neighborhood to Cleveland High School; Hosford Middle School students who live in the Buckman Elementary School neighborhood to Lincoln High School; and Sunnyside Environmental K-8 School neighborhood to Grant High School.

• Transfers among the community schools would be limited.

Other features of the plan

• By 2014, Jefferson High School would have a robust and rigorous middle college program, allowing students to graduate from high school having earned at least 30 hours of credit at Portland Community College. Students districtwide could transfer into Jefferson to take advantage of this opportunity.

• A new Academic Priority Zone system would offer support students at schools with the highest needs, from prekindergarten through high school.

• Six of the eight community schools would house language immersion programs, with students generally following the language program’s feeder patterns even if that took them to a community school outside their neighborhood.

Superintendent Carole Smith shared her recommendation with the Portland School Board on April 26. The school board will deliberate and vote on key aspects of the High School Action Plan in June. The new High School System would officially launch in fall 2011.

Summaries of the plan will be delivered to school offices this week. Also, families whose students would be affected by the changes will receive letters in the next several weeks.
     For information or to comment, send e-mail to highschools@pps.k12.or.us. Portland Public Schools also is staffing a hotline during regular business hours at 503-916-2801, with interpreters available in Somali, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese. Callers may leave a voicemail comment or speak with a staff member.
  The school district will sponsor two all-district meetings, both from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.:

• Tuesday, May 11, at Madison High School, 2735 N.E. 82nd Ave.

• Tuesday, May 18, at Roosevelt High School, 6941 N. Central St.

Additional meetings specific to individual schools may be scheduled as well. Families will receive information on those meetings as it becomes available.
To find the superintendent’s proposal and other information online, go to www.pps.k12.or.us.

Reusable Trays and Silverware coming May 3

We will begin using reusable lunch trays, and the donated silverware, in our cafeteria beginning on Monday, May 3rd. Our efforts will also include eliminating plastic straws ( will have students drink out of the carton), and will help us cut our consumption of styrofoam and plastic immensely! 

Spirit Week Activities for March 16-19

Maplewood Spirit Week! (Tues.- Fri.)

March 16th – March 19th

Monday March 15th – NO SCHOOL -Teacher Planning Day
Tuesday March 16th – Maplewood T-Shirt Day/Skate-Nite

 Spiritwear: Wear your Maplewood Logo to school,  then REPRESENT at the Rink

 Event: Skate-Nite at Historic Oaks Park Skate Rink

 Time: 6:30 to 8:30   Cost: $6.00 per person

 Event: READ ALOUD ATHON – Pledges for number of pages read will raise funds for PTA support of our school!

Wednesday March 17th – Go Green! It’s St. Patrick’s Day

 Spiritwear: Wear green!

 Event 1: the Portland Metro Concert Band plays in the gym

 Event 2: Donate a spoon and a fork to the Cafeteria.

 Note: It is a LATE OPENING DAY!

 Event 3: Laughing Planet Café – Dining for Dollars 11a-9p

 Thursday March 18th – Dress-Up Nice Day

Spiritwear: Wear your very best to school

 Friday March 19th – Pajama Day

 Spirit-wear: Wear your PJ’s all day long

 Event: MapleBars in the morning!

Principal Notes 3-5-10

2 HOUR LATE OPENING WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17TH!
NO SCHOOL MARCH 15 – Teacher Planning Day because we are a school on a Trimester system, it is time for teachers to work on report cards.
TIME TO ENROLL FOR KINDERGARTEN FOR FALL, 2010 – We are now at the stage where we are planning for Kindergarten staffing and classroom space for next year; please send in your enrollment paperwork if you are going to enroll your child. Please do so, as soon as possible, to help us know how many students (and classrooms!) we should be preparing for!
CLOTHING LOST AND FOUND WILL BE EMPTIED SOON! – We have again picked up a lot of clothing in our lost and found pile. The PTA volunteer Kate Desommes, will be arranging the items in the hallway for people to identify, but on Thursday, March 11, the clothes will be donated to the PPS Clothing Closet, so check the table in the hall before then!
ANNUAL CAMPAIGN GETTING CLOSER TO OUR GOAL - But we still are in need of more families donating! On March 16th, I will be given Maplewood’s allocation of staffing, and I will only have about 7 school days to make the programmatic decisions. Please consider ways you can contribute to the campaign, to help retain Music, P.E., Library, and Computer Lab instruction!
SURVEY AVAILABLE FOR YOU RE: HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM DESIGN – PPS is encouraging people to take a survey online, available in English and Spanish. You can go to the PPS Home Page at www.pps.k12.or.us. It will ask your opinions to help them weigh decisions about attendance boundaries, community school locations, and other important factors that will affect you and your children. If you can’t participate online, we have hard copies of the survey on the community information shelf in the main hallway of school. The survey will close on Friday, March 19th.
HELP WANTED – UPHOLSTERY AND/OR SEWING? - We have some upholstered chairs in the library that are showing their age (worn or ripping fabric). Our stage backdrop fabric is also showing multiple tears. Do you have skills or resources in upholstery or in sewing to help re-upholster chairs or repair the backdrops? If so, please contact Elin Kordahl (library) or John Blanck.
CONGRATULATIONS TO BATTLE OF THE BOOKS COMPETITORS! – Elin Kordahl, our talented coordinator of this event, report to us!
Last October Maplewood students made teams of up to 5 players and divided up a book list among the players (16 titles grades 4/5, 6 titles for grade 3.) In February, students met in the library and battled, answering questions about the books as teams. There were 28 battles held during lunch recess times! To answer each question the elected team spokesperson worked with their team for 15 seconds and presented an agreed upon answer.
I am always impressed with the level of excitement about books, the discussion of the books, the excellent sportsmanship of the winning and losing teams and the general enthusiasm for reading good books by Maplewood students.
This year 93 students participated, breaking past participation levels.
The team “Fire-Breathing Devil Duckies of Doom” will represent Maplewood at the March 6 regional battles in Estacada. This team was the winning 5th grade team. It includes: Molly Girsch, Miranda Long, Elizabeth Sikora, Elle Stein and Molly Zwartjes.

Upcoming Events:


Mar 12 - Grading Periods Ends

Mar 15 - NO SCHOOL - Teacher Planning Day

Mar 16 – 19 – SPIRIT WEEK!!

Mar 16 - Read-Aloud-Athon

Mar 17 - 2 Hour Late Opening

Mar 22 – 26 – SPRING BREAK!!

February is Campaign Month

This letter is one that was just sent out from a first grade room parent, addressed to the other parents in her child's classroom. I thought it had very clear and helpful suggestions in it, and wanted to pass it on.

Dear fellow parents in First Grade,

     Hopefully you have received information about the Campaign by now and even submitted the form with your donation. February has been designated as Campaign Month at Maplewood. Why? Because we LOVE our school and know that in order to fund staff positions such as the librarian, computer lab, physical education, and music teachers we must raise money to pay for them.
The school's campaign goal this year is $200 per family (or $16.67/month). I am writing to ask that each of you join my family and contribute whatever you can. While some of you may be able to give more, and the school is thankful for it, it is not important how much you give but that EVERYONE give something. A donation of any amount is greatly appreciated. Honestly, $1 would be gladly accepted. Keep in mind that $5 a month is a Starbucks coffee or a fast food meal.
     How can you give? There are many options. Write a check payable to Maplewood or make your donation on a credit card – either the full amount at once or a recurring monthly amount. Greg and I chose this way so that we can think about spending that much less each month. Make a pledge to contribute a certain amount in future months, when your tax return arrives, for example. A donor form is attached to this email.
You may wonder why we have to raise money when Measures 66 and 67 just passed. Those recent tax measures will not cover the funding for the positions I mentioned. The dollars were already part of the PPS budget and would have been CUT if the measures failed. The passage just kept the funding where it was. The PE staff position has been covered by a grant that is good for another year, but the school is not certain the grant will be available in coming years. The other positions have relied on campaign funding to pay for them.
     Public School is not free. By giving to the campaign our children receive a well-rounded education. What is the value of these programs? Here's a breakdown of how much time our children benefit from these programs and teachers and the expense associated with it:

• Music - 2 times/week for 36 weeks = 72 times @ $200/yr = <$3/half hour. Standard music lessons are $25/half hour!
• PE - 4 times/week for 36 weeks = 144 times @$200/yr = $1.40/half hour. Other activities that promote physical activity are often 10 times that much for the same amount of time.
• Library - 1 time/week and staffed with a terrific resource!
• Computer - 1 time/week - A mom of a 5th grade student said her daughter recently learned to put a PowerPoint presentation together in computer lab. She was happy that she didn't have to teach her those skills!

     Stacey Pacheco, one of our very own class parents, is the Chairperson of the Foundation Committee. She took on the role because she has seen how her daughter and son benefit from the programs the foundation pays for. At a recent Foundation meeting, Mrs. Abel and Mrs. Lange were present to say why the Campaign means so much to them. When Mrs. Abel first came to Maplewood there wasn't a PE teacher, and she had to teach it. She said she didn't like teaching PE because she wasn't very good at it, and she had difficulty getting the kids to settle down afterwards and struggled with the transition to the next subject she had to teach. Thanks to the staff we have at Maplewood teaching PE, computers, music and running the library she has time to prepare her lesson plans and focus on what she does best. And the kids come back into the classroom ready to learn. She also mentioned how she'll send one or two children at a time to meet with the librarian who will help them find the right book for their interests and reading level.
Ask your children if they enjoy computer lab, music, PE, and library time. Mrs. Abel says we are truly lucky to have staff in all these positions! Let's keep it that way!!!
     The 1st grade Room Parents will be creating a class competition based on the highest % of families that contribute to the campaign. This is not the amount of money given but how many families participate in contributing to the campaign. I am confident that all of you will join me in giving something. I'm sure our kids would really appreciate a pizza party or social activity with a special guest thanks to our support of their school. We need everyone to give for the campaign to be successful! Your contribution is confidential. The school will keep track of who has contributed for the class competition, and I'll let you know how we're doing compared to the other classes.

THANK YOU for taking the time to read this and for your support of Maplewood!
Sincerely,
Kristen (Ben's Mom)

Principal Notes 1-22-10

NEW BUS BEGINS MONDAY, FEB. 1ST
CHECK THE SCHEDULE FOR YOUR NEW TIME AND BUS NUMBER!

Our fourth bus route will be added, and begins on the morning of Monday, February 1st; to prepare you and your child, it is HIGHLY important that you:

1. Look at the hard copy of the bus schedule we sent home with these notes, or go to the same schedule at http://www.pps.k12.or.us/depts-c/bus/index.php and click on the drop-down menu with the school name in it and choose Maplewood.
2. look at the schedule in #1 above, and look up your stop name, and it will tell you what times the bus picks up and drops off, and what the bus number will be.
3. help your child keep their new bus tag secure in/on their backpack (we’ll send home the new bus tag with your child during the day on Monday, Feb 1st).
4. If you do not see your child’s bus stop on the new route list, please call Kathy in the Maplewood office.
5. As in the beginning of the year, make sure you are out at the stop to meet the bus at least 5 minutes earlier than time on the schedule (as it always takes a few days for the driver to get used to the route and the timing).

As we mentioned in previous messages, we’re very happy to have the new bus, as it will now make our longest rides be shorter than any of our previous rides, and should decrease the number of students on each bus. To accommodate the new bus, we’ll lose 3 of our parking spaces; please watch for signs for expanded area for no parking, as well.

KINDERGARTEN FOR FALL 2010? - We are beginning plans for our Kindergartners for next fall. We really need to know how many, and which, students may be coming to our Kindergarten. We will be holding our annual Parent Information/Round-Up Session on Wed., Feb. 10th from 3:00 to 4:00. This session is for adults only, and will be set up to give you details about our programming and a chance for you to ask questions, see our current classrooms and teachers, etc. Please call the school office as soon as possible to help us know how many students (and classrooms!) we should be preparing for!
HARVEST OF THE MONTH - On January 13th and January 27th roasted Rutabagas will be served for Harvest of the Month in the school cafeteria. The same farmer who has grown parsnips, beets and cabbage for our Harvest of the Month Program in the past will be providing rutabagas for us this month. These yummy rutabagas were grown by Hilltop Farms located in Troutdale and their family has been farming on the same land for over 100 years. Please help us support local farms and local purchasing.

FROM THE LIBRARY:
Overdue Books and Renewals (on line)
Visit www.library.pps.k12.or.us Log in using your child’s 6-digit eSIS ID number and you can see what they have checked out and renew books online! Books are checked out for a two-week period. While you are there you can search the Maplewood book collection (thank you PTA for your additional funding each year!)
Battle of the Books (grades 3-5)
A record 94 students are participating this year!
Battle schedules are posted in the library and will be distributed to participants (battles are held during lunch recesses.) The final grade level battles will be held in the gym, February 23 from 12:30-1:30. Family members are welcome to attend battles.
Parent Volunteers in the Library
Half of the library classes have parents checking out books! What a wonderful outpouring of support. I have been delighted be fielding dozens of questions, helping students find a "just right" book. The following classes have spots for parent volunteers if you are interested: Scherlie, McIntyre, Savage, Hawes, McClenaghan, and Stanich. Parents report that it is “fun”, and a “nice way to get to know the children.”
As more parents are now checking out books, if a book comes home that you find “inappropriate” (too difficult, scary, or whatever) please contact me immediately, return the book and we’ll find something better!
Elin Kordahl, Maplewood Teacher-Librarian, Kordahl@pps.k12.or.us


CLOTHING FOR YOUR CHILDREN - As a reminder (especially if your children may be getting some new winter clothes during the break: I’d highly recommend you write your child’s name in them, as we’re trying to continually improve our ability to “reunite” children with their coats! Thanks, by the way, for the great help you gave us by sending all the warm clothes with your children during this last week of very cold weather!

ANNUAL CAMPAIGN TO RAISE FUND FOR ONE OF OUR SPECIALIST TEACHER POSITIONS! - We are beginning our annual campaign today, as noted on the letter being sent home today! Please consider ways you can contribute.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
PARENTS NIGHT OUT FOR VALENTINES!

Wilson Trojan State Champion Cheerleading is offering neighborhood parents and friends to bring their children to a Spend some Valentine time with your Sweetie night in the preschool and surrounding rooms at Wilson HS on Friday, February 12th, 4-8pm. Take advantage of quality child care in a safe and fun environment while you actually get to enjoy a rare date with your spouse and/or friends! Your children will enjoy games and stories with the cheerleaders and adult supervisors and will get to design and create as many Valentine's as they'd like to take home for loved ones. They might even get to learn a cheer or two from our WHS 2009 Oregon State Champs!
Cost is $4 per hour, per child with a family maximum of $12 per hour. Ages infant to 9 years are welcome and will be grouped according to age for appropriate activities. This is a fundraiser for Wilson Trojan Cheer and you only pay for the hours you use, but we encourage you to take advantage of this bargain for the full 4 hours if possible! Please also invite your friends and neighbors! Please contact Maureen at reenb@q.com 503.246.1474 for questions or to obtain a registration brochure.

Kathie McNett Retiring

KATHY McNETT ANNOUNCEMENT : Here is the text of yesterday's letter, that Kathie wanted to send out to staff and our community:

"Dear Mr. Blanck, staff, and Maplewood Families,
This is one of the hardest notes I've had to write. As you know, last year I was unassigned from working at Maplewood. Thanks to all of you , the Music program was saved! Due to an illness that I have had since childhood, I have decided to take some time off. Thanks to Mr. Blanck, my wonderful family and my doctors, taking a leave of absence will be helpful.
Mis Thompson, who I can't thank enough, will teach all the music classes. Miss Thompson taught at Wilson High School for many years so the students will be in great hands! Teaching at Maplewood for most of my thirty years of my professional career has been a wonderful experience!!!!! Working with Mr. Blanck, the staff and the Maplewppd community has been fantastic!! Thanks you all for THE BEST 22 YEARS EVER!!! Thank you again!! Kathie McNett"

It was with mixed emotions that I read this letter from Kathie McNett yesterday. Kathie has been an integral part of our school for the last 22 years, and we will really miss having her positive, laughing, love for music and children here. On the other hand, we all have affection for her, and can understand that her recent surgery added to her difficult string of medical issues these last few years; we therefore can understand her decision to retire from teaching and her need to fully heal, as soon as she can.
The plans for adjustment here at Maplewood will involve both immediate and longer term plans. We are fortunate to have Becky Thompson, a fantastic music teacher who has taught here before in addition to her previous teaching career at Wilson High. Becky is committed to teaching here through the end of the year, and will follow the current music class schedule, including choir.
NOTE: Band and Strings - We are making plans to continue to offer this for our 4th and 5th graders, but these will NOT be continued temporarily until we can make proper preparations for it; my prediction is that we will resume it within the next 3 weeks. I will send out a notice about this to you; in the meantime, don’t send the instruments to school with your children until further notice.
In terms of possible celebrations or ways of saying good-bye to Kathie, I will discuss this with PTA and parents and teaching staff, and let you know what may be planned.
In addition, our long term plans for continuing to staff music in the years to come will depend on the yearly staffing allocation, educational funding, and the success of our Maplewood Annual Campaign.
Please join me in welcoming Becky Thompson here again, and in wishing Kathie McNett the best of luck and happiness in her next life adventures.

Head Lice Reminders

At the current time, we have only a very few students who have had head lice, but since head lice can appear at any time of year, I thought I'd remind parents about some policies that we have to follow at Maplewood. Our nurse, Michelle Maclachlan, is here only on Tuesdays; school nurses are hired through the Multnomah Educational Service District (MESD).
The current advice is that parents should periodically check their children for any signs of head lice. The MESD establishes many of our health policies, which include the following:
" Parents are encouraged to check their children regularly for head lice. Students with live lice will be excluded from school and sent home with lice treatment information. The student will be readmitted to school aftertreatment with an FDA (Federal Drug Administration) approved medicated product and re-examination for live lice. Any student with nits only will be allowed in school and monitored for re-infestation of lice. Current evidence does not support classroom or school-wide screening as a measure for decreasing the incidence of head lice among school age children."
At Maplewood, we monitor cases of head lice, to watch for reasonable ways to prevent the spread of head lice. If you have questions about this, feel free to contact Michelle at Maplewood.  Additional resources can be found at the MESD Head Lice Resources page at http://www.mesd.k12.or.us/shs/hss/Head%20Lice%20Resources/headliceresourcesindex.shtml

Extra Bus Being Added in February

  I have been monitoring the number of students and the length of the bus rides for students this year, and I've asked Transportation to make plans to decrease the number of students and the time students are riding the morning and afternoon buses. We currently have three buses that run routes for the beginning and the end of the day; we are now making plans to add a fourth bus beginning in February.
      This will entail some changes for all of us - it is very possible that your child's drop-off or pick-up time and bus route # will be changed; at school, it means we have to get an expanded bus zone ready, and get bus schedules to you. We want to make this a smooth transition, which is why we will not be starting the new routes until at least the first week in February. "Stay tuned" for more specifics in January; I wanted to give you a heads-up.

Principal Notes 10-14-09

Late Opening Wednesday, October 21st


This is the second of this year’s 2 Hour Late Openings, in which all PPS schools were required to participate. At Maplewood, our teachers will be working hard on training on our emphasis on writing. On late opening days, the schedule will just have 2 hours added on to the usual time:

- Bus pick-up times will be two hours later than usual (eg. , if your usual bus time is 7:20, on late openings it will be 9:20.

-Child care arrangements will be discussed with Art4Life, who will communicate with the families who have already signed up with them.

-Kindergartners!: Half-day students come all day and will eat lunch at school, and bus students will go home on the afternoon bus. The PPS website at http://159.191.14.135/.docs/pg/400/rid/11786/f/KindergartenLate_Open_Advisory.pdf discusses effects on Half-day and Full Day kindergarten students

New Cafeteria Policy on Milk Substitutions to start on November 9th

PPS schools must implement a new policy from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and ODE Child Nutrition (Oregon Department of Education) which states that juice may not be offered as a milk substitute. Currently there is no approved milk substitute available in Oregon. Students will not be required to take milk when they purchase lunch, if they do not drink milk. Students who do not want milk may choose from the other food groups offered to select at least three food groups.

As of November 9th, milk will be the only a la carte beverage sold in the K-5 and K-9 cafeterias. Juice will not be an option at lunch in order to encourage students to limit juice intake and eat more whole fruits as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. There is no limitation on beverages sent from home. Contact Shannon Stember at 503.916.3365 if you have questions.

GRANDPARENTS/SPECIAL FRIENDS - WHEN: Grandparents or special friends can come to Maplewood on Thursday, Oct. 28th . 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!

COSTUME PARADE - FRIDAY, OCT. 31ST - This again will 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).

TAG PARENT INFORMATION SESSION - On Weds. Oct. 28th, from 7:00 to 8:00 at Wilson High School, I will be helping host 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 Nov. 29th. 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 decrease in time allotted by our PPS calendar, 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.

New Cafeteria Policy on Milk

PPS schools must implement a new policy from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and ODE Child Nutrition (Oregon Department of Education) which states that juice may not be offered as a milk substitute. Currently there is no approved milk substitute available in Oregon. Students will not be required to take milk when they purchase lunch, if they do not drink milk. Students who do not want milk may choose from the other food groups offered to select at least three food groups.

As of November 9th, milk will be the only a la carte beverage sold in the K-5 and K-9 cafeterias. Juice will not be an option at lunch in order to encourage students to limit juice intake and eat more whole fruits as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. There is no limitation on beverages sent from home. Contact Shannon Stember at 503.916.3365 if you have questions. 

flu update

Just wanted to pass on some quick information to update you on flu awareness here. Some information from today includes:
- my polling of teachers this morning shows that averaged over the school enrollment, about 23% of our students are out today. We continue to remind parents that students need to be symptom free (no symptoms without any medication) for 24 hours before they return to school
- PPS sent out this info to me this morning:

H1N1 update
10/8/2009

The H1N1 flu is here - in fact, it’s probably in all schools. The good news is that for the vast majority of infected students and staff, it means a few days home sick and then a return to school.

We are continuing to hear from health officials that the best thing schools can do is to stress prevention measures. Cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, wash your hands often with soap and water, and stay home if you are sick.

What’s with the masks?

Starting the week of Oct. 12, those of you in schools may notice MESD nurses wearing masks when caring for sick students. Do not be alarmed. This is a precautionary measure intended to reduce the spread of the virus from a sick student to a healthy one.

Schools with county health centers will see medical staff taking additional precautions. This may include wearing respirator masks and gowns. Health centers serve as primary care providers - similar to a doctor’s office or hospital. Because of that, staff at the centers follow the same guidelines as staff in hospitals and other medical clinics. MESD nurses and school staff are not primary care providers. Their goal is to isolate sick students and care for them until they can be picked up from school.

Vaccination clinics

PPS is partnering with MESD to host community vaccination clinics at five schools: Wilson High School, Marshall Campus, Madison High School, Jefferson High School and Ockley Green K-8 School. MESD -- serving as an agent for the Multnomah County Health Department -- is providing both the medical staff and the vaccine. PPS is simply providing the space and logistical support.

Like all community vaccination clinics operated by MESD or Multnomah County, the school-based clinics provide no-cost vaccinations to anyone who walks through the doors. Children under 18 will need to be accompanied by an adult.

We’re still finalizing the dates and times for the school-based clinics. Once finalized, our school-based clinics will be added to a master schedule of all community vaccination clinics in the county. As soon as we can, we will share that information with you and our families.

Open House and Picnic Thursday, Sept 24

Our annual Picnic/Open House will be held on Thursday, Sept. 24th.
5:30 (or when you want to come): Picnic on lawn (or gym if raining)
5:30 Rose City Bluegrass Band plays for your entertainment
6:30 Doors to school open and you can go in to see classrooms, meet teacher, and meet other classmates. See the Maplewood website http://159.191.14.135/.docs/pg/11619 for a flyer and more information

Important Upcoming Dates

Mark your calendars for some important dates coming up:
Fri Sept. 11 - First Day for Kindergartners (half and full-day)
Fri Sept. 11 - 8:15 = New Parent Information Meeting in cafeteria
Weds Sept. 16 - Two Hour Late Opening - school starts at 10:00!
Weds Sept. 16 - 6:15 is the first PTA Meeting
Thurs Sept. 24 - Open House/Back to School Picnic 5:30 is optional picnic and Bluegrass Band on the lawn (or in gym if raining) and 6:30 to 7:30 doors open to come into school to see classrooms and meet teachers/friends
Fri. Oct 2 - School Carnival
Mon. Oct. 5 - Picture Day
Weds Oct. 7 - International Walk/Bike to School Day
Fri Oct. 9 - NO SCHOOL - State In-Service Day
Weds. Oct 21 - Two Hour Late Opening - school starts at 10:00!
Weds Oct 28 - Special Friends/Grandparents Day 12:30
Thurs Oct 29 - Picture Make-Up Day
Fri Oct 30 - Costume Parade in afternoon

Swine Flu Plans

Maplewood follows the health directives and suggestions from authorities closely, including those from the Multnomah Health Department and the Multnomah Education Service District. If you go to this link from Portland Public Schools: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/families/1180.htm , you will find links to information in several languages talking about suggestions for families.
At this point, the link refers to common sense actions about preventing it through handwashing with soap or alcohol sanitizers; it also give very clear indications that if a child is sick, they should stay home. We will be very cautious this year at Maplewood about this, and "when in doubt, we'll call" to have a child stay home or to be taken home to make sure we help us all from spreading any flu or sickness. Your cooperation and support on this will help a great deal!

Patience during our "Opening

Our have to tell you how proud I am of our staff for their heroic efforts to be ready for school on Tuesday! Even as I type this, there are still electricians and other workers still around, working right over the desks of several teachers who have had to wait til the last minute to even be able to get to their rooms.
Most noticeably affected are Liberty Looney and Patty Stanich, who have been such strong professionals as they have waited to even be able to walk into their classrooms until 2 days ago! And all our teachers have had construction in the main building to work around.
So, when you come and see the changes and see the rooms at the beginning of this year (you'll be amazed), please give our teachers a pat on the back, and especially give them your patience and support as they work with the children in these new surroundings! We're excited about getting started with this New Year!

Kindergarten Programming News

This last week has been extremely busy! During the last two weeks we have met more and more new kindergartners coming to register. In fact, I just confirmed with the district that we do need to add some resources to our Kindergarten program.
Here is what we have as of today: We have a total of 29 students in one class, and 30 in another, and within those classes, we have a grand total of 12 students who are enrolled for Half-Time. That total number is higher than what we want here, and high enough that we earn an additional half-time teacher.
In looking at the recent enrollments, our total numbers, and at the best configuration for these students, here is what is being planned:
1. We will be moving the 12 half-time students into their own separate classroom with a half-time Kindergarten teacher, which will leave 22 to 25 students in the two Full-Time Classrooms. The teachers will be: Paula Sauvageau teaching a Full-Time Class in 110, Beth Hawes teaching the other Full-Time Class in 108, and I will be hiring a teacher for the Half-Time Class which will be in 112. This new teacher will be hired and announced as soon as possible; even though it is late notice, my goal is to have a person hired and ready to begin school for students on the first day of Kindergarten, Sept. 11th.
2. School hours for full-time and half-time students will be the same as before.
3. The Full-Time students and parents will be meeting their teachers at their appointed times.
4. Assessment Appointments: The Half-Time Students and parents will very possibly get an assessment and talk with someone who is NOT going to be their actual teacher (I'm still working as quickly as I can on this). But until you hear otherwise from me, plan on coming in at the times for which you already have an appointment.
5. Changes in full vs. half K : This new set-up will mean that after the school year starts, if a student has to change from full-time to half-time, or from half-time to full-time, it also means that they will have to change teachers/classrooms. If any of you are considering that there might be a change, keep this in mind, and call the school office right away to discuss it with John.

I am sure that his Kindergarten Program will make for a wonderful year for all our students.

PE - New Teacher and Full-Time

News about our Physical Education Program at Maplewood: I am hapy to announce that we ARE going to be able to have a second year of a Full-Time P.E. Teacher for our children!

As you may remember, we were the only school in the Portland Public Schools to apply for, and receive, a grant from the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) a year ago. This grant paid for the salary for a full-time P.E. Teacher all last year, with the additional help of some Maplewood funds. But at the end of the year, we were given the disappointing news that the state was not going to fund it for our second year due to budget limits. Therefore, last spring, Mr. Schalk was transferred to work at Creston Scho0ol - we were sorry to see him go. At that point, though, we were then able to hire Jane Eggert for half-time PE. teaching here.

The most recent news, however, brought positive results for us: two weeks ago, a phone call to me from ODE stated that on their last legislative day, some funding was added at the last minute to fund some salary money for this PE program for one more year, and I was invited to write an application for it. I did that over a weekend, turned it in, and was just told that we will be one of 29 schools in the state to get this grant for one year! So as it stands now, Jane Eggert just yesterday was given the official o.k. to teach here full time, and she is delighted!

Ms. Eggert lives close by, has children who attended Wilson Cluster Schools, and brings energy, passion, and years of experience to this important part of the education of our children! Please join me in welcoming her when you see her!