The Cheetah Coalition #5

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Dear Atkinson Families,

We've practiced three emergency drills so far this year, and our students have done a great job. We've had an Evacuation/Fire Drill, a Team Response Drill, and a Lockdown Drill. We so appreciate everyone taking these drills seriously and remaining calm. Next up in October we will be practicing our Earthquake Drill.

In the event of an actual emergency, I need parents to understand that my main focus has to be on student safety and parent reunification, not on immediate parent communication. Several requirements impede my ability to send out immediate communications, including translation and vetting of all emergency communications through district channels. I promise you, however, that my work day will not end until you have heard from me. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

We will have our monthly Parent/Principal Coffees next week! Thursday in English and Friday in Spanish, right after dropoff in the morning. My discussion focus this month will be student academic achievement. I hope to see you there.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Debbie Armendariz

darmenda@pps.net

Atkinson Elementary School Principal

There have been a few questions about morning arrival procedures, so we wanted to clarify a few points:

1. Please try your best to arrive BY 8:40AM in the morning so that you are here when the first bell rings.
2. Teachers are expected to start teaching at 8:45am, so classes are starting to come inside as soon as the first bell rings at 8:40am.
3. There should always be staff members outside until 8:45am to let students in if the teachers have already gone inside. However, if for any reason, there is not a staff person outside to let students in after 8:40am, please have students enter through the main lobby.
4. Any student arriving after 8:45am needs to sign in on the yellow tardy sheet in the lobby before going to class.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns! Thank you for your help getting our classes started on time!

Portland Public Schools utilizes a visitor/volunteer management system called RAPTOR for persons visiting schools. PPS is committed to ensuring our schools are safe places for our students and staff, and this system enables us to be certain we know who is in our schools at all times. Volunteers must first be approved and background checked by the district. To apply to be a volunteer, please visit www.pps.net/volunteer.

The RAPTOR system also enables PPS to screen visitors and volunteers against the sex offender registry. Names and date of birth are compared to the sex offender registry only. No other external sources are checked and the information you share is securely stored in an internal PPS database. Please note that registered sex offenders are not permitted to enter school grounds (View Policy: Registered Sex Offenders 3.10.015-AD).

All visitors and volunteers arriving at Atkinson must come into the office immediately upon arrival. If you have been here before, you can check in on our RAPTOR computer in the office to receive your visitor/volunteer badge. If you have not been here before, you will be asked to show a government-issued ID on your first visit.

We thank you for your understanding and support of enhanced school safety protocols in our district. More information can be found HERE.

For any students who missed picture day or would like to retake their photo, we will have that opportunity on Tuesday, October 17th. You should have received information by email from our photo vendor, Visual Impressions, about how to access your child's school photo. If you have any questions, please contact them at schools@visualimpressions.org or 503-320-3076.

PPS families who qualified for free and reduced-priced meals last school year (2022-23) have 30 days at the start of the school year to re-apply without incurring meal charges. If complete meal applications for eligible households are not approved by October 10th, meal charges will begin on October 11th. Families can apply online at www.schoolcafe.com/pps or request a paper application from the cafeteria or office.

On October 6, Atkinson will be have MESD personnel on site to conduct Vision Screenings for Kinder, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade; and Hearing Screenings for Kinder and 1st grade. If you would like to opt out your student from the screenings, please give your child a note to hand to the teacher on screening day or send your child's teacher an email. Let us know if you have any questions!

Check out the latest PTA newsletter HERE!

Any families interested in having COVID-19 tests for at-home use, can sign up to have 4 free tests sent to them at https://www.covid.gov/tests. One request per household.

LGBTQ2SIA+ SUPPORT

We want to ensure that all students feel safe and included in the Atkinson community. We realize that students and family members who identify as LGBTQ2SIA+ sometimes encounter barriers to experiencing a sense of safety and inclusion at school. If your student and/or a member of your immediate family identities as LGBTQ2SIA+, and your student is interested in an affinity group such as GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) and/or needs support, please reach out to Social Worker Darcy Wilde dwilde@pps.net.

SMALL GROUPS

There will be three rounds of small groups offered to students this year. The first round of small groups are scheduled, at capacity, and starting this week and next. A small group is a Tier II intervention that is offered to some students. Students are referred to groups by their classroom teachers. Teachers refer students who they believe need additional support in the specified area, based on what they are seeing in the classroom.

If you have concerns about your child’s social-emotional needs, and school is being impacted as a result, please connect with your child’s classroom teacher. If you believe your child would benefit from a family changes or grief and loss group, please reach out to Ms. Darcy. These groups will be provided on an as-needed basis.

If you have concerns that are not impacting school, and would like resources, please reach out to us so we can provide appropriate outside support.

COUNSELOR AND SOCIAL WORKER BROCHURES

Please see the below brochure (in English and Spanish) to learn more about the roles of the school counselor and social worker, along with Frequently Asked Questions.

• Tuesday, October 3 — OBOB (Oregon Battle of the Books) Parent/Coaches Info Night, 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 4 — Walk and Roll to School Day
• Thursday, October 5 — Principal's Coffee in English, 8:50 a.m.
• Friday, October 6 — Principal's Coffee in Spanish, 8:50 a.m.
• Friday, October 6 — K–3rd Vision and Hearing Screening
• Monday, October 9 — PTA Meeting in the Library (potluck!), 6:30 p.m.
• Monday, October 9 — Author Visit
• Friday, October 13 — NO SCHOOL
• Tuesday, October 17 — Picture Retake Day
• Wednesday, October 18 — Dine Out at Atlas Pizza