10/2/24

• 10/6-11 - 6th Graders at Outdoor School (see info below)
• 10/11 - NO SCHOOL
• 10/15 - Late Start Tuesday, School begins at 9:30am
• 10/16 - PTA Meeting, 6:30pm
• 10/18 - Run For Gray, sign up in PTA article below
• 10/23 - Early Release Wednesday, School is dismissed at 1:45pm - buses run 2 hours & 15 minutes early at dismissal
• 10/24 - Picture Retake Morning
• 10/28 - PTA Clothing Center Volunteers needed, see PTA article below

• Click here for the full RGMS calendar

Hey Hey Robert Gray,

Happy October! School is in full swing and it really feels like we have really hit our stride. Progress reports were released last week and can be viewed in ParentVue. We have 4 short weeks until the end of Quarter 1. Classroom procedures and routines are firmly in place and classrooms feel REALLY good!

We are in the middle of National Hispanic Heritage Month. From September 15th to October 15th, we pay tribute to the generations of of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society. Here is a great website to learn more. Our leadership class is taking on the task of celebrating this time with hallway displays and announcements for our whole community. Be on the lookout what they create.

Finally, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici went to the Library of Congress and picked out some books to bring bak to Robert Gray's library! The books come from their book surplus program. She will personally deliver the books to our school, so be on the lookout for that event to be on our school calendar.

Cheers to a fantastic day,

Robin Mauldin

All you need to know about Outdoor School is HERE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zTKmZ3NbOcYk8XWZKHzShm563Q0q3dtXDl3UFSjw2bU/edit?usp=sharing

We leave on Sunday afternoon, 10/06/24.

Student leaders have approached Lisa and I with feedback about the backpack/locker policy. We have listened to their ideas and have decided to take them up on some of their recommendations. Here are the two changes:

• Students can go to their lockers during any passing period. We believe this will help them establish good habits in terms of thinking about what they need for each class and being prepared. We are also reminding students to consider how long it takes to go to their locker to ensure they are getting their materials quickly and arriving to class on time.
• Students may also use small tote bags to carry their items around school. Totes are small and do not impact our physical space as much as larger backpacks. We are ordering special RGMS Tote Bags for students to use, if they choose.

At RGMS, we are working to update our tardy policy to meet the needs of our community. Here is the updated policy. We will share this with students in the upcoming week. Our goal is for every student to be on time to class, and ready to learn. Parents can see all tardies in their ParentVue. You can even get notifications from ParentVue to alert you to when your child is tardy. You can set how often you want to get a message and you can choose grades, attendance or both.

The Robert Gray Eco Club is looking for a few parent volunteers. We meet during lunch on Mondays, approximately 12-1:30 (on normal schedule). If you can join even once or twice a month, it would be a big help!

The Eco Club is involved in the RGMS Climate Solutions Fair and other environmentally focused activities at the school. The club is open to all grades and advised by Mr. Bubl (6th grade science); we typically have 15 or so students. This year, the Portland Clean Energy Fund is awarding sizable grants to every school for student-led environmental/climate projects. This is exciting news for the RGMS Eco Club (and our whole school!), and we could really use more adult volunteers to make it happen.

Please contact Linda Nelson (lindaschwallernelson@gmail.com) or Bernadette Rodgers (bernadetterodgers350@gmail.com) if you’re interested. Thank you!

November 25 and 26 are Parent Teacher Conferences at RGMS. We will have a schedule out soon for signs up. Some conferences slots will be virtual. Others will be in person. Stay tuned as we plan for our time with you and your student to talk about how the year has started at RGMS.

Online Yearly Verification via ParentVUE deadline is 9/30/2024. Parents must submit the Yearly Verification in order to view all information in their ParentVUE. The Yearly Verification takes the place of the old Student Registration form. This is where parents can update their information.

Beginning on 10/1/2024, if parents have not submitted the online Yearly Verification, they will receive the following message upon login to PVUE:

o The Yearly Verification process must be completed to continue. The only options for the parent are to click Begin Yearly Verification or click Logout.

2024-2025 RGMS Family Handbook.

2024 RGMS Student Handbook

Parent Guide to Canvas

Parent Guide to the Remind App

Parent Guide to ParentVue

If your student will be absent, please email grayattend@pps.net. Be sure to include your student's full name, date of absence and the reason for the absence.

Use this link to the School Nurse and Health Room Services Webpage for lot's of good information for parents.

Temporary Health Accommodations during the school day:

Please notify Robert Gray and school nurse, Jennifer Novack, if your student needs an accommodation during the school day due to a temporary health condition . Medical documentation from your student's health care provider is required. Examples of temporary medical conditions include: broken bones, recovery from surgery, and extended illnesses such as mononucleosis.

If your students needs medications, including over the counter medicines like Tylenol, you must bring those to school in their original containers and complete a short form so we can supervise it's use.

Questions? email: jnovack@mesd.k12.or.us

The ParentVue trick to not getting your account disabled is to only try passwords twice, then just click on forgot password.

After 3 unsuccessful password tries your account is disabled. When disabled you have to call the school and have the office enable your account. Then to complete the reset, you have to click on forgot password and update your password.

Gray's counselors are Lisa Hyde, A-K & Laureen Held, L-Z.

Lisa Hyde - lhyde@pps.net

503-454-6829

Laureen Held - lheld@pps.net

971-231-4621

You can also contact them through this link: https://bit.ly/2024-25RGMSCounselorHelp

What is School Pay?

Throughout the year we will use School Pay as a way for families to pay for a variety of things. Currently, we are asking families to consider making small donations to offset printing costs for student planners, handbooks, class supplies and other curricular tools.

School Pay is a convenient way to pay school donations with a debit card or credit card. Use this link, https://pps.schoolpay.com/, to enter the School Pay site. Set up an account if you don't already have one.

Donation items are grouped by grade level.

• Our next PTA meeting is on October 16th at 6:30pm in the library at RGMS. However, we would love to see more of our Robert Gray Middle School Community participate in our PTA meetings and membership. As such, we want to better understand what TOPICS or updates you are interested in discussing/hearing about during PTA meetings, and WHEN would best suit your schedule. We’ve already heard from some of you (thank you!) and would love more input. So far, it looks like the preference is for 8am meetings. You can find the 2 question google form here and look forward to hearing from more of you.

• Mark your calendars for our annual Run For Gray on Friday, October 18th. This is a really fun event and we are looking for parent volunteers. Please sign up here if interested.

• PTA Clothing Center Volunteer and Donation Needs

• Monday, Oct. 28th is Robert Gray’s day to send 5-6 volunteers from 9:30am -1:30pm. If you are able to volunteer you will be helping kids receive clothing and will help sort donations so there are lots of choices for kids to see. Volunteers can be parents, grandparents or community members. If you are able to volunteer please sign up here.

• The PTA Clothing Center is also looking for donations of teen-adult size gently worn/new sweatshirts, hoodies, and warm coats, as they are very low on those items. They also have a need for boys pants, joggers and/or jeans size 4-14. You can drop donated clothes off at the Marshall Campus; 3905 SE 91st, Room B-60.

• We know the legislature in Salem will discuss cellphones in schools next year, so the Oregon PTA is interested in better understanding how families feel about cell phone use in schools. Please take a couple minutes to complete this survey to share your thoughts on the topic: https://bit.ly/PhonesInClassOR

• We are always looking for parents interested in advocating for better funding for public schools to interface with PAT, Oregon PTA and Parents for public schools. Please reach out directly to Kirsten Carr if interested.

• Please consider becoming a member of Robert Gray Middle School PTA and/or donating to our PTA. Your donation funds improvements to the school beyond what PPS provides, such as events (like Back to School Night and the upcoming Run for Grey), special programs, community outreach, classroom supplies, student-serving needs and more. This school year, the PTA’s budgeted expenses are over $46,000- approximately $95 per student. If you’re able, please donate to support the PTA here.

• To join please visit this page on the Oregon PTA website, select Robert Gray MS PTA, complete the form, and make a payment online. If you’re unable to join the PTA online, please contact the PTA secretary.
  

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Text YES to 68453

Email: lnewlyn@pps.net
Website: https://www.pps.net/gray
Location: 5505 Southwest 23rd Avenue, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 916-5676
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertgraymiddleschool
Attendance Reporting: grayattend@pps.net