DOLPHIN DIGEST 3/20/2025

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តើអ្នកត្រូវការបកប្រែទេ? ចុចលើតំណ "បកប្រែ" នៅផ្នែកខាងលើ។

ትርጉም ይፈልጋሉ? ከላይ ያለውን "መተርጎም" የሚለውን አገናኝ ጠቅ ያድርጉ.

We’re so glad to have you as part of our school community!

This weekly newsletter is developed and sent in partnership between school administration and the PTA. If you have information you'd like shared in the newsletter, please email it to ArletaSchoolPTA@gmail.com. Keep scrolling for the latest.

We acknowledge Portland rests on traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla and many other Tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River. #HonorNativeLand https://youtu.be/ETOhNzBsiKA

• March is Women's History Month

• TODAY: Mar 20: SUN Winter Showcase, 4-5:00pm, Arleta Auditorium
• TODAY: Mar 20: Neurodivergent Family Gathering, 5:30-7pm, Arleta Cafeteria
  
• TOMORROW: Mar 21: SUN School Forms Due

• Mar 24-27: Spring Break, No School

• Mar 31: Volunteer to hang art boards for Art & Literacy Night, 2:30-3:30

• April 4 & 7: No School - Teacher Planning

• Apr 8: BIPOC Family Gathering, 5:30

• Apr 9: Volunteer to hang art boards for Art & Literacy Night, 2:30-3:30

• Apr 10: Art and Literacy Night 5:30-7pm

• Apr 11: Tours for prospective families, 8-9am

• Apr 18: Arleta Earth Day & Arbor Day, 2:30-4:00pm in the Cafeteria

• Apr 18: Tours for prospective families, 8-9am

• Apr 23: Early Release (11:50am)

• Apr 24: Connect to Kinder Open House, 2:30pm

• Apr 25: Tours for prospective families, 8-9am

Arleta School Calendar

Updated PPS District Calendars:

English language PPS District Calendar 2024-25

Spanish language PPS District Calendar 2024-25

Vietnamese language PPS District Calendar 2024-25

Thank you so much for your heartwarming advocacy for our Arleta SUN program. At 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon our Inclusion Committee submitted our Arleta letter to the Portland City Council with 248 signatures! PPS SUN Program Manager Marco Matias said after the listening session last night “It was an incredible thing to see the Arleta community show up and show out for SUN, Raina, and most importantly the Arleta families. It is heart-warming and displays to our city council the importance of this initiative and how valuable it is to our most vulnerable populations.” As our Arleta letter says, we can have more influence when we work together.

Unfortunately, I have an additional budget item. Several weeks ago PPS Principals received “staffing”, an allocation of FTE (full time equivalency, or positions) based on our school enrolment and demographics. PPS must cut $40 million in next year’s budget after $30 million in cuts this year. In addition to *Oregon’s unique funding challenges, a major reason is declining enrollment in PPS, including Arleta (see illustration below for more info).

Our projected student count for next school year is 48 students lower than for this year. Our enrollment per grade level impacts the number of classrooms we’ve been allocated for next year… we have a reduction to just one 1st grade classroom, currently projected with 28 students. The threshold for 1st grade for Title 1 schools is 30.

Just like saving SUN- we have more influence when we work together: please help recruit incoming 1st grade students in our boundary! There are families who live in our school boundary but send their children to schools other than Arleta, for reasons they may be willing to talk over with current families or staff then hopefully, reconsider. If we can get our 1st grade enrollment up over 30 within the next few weeks, our staffing could be reconsidered when PPS re-visits enrollment projections in April. If we can get enrollment up over 30 by August, our staffing could be reconsidered in the days leading up to the start of school. Our community came together a few years ago to increase our 1st grade enrollment in a very similar situation.

The #1 way everyone in our community can support our situation is to listen for families who live within our boundary but don’t (yet) attend Arleta and encourage them to enroll, or to give me or any of our staff or partners a call to talk through any questions and hear about all the reasons we’re a great school!

Here are the other (current) projected classroom counts for next year: Kindergarten: 2 classes, 17 students each. (1st grade: 1 class, 28 students). 2nd grade: 2 classes, 20/21 students each. 3rd grade: 2 classes, 20/21 students each. 4th grade: 2 classes, 17/18 students each. 5th grade: 2 classes, 25/26 students each.

It is hard to believe that the year is quickly flying by and we are already getting ready for next year. At the same time, teachers are creatively and brilliantly engaging your children in meaningful learning…and seeing some excellent student learning outcomes! On April 4th, the first Friday after Spring Break, teachers will be preparing Quarter 3 report cards. Thank you so much for all you bring to our community.

Sincerely,

Lisa

We're excited to have our next Neurodivergent Family Gathering on Thursday, March 20th from 5:30-7 pm in the cafeteria. Students, parents, and guardians welcome! The group offers a safe space to talk, connect, and play. Pizza dinner and kid activities will be provided. Translated flyers here.

Are you or your kid looking for a sport for spring?

Ultimate Frisbee is a fast-paced, fun and inclusive non-contact sport, and it just so happens that Arleta families have an existing team in the 5/6th grade division. We have a few open spots on our team, and we’d love to find some kids interested in joining us! This is an all-gender team, and it’s very welcoming for new players.

To help get the word out, we’ll be showing up to play frisbee games with the kids tomorrow, Friday, the 21st after school at 2:45 in the back field (weather pending). Come check it out and play, or just to ask us what it’s all about!

You can also reach out to Andy at arletaairbenderz@gmail.com for more info.

On Tuesday, March 18, City Council members and the Mayor held a listening session regarding the proposed budget cuts by the City of Portland. City Council invited public testimony for the full 2.5 hours of the meeting, and advocates for protecting the SUN program, including several Arleta community members, spoke up about the value of SUN and the devastating effects cutting the program would have.

You can watch the full meeting here, and jump to each of the Arleta speakers at the times list below:

https://www.youtube.com/live/rAWYu-S9Aqc?si=PEOpJF0qRwmEWPIo

48:19 Sheryl Moren

1:13:35 Tiffany Blackmon

1:40:12 Andy Chiller

1:44:01 Lisa Hawking

2:14:08 Ryan Sotomayor

Additionally, Sheryl Moren was quoted in an interview with KOIN news, at the 1:50 mark in the video linked here: https://www.koin.com/news/portland/portlanders-sound-off-on-proposed-cuts-in-city-budget/

The advocacy letter written by Arleta parents (highlighted in the below article) has been signed by 266 community members as of 3/19! The letter was submitted to the City Council as written testimony ahead of yesterday's meeting.

Consider helping your kids participate in advocating for SUN School. Several parents have submitted letters written by their children to the city. Photos of children's letters can tell a powerful story about the impact that SUN School has on our community. You can upload a photo of your child's letter and submit a comment here. Even though the listening session has happened, the city is still collecting feedback!

*** ARLETA’S SUN PROGRAM MAY GET CUT! *** THIS IS NOT A DRILL - ACT NOW! ***

As of 3/19, our letter has been signed by 266 community members. Let's keep that number growing!

We hope you’ll sign a letter/petition drafted by Arleta parents to advocate for SUN not to be taken away from our kids. The letter will be sent to Portland City Council throughout the budgeting review and approval process. View and sign here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScT7LRO8tPrvgeY1on4_O_kkqQFX6mhZihnNam13-KS7hcqYA/viewform?usp=sharing

The City of Portland is proposing eliminating all 11 of their SUN School sites as they face a significant budget gap, including at Arleta. The Portland City Council needs to hear from the community why SUN is so important, and we can have more influence when we work together.

Share this information with your friends and neighbors! The more people who speak up, the better!

In honor of Neurodiversity Celebration Week, Arleta welcomed PHAME to perform at the 3/19 assembly. Students sang and danced along to performances, which included hits like “Can’t Stop The Feeling.” After the performance, students participated in a Q&A, where performers shared more about their robust lives and love of performing. Learn more about PHAME, which provides arts education to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, at phamepdx.org.

The Arleta PTA is looking for new leaders to bring their enthusiasm and energy to help carry out its mission to support and improve our community. There are lots of ways to get involved, including required board positions and committee chairs. Ready to learn more? You can:

• Review the list of open volunteer positions by clicking here or seeing the graphic below.
• Fill out the "Nudge to PTA Leadership" form by clicking here or filling out below to express interest or recommend yourself or others.
• Reach out to Arleta PTA co-secretary Brian Dombeck at bdombe1@gmail.com.
• Visit the Arleta PTA's About Us page for more about the PTA in general or get to know our current board members.

Here are some of the roles that are most important for us to fill next year. All positions can be co-chaired, and for many positions the time commitment is what you make of it.

PTA Presidents***: The PTA president or co-presidents spend about 8 hours a month organizing and facilitating board and general meetings, leading discussions with school staff and state PTA to advance strategy, organizing, leading, and mentoring volunteers.

PTA Treasurer***: The PTA treasurer spends about 6 hours a month keeping accurate records and submitting financial statements for meetings, coordinating the annual audit and preparing the annual report, filing federal and state tax forms, overseeing proper handling of the PTA's money, and organizing fundraisers.

PTA Secretary***: The PTA secretary spends about 6 hours a month organizing meetings, creating agendas and meeting announcements, taking PTA meeting minutes and submitting previous meeting minutes for approval, keeping the PTA procedure book and bylaws, taking attendance and checking for quorum during voting.

PTA Vice-President***: The PTA vice-president spends about 6 hours a month assisting in preparing meeting agendas and finding guest speakers, checking in regularly with officers and committees, recruiting and mentoring volunteers, supporting the annual audit and representing the PTA to the community.

Inclusion Coordinator: The Inclusion Coordinator spends about four hours a month setting goals and leading and organizing inclusivity work for the PTA and for Arleta.

Fundraising Coordinator: The Fundraising Coordinator spends about five hours a month working with local businesses to organize dine-ins and solicit donations and coordinating and assisting in the promotion of fundraisers.

***The PTA requires a president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary.

Additional open positions that we are actively recruiting for can be found by clicking here.

Let’s help raise an extra 20% for our Bottle Drop Blue Bag program!

If possible, hold on to your full bags and wait until April 15th to turn them in!

Funds raised through Blue Bags during the following period (April 15 – 26) are eligible for 20% matching.

Extra blue bags are available in the front office. Please contact arletaptafundraiserchair@gmail.com with any questions.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the Pi(e) Day Raffle! Together we were able to raise $795 which will go to Arleta School events and teacher resources. Way to go!

Getting to school on time is hard, but starting the day together at school is important and helpful for kids. Last week, Arleta had 191 tardies.

Here are some handy reminders of tips for getting to school on time. Pick and choose the ones that work best for your family!

Tips For Smoother Mornings

• Listen to an audio book while you get ready.
• Buddy up with a neighbor family and make going to school a social thing.
• Walk by a special place before school; go by the chicken house!

Our kids get to show off their fantastic creations to us on Arts and Literacy Night. They have been working hard on their masterpieces, and we are approaching the big showcase on April 10th!

But, we need your help to pull it off!

We are planning on displaying tw pieces of art per kid. We’re hoping to have 2 to 3 volunteers from each grade.

We could specifically use help with the following:

• March 31st at 2:30pm: Parent volunteers to help attach fabric on art boards, mount/label art. We need twelve volunteers, and have three so far.

• April 9th at 2:30pm: Parent volunteers to hang artboards in main building

When you arrive to volunteer, please check in at the main office. Arleta's art teacher, Elizabeth Meyer, will be there to meet you and go over the tasks.

Thank you so much for your support!

UPDATE: THIS PROJECT WAS FULLY FUNDED THE MORNING THIS NEWSLETTER CAME OUT! THANK YOU!!! MS. BIDNEY HAS MADE A STRETCH GOAL TO BUY THE SECOND HALF OF THE OBOB LIST AND OTHER BOOKS. THE LINK IN THE BUTTON HAS BEEN CHANGED TO THE NEW FUNDING CAMPAIGN.

From fifth grade teacher Ms. Bidney, "I am raising money to buy copies of books on the released 2024-2025 OBOB booklist for my classroom! Our school has a very strong OBOB history. The students take pride in all of the books they read. Many of the students read each book multiple times to prepare for the competition. The books are also read by many students not participation in OBOB because they are great books!

We can also always use extra pencils. The school district does not provide us a working pencil sharpener, so that is a must as well. The white board cleaner is great to have to create a super clean board. It's easier for students to read if the board is erased cleanly."

The campaign is half-funded so far, so we hope you'll consider contributing!

UPDATE: FORTY MINUTES AFTER THE DOLPHIN DIGEST WENT OUT THIS CAMPAIGN WAS FULLY FUNDED! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

First grade teacher Mr. Nelson is fundraising for some basic supplies for his classroom. His Donors' Choose campaign includes: bandaids, erasers, tissues, disinfecting wipes, fruit snacks, and crackers. Please consider helping him get these things for his students!

This is a part of a short series where we'll be featuring a different book each week from the 2025-2026 Oregon Battle of the Books Grades 3-5 reading list! Check out the book below!

"Better With Butter" by Victoria Pointek follows the unlikely friendship between twelve year old Marvel, and a fainting goat named Butter. Marvel is afraid of everything, as her anxiety disorder makes "impending doom" her default setting. But she finds a kindred spirit in Butter, who also freezes up and topples over when she's scared. Can the two of them rescue each other?

Click here to borrow the book or ebook from Multnomah County Library

Click here to buy the book from Powell's Bookstore.

Click here to buy the book from Scholastic.

Click here to preview the audiobook on the Google Play Books channel on YouTube!

Each week we feature a poem from literature that you can share with your kids. Poems are quick ways to practice literacy and work like little packages of thoughts and feelings that explore the world in new ways.

When the earth is turned in spring

The worms are fat as anything.

And birds come flying all around

To eat the worms right off the ground.

They like worms just as much as I

Like bread and milk and apple pie.

And once, when I was very young,

I put a worm right on my tongue.

I didn't like the taste a bit,

And so I didn't swallow it.

But oh, it makes my Mother squirm

Because she thinks I ate that worm!

Ralph Bergengren

You will need yarn in three colors, a 5-6" tall piece of cardboard, scissors, a pipecleaner, a bit of felt for the beak, black beads for the eyes, some cotton or stuffing, and a hot glue gun or tacky glue.

Spring term SUN School registration forms have gone home and must be turned in to the office tomorrow, Friday, March 21st! So sign-up today! Classes will start April 11th and end May 29th.

SUN School offers an amazing array of enrichment activity for kids: piano, photography, journalism, skateboarding. But kids explore the world best on full stomaches. SUN School is seeking donations of snacks to help feed kids in the program. Please make sure donations of kid-friendly snacks are healthy and shelf-stable. Donations can be collected in the school office! Thank you so much.

Arleta has a small food pantry, clothes closet, and a variety of toiletries available for the use of any Arleta family. To set up an appointment to use the pantry or the closet, please email our SUN School Coordinator, Raina Bilbrew at rbilbrew@pps.net or raina.bilbrew@portlandoregon.gov or call or text her at 971-803-8986.

Email Lisa Hugelier lisa.hugelier@gmail.com with questions.

Dear Portland Public Schools Families,

We know that recent federal funding decisions and policy announcements have raised questions and concerns for many of you. Changes like these can feel unsettling, especially when they impact our schools and, most importantly, our students. We want to take a moment to acknowledge those concerns and assure you that we are actively monitoring the situation. Our priority is to keep you informed and provide clarity as we navigate these changes together.

Understanding the Federal Changes

There have been several major federal shifts announced over the past few weeks that could have impact to K-12 public schools across the country, including:

• Letter Regarding DEI Initiatives: The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter asserting that initiatives focused on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” may violate federal law. That letter does not have the force of law and left many questions unanswered.
• Transgender Athletes: The White House issued an Executive Order barring transgender athletes from participating on an athletic team other than one of their gender at birth. This Executive Order conflicts with Oregon law, including OSAA rules, and creates many questions about enforcement.
• The Local Food for Schools (LFS) Program: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it is eliminating this $660 million program, which has helped schools provide fresh, locally sourced food to students. It is not clear when this funding will end because it is allocated through the state. For PPS, this funding has been an important part of ensuring our students receive fresh fruits and vegetables, and, if removed, would add another financial challenge to our already stretched budget.
• The U.S. Department of Education Budget Cuts: The administration has announced major layoffs within the Department of Education, and there are many questions about how those layoffs will impact programs. The layoffs do not, however, directly affect funding for critical programs such as special education, and funding for underserved communities. On Thursday, the State of Oregon joined a lawsuit with 21 other states, challenging those layoffs.

Please click here to read the full letter from the Superintendent.

Link to translated flyers of the flyer above.

Red Cards in English

Tarjetas Rojas Con Derechos De Los Imigrantes

移民权利红卡

Thẻ đỏ cho quyền của người nhập cư

ቀይ ካርዶች ለስደተኞች መብት

កាតក្រហមសម្រាប់សិទ្ធិជនអន្តោប្រវេសន៍

Email: ArletaSchoolPTA@gmail.com
Website: arletapta.org
Location: 5109 SE 66th Avenue
Phone: 503-916-6330
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArletaElementaryK5

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arletaelementaryK5/

PPS District policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation. BP 1.801.020. Not all outside groups comply with the District’s non-discrimination policy. Families are strongly encouraged to review all materials closely.