Duniway Dispatch

• January 20: Schools closed for holiday
• January 27: Schools closed for grading day
• January 28: Schools closed for planning day
• February 17: Schools closed for holiday

• February 26: Students released early at 11:50 a.m.

• March 3: Schools closed for planning day

• March 19: Students released early at 11:50 a.m.

• March 24-28: Schools closed for Spring Break

• April 4: Schools closed for grading day

• April 7: Schools closed for planning day

• April 23: Students released early at 11:50 a.m.

• May 21: Students released early at 11:50 a.m.

• May 26: Schools closed for holiday

• June 10: Last day of school for students

2024-25 District Calendar

• January 17: Student Variety Show
• Early Show: 5:00-6:00pm, Doors open at 4:40pm
• Late Show: 6:30-7:30pm, Doors open at 6:10pm

• January 21: School Assembly
• January 23: OBOB Mock Battle
• January 31: School Spirit Backwards Day
• January 31: Principal's Coffee
• February 5: Winter Walk & Roll 2 School
• February 7: Winter Dance
• February 10: Funding Forum
• February 21: School Spirit Book/Movie Character Day
• February 22-23: OBOB Final Competition
• February 26: School Assembly
• February 28: Principal's Coffee
• March 3: Connect to Duniway
• March 11: PTA Meeting
• March 17-21: Book Fair
• March 19: School Assembly
• March 21: Principal's Coffee
• April 9: Connect to Kindergarten
• April 11: Picture Day
• April 23: School Assembly
• April 25: Principal's Coffee
• May 13: PTA Meeting
• May 14: Connect to Duniway
• May 16: Fund Run
• May 21: School Assembly
• May 30: Principal Coffee
• June 3: PTA Meeting
• June 6: Parade and Carnival

Happy Friday and I hope you all have enjoyed a great week. We have had a busy week here at school as everyone has fully immersed themselves in school life after coming back from winter break last week. January is a month with several mid-year assessments. All students have been completing the mid-year I-Ready Math Diagnostic and students in Grades 3-5 have been taking the MAP Growth Assessment in Math and ELA. Students Grades K-2 have been taking literacy assessments as well. We are approaching the end of the 2nd Quarter and the official mid-point of the school year at the end of this month and these assessments are giving us a good idea of how students have progressed and where they need additional support.

As I write this note, many of our students are gathering to perform in our annual Variety Show on Friday afternoon/evening. It has been a joy to watch them prepare and these students are very excited to show their talents. I want to give a huge shout out to our Music Teacher, Lisa Adams for her efforts in planning and directing this event. I hope you all have a great weekend!

In gratitude,

John Melvin

I hope everyone had an enjoyable and restful Winter Break. This is to serve as a reminder of a couple important things to keep kids healthy and in school learning:

Exclusion Day is where those who have not yet received mandatory immunizations for school and/or exemptions for those must stay out of school until the necessary documentation is received. Please make sure your student’s immunizations and/or exemptions are up to date in the school’s records. Letters will go out to parents the first week of February to let them know if and what immunizations and/or exemptions are still needed before Exclusion Day. Please contact the school office if you have questions regarding immunizations so that we can work with you if needed.

2. PPS Student Health Centers at high schools in the area are a great option if a student’s needs immunizations or health care.

Multnomah County School-Based Health Centers 🏥

Multnomah County Health Department partners with Portland Public Schools to provide high-quality primary and mental health services at Cleveland, Franklin, Jefferson, McDaniel, and Roosevelt high schools. Student Health Centers are like having a regular doctor’s office at school. We serve all K-12 Multnomah County youth ages 5 to 18 with or without insurance. There are no out-of-pocket costs for our services. We welcome all colors, all genders, all sizes, and all cultures regardless of immigration status. Students don’t need to attend the school where the center is located to receive services. Visit the Student Health Centers website or click on the following for PPS Student Health Center locations and more information:

Student Health Centers provide many services including:

• COVID-19 vaccines and testing

• Routine physical exams, including sports physicals

• Early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of illness and injury

• Vision, dental, and blood pressure screenings

• Immunizations

• Mental health services

• Age-appropriate reproductive health

• Routine lab tests

• Prescription medications

• Health education, counseling, and wellness promotion

• Fitness and nutrition education and counseling

• Referrals for health care services not provided at the clinics

Of course, another good option is to visit your student’s primary care provider.

Please sign these in at the front office and/or health room. It is important we have life-saving medication on hand for your student, should they need it!

4. Good handwashing makes a huge difference to our immune systems!

Please practice good handwashing. Here is a guide to all the proper steps for keeping our germ “load” low, so our immune systems can better fight them:

Why Do I Need To Wash My Hands 🤲

Upper respiratory infections, also known as the common cold typically affects our children 6-10 times per year! There are some steps you can take to protect your family and children from viruses that cause colds, flu and gastroenteritis (“stomach flu”). The best action to take against viruses and to help your children stay healthy is to wash your hands thoroughly! Wash your hands:

• After blowing your nose, sneezing, or coughing

• Before eating food

• Before and after being around someone who is sick

• After using the bathroom

Viruses are spread when a person with the virus coughs or sneezes; the droplets then move through the air or the person touches surfaces such as pencils, desks and door handles. Viruses can live for several hours on these surfaces, and anyone who touches the surface can pick up the virus on their hands, and if they touch their eyes, nose, or mouth, they can put the virus into their body.

Tips for Students and Families

• Wash hands throughout the day (see above)

• Cover mouth when sneezing or coughing with the inside of elbow or use a tissue, but not use hands directly

• Keep hands and fingers out of nose, mouth and eyes

• Keep students home if they have fever, vomiting, or diarrhea

• Student can return to school when

• Fever is below 100 (orally) for 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medicine (Tylenol or Ibuprofen)

• Can eat and drink normally

• They are rested and alert enough to pay attention in class.

¿Por qué tengo que lavarme las manos?

¡Las infecciones respiratorias, también conocidas como “el resfriado común” afectan típicamente a nuestros niños 6-10 veces al año! Hay algunos pasos que puede tomar para proteger a su familia y niños a partir de los virus que causan los resfriados, la gripe y la gastroenteritis (“gripe estomacal”). ¡La mejor acción a tomar contra los virus y ayudar a sus hijos a mantenerse saludable es lavarse bien las manos! Lavarse las manos:

• Después sonarse la nariz, estornudar o toser

• Antes de comer alimentos

• Antes y después de estar cerca de alguien que está enfermo

• Después de usar el baño

Los virus se propagan cuando una persona con el virus tose o estornuda; las gotitas luego se mueven a través del aire o la persona toca superficies tales como lápices, escritorios y jaladores de las puertas. Los virus pueden vivir durante varias horas en estas superficies y cualquier persona que toca la superficie puede recoger el virus en sus manos y si se tocan los ojos, la nariz o la boca, se puede poner el virus en su cuerpo.

CONSEJOS PARA ESTUDIANTES Y FAMILIAS

• Lávese las manos a lo largo del día (véase más arriba)

• Cúbrase la boca al estornudar o toser con la parte interior del codo o de utilizar un pañuelo de papel, pero no usar las manos directamente

• Mantenga las manos y los dedos fuera de la nariz, la boca y los ojos

• Mantenga a los estudiantes en casa si tienen fiebre, vómitos o diarrea

• El estudiante puede regresar a la escuela cuando

• La fiebre está por debajo de 100 (por vía oral) durante 24 horas sin el uso de medicamentos antifebriles (Tylenol o Ibuprofen)

• Puede comer y beber normalmente

• Ellos están descansados y lo suficientemente alerta para prestar atención en clase Cómo lavarse las manos

Take care,

Maria Briley, School Nurse

Hazel Lydum, School Health Assistant

What a fantastic end-of-year giving campaign! Our school truly showed what it means to be a Duniway Dragon. Your support and contributions, no matter the size, mean so much to our students and teachers.

We collected OVER our halfway goal of $25,000 in donations for our campaign! Have your students be on the lookout for Dr. Melvin in an amazing costume he helped pick out! He'll be showing up sometime this month at school with the BEST Duniway themed surprise costume. 🐉

We’re thrilled to announce that we also surpassed our participation goal, and that means we’re planning a DUNIWAY MOVIE NIGHT! If we get more RSVPs than 200 people, we can add another showing.

🎥 Save the Date
📅 Friday, January 24th

🕕 6 PM

📍 Duniway Auditorium – Featuring the movie Leo

(Students must attend with an adult. Please help us plan by RSVPing HERE.)

Popsicle Party Winners

Congratulations to the classes with the highest participation in each grade—your popsicle parties are coming soon (day and time TBD):

• DAS- 34%

• Kindergarten: Vogel – 84%

• 1st Grade: Muñoz – 48%
• 2nd Grade: Neff – 51%
• 3rd Grade: Vogel – 85%
• 4th Grade: Scott – 46%
• 5th Grade: Goodman – 64%

Way to go, Dragons! 🐉

Campaign Highlights

• 159 families participated, helping us raise an incredible $33,825.00 and counting!
• Participation goal achieved! We hit 51.67%, beating last year’s percentage.

This success will make a huge difference in providing a great education at Duniway next year. Thank you to everyone who contributed in every way to the Duniway Foundation Annual Campaign this year!

If you missed the campaign, it’s not too late! You can donate anytime HERE.

Thank you again to our amazing Duniway community and beyond—our school wouldn’t be the same without your continued generosity and support. If you're wondering about our Spring Auction (Friday 5/9) and newly added Community Art Reception (Saturday 4/26) we are in planning mode! Classroom Auction Art sign up are OPEN HERE! If you're interested in volunteering fill out this google form HERE. Go Dragons! 🐉

With gratitude,

The Duniway Educational Foundation

Did you know that Portland Public Schools are facing a $40M budget deficit in 2025-2026 on the heels of a $30M deficit in 2024-2025?

Do you want to do something about it, but don't know where to start? JOIN US for an Oregon Education Funding Forum for SE PPS Community

• Monday, February 10th from 6-7:30p

• Duniway Elementary School Auditorium (7700 SE Reed College Place)

• RSVP, submit questions for our district leaders and state officials, share your powerful stories and sign up for childcare here!

Your presence is powerful. The act of showing up alone moves the needle by demonstrating to our elected officials and district leaders that they cannot ignore the future of their youngest constituents. Bring friends, neighbors, and grandparents.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

📚Learn directly about the current state and future of Oregon education funding from your legislators and district leaders – the people sitting at the table in key decisions.

📣 Hear our community speak up on the issues lack of funding is causing our children and schools – such as large class sizes, Special Education Services failing to meet federally mandated obligations, student learning deficits, drops in enrollment leading to reduced resources, and other impacts.

💪🏽Walk away with simple, meaningful actions you can take on your own time, to advocate to fund Oregon schools year-round.

MEET THE PANEL:

We’re bringing together influential leaders who have a direct opportunity to impact funding for our schools, including:

• Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong

• Director Eddie Wang (Zone 7 School Board)

• Senator Kathleen Taylor (21st district)

• Representative Mark Gamba (41st district)

• Representative Rob Nosse (42nd District)

Our PPS communities are one of our strongest assets. Yet we remain limited in giving our kids the education they deserve with our current state funding. Coming together is a powerful way to leverage our community to influence change. Simply put, this is an opportunity to show up for all Oregon families in a concrete, meaningful way.

We hope to see all of you there!

The Duniway Elementary School Advocacy Committee

Flyer with Registration Link

Flyer with QR code link