Dragon News
Findley Elementary School
June 3, 2022
Message from the Principal
Good Afternoon Findley Community,
What a lovely week we had! It was so nice to have a few days of sunshine and warmth. Thank you so much for your cooperation with our new arrival and dismissal procedures. The amount of changes we have made this year to school wide routines and procedures has far outnumbered any other year. I have been so appreciative of the flexibility from our community, our staff and our students. Findley ROCKS!
We are still looking for volunteers for both the Carnival and Field Day! We need you! Please see sign-ups (linked in the ParentSquare message) for times and needs. Thank you in advance.
Thank you so much for all you do in support of teachers, staff and your students. Enjoy the weekend, and I look forward to seeing you all at the Carnival next Friday!
Sherry Marsh, Ed.D.
Principal
The Findley Carnival is Coming!
The Findley Carnival is coming Friday, June 10th!
This Hawaiian themed extravaganza will feature carnival games, bounce houses, obstacle courses, stilt walking clowns, prizes galore, food trucks, and an authentic Hawaiian dance performance with hula lessons for the children!
There will also be a silent auction and a raffle with amazing prizes including a signed Timber's soccer ball, Trailblazer tickets, a Nintendo Switch, and so much more!
Come celebrate the end of another fantastic year at Findley!
2022-2023 OHSU screening
The week of June 13 will be the last week of testing for the OHSU Weekly COVID-19 Screening. BSD will not be offering weekly OHSU Weekly COVID-19 Screening tests during the summer or during the 2022-23 school year.
Thank you for your participation.
Cedar Mill & Bethany Libraries' Summer Newsletter
Be sure to check out the Library newsletter for information on the summer reading program!
Congratulations!
Reyansh C. and Rivaan D. from Mrs. Dow’s class received 1st place in Math Kangaroo for Oregon State and ranked 4th in the Nation for 2nd grade.
What a great time for Findley! So many Oregon State Math Kangaroo champions are from the same school!! Go Dragons!!
Community Resources
Talking to Children about Scary Events
COVID-19 Free Washington County Counseling (+accepts undocumented folks)To request an appointment, email COVIDCounseling@co.washington.or.us or call Washington County Behavioral Health at 503-846-4528.
Student Health Center - Catherine Kately Williams is the new mental health provider. KateleyWilliamsC@nhcoregon.org It is easiest to reach her via email as she does not have a specific phone routed to her. Cat is available M-F 8-5 and will conduct sessions via zoom. She will serve a bridge gap, providing up to about 10 sessions before she moves students on to a long-term counselor if necessary. They are set up to take every major insurance plan including Kaiser for OHP kids. They will also have an intake person who can help families get the kids on OHP.
Volunteering
You must be cleared and have a valid COVID Vaccine card on file in order to be in the classroom with students.
Here is the link in order to complete the background check.
Findley PTO
Findley PTO: Supporting our students by connecting parents, staff, and the community!
Visit our website at www.findleypto.com or email president@findleypto.com.
5th Grade Parents:
PTO Survey
Part of what makes Findley such a special school is its amazing parent volunteers! We were blown away by the response to our request for PTO Board members. We have many more volunteer opportunities for you to help keep the Findley spirit strong.
Please fill out this survey to let us know how you can help keep Findley's many events and programs running. It takes a village and we'd appreciate your help!
Dragon Dash - In the upcoming fall, the Dragon Dash co-leads Stephanie and Karen want to bring back a bigger event. We need support for coordination of the actual event including volunteer coordination, setup/teardown, otter pop distribution, and lap counters.
Art Lit - We are looking for a co-lead for the Art Lit program next year to assist Christa. She has run the art lit for many years and would love to have some support next year. You can assist with lesson prep or training/volunteer coordination.
Science Fair - We are looking for multiple volunteers to join Poulami on the Science Fair committee to help put on this fun event. Planning begins in November and runs through the March event.
Yearbook - It takes many volunteers to put together the yearbook every year. Please consider joining in whatever capacity you can, whether taking pictures or editing.
Passport (Geography Club 2nd-5th) - The leads are in place, but we will need volunteers who can come into the school and help test the kids.
Clothes for Kids - This BSD program (formerly Clothes Closet) is supported by all schools in the district. Every school must provide a contact. The lead will request volunteers for our assigned Clothes for Kids day and drop off donations received in our Findley office at BSD site (near Costco on Jenkins).
Other events/programs sidelined by the pandemic, which we hope to bring back:
Annual Fall Festival (usually around Halloween), Findley Flyers Running Club, and Party Coordinator.
Other Thank You's:
Here is part of that village that helps run all of the programs and events at Findley. Shout-outs to our many community leaders:
Thank you to Christa Brask for continuing in the Art Lit lead role.
Thank you to Xiao Shi, Lisa Perry and Jason Schmitz for continuing the Passport Club next year with Vothy graduating this year.
Thank you Steve Smith for leading this year's Carnival.
Thank you Stephanie Smith for heading up the Scholastic Book Fair.
Thank you Anne Biets for stepping into the Yearbook lead as Julia graduates.
Thank you Poulami Mitra for staying on as one of the Science Fair leads.
Thank you to Matt Bradley for filling the classroom coordinator role as Lauren graduates.
Thank you Urmila Kotak for continuing to lead the Math Olympiad.
Thank you Anuja Bansal for staying on in the Beautification role.
Thank you to Karen Sakihama and Stephanie Wallace for returning to lead the Dragon Dash.
Thank you to Lauren Wylie for leading a successful Bingo Night, Movie Night and the upcoming 5th grade celebration.
Thank you to Alivia Sil, Natalie Ma, Paul Pak, Anuja Bansal, Jenny Wang, Anitha Shankarnarayan, Khyati Patel, Chengda Zhang, Sina Amini, Auromeeta Pattnayak for being a part of next school year's PTO Board.
Thank you to Julia Nix for successfully heading up Yearbook and Vothy Heang for co-leading Passport for many years including through a pandemic.
Finally, thank you to our outgoing PTO Board members for their years of service: Kristy Ballou, Lauren Wylie, Jessica Grover, and Zahra Ebadi. It's been an honor to serve on the PTO Board with these amazing volunteers and work with the various committees.
Sincerely,
Amy Heang
PTO President
Science Fair Committee
It’s time to recruit for the Findley Science Fair Committee! We will need at least 4-6 members to join for the 2022-2023 school year and currently, I am the only one! Over 2021 and 2022, the other committee members aged out of Findley or left Portland. If anyone is interested in joining, please let me know at mitra.poulami@gmail.com.
● The first and biggest commitment from Science Fair Committee members will be the day of the Science Fair and the night before. Generally, Science Fair is during mid-March although there have been requests to have it after Spring Break (something we will have to decide as a Committee).
● The second commitment will be a day or two in the month of February when we review the project submissions from students.
● Lastly, we have 3 planning meetings - one each in November, December, and January.
Please consider joining! If we cannot find at least 3 volunteers to join the Science Fair Committee, unfortunately, we will have to forgo the Science Fair.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Poulami
Passport Club
Dear Findley Passport Club members,
Welcome to another month of new countries for the Virtual Passport Club at Findley!
We are now moving our way into the April countries!
Here is a summary of the steps to get in on the fun with more detailed instructions below:
1. Download this month's maps (We are moving to April this month)
2. Visit this month's virtual classroom
3. Learn this month's maps
4. Take the quiz when you are ready
This is a whole new experience and we understand that there will be a lot of questions, learnings and changes as we navigate this new virtual Passport Club.
Please rest assured that we are dedicated to making this the best that we can under the circumstances and ask for your patience and understanding as we all go through this process together.
With that being said, let's have some fun and travel the world together!
In addition, here is a reminder in regards to Passport Club:
Passport Club is a volunteer-run geography enrichment program offered at Findley to 2nd – 5th grades. This is an optional program and is not mandatory.
- Please practice with your child for several minutes a day to help them get ready!
Grade Level Clarification:
- 2nd-4th grade students have the option of 5 levels of study to choose from. However, students are encouraged to learn all the items in each level up to grade level.
Grades. Grade level
2nd Grade. Level 1 and Level 2
3rd Grade Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3
4th Grade Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4
5th Grade. Special Itineraries (SI) study maps
For example, a 2nd grade student would be asked to learn the following for the month of April:
- Level 1: Egypt, Kenya, Germany, Mexico, Greece
- Level 2: Bolivia, Liberia, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia
Sincerely,
Vothy Heang and Xiao Shi
Passport Club Leads
Step #1 Download this month's maps
Maps (password = findleypassport)
Step #2 Welcome to the virtual classroom
Step #3 Learn the Map for this month
There are lots of fun ways to learn each month's maps!
- Use Quizlet - April Passport Club Flashcards | Quizlet
- Color the maps - On the virtual classroom there is a password protected map that has suggestions on how to color each level's countries (password = HelloWorldDL)
- As always, the best way is to study with your parents
Step #4 Take the quiz
When you are ready, decide what level you want to test for this month. Here are the links:
Level 2 (Includes Level 1)
Level 3 (Includes Level 1, Level 2)
Level 4 (Includes Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3)
Level 5 (Includes Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4)
Special Itienery
Dear Findley Passport Club members,
This month we are exploring the countries that comprise the Middle East as the next installment of the Virtual Passport Club Special Itineraries for Findley 5th graders!
We are continuing to create new virtual content from scratch and will release new material as it becomes available with time between releases.
Here is a summary of the steps to get in on the fun with more detailed instructions below:
1. Download this month's maps
2. Learn this month's maps
3. Take the quiz when you are ready
This is a whole new experience and we understand that there will be a lot of questions, learnings and changes as we navigate this new virtual Passport Club.
Please rest assured that we are dedicated to making this the best that we can under the circumstances and ask for your patience and understanding as we all go through this process together.
With that being said, let's have some fun and learn more about the world!
In addition, here is a reminder in regards to Passport Club:
Passport Club is a volunteer-run geography enrichment program offered at Findley to 2nd – 5th grades. This is an optional program and is not mandatory.
- Please practice with your child for several minutes a day to help them get ready!
Grade Level Clarification:
- 5th grade students have the Special Itineraries program.
Grades. Grade level
5th Grade. Special Itineraries (SI) study maps
Sincerely,
Vothy Heang and Xiao Shi
Passport Club Leads
Step #1 Download this month's maps
Maps (password = findleypassport)
Step #2 Learn the Map for this month
There are lots of fun ways to learn each month's maps!
- As always, the best way is to study with your parents
Step #3 Take the quiz
When you are ready, take the quiz. Here is the link:
Upcoming Events
June
10th- Findley Carnival!
15th- Field Day
17th- 5th Grade Celebrations
20th - No School JuneTeenth
21st - Last Day of School Early Release Day