Bridger Creative Science News

To Our Bridger Creative Science School Community,

At BCSS, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to every single student, with particular attention at this time to our trans and nonbinary students and to our immigrant students. We are here to protect, teach, and foster joy in every child who walks through our doors.

As a community, we know that conflict is a natural part of shared life, and it can even be healthy. It’s through addressing challenges together that we grow stronger. But ultimately, our goal is unity—coming together in support of each other and our students. If you have concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Open, honest conversations are how we ensure every voice is heard.

We also want to acknowledge that when times are tough, when stress mounts or the world feels heavy, it’s natural to close ranks and focus inward. It’s a protective instinct—but we must guard against allowing that to become a force that divides us or “others” members of our community. At Bridger, all are welcome. Every family, every child, and every voice matters.

We are proud to educate every child and remain steadfast in our belief that every student belongs here. Let’s keep kindness and compassion at the center of all we do, holding each other up as we continue to grow, learn, and thrive as a community.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us.

With gratitude and care,
Tarehna Wicker
Principal
Bridger Creative Science School

January 24th End of 2nd Quarter

January 27th No School Grading Day

January 28th No School Teacher Professional Development

Winter SUN February 3 - March 21

The Post Office is Coming Soon!

It's that time of year again! The second annual Bridger Creative Science Post Office (15th year in this building!) will be open for business starting Monday, February 3rd and run through Friday, February 14th.

Here’s how it works:

1. Buy a student-designed postcard (10¢), envelope (3¢) or Valentine (10¢) and a BCSS stamp

(2 ¢ and required for delivery 😉).

1. After you have written your letter, address it to anyone at our school (write the person’s name and classroom number). You can also send mail to kids and adults at other PPS schools (name, school, grade level required).

2. Then put it in the BCSS mailbox any time during the day. We make deliveries daily in the afternoon. (Valentine’s Day Deliveries Guaranteed!)

Important postal information:

• You can send letters to anyone within Portland Public Schools! (Write the person’s first and last name,

grade level and the school name on the letter if sending to another PPS school.)

• You can purchase your class Valentines at the post office.

• You can send ALL of your Valentines through the post office.

• We GUARANTEE VALENTINE’S DAY DELIVERIES

• Adults are encouraged to write to their children and send Valentines, cards, and postcards.

• You and your family can send PACKAGES through the post office too!

All funds support Justina of Zambia through Children International. Thanks to our community support, Justina is now attending school and receiving school supplies and clothes. She and her family also receive medical care and support with basic living needs, such as mosquito nets and pots for boiling water.

In addition to our indoor school post office, the outdoor post office is open at the beginning of the school day and after school to allow families to participate (located at the backdoor of Room 10 close to the Library Doors Entrance).

Postal Hours for Outdoor Post Office:

8:30-9:30 am

3:15 to 3:45ish pm.

Thank you for joining in the fun!

2nd Grade Team

aschmidt@pps.net

Hi BCSS Families,

SUN still has open spots for Studio Art classes on Monday and Wednesdays for students 3rd-5th grades!

Please share and talk to your students about enrolling. Extra SUN enrollment forms are located in the main office.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Join Studio Art!

Are you ready to explore your creativity and have fun making art? Meet Paulina Ramírez, also known as Lapaushi, an amazing artist from Ecuador in Portland! She loves using bold colors, exciting materials, and playful patterns to create incredible works of art.

In this mixed media and printing class, you’ll discover new ways to express yourself using paint, paper, and printmaking tools. Imagine making your unique designs and showing them off to your friends and family! Whether you love drawing, experimenting with colors, or learning new techniques, something is exciting for everyone.

Join us in Studio Art at Bridger Creative Science Elementary School in SUN school, where creativity comes to life! Let’s create, explore, and have a blast together. Don’t miss out—this is your chance to make art with a professional artist and have an unforgettable experience!

Spring term will begin the second week back from spring break. Since there will be a quick turn around I will be working on Spring interest forms soon and will be out before the end of winter term.

Reminder if your student attended last term and already filled out an enrollment form there is no need to fill them out again. We only need one a year. Interest form choices do need to be back.

All enrollment forms need wet signatures!

Chess class is a year long class. Class is full at the moment. If we have a student drop out we will go down the waiting list of interest forms.

If you have questions please contact me at marisol@latnet.org.

Dear PPS Middle Grades families,

PPS is moving to a new Standards-Based Grading System for all 28 middle schools. The purpose is to provide clearer and more meaningful feedback to students. Some of our middle schools are already using this approach, and research supports its benefits. Our K-5 schools have also made progress in this direction with their report cards.

We invite you to visit our middle grades Standards-Based Grading website at pps.net/sbg. There, you can find updates, resources, timelines, materials, and FAQs.

There will be three family and community engagement events in person and virtually at the Prophet Education Center (501 N. Dixon St.) in the PPS Boardroom. We invite all who have current middle grades students or students entering into the middle grades to these presentations where we will provide updates as well as listen to feedback and answer questions.

Family and Community engagement (Virtual and in person)

February 13, 2025 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

March 13, 2025 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

May 8, 2025 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

We believe grades are an important way to communicate with students and families. This new system will make it clearer what students need to do to meet academic expectations.

If you have any questions, please contact Richard Smith at rsmith5@pps.net. Check the website often for updates. We look forward to working with you during this exciting transition.

The Montavilla Neighborhood Association in conjunction with the other District 3 neighborhoods is helping make people aware of a survey Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition is conducting. They want to help define the community priorities and share the results with the newly elected District 3 members of City Council. We are trying to reach out to as many people in the community as possible.

The survey is open to anyone who lives and/or works in any of the 19 neighborhoods of District 3 and will end Jan. 31st.

I attached a PDF flyer with the survey information and link that can be emailed to your members. I could not find an email address for your PTA organization. If you could send it to me I will also contact them. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Click here to take Survey

Thank you,

Colleen Howard

Montavilla Neighborhood Association

Hello,

I am a nurse at the Oregon Burn Center. I am excited to share we are hosting a regional safety fair to kick off National Burn Awareness Week. We invite you to join us at the Portland Expo Center on February 2nd, 2025 for this family friendly, free event! We are partnering with regional agencies to educate the community on in home safety. With visits from special characters, face painting and emergency vehicles on site, we are sure to have entertainment for the kids. It takes multiple agencies to care for burn patients in our region and we are hosting a chili cookoff to bring our partners together for some healthy rivalry. Being the only burn center between Seattle and Sacramento, we serve our state and beyond! This annual event will be a great way to celebrate the teamwork we use to care for anyone experiencing burn injury and bring burn awareness to the public. Any proceeds raised will go to the Oregon Burn Center Foundation for future outreach and prevention efforts.

If you have any questions about this event, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We hope to see you there!

Erin Duggan, BSN, RN

Oregon Burn Center

eduggan@lhs.org

Hi!

Ridwell has extended an invitation for us to bring up to 50 BCSS community members (staff students parents etc) to tour the Ridwell factory if we can sign up another 10 families by Feb 28th. I think a school trip would be awesome especially to get the kids excited about lifelong reduce, reuse, recycle!

Can you please help spread the word?

Thanks!

Anne

Here is the new info just for us!
URL: https://get.ridwell.com/bcss