Duniway Dispatch

• 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 12: Last day of school for students (UPDATED!)

• March 4: Lockdown Drill
• March 11: Sellwood MS Info Night for incoming 6th graders, SMS 6-7pm
• March 12: Connect to Duniway
• March 11: PTA Meeting
• March 17-21: Book Fair
• March 19: School Assembly
• March 21: Principal's Coffee/School Spirit Day- Crazy Socks Day
• April 9: Connect to Kindergarten
• April 11: Picture Day
• April 23: School Assembly
• April 25: Principal's Coffee
• April 26: Duniway Foundation Spring Art Reception
• May 9: Duniway Foundation Auction
• May 13: PTA Meeting
• May 14: Connect to Duniway
• May 16: Fund Run
• May 21: School Assembly
• May 29: Duniway Spring Showcase
• May 30: Principal Coffee
• June 3: PTA Meeting
• June 6: Parade and Carnival

2024-25 District Calendar

Hello Dragon Families,

Happy Friday and I hope you all are enjoying this wonderful sunny weather. It seems like the sun will continue for the next day or so and I know we are all soaking up the Vitamin D. Its been a busy week here at school. We had our monthly assembly on Wednesday and we honored heroes of Black History as well as celebrated our many OBOB participants. This week I also shared news of our preliminary 25-26 school staffing with our school staff and also with parents today at the Duniway Principal Coffee. I will share more details at our March 11 PTA meeting, but wanted to provide some preliminary broad information here. As expected, we are facing a reduction in our staff who were funded by our school foundation (2 Educational Assistants and partial funding for office staff). We also received slight decreases in our Librarian and Counselor allocations. We did fortunately receive an increase in staffing for our Music Teacher, Ms. Adams (funded full time) as well as an increase in our staffing for Academic Intervention (1/2 time teacher allocation). This staffing plan is preliminary and we are also hopeful that there will be an increase in education funding in the current Oregon Legislative Session. That is all I have to share for now. I hope you all enjoy a great weekend!

Principal Melvin

OBOB, the state-wide reading and trivia competition for 3rd through 5th graders, has found its Duniway Champion! Over the past year, 97 students at Duniway have been reading a set list of 16 books and this past weekend was our school’s Final Competition. After 41 ‘Battles’ between 23 teams the winning team was Fluffy Dragons of Power!

Congratulations to fifth graders Elowyn Wainwright, Riley Krieg, Penny Julian, and Cora Phelps (see photo below) and Coach Emily Swanson. The Fluffy Dragons of Power will be representing Duniway School at the Regional competition at McDaniel High School on March 15.

Best of luck, Fluffy Dragons!

To register your child for school at Duniway, go to the Enroll website.

Registering early helps us plan for the following year - don't delay!

Do you know any families who are interested in attending Duniway?

Please let them know about our upcoming Connect Events!

March 12, 9-10 a.m.

April 9, 6-7 p.m.

May 14, 9-10 a.m.

Register here!

If you have your pet with you around the perimeter of the school, please keep them tightly leashed and ensure that others can pass and freely enter and exit the school.

Please keep in mind there are children and adults in our community who are not comfortable around dogs and we ask that you maintain awareness of this while at school.

In addition, if you bring your dog to the Duniway grounds outside of school hours, please remember to clean up after them. Thank you!

To purchase and customize your yearbook, use the QR code below or

Go to: www.treering.com/validate

Enter our school’s passcode: 1016389809824123

Please consider serving as an ASSISTANT COACH for the Duniway Girls on the Run team!

Our team registration is now frozen until we have a second coach on board, and the team is already over half-full with registered team members, and others waiting to join when we are able to open after again having 2 coaches. There is a great deal of interest and it will be a great deal of fun and an awesome experience for all!

Girls on the Run is a physical activity-based positive youth development program that inspires girls, grades 3-5 (and grades 6-8 as "Heart and Sole") to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.

GOTR coach application info: Each site needs a minimum of two coaches. Ideally, each team will have one head coach (at least 21 years old who identifies as female), and two assistant coaches (at least 18 years old). Coaches can be teachers, parents, or other community members who are dedicated to empowering girls to reach their full potential and live a healthy lifestyle. A coach does not have to be a runner.

The coach application can be found here: https://www.gotroregon.org/coach.

Please see the Duniway GOTR team informational flyer and/or reach out to Monika Soennichsen, School Counselor and Duniway GOTR Site Liaison, for more information.

From the PPS Office of School Performance:

We know that the community is always deeply invested in our annual district calendar. This is a draft of the calendar for the 2025-26 school year. We would appreciate your feedback as we finalize it. Please use this form to provide us with your input. Thanks for lending your voice to this important effort!

Proposed 2024-2025 School Calendar

Feedback Form

Camps, Classes, & After School Programs:

• VIBE PDX Spring Break & Summer Art & Music Camps (Mar. 3, Mar. 24-28, Jun. 16 - Aug. 29)

• USTA Spring Tennis Afterschool Zone at Maplewood (Apr. 8 - May 13)

• VIBE PDX No-School Youth Sewing Classes (Jan. 27-28, Feb. 17, Mar. 3, Mar. 24-28)

• Cognizart 31st Annual Young Artists Debut! Concert & Showcase (apply by Feb. 24 – Deadline extended again)

• Portland Parks & Rec Teen Force at SW Community Center

• VIBE of Portland Music & Digital Art Classes for Kids

• Portland Parks & Rec Environmental Education Nature Field Trips (flyer for teachers)

Summer Camps:

• VIBE PDX East Winds Band Camp (Jul. 21-25, 2025, recorded audition due Jul. 10)

• Cognizart 360Arts Summer Camps (Jul. 7-11, 14-18, & 21-25, 2025)

• OSU Summer Reading Program (Jun. 14 - Aug. 16, 2025)

Preschool Programs:

• Multnomah Early Childhood Program Peer Preschool Classes
  (Spanish) (Vietnamese) (Chinese) (Russian) (Somali) (Korean) (Arabic) (Persian)

• Portland Parks Preschool 2024-25

Community Events & Information:

• Multnomah County: Common Application

• City of Portland: 311 Non-Emergency Hotline
  (Spanish) (Vietnamese) (Chinese) (Russian) (Somali)

Vaccinations, Health & Wellness:

• Multnomah County Student Health Center Immunization Catch-Up Reminder

• Oregon Health Plan & Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace

• Multnomah County: Free Community Vaccination Clinic (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays)
  (English) (Spanish) (Vietnamese) (Chinese) (Russian) (Somali)

• Multnomah County: Student Health Centers (fliers in English, Russian, Chinese, and Vietnamese):

• Cleveland HS

• Franklin HS

• Jefferson HS

• McDaniel HS

• Roosevelt HS

No printed materials should be distributed to students unless they have been approved and added to this list. If you have any questions, please reference the Promoting Events and Activities in PPS Schools webpage, the 2020-21 Update on Flier Distribution for Non-Governmental Organizations, or contact Ryan Vandehey at rvandehey@pps.net.