Alameda Friday Newsletter

August 16, 2024

Dear Alameda Community,

On behalf of our entire staff, we welcome you to the 2024 - 2025 School Year! Britt and I are thrilled to be back at Alameda to begin our 4th year. Whether you have been around the Alameda community for years, or are joining us for the very first time, we are excited for you to be a member of our school community.

Each school year is filled with a sense of promise and excitement. We also collectively renew our commitment to being the very best community member we possibly can be, and paying close attention to our Core Values:

• Kindness: Caring, Supportive, and Considerate

• Safety: Calm, Peaceful, and Patient

• Inclusion: Empathetic, Connected, and Involved

• Joy: Have Fun, Laughter, and Loving

We want to emphasize the importance of empathy, being considerate, caring, and promoting peace and calm. One specific focus this year will be around reducing the amount of relational challenges (teasing, bullying, pestering, harassing, and impulsive behavior). We must expect the very best from our students (and ourselves) and provide daily opportunities to teach and practice the values and traits we all hold so dear. Our newly adopted Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum, Caring School Community, is built on CASELs five competencies. This year, our focus will be on two of them; Self-Awareness and Self-Management - two building blocks towards greater empathy. We know our students are all incredibly capable and with our support and encouragement they will all continue on a path towards being their best selves.

This work is vital and because of it, our students are at the center of everything we do. Our goal is to provide the support, structure, and experience that allows them to grow and thrive. At the heart of this lies our teachers and support staff, and our ability to work collaboratively on behalf of all our students. We know that establishing and nurturing deep connections and relationships with students and families must be at the center of our daily efforts. We look forward to working together, staying connected, and remaining focused as we strive to best serve the needs of all our students and families.

One of the many ways we hope to stay connected is through our Friday Newsletter. I know we are a bit saturated with messages these days, but I hope you take a few minutes out of your Friday afternoons to read through the information. This year, all school-based messaging will come via Remind or Synergy. It is critical that we have your latest email and/or phone numbers in order to ensure you receive these communications. If you are having any challenges updating your information online, please reach out to the office. In addition to text and email communication from the school, you can also visit the Alameda School Website and the Alameda PTA website.

There is plenty of information to share in the coming weeks. Thanks for reviewing all of this week's details:

Beginning of the Day/Arrival: The first day of school for students in grades 1-5 is Tuesday, August 27th. Kindergarten specific schedules will be communicated by classroom teachers. If you have a child in kindergarten and have any questions about schedules, please reach out directly to your child's teacher.

Arrival/Dismissal and Building Safety: The school day begins at 8:00 AM (Please note the new and earlier start time). The first bell will be at 7:55 AM. Please make sure your child does not arrive early. There will be NO SUPERVISION on the playground prior to the school day beginning. Like last year, students will come into the building through grade level specific entrances (SEE ATTACHMENT). Parents may enter the building with their child during the first couple weeks of school. We are hoping that as the year progresses students (and parents 😀) will be comfortable saying a goodbye outside. Reducing the number of adults (who have not checked in) in the building helps ensure a safer space for our students and staff. All doors will be closed and locked by 8:00 AM. If your child arrives and the exterior door is locked, they must enter through the front entrance and check in at the office.

All adults who are in the building after drop off or at any other time during the day must always check-in at the main office and wear a volunteer badge/sticker. If you have not already done so (they are good for three years), please take a few minutes to complete the PPS Volunteer Background Check. It will take several weeks to process and is necessary if you plan to volunteer, attend a field trip, or provide any support to our students.

End of the Day/Dismissal: The school day ends at 2:30 PM. Teachers will walk their students to an outside designated location for dismissal. The end of the day is a busy time. Please make sure your child is fully aware of their after school plan. If you have to make a change during the day, please contact your child’s teacher via email and call the office.

Counseling: We are fortunate to have both Anna Tofel and Molly Clark returning to Alameda for the 2024-2025 School Year. Please feel free to reach out to Anna or Molly with any questions you have about counseling. They both provide a wide range of support to all Alameda students and families. Anna’s case load is students in K, 2, 3, and 4, while Molly’s focus is students in Grades 1 and 5. Also note that because of district budget cuts, Molly will only be working 3 days/week - Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

District Calendar: Here is a link to the 2024-2025 School Calendar.

School Supplies: Your Alameda PTA is providing teacher-specified school supplies for each classroom. We suggest a contribution of $50 per Alameda student; the cost covers school supplies for your child and ensures that all students are provided the same supplies. Click here and make your school supplies contribution today.

Alameda PTA: The beginning of the school year is a great time to re-up your PTA membership! PTA contributions sustain a variety of programs and activities within our community. Click here and join (or re-join!) the Alameda PTA.

Breakfast and Lunch in the Cafeteria: As you may have read, breakfast and lunch are free for ALL students at Alameda and across the entire district. Students will no longer have cards. As a result of this change, students will not be able to get just milk. For more details and menus, you can visit the nutrition services website. For students that would like breakfast, they should enter the school through the front entrance at 7:45 AM. For those students who ride the bus, a staff member will allow any student wanting breakfast to enter the building through the door on the corner of 27th and Fremont.

Transportation: Bus schedules and other information can be found on the PPS Transportation Service website. You can also reach out to School Secretary Beth Minch with any questions.

Songbirds Choir is Back: We are excited to welcome back Mr. Ralph Nelson who will be directing our Choir again this year. Choir is open to all 4th and 5th grade students. Thanks to our arts fundraising and the generosity of our PTA, choir is FREE. At this time, choir will most likely take place on Tuesday afternoon, from 2:30 - 3:30 PM. Sign up information and more details, including the start date, will be sent out to 4th and 5th grade families in the near future.

Before/After School Classes: Due to PPS policy, the school is unable to directly provide information about classes taught by most third party organizations. To learn more about before or after school classes you can visit THIS SITE maintained by Alameda volunteers. If you are interested in information about YMCA run before and after school care or their new after school classes, please visit their website.

Early Release Days: New this year will be a total of EIGHT days when students will be released at 11:50 AM. While we recognize this places challenges on families, the time will allow our staff to have the opportunity to engage in meaningful professional learning. There is no change/impact to the arrival time and all students will still have lunch. All of the early releases will be on Wednesday and there is NO early release in the month of January or June. Here are the days: 9/25/24, 10/23/24, 11/20/24, 12/18/24, 2/26/25, 3/19/25, 4/23/25, and 5/21/25

Site Council: This fall we will continue our Site-Council. This group is made up of community members, administration, and staff and will be charged with continuing ongoing efforts to improve the work we are doing at Alameda. We will discuss a wide range of topics including; budgeting/staffing, Instruction, Equity and Inclusion, and other ongoing efforts taking place. We will meet 4-5 times during the school year. Meetings will be in the evening and virtual. If you are interested in joining, please email Matt Goldstein.

UPCOMING EVENTS

School Clean Up Day-TOMORROW: Saturday, August 17th 10:00 AM - Noon. Come on down to Alameda and have fun, meet some new people, and help clean up the grounds. Please bring gloves, garden tools (especially weeders, loppers and small saws), leaf/garbage bags, and anything else that might help with our work!

Connect to Kindergarten Playground Social - Thursday, August 22nd, from 4:30-5:30: Come down to the Alameda Playground and meet new families and have your children begin to connect with their new classmates. The PTA will be there with popsicles!

Welcome Back Picnic Extravaganza; Tuesday, September 17th; 5:30 - 7:30 PM: The Alameda PTA is excited to host the 2nd Annual Welcome Back Picnic Extravaganza. More details will be announced but we hope to have food trucks, cake, and much more. We hope to see you all there!

Save the Date: Back to School Night is Thursday, September 26th. More information will be coming soon.

We are getting very excited to see your children in less than two weeks. As always, please feel free to reach out to the school office, your child’s teacher, Britt, or me if you have any questions or need additional information. We look forward to working together and kicking off the 2024-2025 School Year.

Regards,

Matt Goldstein
Principal

PPS Early Release
Day Camps

PPS has Early Release Wednesdays each month
Trackers camps have you covered!

Portland Public Schools (PPS) has announced Early Release Wednesdays for the 2024-25 school year. These will occur almost every month. We understand this might disrupt your plans, but don’t worry—Trackers has got you covered. Our new PPS Early Release Day Camps are now open for registration.

To support working parents, we have made these camps as cost-effective as possible. Kids can spend their afternoons connecting with friends and learning awesome Trackers skills. They can craft in our pottery studio, build in our woodworking shop, hone their archery skills, create characters for epic role-playing games, or explore the great outdoors while connecting to nature.

Our PPS Early Release Day Camps are available at our SE and NE Portland site, with easy parent pick-up from 5 PM to 6 PM. Remember, students of our After School Program already get early release camp as part of their Wednesday membership. While you tackle your workday, your kids can have a blast learning new things—all in a safe and fun environment!