Black Bear Bits

9/6: Kindergarten teacher meet and greet ~ 3:00-4:00 p.m.

9/9: First day of School for PreK and Kindergarten

9/9-9/25: Spirit Store Open

9/10: PTA Meeting- 7:00 p.m.

9/13: Family Fall Festival Night 4:00-7:00 p.m.

09/23: Fun Run Fundraiser Kickoff

9/24-9/27: Fall Book Fair

9/25: PJ Family Reading Party

10/4: Fun Run

• Note from Principal Brown
• School Wide Expectations
• ParentSquare Information
• Title I Information
• Black Bear Spirit Wear Store Opening
• PTA Meeting- In the Garden
• Save the Date- Fall Festival
• Save the Dates
• OBOB Information
• Library Volunteer Opportunities
• Pre-K Registration
• Club-K Information
• Looking to Volunteer
• Free Meals for All
• Important Links

Dear Black Bear Families-

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year at Tualatin Elementary School! Thank you to all families and students who attended Back to School Night and BBQ! For those of you who could not attend the event, it was wonderful to see all 1st through 5th grades on the first day of school! We look forward to welcoming our kindergarten and pre-k students next Monday, September 9th!

Every year we have new and exciting changes and events to look forward to. Here are some of those highlights for the beginning of this year!

• TTSD has a new Math Curriculum, iReady, rolling out this year! Math instruction will look and feel very different than in years past! One of the important changes to math instruction includes the inclusion of math discourse. Math discourse is all about explaining how to solve problems! Research shows that math discourse encourages students to solve problems collaboratively using a Try-Discuss-Connect instructional framework. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about this new curriculum or approach to math instruction, I would be happy to walk you through these changes.

• This year we will offer two parent meetings per quarter called “Bites with Brown” during the mornings of September 11th, January 8th, March 5th, and June 4th. Each meeting will include meeting time for parents in Spanish (@8:00) and English (@ 8:30). Although I will continue to communicate through the Black Bear Bits, this meeting structure will offer a chance to share information in person as well as provide an opportunity for questions (and morning snacks!). I hope parents and guardians will be able to join me for these events!

• We have increased lunchtime for all students from 15 minutes to 20 minutes per day! This extra 5 minutes allows our students to have time to finish meals as well as a little extra time to socialize with peers. We hope this gives all students the chance to enjoy lunchtime to the fullest!

• Families will receive the Black Bear Bits every other week this year! Our hope is to reduce the number of communications for families to navigate throughout the year while continuing to inform everyone of important events and information!

I look forward to connecting with students and families this year! As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns! Go Black Bears!!

Sincerely,

Dr. Bobbie Brown

Welcome to another school year! We are so excited to start this year off on a positive note as our teachers are teaching and reviewing our school-wide expectations throughout the first two weeks of school. We wanted to share with you our expectations for each major area of the school so you can collaborate with us on supporting all our students! Below you will find our expectation checklists:

Overview of School-Wide Expectations (English & Spanish):

Each area specifically:

Arrival/al llegar a la escuela

Bathroom/Baño

Lunch/almuerzo

Recess/recreo

Hallways/los pasillos

Bus/el camión

Thank you for working with us to ensure our students know and practice our school expectations!

Tigard-Tualatin School District is launching ParentSquare—a simple and unified school-to-home communication platform—to reach and engage every parent, helping ensure all parents can participate in their student's education.

By unifying multiple tools into one communications app and service, ParentSquare provides a seamless experience for parents and staff. Parents can keep track of news, activities, and events from all their children’s schools in one place.

ParentSquare does not replace ParentVue and StudentVue

Here are some ways Title 1 provides support for your child.

• Funding for after school programs
• Parent involvement opportunities
• Extended time for reading and math instruction
• Staff development trainings for your child's teacher
• Materials, resources and technology

Get into the school spirit and support Tualatin Elementary by purchasing our exclusive Black Bear spirit wear! The online store will be open from September 9 - 25. We will have a variety of t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and more featuring our latest (and super cute) Black Bear design. All orders will be delivered to the school and sent home with your child or can be picked up in the front office. Keep a lookout for the link to the online store coming soon!

P.S. All students will receive a free Black Bear t-shirt at our upcoming Fun Run on October 4th.

Join us next Tuesday, September 10th at 7:00pm in the school garden for our first in-person PTA meeting of the new school year.

- Get the latest information on upcoming PTA-sponsored events

- Hear from our Principal, Dr. Bobbie Brown

- Connect with fellow Tualatin Elementary families

- Learn about volunteer opportunities

We hope to see you there!

You’re invited to join us at our Fall Family Night at Lee Farms coming up next Friday, September 13th from 4:00pm - 7:00pm.

All Tualatin Elementary students and families can enjoy a FREE evening at beautiful Lee Farms. There will be a variety of family-friendly activities including a hay maze, mega slide, bounce pad, face painting, play areas and more. Plus, delicious food and goodies from their bakery will be available for purchase.

Free Transportation:

We will be providing free round trip bus transportation from both Tualatin and Byrom Elementary schools and some of the surrounding apartments. We encourage families to take advantage of this option or carpool with other families as parking at the farm is limited.

Click Here to Register Now!

A special thank you to our partners at Byrom Elementary and Lee Farms for making this special event possible!

Be sure to follow Tualatin Elementary PTA on Facebook & Instagram for the latest information!

BIG NEWS! Our Tualatin Fun Run fundraiser kicks off soon! We’re raising $10,000 for the PTA fund, including field trips, teacher materials, student enrichment, sustainable garden, and more and we need your help. Save the date and stay tuned for more details on how you can support our cause. #schoolfundraiser #supportourschool #choosebooster

Sign up online at MyBooster.com – 09/09/2024

Fundraiser Kickoff in school – 09/23/2024

Event Day – 10/04/2024

Help us raise money at the fall book fair for our school library. This event can happen ONLY if we have enough volunteers. We need help setting up and taking down the book fair and cashiering. All volunteers will need to complete the background check and cashiers will need to be a PTA member. Scholarships are available for the PTA membership.

You can email Kathleen Cunnington at kcunnington@ttsd.k12.or.us or sign up directly here.

Thank you for Supporting our school library!

Do you like to keep things organized? Do you understand the Dewey Decimal system and are good at alphabetizing? Then we have a great volunteer opportunity for you that involves picking up library books, checking them in and shelving them on Wednesday or Thursday mornings 8am to 9:30. Please contact Kathleen Cunnington at kcunnington@ttsd.k12.or.us for more information.

Do you have a 3rd, 4th or 5th grader that will be a part of our fun reading program Oregon Battle of the Books? If so, we need your help. Each grade has 4 meetings per year during their lunch/recess. We also have 3 battle days and an assembly that will need volunteers. Volunteers will help with score keeping, timers, asking already prepared questions and other items as needed. The students are really excited for OBOB and to keep it going this year I will need your help. Please email Kathleen Cunnington at kcunnington@ttsd.k12.or.us if you have questions or would like to volunteer.

Follow Tualatin Elementary Garden news on Facebook for updates, news and amazing pictures of flourishing garden. https://www.facebook.com/TualatinElementaryGarden

We are looking for more families to signup to care for time slots through the end of October. Two families a week would be ideal. Please use the attached link- Sign up Here

Reading is Awesome!

Fall Scholastic Book Fall Book Fair

September 24th - September 27th

Book Fair Hours for Everyone:

Sept. 24th (Tuesday) 11:00am - 4:00pm

Sept. 25th (Wednesday) 8:00am - 7:30pm

PJ Family Reading Night (6:00 - 7:00)

Sept. 26th (Thursday) 8:00am to 4:00pm

Sept. 27th (Friday) 8:00am to 6:30pm

Music & Shop

Students will visit the book fair during school hours with their classes.

All money raised from this book fair will go towards buying books for the library!

Check out our E-Wallet option this year

https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/tualatinelemschool2

There is still space in Tualatin Elementary's Preschool!

Please fill out our electronic Preschool Interest Google Form online

OR

complete the Preschool Program Interest PDF and send the completed form to: preschoolinfo@ttsd.k12.or.us or mail to Early Learning Coordinator TTSD 6961 SW Sandburg St, Tigard, OR 97223 or drop it by the school office.

Click here for the Early Learning Website

Club K After School Zone is excited to continue providing child care services for the Tualatin Elementary families. Club K After School Zone is committed to excellence in care and has been providing before and after school child care programs, full day programs and summer camps since 2006. We offer a personal level of service and attention that enables us to provide positive outcomes for the students in our programs as well as meet the needs of today’s working families. Registration is now open for the 2024-2025 School year and space is limited. Follow the link below to find more information about our program and to register online.

http://www.clubkafterschool.com

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Tualatin Elementary. Please follow the steps below to go through the application process.

All volunteers must complete the checklist below to volunteer:

• Complete a background check at:https://www.helpcounterweb.com. (This needs to be renewed every three years.) You will also need to complete the Child Abuse online training.

• Please read- Abuse and Sexual Misconduct Reporting Handout

• Please read- TTSD Electronic Acceptable Use Policy

• Please follow the instructions for the Mandatory online training found in this link- Online Training. Once training has been completed please email your certificate of completion to vmadrigal@ttsd.k12.or.us and epowers@ttsd.k12.or.us

• Please read- Tualatin Elementary Training Slides

• When the above has been completed, contact me (epowers@ttsd.k12.or.us ) or 503-431-4800) and I will watch for your volunteer profile to get approved

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Please note that it can take a few weeks for the background check, so plan ahead!

Starting in the 2024/2025 School Year

All TTSD students attending a brick and mortar school building are eligible to receive one free complete breakfast and one free complete lunch each school day. You do not need to fill out a free and reduced meal application for this. You may still send your student with a lunch if you prefer.

*Reach out to our office or the Nutrition Services office for questions.

https://www.ttsdschools.org/departments/nutrition-services/community-eligibility-provison-cep

The 21st Century Community Learning Center After School Program will begin Monday, September 16th. This free program will provide a time for academic enrichment, tutoring, recreation, and snacks. Free transportation will also be provided. Program times will be from 2:25 to 4:50, Monday through Friday.

Limited spaces are available.

For more information, contact Kirsten Plumeau at 971-427-0626 or kplumeau@ttsd.k12.or.us