Abernethy News

Abernethy Community,

I hope you all had an amazing 3 day weekend are ready for another great week of school! Last week it felt great having all our students back in the building, and this week we get to have our new Kindergarten students starting full time! Our building will be full and officially complete!

As we get our school year underway, I want to direct your attention to some beginning of the year information that came home in your students Back to School packets.

It was with all good intentions that we submitted our Family Handbook - 2024-25 Calendar, last May in hopes that it would be ready to hand out this August. However, we were not so lucky. Part of the cuts that PPS made last was to what was known as our "print shop". Following all new guidance and direction, the new format became too backed up and our order was not filled, nor were we given an estimated time of fulfillment.

We are attaching the online version here. If you would like a printed copy, please let the office know and we will send home a printed copy.

Elizabeth Lannigan and Candi Bielman want the staff to know that they both suffer from severe allergies and asthma when in contact with strong scents. This allergy can cause anaphylaxis and life threatening asthma attacks. They are requesting that Abernethy remain a scent free school due to the serious nature of these allergies. They are requesting that all staff refrain from wearing perfume, patchouli, tea tree and other strong scents as they will cause a severe allergic reaction, asthma attack or both. Please see the district statement below.

Model Fragrance Free School Statement

Schools inquire from time to time about whether the district has a fragrance free policy. The district does not have a policy but Environmental Health & Safety Services (EHS) has researched the issue and discussed it with our colleagues at EPA.

Many school districts do have a ”fragrance free” policy and we have drafted the following statement based on these policies.

“Given that chemically sensitive individuals may react to different products with widely varying degrees of severity, it is very difficult to ensure a consistently comfortable and accommodating learning and work environment under every conceivable set of circumstances. However, it is the consensus of the Safety Committee to minimize to the extent possible the barriers and difficulties experienced in schools and offices by employees, students, parents and community members subject to chemical and fragrance sensitivities. Fragranced products can cause some people with chronic illnesses to suffer additional symptoms and medical expenses. Symptoms include asthma, allergies, sinus problems, rhinitis and migraine headaches. Therefore, Abernethy Elementary School requests that all class rooms and offices remain free of chemical-based scented products. These products include: perfume, cologne, aftershave, body spray, scented lotion, fragranced hair spray, room deodorizers, air fresheners and/or other related products.”

If you have any questions about this issue, please call Health and Safety at extension 63401.

Thank you for allowing us to work in a scent free and safe environment.

Thank you,

Elizabeth Lannigan and Candi Bielman

Our school day is from 8:00am - 2:30pm. That means that the late bell will ring at 8:00am. Cafeteria will open and students will be let off the buses at 7:50am and the first bell will ring at 7:52am.

All students will line up in the back of the school with the first bell at 7:52am. This is where they will meet their teachers. All students should be dropped off in the back of the school, on Elliott Ave, as well. We have had too many close calls with cars and students on Orange Ave that we are moving all students to the back of the school where there is more supervision and a bigger street with more room for cars.

Please see the map below for where your student will meet their teacher tomorrow morning and moving forward.

A HUGE thanks to the 50+ volunteers who came out to spruce up the gardens & grounds Saturday, August 17th, for Community Cares Day! All the hard work from all our families and community members really helped us make our school shine for the first day of school!

Past, present and future families were represented, including incoming Kinder fams and parents from the 90s, who originally planted the grapes in the garden. We made great progress getting the grounds ready for the start of school, and almost filled a 20-yard debris box with clippings and weeds! Folks were also able to tune up their bikes with some amazing volunteer mechanics, find several bikes new homes, pick up their awesome Abernethy Yard Sign (get yours!), and eat a donut or two.

Keep your eyes out for more volunteer opportunities with the grounds, including an Abernethy Paint Refresh day on September 22nd, and future monthly grounds meetups.

When: Starting Wed, Aug 28 7:25am-7:50am

Where: Abernethy Elementary School

We'll be starting up both Wednesday Abernethy Bike Bus Routes on the first week of the school year!

This is a consistent, fun and safe way for kids and parents to bike together to school. We find that it builds student confidence, builds social skills, gets exercise and reduces traffic. For many families it transforms the trip to school into an event to anticipate and enjoy.

- Choose either the Lincoln-Harrison or Clinton Route (see attached flyer map and times)

- We need adult volunteers to help organize & keep kids safe from cars. Join our Volunteer Bike Bus Leader WhatsApp Group. No previous group riding experience required.

SAFETY

• Helmets required!
• If your child does not already ride to school on their own, please plan on biking with us for the first rides to make sure they can bike safely in a group.
• At road crossings where we'll stop the group to gather, post up adult and make sure cars wait while we cross en masse.
• Please ride behind the Bike Bus Driver-- the one with the speaker playing the tunes.
• 
  

No bike bus home-- you can team up with families on your block to get small groups of kids home. If you're interested in consistently organizing & leading a larger bike bus home, let us know.

Questions? Concerns? Let us know! -Aaron & Jake (Abernethy parents & kids-on-bikes enthusiasts)

Aaron: 650-390-3405

Jake: 503-489-9567

• September 19th & 20th - School Pictures
• September 19th - PTA Meeting - 6:30pm
• September 25th - Early Release - Students released at 11:50am
• September 26th - Back To School Night - 5:30 - 7:00pm

Portland Public Schools Nutrition Services is happy to announce all students will be able to enjoy breakfast and lunch at no charge for the 2024-25 school year. This opportunity is made possible in part by the expansion of federal eligibility and additional funds allocated by the state’s Student Success Act.

Breakfast includes an entrée, choice of fruit, and milk. Lunch includes a choice of entrée, milk, and unlimited fruits and vegetables. Students must choose at least three foods, with one food being at least a 1/2 cup of fruit and/or a vegetable.

Due to this change in services, our kitchen teams will no longer be able to take cash or check payments. If students bring their lunch from home and want milk, they must may choose two other foods – such as a fruit and vegetable – at no charge.

Milk can no longer be purchased separately.

A few more clarifications:

• Families do not need to submit a free and reduced-price meal application. All PPS students are automatically enrolled in this program.

• If you have questions about your student’s meal account, please visit our webpage for more information or contact our department for further support.

September marks National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrated from September 15 to October 15. It honors all Latino and Hispanic Americans and their contributions to American culture. The anniversaries of many Latin American countries are held on or around September 15 hence why the start of the month starts mid-month. Take time to acknowledge how these communities impact society and foster understanding of their unique heritages.

It also is National Recovery Month which hopes to educate all Americans on the treatment services for those struggling with substance use disorders.

September 4 – Richard Wright’s Birthday

The popular Black American writer wrote some of the most powerful 20th-century novels which exposed the realities of racism in the Deep South where he was born in 1908.

September 11 – Patriot Day

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the worst terrorist attack in American history occurred when four commercial airliners were hijacked by al-Qaeda members. Two crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and another into a field in Pennsylvania.

September 20 – HeForShe

This solidarity movement was first created by the UN to help promote gender equality worldwide.

September 21 – International Day of Peace

This UN day encourages all nations to observe a ceasefire. Each year the UN bell is rung in New York City to inaugurate this nonviolence day.

IInternational Day of Sign Languages – September 23

The International Day of Sign Languages celebrates sign languages as a vital part of linguistic and cultural diversity. This day highlights the importance of sign language in the full realization of the human rights of people who are deaf. It promotes the preservation of sign language and advocates for the rights of deaf people worldwide to have access to education and information in their native sign languages.

Celebrate Bisexuality Day – September 23

Bisexuality Visibility Day is committed to celebrating the bisexual community and its history and achievements. Raise awareness about bisexuality and speak up about misconceptions about the community in the workplace and beyond.

Definition: We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.

K-2 Definition: We are curious. We ask questions. We love to learn.

Questions you can ask your students:

• What does it mean to be an inquirer?

• Do you have any good inquiry skills you can use?

• How do you know when you were being an inquirer?

• How does being an inquirer help you throughout school?